The Girl Who Grew Wings

by Anna Waterworth

'A triumph' ANN SEI LIN
'This book has it all' ALEXANDRA CHRISTO
In the citadel of Appollis, the Gods bestow single gifts on a chosen few. Icari has always known she's a Healer, while her twin sister, Sephie, is cast as an Embalmer, despite showing early promise as an Alchemist - a secret the sisters keep to themselves for possessing two skills is punishable by death.

While Sephie learns how to wrap the dead, Icari eases the suffering of others, including a charismatic enemy prisoner called Caszeil. And it's to Caszeil that Icari turns when demons rise up from the Underworld and kidnap her sister. With his help, perhaps she can rescue Sephie. Even if this means growing wings - and flying in the face of the devil himself . . .

Praise for THE GIRL WHO GREW WINGS

'Greek mythology weaves beautifully between the epic romance and adventure. This book has it all: love, intrigue, and a sisterly bond that will change worlds.' ALEXANDRA CHRISTO author of TO KILL A KINGDOM

'The Girl Who Grew Wings is a triumph of a book, full of heart and magic and the strength of sisterly bonds.' ANN SEI LIN author of REBEL SKIES

'A soaring tale of sisterly love which captured my heart from the start and never let go.' BEX HOGAN author of THE ISLES OF STORM AND SORROW TRILOGY

'I was completely swept away by this breathtaking story of sisterly devotion, combining the myths of Icarus and Persephone into a magical and terrifying world I didn't want to leave.' KATHARINE CORR co-author of DAUGHTER OF DARKNESS

'Clever, angry, ferociously feminist, THE GIRL WHO GREW WINGS is a deftly woven and compulsive read.' LAURA WOOD author of THE AGENCY OF SCANDAL

'God, I loved it. Mythic beauty and rage at its best. It left me feeling like I could fly.' ALICE BROADWAY author of THE INK TRILOGY

'A gorgeous and deeply heartfelt Greek mythology-inspired fantasy complete with sweeping romance, thrilling adventure and tender explorations of trauma and sisterhood.' BEA FITZGERALD author of GIRL, GODDESS, QUEEN

'A genuinely fascinating and unique fantasy story...the brilliantly crafted twists and turns kept me guessing throughout. It all builds to a blockbuster of a finale. I loved it.' BEN OLIVER author of THE LOOP

'Sublime, evocative, and full of twists and turns. The Girl Who Grew Wings broke my heart and put it back together again.' NATALI SIMMONDS author of GOOD GIRLS DIE LAST

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance, Mythology, Magic, High Fantasy, Adventure

Paperback

About the author

Anna lives in the North East of England with her partner, three children, and two cats, and works as a Clinical Psychologist. She has been writing since she was old enough to hold a pen, but was first noticed by Chicken House in the 2015 Times/Chicken House writing competition. Anna writes under several pen names including Anna Rainbow and Anna Day, and has been published in 24 countries.

Reviews

[Patima · Rating 4 out of 5]

خیلی جالب بود و حسابی از خوندنش لذت بردم. با اینکه معمولا کتابای جدید رو توی یوتیوب دنبال می‌کنم، اما زیاد اسمی از این اثر نشنیده بودم. و خوندنش برام یادآوری کرد چقدر از داستانای با محوریت شیاطین و فرشته ها و… لذت می‌برم.
برای اینکه اسپویل نداشته باشه نظرم رو به طور کامل نمی‌گم. ولی واقعا واقعا دلم می‌خواد می‌تونستم یه چیز، فقط یه چیز رو درباره پایان کتاب تغییر می‌دادم .

[leah turoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought a random book that just went ahead and broke my heart?!?

[Marcia Arguelles · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has made me feel so many emotions all at the same time, all spread throughout. It took me a while to get into fully enjoying it, but when the plot thickened, I was hooked. I haven’t cried because of a book in a long time, but this book… it really made me feel heartbroken, shocked, betrayed, relieved… seriously, just wow.
The writing is beautiful and characters so deeply worked on and developed. It really is such a beautiful book!

