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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This review can also be found on Bookshelf Reflections
I wish I could say Inked Armour picked up right where Clipped Wings left off, but it didn’t. After reading book one, which ended with a cliffhanger, I was more than ready to pick up Inked Armour and see how the drama continues. I wanted to see Hayden run after Tenley. I wanted to see them fight.
Instead the beginning is somewhat disengaged from the story. Tenley is trying to deal with the life she left behind and Hayden is trying to deal with his feelings for Tenley and his past. Yet neither really does. The whole book is nothing more than two severely broken characters being afraid of facing their past and their feelings and pretending they do. They use each other for comfort, for strength, for them to heal, and yet they don’t deal with the issues. It’s a bandaid relationship and not a particularly good one. Half the time, I was rolling my eyes at them, the other half, I was wishing for them to finally break up so they can each deal with their issues separately and not angst over how they need to become worthy of one another.
Another thing that bothered me was how predictable the story was. From the very first moment Hayden started remembering fractions of what had happened, the conclusion was obvious. Too obvious. Whilst the erotic build-up between Tenley and Hayden was great, I think Ms. Hunting should leave her fingers from mystery and crime books or such elements in the future. It just didn’t read well.
The secondary characters are as flat as they were in the first book, and the villains are just that. Villains. There is no element of humanisation. There are two sides to every story and I feel like this book, even though written in dual POV, lacked this insight. Hayden’s hooker ex-girlfriend remains just that, a fake platinum blonde whose role is nothing else than to stand between Tenley and Hayden. Officer Cross is nothing more than the stereotypical cop who hits on the girl and becomes vicious when she doesn’t reciprocate. I could go on and on about those two, but that would mean I would have to include spoilers, and as predictable as the story line might be, I don’t want to do that.
The whole plot was quite flat as well. Whilst both the main characters are in a lot of anguish, I didn’t truly get to feel that. I was told. And I hate being told how others feel or how I am supposed to feel when reading about it. I want the scene itself to suck me in and make me hurt with them. Instead, I remember being bored a lot when reading and hoping for things to move along already. I couldn’t stand Tenley’s whining or Tenley’s fake confidence. Or Tenley’s inappropriate actions for that matter. I know that Hayden’s ex was supposed to be the villain in all this, but hell, was Tenley out of line when it came to her most of the time.
Honestly, it also felt to me as if the storyline dragged. A lot. Especially in the middle. But then again, there were parts which were glossed over too much. That definitely added to the “meh” effect. I wanted to see how Tenley and Hayden heal. I wanted to feel it through their actions. Yes, they didn’t immediately fall back into their old ways, and kudos for that, but their relationship wasn’t as broken as I thought it would be. They “worked” through their problems way too quickly. (See the quotation marks? Yeah… that because they didn’t really work through their problems, did they?)
The part which I liked, though, was when Hayden had his breakdown. He always took on the protective role, trying to be there for Tenley first, and avoiding his own problems. Now, as I stated before, I don’t think there is a lot of problem and conflict resolution going on in this book, but it was interesting to see Hayden finally give in to his demons. Even this, though, wasn’t done in Ms. Hunting’s usual style. I was happy that it happened, but there wasn’t much depth to it. One minute he breaks down, then he goes to one therapy session and everything is great. One minute he has all those suspicions about his parents’ murder and is freaking out, the next the truth comes out and he is able to deal with this ginormous revelation in 2.0 seconds as if it weren’t a huge deal. Parts felt rushed and underdeveloped, others dwelt on for too long. In some scenes they relied of physical contact a lot for comfort. Sometimes I thought it unfitting. And then there were scenes in which I would completely understand their need to feel close to someone, and in those scenes it was missing. Generally, I don’t think there was a good balance between the physical and the mental state of the couple.
Yet, and I must say this, their physical “interactions” were always superb and moving. Ms. Hunting does have a very beautiful way with words. Sadly, she wasn’t able to convey it this time quite as well.
Overall, I simply wasn’t satisfied with the direction this book took. The plot was too predictable, and there wasn’t much feel to the characters. I didn’t feel their pain. I was told. Most of the situations weren’t relatable at that. Still, I enjoyed reading this book and despite criticising a lot of it, it was a very nice and interesting read. It most definitely wasn’t worth five stars. It also wasn’t bad enough to give one star two. When reading it I fluctuated a lot between giving it a four star rating and a two star rating. There were moments where I was going “wow, this is great” and others where I wanted to scream “oh no you didn’t!”. Thus a very indecisive three stars. Would I have reviewed the book right after I read it, I might have given it a three and a half. This way, however, I had some more time to think about it, and sadly, the negative aspects of this book outweigh the elation I felt over getting to read about Tenley and Hayden’s relationship. Also, Jessica Sorensen might just have ruined me for the angsty NA genre in general, so I had to take that into account as well. Angsty NA is my favourite genre after all…
I wish I could say Inked Armour picked up right where Clipped Wings left off, but it didn’t. After reading book one, which ended with a cliffhanger, I was more than ready to pick up Inked Armour and see how the drama continues. I wanted to see Hayden run after Tenley. I wanted to see them fight.
