White Wings Weeping

Wings #3

by Lesley Davis

What happens when nightmares come true?
Kieran Lee is plagued by disturbing demon-filled dreams that are bleeding out into reality. Driven to the brink of madness by a deadly compulsion she cannot control, Kieran finds herself an unwilling patient in a psych unit. She knows that no amount of medication or therapy is going to help her in this fight for her very soul.
Dr. Merlo Blue is no stranger to the human mind and quickly realizes Kieran is no ordinary patient. Instead, the assistance of a demon-hunting private investigator and select members from the Deviant Data Unit is required. They alone can determine if Kieran’s dreams are angst-filled nightmares or a dire warning sent from the underworld itself, foretelling death and destruction on a massive scale.
The world is full of discord and hatred, but how much of it is just human nature when an evil with sinister intent is invading people’s hearts?

Genres: LGBT, Lesbian, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy

280 pages, ebook

First published May 15, 2018

About the author

Lesley Davis lives in the West Midlands of England. She is a die-hard sci-fi/fantasy fan in all its forms and an extremely passionate gamer.

Reviews

[Lex Kent · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars. This is the third and I am guessing finale book in the Wings series. I’m guessing this is the end since all the loose ends seem to be tied up. But I’d be happy if I was wrong since I’ve grown attached to all the characters. I enjoyed this read though the second book is till my favorite. While it would be helpful to read these books in order, I would suggest at least reading book 2 first. I think starting at book 2 would give enough background to understand this book fully.

The first two books are urban fantasy/crime/romances, while this book is straight up urban fantasy-romance. This book is all about good vs. evil, angles vs demons, with a little romance thrown in. They way these books work is each book is about two new main characters, and then eventually the characters from the previous books join them. In this book we meet Kieran. Kieran is plagued by seeing visions of Hell on earth. She wants to escape the madness and keeps trying to commit suicide. But no matter what she tries, something always goes wrong and she stays alive. After her latest attempt, she winds up in a psychiatric hospital in front of Dr. Blue. If only she can convince the doctor she is not crazy so she can get out and try to kill herself again. But Dr. Merlo Blue isn’t a normal doctor; she has secrets of her own. And once she realizes what is going on with Kieran, it is up to the doctor and her friends to save Kieran and maybe just the world.

I absolutely enjoyed this read and thought it worked really well as a possible finale to the series. The reason I didn’t enjoy it as much as book 2 is the romance is not as good. It is okay, I just wish we had more time with the mains together. What is really going on with Kieran, and I won’t mention for spoiler reasons, it is not very conducive for a romance. There was a lot Kieran had to deal with so I understand the romance not playing as large of a part as I hoped. It is okay all things considering, I just wanted a tad bit more. It’s one of the reasons I’m hoping for a book 4, I would love more time with this couple.

What I really enjoyed about this book was the urban fantasy parts of it. The imagination Davis has is really impressive. I thought the new secondary character and her cool powers were great. Plus I loved who and what Doctor Blue really is. That was a twist I didn’t see coming. And just clever because it is not something urban fantasy/paranormal authors really use as a magical being. On top of the cool new characters, this book had a big climax. A big “we must save the world” climax scene that was also well done and exciting to read about.

As an urban fantasy fan, this book was right up my alley. If you have read the first books, absolutely get this one. If you are new to the series, I highly recommend at least reading book 2, Pale Wings Protecting, before this one. This series has opened my eyes to Davis as a writer and I look forward to checking out her other books.

An ARC was given to me by BSB, for a honest review.

[Joc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lesbian romance, demonic possession, epic battles between good and evil… what’s not to like? Dr Merlo Blue has a new patient in the psychiatric clinic who has tried to kill herself more than once. Kieran Lee is not very good at suicide and this time she’s landed herself in a clinic headed by a self-important chauvinist who thinks Dr Blue’s methods are too touchy-feely and that Kieran needs a heavier hand. It’s not long before Merlo realises that there might be a lot more to Kieran’s suicide attempts than depression.

There is wonderful tension in the first half of the book and I really enjoyed the clinic setting with the interplay between mental dysfunction versus demonic possession. The second felt a little like uncontrolled mayhem but even then I enjoyed the dynamics between the characters. I was disconcerted when a story line of Atlantis was chucked in for good measure and I had a fleeting thought: But Atlantis doesn’t exist. I laughed at myself and carried on reading.

I liked both Merlo and Kieran as characters but was more drawn to Kieran and I think it was because Merlo had a lot of potential but I found she was absent from many of the scenes she could have been actively involved in. Hands down, though, my favourite character in the series is Rafe, in both this and the second book.

This is the third in the series but I have only read this one and book two. Characters from both of the first two books are in this one and it could still probably be read as a standalone but there will be some information loss. Rafe and Ashley’s story is in book one and I think I will go back and read it at some point.

Book received from Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.