[SAB · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a 3.5 to 4 star read for me. The cover of this book is so beautiful. I didn't know what to expect going into this, but it surprised me in a good way. While I wasn't a fan of the insta-love, I was able to overlook it as the story was interesting enough, and the characters strong enough to carry the story. It did go an interesting direction, but there was a mystery to unravel alongside the main story and there were clues that I missed along the way, so the reveal was a surprise. Early on I felt one of the characters was very man-hating, and the author note at the end makes mention that the story was written when she was feeling 'feminist rage', so that definitely came through. There is a bit of violence, but it all worked within the context. For a small book and a standalone, it punches above it's weight for sure and would recommend it.

[Kornelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

*Clears throat*
*Screams in pain* AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!
Casziel......HOW DARE THEY DO THAT!!!!!!!!!! MY BABY NOOOOOOOOOOOOO
I haven't cried so much since the song of achillies.....
Casziel sacrificed himself cuz he knew that as much as Icari loved him she couldn't live without her sister and that FUCKING BROKE me...
Once upon a time a healer with a heart too big for her chest met a monster with too much regret and they fell in love and I did as well....TOO FUCKING BAD HE HAD TO DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I will never get over that and the end then he said to her that he hopes she finds love again...that just crushed me.
Once upon a time a girl of gold met a prisoner of demon silver and looked beyond into his soul which she found glowed like an Angel's....
okay...
But the betrayal but not really and then the actual betrayal had me railing I swear at first when I thought Casziel actually betrayed Icari I near cried but them he didn't cuz he actually loved her and then the actually betrayal happened And I was not expecting it.
This story follows Icari a healer of gold and her sister Sephie a Alchemist of steel and their love for each other. There is no length Icari wouldn't go for Sephie and thats clear by the fact she legit when to the underworld to get her sister back. Also why pray do tell did Sephie get to be with Talia at the end and Icari couldn't have Casziel....could you really not just bring him back to life or something...*cries*
Also Aides was such a dick so glad the sisters showed him to never mess with anyone again and Uriel....well I don't know what to feel about that guy he was a mixed bag from the beginning but over all I LOVED LOVED LOVED this book. The consept and the execution are great and I was fully able to transmit myself into their world. Brilliant, Brilliant book.

[Danniella Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slow start but an amazing finish

[Tallulah Davey · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing book loved the characters and the story, the betrayal

[Amy's Book Nook · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

[Chloe · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book takes place over the course of ONE WEEK. SEVEN DAYS. The pacing here is INSANE.

Where to begin with this book…

We are given two sisters, who are the equivalent of damp cardboard. There is absolutely zero attempt to flesh either of them out except make one of them the token bi sister. And of course she’s the ‘bad’ and chaotic one. The straight sister is the angel (no pun intended). Sephie keeps randomly addressing the reader as ‘my friends’ as if she is telling us the story… then we shift straight back to third person limited POV… what? Icari keeps referring to her sister as darling and baby girl which makes me want to throw up and starts “sweet home Alabama” going in my head.

Now you might be thinking ah well poor characters maybe mean more page time given to the world? Wrong. This is one of the worst cases of white room syndrome I have seen in my life. There’s a moment where these girls go to an agora, and the word ‘agora’ is all the description that we are given. What if you were not in fact alive in Ancient Greece and therefore do not know what a bustling agora would look like? There a giant palace of some kind and ‘giant palace’ is all the description we get. I think there some glass ceiling somewhere because it gets shattered at some point but I truly do not understand a single thing about what is going on.

The first half was just boring, the second half? Was just bad.

The final conflict does not actually resolve anything. They plan to “stop the bad guy doing this” and effectively just put a paper bag over his head and shut him in a cupboard that does not lock. Not even a chair in front of the door.


Spoilers abound but I simply get these points of insanity off my chest:
1. icari sees a prisoner in the dungeons and decides to risk her life for him bc he has nice eyes. prisoners deserve healthcare and food, but she does not seem to give one single shit for the other prisoners who are presumably also injured and have been tortured and are hungry.
2. icari then falls in love with this demon after knowing him for about 4 days. is prepared to risk her life for him after 2 short conversations. are you MAD??? you must be insane. It’s not like 4 days where they spent every second together… it’s 4 days where she’s snuck maybe a total of 10 minutes of conversation through a cell door. But apparently he goes ‘oh sexual assault isn’t the best thing in the world’ and she swoons.
3. Talia left her FIANCÉE. BETROTHED. As in TO BE WED . for sephie after knowing her for less than a week. and she’d apparently been thinking about it for some time which i guess is a couple days… WHAT??? am i really supposed to root for that?? you don’t KNOW each other??? you announce you’re best friends after three days??? also, on finding out talia is engaged sephie just seems to ignore that fact and continue imagining them getting together?? that’s disrespectful honestly. Get in the BIN.
4. And perhaps most egregiously sephie is supposedly addicted to devil wing but also seems to function just fine without it. don’t treat addiction so lightly, as if its something that if she’s distracted from she’s fine. It’s more than that. Why even include it? And of COURSE the queer sister is the one with an addiction problem? The angel sister, the healer, the one on the straight and narrow, is the hetero sister? This is trad published. Did no one in all these rounds of editing clock this?

