Review: On Fallen Wings by Jamie McHenry

Genre: Fantasy | Faeries

I decided to give myself a week before reviewing On Fallen Wings, simply for the fact that I didn't want to eviscerate it on a whim. During the last week, I have frequently replayed the story over and over in my mind and come to the conclusion that while I don't hate it, there are many areas that, with improvement, could be stronger. What first appealed to me about this novel is that it seemingly incorporated Fae mythology. Now, I happen to be writing a book about the Fae, so I have been doing a serious amount of research on the topic. You could say that I wanted to get a look at what other authors are writing about my subject. I was also intrigued by the fact that the author is a man and the lead character is a heroine. 

Unfortunately, On Fallen Wings left me disappointed on so many levels. The Fae-lore that originally attracted me to the novel was briefly mentioned and then quickly forgotten. There was no magic and the "faeries" were typical humans. I'm sorry, but the Fae are not humans and therefore do not look, think, or act like humans. I can overlook the author taking liberties with the mythology, but it took backstage too much for my liking. Either make it a prominent feature or leave it out. 

The characters had very little depth, despite the entire book being full of supposed character development. Enough said. 

What I enjoyed about McHenry's writing is his prose. The man can write some beautiful prose. So, in terms of style Jamie McHenry has it down, but he needs to work on plot development. The names were also very lovely and satisfied my pickiness over character identity. I feel that On Fallen Wings needed a better editor. I saw lots of potential, but it just didn't have any plot devices in place to really grab the reader's attention. Now, having expressed my negative feelings for this book, I just want to add that this review is merely my opinion. I have read other reviews on this novel that raved about how good it is. If at the end of the day you enjoyed it, then it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. Feel free to give this novel a chance if you feel so inclined. You may like it.

Rating: 2 out of 5 owls

Nook | Kindle