Helena Hunting

An emotional love story that follows the touch-and-go relationship of Hayden and Tenley; two young people who desperately want to love and be loved but are afraid to completely let go of their pasts. Their body art is hot. Their chemistry is even hotter. From her dark hair sweeping below her waist to her soft, sexy curves, Tenley Page intrigues tattoo artist Hayden Stryker in a way no one else ever has…especially when she asks him to ink a gorgeous, intricate design on her back. Yet for all her beauty, there is something darkly tragic and damaged about Tenley that Hayden is everything. Covered in ink and steel, Hayden is everything Tenley has never dared to want, awakening a desire to explore more than the art adorning his stunning body. Trapped by a past that leaves her screaming from nightmares, Tenley sees Hayden as the perfect escape. Although he has secrets too, if they both keep themselves guarded perhaps their intense physical connection will remain only that. But nothing, not even passion, can keep them safe from their pasts…

Clipped Wings

Anna Ureta

Alright, I just finished Clipped Wings by Helena Hunting, first book I’ve read since I finished Nanowrimo and I’m just like… “duuuuuuuuurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr……” My brain can’t process the amount of feels I have. I’m not just talking about your typical sad or emotional feels, I’m talking about feels you don’t know how to process. This is the kind of book that gives you so many feels you don’t know what to do with yourself or those feels. You can’t sort them, you can’t understand them, and you can’t reason with the, you just have to let them happen. Hm, kind of like Tenley and Hayden when you really think about ;) I can’t believe it took me so long to pick up this amazing book by an AMAZING CANADIAN AUTHOR~ God, my heart is still pounding. LOVE writing reviews right after I’m done the book, the emotions are just so fresssshhh.
 
No one has piqued tattoo-artist, Hayden Stryker’s interest more than Tenley Paige. He’s dangerously attracted to her and has no idea why. Hayden is everything Tenley’s never had or considered wanting in a man. He’s covered in tattoos, pierced everywhere, has a very strong personality and clearly won’t take shit from anyone. Haunted by a past and nightmares she can’t escape, she finds peace in Hayden’s company and his help by asking him to tattoo a memento all over her back. Although these two are dangerously attracted to each other, they can’t help but hide the secrets to their dark pasts that might ultimately destroy what happiness they’ve found in each other.
 
Let’s get serious, or semi-serious. I FREAKING LOVE TENLEY AND HAYDEN. I’m pretty sure I say that about a lot of couples, but I LOVE THEM. I mostly love Hayden because he’s so different, than what we’re used to seeing. Sure there are lots of Alpha males with tattoos and bad-ass attitudes who are possessive of their girls, but Hayden is like…legit decked out, just covered in tattoos….TATTOOS EVERYWHERE and piercings everywhere! Can you imagine because I can’t!!! I haven’t hung around that crowd much and to be honest they do/did intimidate me but now (since getting my own tattoo) they’re all cool! (Maybe a little judgemental…at least the ones I’ve met, but cool).
 
Hayden is a bad-ass. If I met him I’d sure and he’ll be intimidated by him. But he challenges the stereotype and is rough and tough on the outside but damaged and broken on the inside. And when I say broken I’m like…traumatized, nightmares broken.
 
Tenley, I think, is someone I aspire to be, in a sense. Just like Hayden, she is damage beyond repair on the inside, but on the outside she seems to be holding it together – just. What I like about Tenley is her determination to try to move on, to try and be as normal as she possibly can despite her problems, her anxiety, her nightmares. She bakes, she goes to school, she works, and even falls for the bad-ass in tattoos just like any rational girl would. I’m not saying she’s a bubbly ray of sunshine or that she looks like she’s doing her best to move forward, I’m saying that she’s trying. Even on the outside she may look damaged, is shy, quiet, timid, but she makes an effort.
 
“You made these?” I held up the perfectly decorated, professional-quality miniature cake.
 “Yup. I used to bake all the time with my mom.” She cleared her throat before she continued. “So what’d you think?”
 “That I’m going to lure you back to my place and keep you there forever so you can bake those cupcakes every day for the rest of my life.” I left out the part where I would eat them off her naked body. Tenley was like a wet dream. Hot, feisty, into body modification, and she made cupcakes.
 
