Missing Wings

by Andrea Luhman

Born with an ability the Veilede people of Madar believe make her ‘one of the first to be blessed by God’, Katrina’s destiny unravels when her father is poisoned and her mother steals her into the human world to hide among those who hate her kind.

In a near fatal attempt to return home, Katrina’s stripped of her wings. The poison meant to kill her father leaves him in a degenerative state. When her eldest brother discovers she has survived, he orders her to stay in hiding. She must wait, concealed in the human world, until the danger of their father’s uncontrolled rages is contained.

Grown and adapted to the human world, Katrina encounters one of her kind. The promise of home and first love leads her into a situation capable of starting war among the Veilede. Will a human upbringing, mistakes, and the loss of her abilities bar her from reclaiming her heritage? Will unraveling the mystery of her mother’s betrayal lead her family into even greater danger?

Genres: Fantasy, Fantasy Romance, Romance, Romantasy, High Fantasy, Fiction, Angels

386 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 12, 2018

About the author

A Minnesota native who attended the University of Minnesota, where she studied playwriting and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Theatre Arts. She served over ten years in the United States Army, and did a lot of non-fiction report writing as a Military Intelligence Officer. Now a civilian, wife, and mother of four she works full time writing fantasy fiction novels. Her interests include reading, scrapbooking, and photography.

Reviews

[Carlymce · Rating 5 out of 5]

High fantasy of the best kind, Missing Wings completely transported me into a world full of genuine characters and engaging plot.

[Gregory Crouch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thrilling action fantasy romance in a world populated by shape-shifting creatures called the Veilede. Part angel, part demon, very human. Tons of fun.

[Tony Parsons · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mozgas Palace. Regent Palvadon Aranysarga (father/husband, Mozgas Province), Princess Katrina Aranysarga, Lady Lena (daughter/sister), & Prince Solyom “Sol” Aranysarga (2nd son/brother) were enjoying their meal.
Princess Katrina Aranysarga asked where Lady Lena (Pavaldon’s 3rd wife/mother) was.
Her father said she was visiting Lord Larksbur (husband, grandfather) & Lady Larksbur (wife, grandmother, Lavieth).

Lady Tellydia (Pavaldon’s 1st wife, Valgu’s mother) had no reply.
The children went out to play.
Prince Massie Aranysarga (Regina Delany 3rd son, Katrina’s younger brother) was enjoying playing with a snake he had found.
Prince Valgustatuile “Valgu” Aranysarga (Lady Fayette, Katrina’s oldest brother) ripped the creatures head off.
Regina Delany Aranysarga (Pavaldon’s 4th wife, Airetti) was watching them play.
Regent Palvadon Aranysarga went out to play with Princess Katrina. He did seem to favor her.
Princess Owl Aranysarga (Regina Delany, 2nd daughter/sister) had joined the others inside.
Pha (Alvara guardian) had a watchful eye on her.
Prince Valgu (Mahigan; black scaled warrior/shifter) would soon be off for his training.
What happened to Lady Tellydia & Regina Delany?
What did Lady Lena tell Princess Katrina?
What were Lord Dacamera (Bisma, north) & Lady Lena arguing over?
Princess Katrina went to see Linbodo (crew). It did not end well for either 1 of them.
What happened between Puternic & Princess Katrina?
Etrasa. The Cadets were having their final field test. General Gerros Taylor (Cadets C/O), & Instructor Wells were all eyes/ears.
Cadet Katrina Larksbur, Cadet Thedmir (m), Cadet Mickle (m), Cadet Trax, Cadet Staley (f), Cadet Voss (m), & Cadet Vacek (m) were hoping they would not be cut.
Cadet Voss, Cadet Flint, Cadet Nellmon, & Cadet Larksbur were now at a grade # 4 level.
Captain Jance Willmont was here to present the honors to some.
What else does he have planned?
Cadet Chadwick, Cadet Bronson, Cadet Siers, & Cadet Monten received their respective awards.
Later, Prince Solyom “Sol” Aranysarga (Mahigan, 2nd son) had died.
Now Massie’s wife, Bedelia is missing.
Lord Jerard, treaty between Mozgas/Lavieth, Jerard Larksbur, Minister Cantor, Inspector Stepfeld, General Luca, Colonel Olyn Roiger, Major Kaldyr Ehnis, Tvarchus, Gryph, Elder Gryphon, Jance, Owl, Uncle, Lord Jerard Larksbur. Raynes Janke, herby present the Gideem of my family to Princess Delany Aranysarga.

