Destined (Wings #4)

So, I finished this a day or two ago, and needed a bit to collect my thoughts on it. Here goes:


Destined (Wings #4)
Aprilynne Pike

Tamani looked at her gravely, and reached up to tuck her hair behind her ear.

He hesitated for an instant, then his hands found the sides of her face, pulling her to him. He didn't kiss her, just held her face close to his, their foreheads resting together, their noses almost touching.

She hated how much it felt like good-bye.

Laurel now knows the truth: Yuki is a rare Winter faerie, the most powerful—and deadly—of all, and Klea plans to use her to help conquer and destroy Avalon. But Klea's reach extends far beyond one wild Winter faerie. With Tamani, David, and Chelsea by her side, Laurel prepares to face what may be Avalon's final days, in the stunning conclusion to the Wings series.

I guess I'll start with the things I liked about this book:

1. The cover: The covers for all the Wings books are some of my favorites, to be honest. They are so pretty, and so unique. It matches the theme of the book, and it isn't an up-close-and-personal pic of some girl who looks nothing like the main character (I firmly believe that is becoming a terrible YA trend). I just think this book cover is so pretty. 
2. Tamani: I love me some Tamani. He's just all around amazing and cute and great and sweet and caring and freaking fantastic. He's always known what he wants (*cough* Laurel *cough*), and he's tried everything he can to win her over (which always ends up so darn sweet). I've been Team Tamani since the second book (I thought he was a little creepy in the 1st one, but then it all made sense and I liked him). I like him. A lot.
3. Avalon: I think Aprilynne Pike's take on the Fae realm is super cool, and really beautiful. Every author has a different take on it (I would know, I'm a sucker for fairy books), and her take was just incredibly cool. I like the caste system, and the way Tamani's take on it changes through the series. I loved the four seasons of fairies, and how they each had different abilities. 
4. The plot: Yeah, some of it was a little bit too fighty, but overall the plot was actually really interesting. I liked the whole Klea + Yuki thing, and how the fairies in Avalon each reacted to them. I liked the way David, Chelsea, Laurel, and Tamani worked together throughout the book. I really liked the whole revolution-stirring parts, they were super cool. Ummm, yeah.
5. Chelsea: She's just so darn adorable! I love how she has this big ol' crush on David, and the way she acts towards him. I love how brave she is, and how she helped her friends to win Avalon back. She's also pretty darn funny (way funnier than Laurel). I'd totally be friends with Chelsea. 

There was also some stuff I didn't really like:

1. David: I have never liked David. Even when I didn't like Tamani, I didn't like David. He was just too.... annoying nice. In the first book, he followed Laurel around like a lost puppy, and was just way too excited to be friends with her. I liked him a little better in this book, because he wasn't all jealous boyfriend, and he was actually doing something to help, but he still irritated me. I guess maybe him being all "Oh I only love Laurel" was to show what happens to humans and fairies? I don't know, but he did bug me.
2. The ending: (I guess I kind of love-hated this) It made me cry, guys. I don't cry often, and it was just so sad, and I totally cried. I mean, I already hate finishing series (I will be a mess after City of Heavenly Fire, just as a forewarning), and this ending, while happy, was still so sad! I just hate it when good stories end, I guess. It was good though, it isn't like I didn't like it, I just hated how sad I was when it was over.
3. The fighting: I liked the premise of the story, but I think she should have added a little more. Maybe more Laurel/Tamani? I'm not sure, but I just wanted something to break the fighting up a bit.

Overall, I really did like this book. It was fun to read, and definitely a series worth finishing. Plus, I loved the fairies. Fairies make me happy. I give this a 4 out of 5 stars.

So, yeah. I will be out of the country all next week, so I probably won't post anything (I could set stuff to post while I'm not here, but I haven't had time to read). 

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