Instead the beginning is somewhat disengaged from the story. Tenley is trying to deal with the life she left behind and Hayden is trying to deal with his feelings for Tenley and his past. Yet neither really does. The whole book is nothing more than two severely broken characters being afraid of facing their past and their feelings and pretending they do. They use each other for comfort, for strength, for them to heal, and yet they don’t deal with the issues. It’s a bandaid relationship and not a particularly good one. Half the time, I was rolling my eyes at them, the other half, I was wishing for them to finally break up so they can each deal with their issues separately and not angst over how they need to become worthy of one another.
Another thing that bothered me was how predictable the story was. From the very first moment Hayden started remembering fractions of what had happened, the conclusion was obvious. Too obvious. Whilst the erotic build-up between Tenley and Hayden was great, I think Ms. Hunting should leave her fingers from mystery and crime books or such elements in the future. It just didn’t read well.
The secondary characters are as flat as they were in the first book, and the villains are just that. Villains. There is no element of humanisation. There are two sides to every story and I feel like this book, even though written in dual POV, lacked this insight. Hayden’s hooker ex-girlfriend remains just that, a fake platinum blonde whose role is nothing else than to stand between Tenley and Hayden. Officer Cross is nothing more than the stereotypical cop who hits on the girl and becomes vicious when she doesn’t reciprocate. I could go on and on about those two, but that would mean I would have to include spoilers, and as predictable as the story line might be, I don’t want to do that.
The whole plot was quite flat as well. Whilst both the main characters are in a lot of anguish, I didn’t truly get to feel that. I was told. And I hate being told how others feel or how I am supposed to feel when reading about it. I want the scene itself to suck me in and make me hurt with them. Instead, I remember being bored a lot when reading and hoping for things to move along already. I couldn’t stand Tenley’s whining or Tenley’s fake confidence. Or Tenley’s inappropriate actions for that matter. I know that Hayden’s ex was supposed to be the villain in all this, but hell, was Tenley out of line when it came to her most of the time.
Honestly, it also felt to me as if the storyline dragged. A lot. Especially in the middle. But then again, there were parts which were glossed over too much. That definitely added to the “meh” effect. I wanted to see how Tenley and Hayden heal. I wanted to feel it through their actions. Yes, they didn’t immediately fall back into their old ways, and kudos for that, but their relationship wasn’t as broken as I thought it would be. They “worked” through their problems way too quickly. (See the quotation marks? Yeah… that because they didn’t really work through their problems, did they?)
The part which I liked, though, was when Hayden had his breakdown. He always took on the protective role, trying to be there for Tenley first, and avoiding his own problems. Now, as I stated before, I don’t think there is a lot of problem and conflict resolution going on in this book, but it was interesting to see Hayden finally give in to his demons. Even this, though, wasn’t done in Ms. Hunting’s usual style. I was happy that it happened, but there wasn’t much depth to it. One minute he breaks down, then he goes to one therapy session and everything is great. One minute he has all those suspicions about his parents’ murder and is freaking out, the next the truth comes out and he is able to deal with this ginormous revelation in 2.0 seconds as if it weren’t a huge deal. Parts felt rushed and underdeveloped, others dwelt on for too long. In some scenes they relied of physical contact a lot for comfort. Sometimes I thought it unfitting. And then there were scenes in which I would completely understand their need to feel close to someone, and in those scenes it was missing. Generally, I don’t think there was a good balance between the physical and the mental state of the couple.
Yet, and I must say this, their physical “interactions” were always superb and moving. Ms. Hunting does have a very beautiful way with words. Sadly, she wasn’t able to convey it this time quite as well.
Overall, I simply wasn’t satisfied with the direction this book took. The plot was too predictable, and there wasn’t much feel to the characters. I didn’t feel their pain. I was told. Most of the situations weren’t relatable at that. Still, I enjoyed reading this book and despite criticising a lot of it, it was a very nice and interesting read. It most definitely wasn’t worth five stars. It also wasn’t bad enough to give one star two. When reading it I fluctuated a lot between giving it a four star rating and a two star rating. There were moments where I was going “wow, this is great” and others where I wanted to scream “oh no you didn’t!”. Thus a very indecisive three stars. Would I have reviewed the book right after I read it, I might have given it a three and a half. This way, however, I had some more time to think about it, and sadly, the negative aspects of this book outweigh the elation I felt over getting to read about Tenley and Hayden’s relationship. Also, Jessica Sorensen might just have ruined me for the angsty NA genre in general, so I had to take that into account as well. Angsty NA is my favourite genre after all…
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
I really enjoyed the conclusion to Hayden and Tenley's story! It was rough at the beginning but it got better and better towards the end.
In this one though Tenley did annoy me because she was always saying I'm sorry but she never explained the why. I'm glad Hayden was rough with her at the beginning and made work for his forgiveness. I was really glad that she finally woke up and kicked Trey's ass eheh
Since the first book I had a feeling that we would have closure about Hayden's past and I was right I was also right about who was guilty. Those bitches! :/ Hayden was really lucky having Tenley by his side at the time because I have a feeling if he didn't have her he would have been way worse than he was. I think he was very strong to deal what happened and I loved him in this book!!!