What was Tegija Wythe (Consort to the Regina of Mozgas) plan?

A list of characters would have been helpful.

I did not receive any type of compensation for reading & reviewing this book. While I receive free books from publishers & authors, I am under no obligation to write a positive review. Only an honest one.

A very awesome book cover, great font & writing style. A very well written fantasy book. It was very easy for me to read/follow from start/finish & never a dull moment. There were no grammar/typo errors, nor any repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios, with several twists/turns & a huge set of unique characters to keep track of. This could also make another great fantasy movie, an animated cartoon, or better yet a mini TV series. Not my normal read but I will still rate it at 4/5 stars.

Thank you for the free author; Goodreads; MakingConnections; Making Connections discussion group talk; Amazon Digital Services LLC.; book
Tony Parsons MSW (Washburn)

[Katia123 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the storyline for this book and found the characters fascinating. The writing style and the picture painted were amazing. All the details made each scene so vivid and the character development made this book so easy to read and enjoy. Andrea Luhman's has a natural talent and knows exactly how to write a captivating novel. I know the rest of the series is going to be spectacular.

[Peaches · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Missing Wings' by Andrea Luhman is a coming of age tale with a difference. Katrina, like many other young girls, has troubles with her parents, except hers are a little more extreme. Her father has been poisoned and is no longer himself, and her mother betrays her in the most horrible way. Oh, and Katrina is a mystical being who has had her wings stripped causing her otherworldly abilities to fade. Will Katrina ever be able to return home to Madar to her family?

I really enjoyed Missing Wings - it was intriguing, interesting, and the plot was unique to me and I have read a lot of fantasy fiction. Katerina is a great protagonist, and I think she will be inspirational to many teenage girls. She is strong and passionate, and she knows who she is. A great read.

[ZoeL · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was given this book by a friend to read while staying home and although it's not something I would usually have chosen for myself I did actually enjoy it. The descriptive language and so much detail made it much easier than I expected to imagine this fantasy world. It must take real talent to come up with such storylines and make them so accessible for the reader.

[Pegboard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Missing Wings: Chronicles of the Aranysargas by Andrea Luhman is woven around a young girl whose mother has stolen her away from her loving family and subjected her to cruelty for her own unknown gain. Princess Katrina is ten when her human mother, Lena, tries poisoning her father. Katrina is a magical being, like most from her homeland, which is destined for greatness. It takes many years for her to come home and reunite with the ones she loves.

I found Missing Wings an excellent fantasy novel. I was surprised that is was Andrea Lulman's premier novel as it was so well-written and well-developed. This novel has a multitude of characters and places, but the novel flows admirably. It is hard to summarize a book that has so much action in it unless you focus on just one event. Overall, this book has a lot of meat to it and would not be a mindless read. The author is brave enough to kill off characters and change up allies. I am looking forward to more from this author.

[Sparrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first time I have read a book of this genre and I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy it but I certainly did. The explanation and scene setting at the beginning was a really nice touch and it certainly helped to be able to refer back throughout the book. I really liked that while being a fantasy novel it was still very reflective of real life trials and tribulations and it was a pleasure to follow Katrina's story. The characters were wonderful and the descriptive language used was very immersive and painted a very vivid picture.

[Aniko Nagyne vig · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great story in a wonderful new world and excellent storytelling. It was a page turner, with humor, romance, friendships, relationships, action, and descriptions of the world all nicely balanced. The storyline is twisting, full of surprises. The characters are detailed, unique

The world is full human like creatures, with special abilities to change, angels, prophets, dragons, shapeshifters, minotaurs.

I loved the naming convections, it has a lot of Hungarian words for the areas and types. It added a fun layer. Maybe the other names were from other languages I didn’t recognize.

