Wing Weaver: Bringing light to the dark
The Overview:
Our first repeat author! I loved A Forest of Vanity and Valor so much that I decided to try another book series of his. Wing Weaver is Book One (another one of a series (yay…)) of the Aviara Academy. Aviara Academy is where people go to become the fiercest dragon riders of Nevaria. Aedan came to this academy for more than dragon riding lessons. There is a secret buried within those walls, and he is determined to find it. But as every main character does, trouble follows him in the form of him accidentally breaking every tradition this world has set up. Aedan bonds with a dead egg outside of the bonding ceremony, and the cherry on top: Nyra, his dragon, has broken wings. So now Aedan has to get a whole new second-year curriculum on top of his first-year lessons. Oh, also: someone is actively trying to destroy the school.
Wing Weaver is a fantastical dark fantasy that combines Harry Potter, How to Train Your Dragon, and Sherlock Holmes. It addresses difficult topics such as mental health, inequality with those who are ‘disabled,’ self worth and bullying.
My Thoughts:
I really enjoyed this book. It was a fun read and a great challenge, seeing how it was 600+ pages long. I know Mammoth was like 480, but for some reason, Wing Weaver looked a lot bigger. I have read bigger books (I.E., Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix), and one problem I have found is that long books tend to get tedious. I’ll use Order of the Phoenix as an example. The chapter where she describes a hallway is too long. But it is. Plots drag out, unnecessary drama and dialogue play in, and I hated it. Order of the Phoenix was a bear for me to get through.
Wing Weaver, nothing like that, and I love it. For being over 600 pages, it was fast-paced, got to plot points promptly, and everything had a purpose. Nothing was over-described or fluffed out; it was perfect. It made this book feel easier to read.
Aedan was a fun character with lots of mystery and funny comments. His interactions with the other characters, such as Rowan, Cassian, Harrison, and even Kael, are actually pretty real. Well, I would have punched Kael earlier… but Aeden has more control than I do. Cassian and Harrison are particular favorites of mine.
There is a bit of cussing, and it did discourage me a bit, but that was really the only thing. The random lore drop throughout the story was hilarious. I had lots of coworkers question why I kept saying ‘what now?’ while highlighting my book.
All in all, this was a great story and one definitely for my dark fantasy readers. Book two is for preorder right now, so if you don’t want to deal with the cliffhanger of the first one, you can get the second one!
The Graph:
Language: 20% - Okay, I know this is low, but in comparison to the word count, it wasn’t that bad. The language does come in heavy spurts and then randomly appears throught the book.
Explicit Material: 10% - Kael is hinted at either SA Rowan or hinting at it. I decieded not to read too much into it.
Violence/Blood/Gore: 45% - There are lots of scenes of violent threats, battles with dragons, bullying, and the existence of Kael.
Drug/Alcohol use: 0% - No drugs or alcohol
Non-problematic: 25% - There is a very good underlining message to the whole story. Such as your ‘disability’ doesn’t define you. Kindness is the best action. And being a jerk will get you nowhere.
Name meanings:
Aeden: Irish and Galeic for "little fire" or "fiery one."
Nyra: Sanskirt/Indian for "beauty," "radiance," "rose," or the "beauty of Goddess Saraswati." Greek for tied to sea nymphs. Maori for wetland. Latin/Arabic for source of light.
Kael: Irish for "slender" or "mighty warrior" (or my favorite a hardy green vegetable with curled leaves that belong to the cabbage family.)
Links:
Northern_writer (Instagram)
A.p_beswick_author (TikTok)
Apbeswick (Facebook)
A.p_beswick_author (YouTube)
Spoilers:
A.P. Beswick inspiration- A.P. Beswick is not only an amazing author, but a mental health nurse and has clubfoot. His journey and how he overcame his disability inspired the Wing Weaver series. With this knowledge, I had a greater apprecation for the characters. Especially Nyra. I would like some of her POV in future books, but only time will tell if we get that.
Thank you so much! For reading my rantings and my random links. I very much loved this series and the raw emotions that it had withing the pages. It’s a 4/5 stars just because of the language nothing else. If you had a dragon what would they look like and what would there power be?
Keep turning pages. Bard out!
Fantastic work! I really love the name meanings you have at the end, it really builds some fun meaning to the books' story. Keep up the great work!