[Dev · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received an ARC copy of this book from NetGalley

This is probably more of a 2.5 but I rounded down because I kept losing focus and skimming a lot. I think this could easily be a 3 or even 4 star book for some people but for me there were a few issues [some of which are kind of my fault anyway].

First, I didn't realize this was the third book in a series when I requested it. I think it can more or less stand alone because the two main characters are new to this book, but it seems like all the side characters are protagonists from the previous two books so I definitely felt like I was missing something and kept going 'wait, who ARE all these people???'.

Second, it was ...a lot more fantasy-ish than I was expecting? I guess this also probably could have been avoided had I read the earlier books, but the summary makes it sound like the story is going to take place mostly in the hospital and also that it's going to be kind of like 'oh, is demons or is she just sick?' so I was definitely expecting the whole thing to be much more ...subtle I guess? Instead they're out of the hospital by the 30% mark probably and then everyone and their mother is revealed to either be an angel or some other supernatural being and we rush headlong into very standard angels-and-demons urban fantasy fare.

There is nothing inherently wrong with any of that, but it just wasn't what I was looking for and because of it I couldn't really enjoy this book. Also there is one sex scene and it's around the 75% mark if you are looking to either find or avoid that ;)

[Bugs · Rating 5 out of 5]

*This commentary applies to all three books in this "Wings" trilogy.*

After coming off a reading high with Lesley Davis' latest brilliant romance novel, "Playing with Fire," I wanted to explore more of her writing and stories. Imagine my delight when I saw that she also wrote in the paranormal genre! Why, it's only one of my favourite genres! And it was a trilogy! Plus, when mixed with crime/mystery and romance, too?! Cor! Not only that but....

Angels & Demons?! Gods & monsters?! Demigods?! Oracles?! Immortals?! Awakened (humming "was blind but now I see....") souls?! Possessions?! All congregated in the same time-space with, dare I say...(gasp!)...Ordinary humans running around, too?! Good vs Evil?! Heaven & Hell?! The Underworld?! Bloody hell!

Also, maybe it's the fact that I've just recently watched Amazon's Neil Gaiman/Terry Prachett-adapted mini-series, "Good Omens," which I absolutely adored because of its sheer audacity, satire and endlessly hilarious presentation! So, that "heavenly/hellishly," "divine" feel prolly lent to my immediate pounce on Davis' Trilogy, besides my obvious interest in the genre! Either way....

3 words: Hook. Line. Sinker.

By the end of the trilogy, I was well and truly entertained, satiated, satisfied. In ALL aspects of what I was looking for in this particular paranormal angle, including obviously, a delish romance wrapped around every installment! Best few hours spent devouring all three books back-to-back, in one fell swoop! End of.

Full commentary here... In Bugs' Own Words

[Evren (Nonbinary Knight Reads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third book in Lesley Davis’ Wings series, and I highly recommend reading these books in order so that you have a full understanding of what’s going on.

This is probably my least favorite of the series. It’s well-written and intriguing, don’t get me wrong, but it’s a lot more focused on all the supernatural stuff than on the romance.

This book features Kieran and Merlo. Kieran is hospitalized after yet another failed suicide attempt and she’s planning what she has to say in order to get out of the hospital as soon as possible. Something is coming, she can see it, but no one believes her. Merlo is her doctor in the new facility. A woman with secrets, Merlo tries her best to help all her patients but something about Kieran is different. Something about Kieran doesn’t seem to fit into the situation. The two have to bond while fighting like hell to determine what Kieran’s dreams mean, and if they are really dreams.

I liked the characters well enough, and it was nice to see the characters from the previous installments return for this book. Merlo is a nice character, but it didn’t feel like there was much to her. Considering her background, I just feel like she should have been more than what she was. Kieran on the other was a great character and I quite like how she was portrayed. She’s had a rough couple of years, and it makes it so easy to want to see her come out of everything on top. I do regret that there wasn’t more time spent between the two to watch their relationship fully develop.

There are a couple of things that I personally didn’t like about this book. My first issue is the story of Merlo. While she has an interesting backstory and it adds another level to the world that Davis has created in these books, it just felt a bit out of left field. Dina made more sense to me than Merlo did. My other issue is about what we learn about Kieran, about what’s causing her dreams. I’m putting it behind a spoiler tag because it does have spoilers and it contains information about Kieran’s parentage. It felt unnecessary to have her be a third kid of Lucian. Ashley being his kid, sure. Him having had another kid with another woman, okay makes some sense. It just felt forced for him to have just so happened to have another kid who he can mentally connect with in order to show her the plans through his eyes. I just feel like her being the child of a different demon still could have worked, but who knows. I also don’t like that he got redemption. I’m not against it necessarily but just the fact that two of his kids struggled through years without him but it’s the third kid he suddenly wants to selflessly help. I might just be reading too much into that interaction, but it bothered me.