Aranysarga - golden yellow: based on the ruling family’s dominant golden blond hair color
Madar - bird: the name of the flying bat winged scaly dragons
Mozgas- moving, movement: the home of the Aranysarga
Solyom - falcon: the name of a mahigan prince
Regiek - the old ones


The map really helped, with the geography and travel in the book. I still can’t place Bisma, where the war, in my mind it should be North over lavieth castle?

I loved that they always had tea, and had friendly or family discussion while sipping tea. I’m a tea person too 😉

I’m sure I would read the follow up novels, even if this was a well rounded story, there are so many other main characters who can be fit for the next one.


I got the book on a goodreads giveaway, thank you!

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn’t put this down! It took me to a whole new world that I felt truly a part of. I loved the character development and new kinds of beings. There is action, love, drama, tragedy, deception.... only thing I don’t like is having to wait for the next book! It’s a reread for sure! Enjoy.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the world building and the characters. I hope to read more of this world since this book drew me in.

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Katrina is born with angel wings, yet her mother pulls her to be human and has her wings removed. Katrina must fight and train to take over the kingdom and save her beloved father. She also must marry, but who will marry someone who is human and is also from another realm? Puternic claims her as his own, but they are parted. She meets Tegija and falls in love.
They battle and win and must try to save Pha. When Katrina sees her father again, her wings have been restored.
This is a battle of different worlds, of good and evil, and if love can conquer all. If you like fantasy, this is a book you will enjoy. First in a series.
#MissingWingsChroniclesoftheAranysargas #AndreaLuhman

[Monica Reents · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Missing Wings is a shape-shifting fantasy novel with family drama, romance, tragedy, action, adventure, and mystery.
I enjoyed the writing, world building, and character development. The author did a wonderful job sharing the story of Katrina and I found myself having a difficult time putting the book down. Many aspects of the book mirrored a realistic feel, while maintaining fantastical and magical. Which made the story believable and highly entertaining.
Highly recommend!

[Grymm Gevierre · Rating 4 out of 5]

Andrea Luhman has crafted the foundation of a potential heavy-hitter fantasy series. The story is creative, and although some of the concepts are not original (good vs. evil, hope through despair, for example) they are done in a unique way. It’s clear that Luhman has worked hard at her craft and it comes through with some descriptive storytelling.

This story is character dense, but many of the characters and world-building elements were done well. It can be hard to keep up with so much, but Luhman did a good job of balancing story and development rather than sacrificing flow to keep it going. I did find of some of the characters unnecessary, even if they were developed well.

We follow Princess Katrina here, who essentially gets betrayed by immediate family because of (her mother’s) selfishness, and our beloved protagonist is stuck with the fallout of that betrayal. Princess Katrina does find her space and where she belongs, and there are no real lulls in the story during her adventure to get there.

It’s pretty clear this is the foundation of the universe and world around the good Princess. I think there are a lot of elements here that got crammed into the book and under normal circumstances would have been bulky. Luhman did a good job of balancing it, though, but I did feel at times that some of the world-building/characters really could have been side-stories. The book is full of action, and the writing is solid. I’d recommend reading this book if you like fantasy, just be ready to meet the entire cast list.

[Lenor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mystical fiction is not one of the genres I usually read, however; Missing Wings is one of a kind, in a fantasy world where great characters develop, and it is such an easy reading. This is a book to get lost and find new worlds.

A story about a girl, Katrina with angel wings; who is taken away from everything she knows, and at the same time her wings are removed so she can live in a new world without the attention of her beautiful wings. Fighting to get back to the world she knew, she needs to fight for her father and in the meantime, she’s falling in love but the battle between good and evil is just beginning.

[Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.9

"May we have the courage to face the bad and see the good."

The plot and characters are awesome. But I feel like this could easily be a 4.5+ star book with a better editor. There is something brilliant, beautiful, and original here, and with a better editor that could be amplified.

Pros:
- Originality. I've never read a universe like this.
- Enthralling. Mostly the first 20%, and then it picks up again after the 60% mark.
- Complicated characters.
- Coming of age. Sometimes the MC's poor decisions are frustrating, but I'm pretty sure that's the point.