These two have serious chemistry, the kind of chemistry you wish you had with your significant other. Even if you don’t have someone it’s the kind of chemistry you know you wish you had. It’s wanting, all the time, to be with them, to be near them, even doing the simplest of things. Both Hayden and Tenley are so broken that they find solace and peace with each other and enjoy each other’s company more than most. Some people might think that’s being too clingy, but I think if people are so broken like these two are, after finding something or rather SOMEONE that brings you peace you wouldn’t want to let it go either.
 
I LOVE LOVE LOVE this book. It’s so different. It’s so dark, and funny, and complicated and messy. But it’s also so raw and emotional. This book is so good at emotionally breaking you down, building you back up, and breaking you down all over again. It’s just a complete rollercoaster and you love it because you want to see these two lost and broken souls get back together. If only there was someone for everyone and we could all find that person just like Hayden and Tenley found each other…
 
5/5 Hearts of Love

Vilde

Ella Zegarra

Publicado Originalmente: El Extraño Gato del Cuento

El libro me ha gustado, no sé si fue porque fuí con unas expectativas muy bajas... aunque eso último no es tan cierto, le tenía expectativa, quiero que este género me enamore como los otros géneros (o sub-géneros?) del Young Adult han podido conmigo. Si bien Clipped Wings no me ha hecho cambiar aún mi opinión del New Adult, me gustó leerlo. Sobre todo porque, aunque parezca mentira, no hay instalove. Lo sé, es casi traumático. Quiero decir, desde la página uno, párrafo uno, sabemos hay un interés de Hayden por Tenley, lo que me gustó es eso, que Hayden diga se sienta atraído, que ella lo intrigue por una y otra cosas que pasan. Si bien que se junten estos dos es rápido, no es taaan rápido, hay un proceso, un bonito coqueto. Y de verdad lo aprecio, porque hace más fácil creerse la relación que la escritora nos cuenta.

Helena Hunting hizo algo muy bueno con el libro, me sorprendió su manera de desarrollar las cosas, como dice la sinopsis, nuestros dos protagonistas tienen un pasado que esconden, y aún así, ninguno de los está buscando del todo la redención. Además de que al ser narrado a dos voces, Hunting no manoseo mucho el pasado de uno de ellos, creo que a medio libro lo cuenta, pero curiosamente no entre nuestros protagonistas, sino a un tercero. Ya saben como son en estos libros, por lo general todo se soluciona cuando "el que va ser salvado" le cuenta todo su pasado "al/la salvador/a", con eso la escritora me sorprendió mucho.

Otra cosa que también que también quiero resaltar del libro es sus personajes secundarios, bastante completos y algunos muy divertidos, cada uno va desvelando poco a poco cosas de si mismos, dándole un panorama más grande a todo la historia, de las cuáles me gustaría saber más y más, no es que nos de poca información, lo que pasa es que hay un shipp con el que gustosamente seria feliz leyendo más xD

la razón por la que solo le di tres estrellas en Goodreads fue porque el libro me gustó bastante (no me encantó ni lo amé), es que como mencioné más arriba, está narrado a dos voces y como que perdía un poco de sentido la personalidad de Tenley. Hay algunas incongruencias cuando cambia de narrador, no sé si solo es cosa mía, pero eso me fastidió un poquito. Sé que depende de la perspectiva de cada personaje, es solo que hay acciones que no iban de acuerdo a como el personaje se nos presentaba.

Aunque creo que ya sé como es que se desarrollará el segundo, tengo muchas ganas de continuar con la serie. En realidad es un duología, los otros dos son historias cortas, sino me equivoco Cupcakes and Ink es la versión de Tenley de como se conocieron.

Reseña Completa: El Extraño Gato del Cuento

Camila 

¿Quéeeeeeeeeeeeeee ese no peude ser el final?

Este libro me ha gustado bastante. Es claramente NA pero aún así sentí que la historia se desarrollaba mucho más allá de ello. Me gustó mucho la dinámica de los personajes tanto ellos como en la relación, aunque a veces si encontré que Hayden resultaba ser deamsiado territorial/protector en un nivel lejos de ser bueno. Aún así creo que era bastante respetuoso dentro de todo. 
Los problemas creo que se supieron abarcar (bueno los que están en este libro) y no fueron lanzados de una, sino que hubo un tiempo y dentro de su relación era bueno que hablaran. 