This is a good book for a finale, especially with the action, but the romance was more of a side story in this one than in the previous two books.

[Samantha Hicks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lesley smashes it out of the park again with this third installment of the 'wings' series. As with all of her books I was not disappointed. I stayed up until three in the morning because I just had to finish it. She is one of the few authors who can make me forget I am reading a novel and suck me into the story. Kieran's desperation is heartbreaking and reminds me of all the 'demons' we all face within ourselves, and I felt her pain throughout. I'm not ashamed to say I cried at the end. It was good to see Rafe back also, I love her quick wit and fierce protection of those she loves. Lesley's writing style is compelling and her description of events gives you just enough to imagine what is happening without going on and on. I'm sure I won't be the only one hoping for a fourth installment.

[Kimberlee · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had a real problem getting into this book. I have not read this author before and it seems as though this book can stand apart from the author's other books, though there is some backstory missing. White Wings Weeping follows the story of Kieran, who starts out in a mental institution due to suicide attempts. Dr. Merlo Blue is her assigned psychologist, who is also an empath, who is also associated with the angel world, apparently. The problem I had with this book is the author has a full cast of lesbian characters, so she is trying to push all boundaries, which wouldn't be a problem, except she makes it a point to keep pointing it out. Let the characters just live their life. As a pansexual myself, I don't go around pointing out how gay I am all the time. My life is just my life. But that was not my biggest problem with this book.

This was - Around 60% in, the author introduces a new character, named Kosumba. The author states that this is a black archangel and then in the next sentence points out, "isn't that going to drive those so-called Christians mad who are stuck in their racist thinking" or something very close to this sentence. So instead of letting this beautiful African character stand on her own, the author is doing exactly what those so-called Christians are doing. She is using the race of this character as a "gotcha" character and pointing it out in the process. That just isn't right. It's racist and disgraceful.

[Bea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I like the premise a lot and the author did a great job of pulling the reader into the story. Even though I discovered partway through that this book was the third in a series, I was able to follow along. I was captivated as soon as the story began and I stayed that way throughout!

This book is similar to some of Frank E. Peretti’s thriller sci-fi Christian books. If you liked those you may like these. However this book has a definite twist with a female interpretation of religion and female characters dominating throughout. I loved it! I was celebrating with all the other women out there who think that religion has been misinterpreted for years by men. I was thrilled to find strong female characters and a fascinating story! I wanted to see the angels and know that they are with me too! Wow... amazing!

I had not read the previous two books in the series but I jumped over to Amazon and downloaded them to my Kindle (a very rare occurrence)! I can’t wait to read the series from the beginning. The author has captured my interest and I will be certain to follow her from now on. Now I see that she has lots of books out there so I plan to be busy for awhile!

I received a copy of White Wings Weeping through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I am grateful to Bold Stroke Books and Lesley Davis for the opportunity.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, what an emotional ride. I’ve only just caught my breath after the phenomenal ending where demons and angels fight to the death. This is the third book in the Wings series and Lesley Davis has surpassed herself. Our main character is Kieran who ends up in a psych ward after yet another unsuccessful suicide attempt. But this isn’t a cry for help, Kieran really wants to die. She believes she is mad because of the visions she experiences and she cannot cope with the horror she sees and feels.

Dr Merlo Blue is no ordinary doctor and she knows Kieran is no ordinary patient, so she enlists her friends in the Deviant Data Unit. Together they try to help Kieran understand what is happening to her and then deal with the visions. The book is poetic in places, scary in places, incredibly moving in places and also funny in places – usually courtesy of Rafe who is as brilliant as ever.

If you haven’t read the first two books, then do yourself a favour and start there cos you’ll get more out of this if you know the background. This does stand alone, however, if you do want to dive in. An excellent read and recommended if you like paranormal, stories with depth or something just a little bit different.

I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley in return for an honest review.

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rec'd an Arc from NetGalley/Bold Strokes Books in exchange for an honest review.
A paranormal romance with sex and angst that is #3 in the Wings Series. To really understand the characters, it is helpful to read books 1 and 2 but not absolutely necessary. Main lead Kieran is compellingly written as a flawed individual seeking help and is ably supported in the storyline by Dr. Merlo Blue. I read slowly, re-reading sections to fully appreciate and savour the plot. I recommend this book with 4.5 stars.

[L1ll14n · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this without realising there are previous books in the series, so at times I felt like I was missing some backstory with some of the characters. It did not make me enjoy the story any less though.
This is a good urban fantasy story with demon possession, kick-ass women, and a war between angels and demons. It is action-packed and fast moving. I enjoyed it.
Advanced reading copy provided by NetGalley for an honest review.

[Samantha Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

3/3 series....WORTH IT!!!!

Well worth it. Book three of the series. Action packed and full of love. If you are looking for a new series start with dark wings, you will not want to stop reading and will see what I mean.
This novel did not disappoint.