Cons:
- My only biggest gripe is the editing, really. A better editor could catch some of the grammar mistakes, and made the middle of the story stronger.
- There's only one book released, which makes me sad.

Oh, and despite the shelving of this book, it's absolutely not Contemporary Fiction. 🙄

Final quote for the road:
“A dear friend of mine once told me, think about a successful end and assume that’s where you’re going.”

[Bluebird · Rating 5 out of 5]

This a a great book for fantasy lovers. As someone relatively new to the genre I sometimes feel lost when learning about new worlds and characters but I was able to follow everything easily in Missing Wings; the guide at the being really helped with that. The book is also very well written and the story flowed nicely. I thought the details and descriptions of the characters and places was fantastic. What a great story!

[DaisyMae]

What a great fantasy novel. Lehman has broken away from cliches and created an engaging new world with some amazing and complex characters. The descriptive dialogue really emerges you into a fantastical world while addressing a number of varied real life topics. I absolutely loved this book and can't wait to see what comes next from this truly talented author.

[Sunshine_45 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Missing Wings is such a creative book packed full of characters and incredible settings. There is also a map of the land and a very useful list of the characters inhabiting said land. The book keeps a good tempo and the flow is consistent. The writing is strong and this book is remarkable, especially for being the authors first. A wonderful fantasy mystery type story that didn't disappoint.

[Sara Downard · Rating 3 out of 5]

For Supernatural lovers

A good easy read to escape to fictionland with. I won this book and it took me awhile to get it completed is the only downfall I found. I'm thinking that is because it is not my normal genre

[Luis Humberto Molinar Márquez · Rating 4 out of 5]

[English review + Reseña en español]

Missing Wings: Chronicles of the Aranysargas by Andrea Luhman Forster
2018
386 pages
Fiction / Fantasy, romance, family politics.

The eternal struggle for individual freedoms, respect for the person and the right to the truth are evidente in this story that evolves under the polygamous family regime of the fantastic land of Madar, where roles and marriages are decided according to strict social and religious protocols. The sex and origin of the people define their possibilities and, behind these social impositions, certain secret agreements, resentments and personal selfishness sow seeds of violence and division between people and families.

Katrina's mother, the third of six wives of the regent of Mozgas province, has just returned from an unforeseen trip. Upon her return, chaos and violence break out in the palace and Katrina is forced by her mother to flee with her to distant lands, where a group of people, totally alien to her life, seeks to radically change her destiny. Katrina needs to go home at all costs and find out what is behind her mother's incomprehensible behavior.

This first installment of the chronicles of the Aranysargas family recounts Katrina's untimely flight and efforts to return home and take charge of her own path, while introducing the more than fifteen members of her family and several other very well characterized characters that will be an important part of Princess Katrina’s life since her forced trip out of Mozgas. The narrative is solid, coherent, full of dialogue and action, and it lays the foundation for a fantastic world where politics and social relations are fundamental.

I recommend this book if you like fantasy, are looking for well-armed social and political worlds, and are not afraid to face dense narratives with numerous characters that set the first step to a long journey.


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Missing Wings: Chronicles of the Aranysargas, de Andrea Luhman Forster
2018
386 páginas
Ficción / Fantasía, romance, políticas familiares.

La eterna lucha por las libertades individuales, el respeto a persona y el derecho a la verdad se hacen patentes en esta historia desarrollada bajo el régimen familiar polígamo de la fantástica tierra de Madar, en donde los roles y los matrimonios se deciden de acuerdo con protocolos sociales y religiosos estrictos. El sexo y origen de las personas definen sus posibilidades y, detrás de estas imposiciones sociales, ciertos acuerdos secretos, rencores y egoísmos personales siembran entre las personas y las familias semillas de violencia y división.

La madre de Katrina, tercera de seis esposas del regente de la provincia de Mozgas acaba de volver de un viaje imprevisto. A su regreso, el caos y la violencia se desatan en el palacio y Katrina es obligada por su madre a huir con ella a tierras lejanas, donde un grupo de personas totalmente ajeno a su vida pretende cambiar de manera radical su destino. Katrina necesita regresar a casa a toda costa y descubrir qué hay detrás de la incomprensible conducta de su madre.