Me entretuvo bastante, era una leída muy rápida y me gusta todo esto de los tatuajes :D

Find this review and more at 
  kimberlyfaye reads
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Clipped Wings was an emotional and moving book that will stick with me for a very long time to come. The writing was exquisite, the characters incredibly complex and the plot one that grabbed ahold of me from the start and wouldn't let me go. 

Tenley and Hayden are neighbors. They also work across the street from each other. They aren't exactly friends, but they're more than acquaintances. They share an attraction and a lot of chemistry, but they're both closed off to the possibility of love at this point. Tenley and Hayden are both carrying a lot of baggage. They've both experienced losses at a young age that would be devastating for anyone. My heart broke for them as their stories came out. This book is told from both Tenley's and Hayden's perspectives and it was executed perfectly. Each character's voice was clear and just made me love each of them even more. 

Their friendship and ultimately relationship builds slowly in this book after Tenley hires Hayden to put a large and intricate tattoo on her back. The tattoo is representative of all that she lost in the plane crash that changed her forever, physically and otherwise. Hayden has a rule that keeps him from hooking up with his clients, but it's one that he's willing to break for Tenley. My favorite part about this book was just watching these two broken individuals grow to care about and trust each other. My least favorite part was watching their relationship self-destruct after a misunderstanding. 

Clipped Wings was a roller coaster ride. It was as emotional as it was sexy and I shed more than a couple tears over these characters and their lives. Everything about their relationship felt natural and so very right. I was completely invested in them and wanted to scream when the book ended. An unexpected twist with a bit of a cliffhanger kept me from being completely satisfied, but left me wanting more and eagerly anticipating the second book in Tenley and Hayden's story.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Lisa ✩ @lifeinlit

This book was jointly reviewed by myself and my co-blogger, Becca!

Audiobook Review:

After listening to this audiobook together, we knew we just HAD to review it together as well. So here are our joint thoughts on Clipped Wings.


“The scares are ugly.”
 “Everyone has scars, Tenley. If we’re lucky, they’re only on the outside.”


THE STORY:

Lisa: Clipped Wings was so much more than I thought it would be. Having read Cupcakes and Ink immediately prior to starting this, I already felt as though I knew the characters. Cupcakes and Ink gave us a brief background of each character immediately prior to where this story began. Clipped Wings started off right where Cupcakes and Ink ended. It had a strong Ten Tiny Breaths feel to it, which I found to be incredibly awesome since TTB is my favorite series EVER! Having the same narrator, Elizabeth Louise, narrate this series as well as TTB really added to the experience. I already loved her then, but now I know I will read anything narrated by Elisabeth!

Becca: OMG I do not even know where to start!! This book pulled me in from the first page and help me captivated until the end. I agree with Lisa that the novella was perfect and it really gave us a great peek at Hayden and Tenley and their story. This type of story is my absolute favorite!! A little angst, flawed characters and chemistry that jumps off the page at you! Oh! and let’s not forget a tattooed bad boy… I have a soft spot for those :) This story had it all and I did not want to stop listening! Speaking of listening… I agree with Lisa that these narrators were amazing Elizabeth Louise and Jason Carpenter captured these characters so well! Helena Hunting is an amazing writer and I am now a huge fan!!


“I might never be whole again, but I needed to find a way to release some of the guilt I carried so I could attempt to move forward.”


THE CHARACTERS:

Becca: Hayden and Tenley have made their way on to my favorites list. I just love them both so much, as individuals and as a couple. They were the type of characters that I love; broken, flawed and needing someone to put them back together. Hayden is battling for a space in my top 3 book boyfriends, I just love everything about him (did I mention my soft spot for tattooed bad boys?) He was dark, brooding, protective and hot! Tenley was so sweet and lost, my heart just broke for her. Together they were on fire! Their passion and chemistry was off the charts for me – I could literally feel the sparks flying off the page! The alternating POV’s in this story helped to make it amazing, it was not an added bonus it was necessary! The way that Hunting wrote these characters was truly talented… she knew them in and out and made you fall in love with them. I found myself quoting these characters over and over… my favorite quote was from Hayden and he said “Everyone has scars Tenley, if we’re lucky they’re only on the outside.”

