On a Dark Wing: Review

Title: On a Dark Wing

Author: Jordan Dane

Release Date: December 2011

Published By: Harlequin Teen

Pages: 320

Goodreads Rating: 3.21 stars

Review: Five years ago, Abbey cheated Death but lost her mother. Now, she's crossed paths with Death yet again in the form of an ethereal boy made of clouds and sky. She's the target of his ravens, but it's worse than that. He's stalking her secret crush, Nate Holden, because of her. And Abbey learns the hard way that Death never, ever forgets.

ON A DARK WING has an intriguing concept pitched through the summary, but unfortunately I found it very difficult to enjoy the story because the characters just didn't feel believable to me. Abbey in particular seemed almost completely flat and made some decisions that I found to be, well, not exactly the smartest of all decisions. In short, her character's motivations were lacking and the character itself seemed nearly non-existent.

Along that vein, the romance between Abbey and Tanner felt more contrived than anything else, and I didn't really feel like the book led up to that quite properly. It just seemed to come out nowhere without much development, and the romance itself wasn't as good as it could have been, especially since Abbey switched over to Tanner from her borderline obsessive crush on Nate from out of nowhere.

I will say, though, that the concept itself was pretty intriguing. I only wish that the author gave more opportunities to gain a deeper understanding of some of the situations presented in the novel. For instance, I would like to know more about Death and the various forms he chooses to take, since that particular aspect felt a bit on the under-developed side.

All in all, ON A DARK WING ultimately disappointed me, with a fairly flat cast of characters and a lack of development in both the romance and the concept. The writing shows promise, though, and it's not a bad read if you're a fan of paranormal fiction.