Wings by J.C. Owens

Genre: Fantasy; Romance; M/M Romance; LGBT

My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

How I acquired this book: Kindle-loan from a friend.

Book Blurb: Anyar, a black-winged young guard, could only be accused of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He captures the attention of a commanding, beautiful white-winged prince of the enemy, Vanyae, and is swept away into the conflict between their peoples.

Vanyae takes the incredible, black-winged beauty from his home and all he knows to a place of submission, of slavery. And though Anyar vows never to give in and despairs of his freedom, Vanyae finds pleasure in his body and his spirit.


Even while the battle rages, Vanyae starts to realize that his black-winged bird is much more than a slave to him…


Publisher's Note: This book contains anal play/intercourse, dubious consent, male/male sexual practices, menage (m/m/m).

My Review: Ok, I'll admit it. I love wingfic.

There--that confession wasn't as hard as I thought it'd be! Now you know that my review might be a bit prejudiced.

As far as feathers go, this book hit all the right buttons for me. J.C. Owen's descriptions of the winged characters are beautiful, as is the intriguing world these two races inhabit. (I wish Owens had fleshed out that world a bit more, but that's tough to do in a novella.)

One of the winged races practices slavery, and most of the book revolves around the master-slave relationship between Vanyae and Anyar. Fortunately, Owens treats the subject seriously and the sense that slavery is wrong is never distant from the narrative.

Anyar, meanwhile, is a likable character, but I had trouble appreciating his relationship with Vanyae. Consent issues aside, I rarely saw these two interacting. The author skipped two months of their lives after Anyar's capture. Worse, the author summed up important scenes. I'm told the two men enjoyed a particular conversation and found that they had many views in common. But why did they enjoy the conversation? Did they laugh and joke during it? Did the they speak almost as equals, or did Anyar force himself to remain deferential? What views did they share? I have no way of knowing.

But problems like that aside, this is an enjoyable, fast-paced read. It's perfect for the beach or a rainy afternoon. And if wings are your thing, you won't want to miss this!

On Kindle: Yes. Find it on Amazon here.