A Rush of Wings (The Maker's Song, #1) in SOS: Serious Overload of Series

Mar 21, 2011 Katyana rated it liked it

Shelves: pnr, vampires, abuse, uf, dark

This is a really tough one to review.

On the one hand, there was something to the story that drew me in. And I am honestly at a complete loss to say what that was. I have been turning it over and over since I finished the book last night, and I really don't know what had me so fascinated.

But on the other hand... there was a lot about this book that just didn't work for me. Let's start with:

Heather as an FBI agent was ridiculous. This was just the worst-fitting career choice for this character, as This is a really tough one to review.

On the one hand, there was something to the story that drew me in. And I am honestly at a complete loss to say what that was. I have been turning it over and over since I finished the book last night, and I really don't know what had me so fascinated.

But on the other hand... there was a lot about this book that just didn't work for me. Let's start with:

Heather as an FBI agent was ridiculous. This was just the worst-fitting career choice for this character, as written, because she is just so... NOT an agent. She's emotional, naive, forgetful about things like, oh, her GUN. She's pretty easily baited. She's utterly unprofessional. This character was not at all written with the personality of an agent. Furthermore, the story doesn't even support the weak idea of her being an agent. Because, for a start, agents aren't sent after serial killers without partners. Honestly, I don't know why the author went this route with the character, but then didn't build any structure to support that story choice. I decided, early on, that I was just not going to be able to tolerate this book at all if I couldn't just utterly erase that aspect - I literally ignored all reference to her as an FBI agent. As a character, I liked Heather. As an agent, she was laughable. So I chose to focus on her as a character.

Moving on, the other big problem I had was: Dante was, in many many respects, like a child. A hyper-sexualized child, very innocent (in every way EXCEPT sexual, of course) and utterly without emotional maturity or socialization. This was a creepy combination. He was like this... teenaged big brother, struggling to protect his family, but without the maturity to deal with the world. It made him endearing... but the VERY sexual way that he was worshipped by everyone around him then felt mildly obscene. Especially given that this is a guy that, it is implied, has been (view spoiler) It honestly made the entire potent-sex aura that the author loved to surround him with... really creepy. I mean, he even SPEAKS like a kid, with dialog like "didja wanna" and "I don't hafta" ... everything about Dante projects young young young. Young and broken.

Aside from the creepy sexual vibe, Dante was a difficult character to connect to. He was fascinating, mysterious, and very compassionate / empathetic. He was also, frankly, a sociopath. I can't see any way a relationship - with anyone - can possibly work out. Which is maybe why I kept reading. The big driving questions that I was asking myself throughout this first book were "where can this possibly be going? how on earth can this resolve?"

Which leaves me vaguely curious about where the rest of the series goes, but not at all emotionally invested. I think I'd be just as happy reading summaries from here forward, to satisfy my curiosity. Which is weird to me, because it is so incredibly rare for me to not become connected, on an emotional level, with characters. I mean, I cry at commecials, for pity's sake. But at the end of this book, my entire reaction - emotionally and intellectually - was pretty much this:

"...huh." ...more

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Oct 01, 2009 Literary Ames rated it it was ok

Shelves: dtb, 1st-in-series, crime-mystery-thriller, angels-demons, series-abandoned, vampires, read-in-2010, paranormal, donated-to-charity

1. My biggest complaint is that I didn't feel a connection between Miss FBI (aka Special Agent Heather Wallace) and Dante, yet they fell for each other though I don't know why. At the beginning I imagined Dante to be as Eric from True Blood with his throne in the club with a hint of pre-godhood Acheron with everyone adoring and lusting after him so I could understand Miss FBI's automatic attraction but not what attracted him to her except that she quieted the voices in his head. They spent very 1. My biggest complaint is that I didn't feel a connection between Miss FBI (aka Special Agent Heather Wallace) and Dante, yet they fell for each other though I don't know why. At the beginning I imagined Dante to be as Eric from True Blood with his throne in the club with a hint of pre-godhood Acheron with everyone adoring and lusting after him so I could understand Miss FBI's automatic attraction but not what attracted him to her except that she quieted the voices in his head. They spent very little time together and there was little to no sexual tension. They were forced together, there was no love between them. I think it would have been more realistic to pair her with Lucien.

2. I wouldn't call this book PNR, it barely qualifies as UF, it's more crime/horror as there is very little romance and only one sex scene.