I loved when all of them were together. The men in the kitchen and the girls talking the guys with the funny aprons eheh I loved it.
In this one though Tenley did annoy me because she was always saying I'm sorry but she never explained the why. I'm glad Hayden was rough with her at the beginning and made work for his forgiveness. I was really glad that she finally woke up and kicked Trey's ass eheh
Since the first book I had a feeling that we would have closure about Hayden's past and I was right I was also right about who was guilty. Those bitches! :/ Hayden was really lucky having Tenley by his side at the time because I have a feeling if he didn't have her he would have been way worse than he was. I think he was very strong to deal what happened and I loved him in this book!!!
I loved when all of them were together. The men in the kitchen and the girls talking the guys with the funny aprons eheh I loved it.
This was absolutely brilliant, I love this book series. A must read! The author writes beautifully, her descriptions, the characters and the plot line is intriguing, fascinating and just perfect!
This is one of my favorite books, Helena Hunting is just an amazing writer, she delivers her stories so perfectly, her plot lines are flawless and the characters are a dream come true for any writer.
I recommend this and anything Helena writes as must reads, you will never be disappointed and will totally be blown away. I look forward for more of her books to be published. I will buy them blindly.
This is one of my favorite books, Helena Hunting is just an amazing writer, she delivers her stories so perfectly, her plot lines are flawless and the characters are a dream come true for any writer.
I recommend this and anything Helena writes as must reads, you will never be disappointed and will totally be blown away. I look forward for more of her books to be published. I will buy them blindly.
Helena hunting always seems to have me in tears by the end of her books.
in the sequel of clipped wings we continue the story of Tenley and Hayden. can i tell you that not only was this book hot but it was also beautifully written. i had a hard time putting this book down. i loved it that much.
the heart break was so worth it in the end. i will love this book for years to come and love everything Helena puts to words.
excellent book, will recommend to friends.
in the sequel of clipped wings we continue the story of Tenley and Hayden. can i tell you that not only was this book hot but it was also beautifully written. i had a hard time putting this book down. i loved it that much.
the heart break was so worth it in the end. i will love this book for years to come and love everything Helena puts to words.
excellent book, will recommend to friends.
This is the second book in the Clipped Wings series and the last one that is about Hayden & Tenley! Let me just start off by saying how much I love these two! Out of all the couples Helena writes about, I think these two are my favorite (sorry Pucked couples)
After Tenley left to go back home to take care of things she left behind and ghosting Hayden, he is not in a good place. Tenley realizes how much she actually loves Hayden and how she can’t live without him so she comes back to Chicago to fix their relationship. Hayden doesn’t want to get screwed over again by her but he also doesn’t want to leave her because he is scared she will leave again. He’s also scared if he tells her he’s in love with her, she will run.
Tenley has to earn his trust back and she won’t back down. She’s scared to tell him she loves him because she doesn’t think he feels that way. They both just want to be loved but now that Tenley has let go of her guilt from her past, but Hayden can’t. Hayden finally finds out the truth from his past which helps him get some type of closure.
After Tenley left to go back home to take care of things she left behind and ghosting Hayden, he is not in a good place. Tenley realizes how much she actually loves Hayden and how she can’t live without him so she comes back to Chicago to fix their relationship. Hayden doesn’t want to get screwed over again by her but he also doesn’t want to leave her because he is scared she will leave again. He’s also scared if he tells her he’s in love with her, she will run.
Tenley has to earn his trust back and she won’t back down. She’s scared to tell him she loves him because she doesn’t think he feels that way. They both just want to be loved but now that Tenley has let go of her guilt from her past, but Hayden can’t. Hayden finally finds out the truth from his past which helps him get some type of closure.
It got old and I wasn’t sure I would finish it. I think it would have been better as one book instead of 2.5.
The continuation of Hayden and Tenley's story was soul baring and beautiful.
I found the middle to be very slow but I'm glad I pushed through because I loved these characters.
This picks up after the conclusion of Clipped Wings when Tenley had left for Arden Hills.
Hayden and Tenley are so alike and yet so different their story is truly compelling and I was very satisfied with how everything turned out.
Inked Armour mixes more into romantic suspense as Hayden's parents death is more prominent in the storyline. It definitely gets interesting and as a reader you really want Hayden to find closure, justice abd answers for something that has carried such weight for him.
4 stars for H+Tee
I found the middle to be very slow but I'm glad I pushed through because I loved these characters.
This picks up after the conclusion of Clipped Wings when Tenley had left for Arden Hills.
Hayden and Tenley are so alike and yet so different their story is truly compelling and I was very satisfied with how everything turned out.
Inked Armour mixes more into romantic suspense as Hayden's parents death is more prominent in the storyline. It definitely gets interesting and as a reader you really want Hayden to find closure, justice abd answers for something that has carried such weight for him.
4 stars for H+Tee
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Hayden & Tenley have a lot that they have to work through and deal with. Spiraling emotions, ghosts from the past and their feelings for each other.