The other characters in this book were absolutely wonderful too! The Villains were just perfectly evil both Trey and the Professor were truly despicable!! The friends and family were lovable too – Lisa and Jamie, Uncle Nate and Aunt Cassie and of course Sarah and Chris (I cannot wait for their story!) :) All of these characters were just as amazing as the MC’s.

Lisa: Tenley and Hayden are the kind of couple that you can’t turn away from. With their shaded pasts and unsteady present, they were living their lives the best way they knew how. Both had suffered great loss and were unsure about how to move past it. The chemistry between them was so intense. And the sexy scenes in this story were perfectly played out. I tend to skip over sex scenes if they’re not done right in my opinion, or if it just feels like they’re thrown in just because. But the scenes in this story were sexy, intimate, and actually added to the story. Helena Hunting knows how to write romance books, that’s for sure!

The secondary characters, Tenley and Hayden’s group of family and friends, were just as amazing as our MC’s. They were protective, loyal, and really added a lot to this couple’s story. I love alternating POV’s in stories in general, but this story couldn’t have been what it was without it. Getting to hear Hayden’s story as well as Tenley’s, getting to experience their secrets as they were slowly revealed to us through their own personal thoughts and actions, made this reading experience simple perfection. I never once felt bored, uninvested or uninterested in these characters and their story, despite the longer length. These flawed, broken, mistake-making characters won me over instantly and kept my interested until the bitter end.


“I can’t find my keys. I just had them in my hand, and now I can’t find them. I don’t know how that happens. I mean, seriously, is there a goddamn key fairy that just up-and-aways with my shit so I can’t get into my apartment?”


OVERALL:

Lisa: Though I had received an ARC review copy of Clipped Wings, the length of it (400 pages) had scared me off a bit. I have difficulty with books that are over 300-350 pages. I kept putting it off and putting it off. When I was offered a copy of the audiobook, I jumped on it and immediately started reading. The audio was AMAZING, and definitely the right way to go with this story. I’m sure reading it would be incredible as well, but hearing these two amazing narrators tell this story was perfect for me. Becca and I kept agreeing to read more and more, as we both had trouble taking off the earphones.

At our halfway point, Becca said “I’ve never craved a cupcake so much in my life.” and I couldn’t agree more! Trust me, you will be craving cupcakes, specifically icing, and even tattoos before you’re finished with this story. Okay, enough rambling… bring on Inked Armor already!! :D 

If you like sexy books with a H-O-T couple, this is a series you will really enjoy. It surpassed my expectations and has increased on my favorites list right up there with the Ten Tiny Breaths series. Now THAT’S saying a lot. I must warn you that this book does end cliffhanger-ish, so be sure to have Inked Armor ready for you so you’re not left hanging.

Becca: So after reading this story I have decided that it is time for my second tattoo, I realized… what am I waiting for?! Lisa is right this book made me crave cupcakes and tattoos!

Lisa and I went into this excited and having no idea just how amazing this would be, but OMG we had no idea it would be this outstanding! I need to pull out my thesaurus to find more words… stupendous… awesome… impressive… I could go on and on! Not only did Hunting do an incredible job writing this, both Elizabeth and Jason’s narrating made it even more amazing. I do think that this book would stand out even if you didn’t listen to the Audio.

I hope that more readers out there take a chance on this series! Don’t let the NA genre or the length scare you away… this story, these characters and this Author are absolutely amazing!!


(Thanks to Simon & Schuster and Edelweiss for the review copy!)


  Find this review and others like it at Lost in Literature!

Gretchen Gomez

THIS BOOK!!!!! FINALLY!!! My first favorite of 2015!

I just fell in love with everything about this book; the characters, the story, the plot, EVERYTHING!! It was amazing.

Hayden and Tenley are such relatable characters. Especially since I'm the same age as they are. The emotions, the feelings and the way they handle themselves are realistic and relatable in many ways. They both feel like they don't deserve one another but still end up together and it's as if everything is meant to break them apart and they still find a way because the emotions run so deep.

It's different from other New Adult books I've read and I can't wait to read the second book.

Clipped Wings

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