Esta primera entrega de las crónicas de la familia Aranysargas relata la huida intempestiva y los esfuerzos de Katrina por volver a casa y tomar las riendas de su propio camino, a la vez que presenta a los más de quince miembros de su familia y a varios otros muy bien caracterizados personajes que formarán parte importante de la vida de la princesa Katrina a partir de su viaje forzado fuera de Mozgas. La narrativa es sólida, coherente, llena de diálogos y acción, y sienta las bases para un mundo fantástico donde la política y las relaciones sociales son fundamentales.

Te recomiendo este libro si te gusta la fantasía, buscas mundos social y políticamente bien armados, y no temes enfrentarte a narrativas densas con personajes numerosos que propone un primer paso de un largo viaje.

[Anika · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've never been unable to put a book down and bored by it at the same time. Missing Wings was a peculiar case for me because I truly wanted to love it, but had to be honest by the end of the day.

This book had so much going for it. There were dozens of well-thought-out characters, a great setup, and the author's writing style genuinely intrigued me. Nevertheless, everything else was mediocre at best.
Firstly, the entire story lacked tension. Never thought stress and tension were something I'd miss, but now I truly understand why it is necessary for the plot. When one creates a problem (as part of the plot), the characters must have the motivation to somehow deal with said issue (or not deal with it). But when every single nuisance is under-developed and swept under the rug as if it does not matter (and it keeps repeating), then the reader will be unable to comprehend which scenes are actually important. This ruins any emotional connection the reader had to the characters. There were numerous scenes where I could not tell what kind of emotion I was supposed to feel because there was no long-term villain or problem the characters had to solve. It was all just "We're here. This happened. Darn. Moving on...", which disappointed me greatly.
Secondly, the spelling, grammar and formatting errors. There were so many that I couldn't even bother getting annoyed by them by the end of the novel. Just, come on... Also, and I know this is petty :)), BUT WHAT ARE THOSE NAMES?? I wasn't able to even read some of them, let alone pronounce them.

On the other hand, there were good aspects to this book too. For example, the romances were so fun and truly enjoyable . Furthermore, the secondary characters were AWESOME. Most of them deserve personal novellas, and it's a bummer the plot did them so dirty (Jance deserved better <3).

If you want an extremely fast-paced type of fantasy story, without having to worry about things going wrong this is the book for you. It's simple and completely stress-free.

[Claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a little hesitant to read this book but I'm really glad I did. The world building was complex and rich and I enjoyed the main character a lot.

That said, there was a lot happening. The events of this book span over 15 years and the was so much going on and such large time skips that it felt like you couldn't take a breath at times. This could have easily been split into two books, allowing the plot to feel less rushed. I would have liked to see more of the academy as well as the cadet training, for one. There were so many characters too, and due to the large multi-year skips we just never got to see some get fully fleshed out. The MCs friendship with the minotaur I think would have been a really fun aspect to learn more about. There's a lot thrown at you in 400 pages, several kingdoms, rulers, court intrigue, familial relationships, 8 siblings, multiple different species... My brain felt like it was working overtime for much of this book!

The writing itself was excellent. The main character was intelligent and three dimensional with realistic character flaws and capable of making and learning from her mistakes. Her final love interest was great and I enjoyed seeing them dance around each other. I appreciate the author's ability to portray the less pleasant sides of violence which leant a nice realism to the story. There is a fine line to tread when writing character deaths and I think it was walked quite nicely here. Overall, a wonderful debut!

[Butler's Mom · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. So much promise and not enough follow through.
The characters, their actions and/or lack of actions were frustrating. Too many inconsistencies, errors, things that made little sense, and not enough questions asked.

[Chelsae · Rating 2 out of 5]

i hate when a book constantly forces me to flick back and forth to look at a glossary to figure out the meaning of some made up term. it can’t be that hard to just quickly explain each term the first time they come up in the text so i’m not constantly having to interrupt myself 🙄. dnf

[Bookdragon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mediocre book with a hard to follow the plot and very, very, very many characters.

[Mo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super ! wish there was more in a series

[El]

Too many distracting typos. May attempt again if I get the second edition.

[Blair · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF 30%

[Flnuma · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is really fantastic.