[Becca ♡ PrettyLittleMemoirs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Told in alternating POVs by twin sisters Icari and Sephie, we are transported to a place where magical gifts are a rare treasure, those powers belonging to healers, alchemists or embalmers. Whilst Icari was a born healer and it shows in how she harnesses her confidence with it, Sephie has the shock of her life when told she’s an embalmer—because she already has a power, as an alchemist. That wouldn’t be a terrible thing if having two powers were not a crime punishable by death, a secret the sisters keep close to their chests.

Bonded by heartache and strife, Icari and Sephie use and grow their powers alongside one another. It’s how Icari meets Caszeil, a charming enemy prisoner. But when winged demons rise and kidnap Sephie to the underworld, Icari is devastated and sets out to return her home. She’s not a born fighter as a healer, but for her sister, there’s nothing she wouldn’t do to bring her back. Only a pair of wings, however, could save her twin sister. She turns to Caszeil, the only person that she could trust to help her grow wings, but in doing so he risks everything—including his life—to fly into the face of the devil himself.

Overall, The Girl Who Grew Wings was full of sisterhood, tragedy and devotion, bursting at the seams with golden love and sacrifice, holding my heart so tight as I read pages into the night. I adored the alternating POVs of the twins, especially Icari—I understood her so well and my heart broke for her, and Sephie, with every ounce of strength they mustered to overcome darkness. I don’t want to spoil anything for readers, but Icari and Caszeil . . . my heart aches. I was already a fan of Greek Myth, but this book has solidified just how much I love the genre, and Anna’s story inspired by it. Five stars doesn’t feel enough. A must read.

[Sifa Poulton]

THE GIRL WHO GREW WINGS is a story of sisterhood and fighting for those you love.

The book is narrated by the two sisters Icari and Sephie as they struggle with the rules set down about their gifts and how to use them. While there is some romance in the book, the focus is the sisters' love for one another - and the lengths they'll go to in order to protect the other.

I liked the way the different romances in this book went. One of them in particular does not end in a typical style, which was very refreshing. And also very dark. This book is described as a dark fantasy. While I'd say it doesn't go all the way into dark fantasy, it is darker in tones and theme at time.

The book is not a direct retelling but it draws on areas of Greek Mythology, with the most obvious two being the stories of Icarus and Persephone. It is mostly story elements taken across from these tales as the world is very different - the gods are not the familiar ones from Ancient Greece, for example.

The tale wraps up by the end, complete without any threads hanging over for another book, making it a true standalone. I've read a few series and standalones-that-feel-like-they-want-to-be-series of late, so I liked getting the whole thing in one with a full sense of closure by the end.

[Insert Name Here · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loosely based on Greek mythology, this soaring - literally - fantasy is a beautiful celebration of sisterhood and bravery in terrible circumstances.

This is a wonderfully realised world, with information given to us at just the right speed so that we can understand what's going on without being overwhelmed by it. Alternating the POV between Icari and Sephie is a stroke of genius, as it allows us to see the world from two different points of view and to follow what's going on with one even when they're separated.

The language is great and I loved the twists - I guessed a couple, but I was taken by surprise by some others, which is the mark of good storytelling! If Anna wants to continue this, I'd love to see what happens next, but if this is all there is it's a good place to end.

Brilliant fantasy, highly recommended.

[Amy Packwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good story, if a little slow to get going. I love stories inspired by Greek mythology, but when used with dialogue containing contemporary British swear words and colloquialisms, it took me out of the experience more than once.

[Cerys · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn’t like how in Sephies povs she referred to us as “my friends” and then said her bit 😭

[Kelly Tan · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE PLOT, THE EXECUTION. 👏👏👏 Enticed me from the start.

