Early Review – Destined (Wings, Book 4) by Aprilynne Pike (4/5 stars)

Reading level: Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal
Size: 320 pages
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: May 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0061668128
Stand Alone or Series: 4th (and final) book in the Wings series
Source: eGalley from NetGalley.com
Rating: 4/5 stars

This is the fourth, and final, book in the Wings series by Aprilynne Pike. I enjoyed it and thought it wrapped up the story nicely. This story was more about everyone and less about Laurel. Much of the book was a big epic battle between Klea and the other fairies of Avalon.

This book picks up right where the last book left off. Laurel and crew have discovered that Yuki is a Winter faerie and is working with Klea to destroy Avalon. Now it is up the Laurel and crew to face off against magic immune trolls and try to save Avalon from certain destruction.

The whole book was kind of one big epic battle for Avalon. Seriously it was pretty much action from the first page to the last. This was fine and it kept the plot moving at a good clip. The problem with it was that in Laurel’s own words…she’s not really a fighter. As a result Laurel spends a lot of time hanging back and watching David and Tam kill stuff. This story ends up being less about Laurel and more about everyone else who is actively fighting in the battle to save Avalon.

So you ask, what about the love triangle between Laurel and David and Tam? Well it is resolved and it is resolved in a totally predictable way. That’s not to say it’s bad that’s just to say that things end up in the way that is easiest and makes the most logical sense. That being said there isn’t a ton of romance in this story. I wasn’t really feeling chemisty between Laurel and anyone…there was just too much battle.

The only bad thing about having all this battle is that action scenes aren’t Pike’s strong suit…they are okay and you can follow what’s going on. Still they don’t have the inertia that I expect from really solid fight scenes.

I will say though that everything is wrapped up very nicely. There are some really interesting things that happen in the story. Tons of magic, tons of faeries, and David gets a certain sword that really makes things interesting.

Overall this was a decent conclusion to this series. The book is basically one giant battle between Klea and Avalon. Not as much romance as previous installments but the story does tie up nicely. Highly recommended for fans of this series. Also recommened for those who enjoy paranormal YA reads with a heavy element of faerie in them. This series isn’t as excellent as The Iron Fey by Julie Kagawa….but it is still a fun read.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge
– 150+ Books Reading Challenge