3. The constantly changing multiple POVs was incredibly irritating. This didn't settle down until about two thirds of the way in. There were too many characters introduced in this way at the beginning, it was confusing.

4. The pace of this book is really slow it gets bogged down with the multiple POVs sometimes of the same events, only the last 100 pages or so does the pace pick up. This book is a depressing 500 pages long so you can imagine what a hard slog reading this was.

5. Though the inclusion of the French/Casjun words and phrases were a nice touch, I'm not fluent in these languages so I didn't always know what was said. I didn't notice the glossary until I finished the book which wasn't helpful, it should have been placed at the very beginning of the book instead of the end.

6. The cover did not represent what was inside the book. This cover was very misleading. Miss FBI did not wear leather, in fact she was one of the few who didn't wear it.

7. Background - questions were left unanswered about Miss FBI's past and her present circumstances. We have to assume she is single and living in Seattle and that she is alone with no family or friends except her boss Stearns. I had questions about Lucien and his whereabouts while Dante suffered, why he left his mother and what made him Fallen, though it was hinted at. Vampire politics were also hinted at with a mention of sanctions and councils but alas no elaboration.

8. Motivations - I didn't fully understand the motives and inner workings of the Bad Seed experiment/programme, or what exactly it was in relation to the FBI and the research lab.

9. Miss FBI's 'Are vampires real?' dilemma was dealt with badly. She was skeptical then sort of accepted it, was unsure, then had to see to believe. Bloody hell, make up your damn mind!

10. Characters - Dante was intriguing but he wasn't fully developed. You don't really get a proper sense of his personality other than being musical and having to do everything the hard way. His sexuality was unclear, he kissed men but generally in greeting as he did with the women. He'd suffered sexual abuse so maybe he didn't know himself if he was gay, bi or straight although we do see him participating in a threesome with another man there was no touching between them other than a kiss. He didn't seem sexy to me, he wanted to be a bad boy but in my opinion he didn't quite pull it off. He just seemed broken with no real hope of regaining control over his mind or his abilities. Collins peaked my interest but we see little of him and then he's discarded. Miss FBI was weak, there was very little to her, you got a vague sense of protectiveness and the need to do right but other than that she was a dull, flat character. We learn very little about the bad guys Ronin, E and Moore -they were just bad because the author had labelled them so there were no reasons behind their actions. Also members of Dante's household were thrust forward without much depth or explanation for their loyalty to Dante.

11. I was confused for most of the book. I had a hard time following what was happening and why or how Miss FBI made her deductions. Overall the story is very slow, dry and bland, hell we even know who the serial killer is from the beginning so there was no mystery to hold my interest. I was bored reading this and forced myself to finish it. My only positive emotion about this book was the relief I felt when I read the final page. Basically this was a waste of time. The writing is abysmal but the story had potential and that is the only reason why I'm giving this two stars instead of one. ...more

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Jun 07, 2009 Steph rated it really liked it

Shelves: series-book1, year-read-2010, series-ongoing, author-웃, author-favorite, series-i-love

A Rush of Wings was a great dark UF. A tortured vamp with a hidden past and a strong FBI chick meet while she is investigating a murder. Heather is tracking the CCK (cross-country killer) and Dante is a mysterious, breathtakingly handsome, gothed out singer who owns a "fake" vampire club.

Definitely going to read In the Blood to find out how the story continues. I really enjoyed book 1 and might have enjoyed it even more if I'd known there was a glossary at the end ... it was frustrating at time ...more

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Aug 17, 2009 AmandaG rated it it was ok

Shelves: urban-fantasy, 2009, series

I'm not sure what exactly about this book I didn't like. There was something. Dante is a beautiful but Tortured vamp. He relives his horrific past in broken pieces as he cannot remember his life beyond a few years before.

Heather is a skilled FBI agent who has been searching for a serial killer and has lead her to New Orleans. Where she meets the reclusive lead singer of the band Inferno (Dante). She learns of things she never new existed out of movies and books.

There are a whole other cast of ...more

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Jul 21, 2009 Purple rated it it was ok

Shelves: girlpower, uf, series

I struggled to finish this book. I compared it with a non-paranormal but same cop for a heroine book and this one just came up short. I usually finish those kind(e.g., James patterson's Women's Murder Club) in one night and its the same 400+pg book. This took me longer, the story was too slow for me. I got confused with the terms and there are several characters all at once.

Overall, this reminded me of how I felt about Sookie Stackhouse's first book. And the only reason I picked up the second bo ...more

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