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Bibi · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a slow start for me, but once it picked up, I really enjoyed it. Loved the female rage theme. I think there’s more to this story than this one book so hopefully there’ll be more ?

[ملیکا جواهری · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was unique!!!!

[Annie Charalambous · Rating 4 out of 5]

The girl did in fact grow wings!! Super fun fantasy

[Shirin · Rating 4 out of 5]

اگه کازیلِ قشنگم زنده می‌موند، این کتاب می‌شد یکی از پنج ستاره‌‌هام. 🥲

[AngelArcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Yasna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a question. How old are Icari and Sephie??? When their mother died and after that ???

[Kitchen Sink Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

Greek mythology is a goldmine of material for authors, so many and so fascinating are the possibilities, the stories. With what is only her second book (and I say that with a feeling of awe) Anna Waterworth brings us her own story, a high fantasy inspired by Greek myth. And not just one of the myths but two, cleverly woven together into a unique story. Such is the power of storytelling and the skill of Anna Waterworth as a writer that the reader does not need any knowledge of the myths she is using, this story stands alone, stands strong and proud, as do its characters. Borrowing a Greek myth to weave a new story is a practice the Greeks themselves would have approved of and I don’t doubt they would approve of The Girl Who Grew Wings.

Icari and Sephie (if you know your Greek myths you will instantly see one of the myths this story borrows from ~ Icarus) are twin sisters, in itself a magical occurrence and, as we see with the progression of the story, one that attracts unwanted attention from the underworld. They are both blessed with magic, living in a world where such a gift is bestowed upon only the rare few, even rarer still is the dual gifts of magic Sephie has been blessed with. However, if she wants to live, she will have to hide this fact or face the same fate as her poor mother. With both girls apprenticing to hone their skills the story develops, and the plot darkens. Icari is falling for a prisoner she soon realises is a Samael, a demon, but a demon like no other she will learn. When more demons appear, these to snatch Sephie and take her to the underworld there is only one way Icari can help. She must grow wings… Sisterhood, familial and romantic love, deceptions and truth over death fill this unputdownable tale.

Merged review:

Greek mythology is a goldmine of material for authors, so many and so fascinating are the possibilities, the stories. With what is only her second book (and I say that with a feeling of awe) Anna Waterworth brings us her own story, a high fantasy inspired by Greek myth. And not just one of the myths but two, cleverly woven together into a unique story. Such is the power of storytelling and the skill of Anna Waterworth as a writer that the reader does not need any knowledge of the myths she is using, this story stands alone, stands strong and proud, as do its characters. Borrowing a Greek myth to weave a new story is a practice the Greeks themselves would have approved of and I don’t doubt they would approve of The Girl Who Grew Wings.

Icari and Sephie (if you know your Greek myths you will instantly see one of the myths this story borrows from ~ Icarus) are twin sisters, in itself a magical occurrence and, as we see with the progression of the story, one that attracts unwanted attention from the underworld. They are both blessed with magic, living in a world where such a gift is bestowed upon only the rare few, even rarer still is the dual gifts of magic Sephie has been blessed with. However, if she wants to live, she will have to hide this fact or face the same fate as her poor mother. With both girls apprenticing to hone their skills the story develops, and the plot darkens. Icari is falling for a prisoner she soon realises is a Samael, a demon, but a demon like no other she will learn. When more demons appear, these to snatch Sephie and take her to the underworld there is only one way Icari can help. She must grow wings… Sisterhood, familial and romantic love, deceptions and truth over death fill this unputdownable tale.

[Marthe Sofie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5🌟

This book, this beautiful, heart wrenching book. I don’t usually cry when I read a book. But this book made me feel so many emotions. It was so beautifully written and the love for the characters just deepened as I kept reading on.
You can see the inspiration of the Greek tales of Persephone and Hades, and Icarus. But Anna Waterworth makes her own world with Healers, Embalmers and Alchemists. It makes you want to choose where you want to belong (like Percy Jackson, The Hunger Games and Divergent), and that kinda makes you a part of the story.

I really enjoyed the book. You don’t have to spend pages getting introduced to the world, it kinda dumps on you, but it’s not to much. The only thing that I found not so enjoyable was the phasing. But that was mostly at the start as I wanted the story to move on and get the to the exciting parts. When I got there, the book did not disappoint.

I may write a “better“ review later on. But I just wanted to write how I felt about the book right after I finished it. Getting out those fresh thoughts, you know😊