Book Review #73: 30 Days without Wings by Tabatha Shipley

In order for our story to unfold, we must make one thing abundantly clear. We must not argue this one point. Otherwise the story lacks something.

Faeries are real. They are tiny. They speak in a higher pitch than our ears can pick up. They speak quickly. They have beautiful wings. Most importantly, they have families.

Elisa, a young faerie, has a decision to make. It’s time for her to declare her life’s purpose and take her place among the faerie community. The problem is that she has no idea what she wants to do. Elise lost her family years ago and she’s been wandering around aimlessly ever since.

So, she decides to join the humans for a month and see if she can find a meaning to her life there. But the month proves to be more of a challenge than she expected.

After all, what faerie lives without wings?

I have mixed feelings about this one, so I’ll try to keep my thoughts succinct and not ramble. No promises.

First, praises–

I like the world that Shipley has created. It’s whimsical and yet logical. There’s enough reasoning behind the faeries and what they can do that I’m like wow, these little guys might actually exist. I don’t think this story is supposed to be on the far-end of fantasy. It’s realistic and well-built.

It’s also very… nostalgic, if you will. I might have missed the time period that the story is set in, but it definitely felt mid-2000s-ish for me (lol). Mentions of Amy Lee and Seether and just general teenage life without worries! Elise really gets to taste the best version of humanity.

The whimsicalness and the nostalgia of the story make it very light and enjoyable. It’s not too heavy or draggy. There’s also a slight air of mystery as the faerie council gets pulled in.

Plus, it helps that I really liked Elise and Todd. I could sympathize with her decision to escape her life as a faerie, but I could also really get behind Todd’s decision to stay a human. It made perfect sense. They were cute in the sappy, teen romance sort of way, which is absolutely perfect for this story!

BUT now complaints–

This next section will contain minor spoilers.

I was not a fan of the ending of the story. Elise has to come to a decision authentically. And, I don’t know, I was waiting for some BIG revelation, some huge turn of events where she realized exactly where she belonged in the first place was “right where she was.”

But instead, she wanders sort of heartbroken back into her hometown, and it feels like she’s just… resolute? This is what I have to do, might as well do it. She never really decides to take on the role that is thrust upon her, even though they said she had to choose it?

I don’t really know, it didn’t satisfy the ending itch for me, and I can’t quite put my finger on WHY. I just wanted more!

Overall, it was still a very sweet, well-written story. I just felt like something was missing.

Final Ratings
Overall Rating: 4 / 5
Pacing: A quick read. Two days, for me, and it could have easily been one.
Intended Audience: YA Fantasy fans! Adults, like me, who love a little YA Fantasy sometimes.
Content Warnings: Minor mentions of some boys reaching under a skirt, loss of parents. 
Buy link: https://www.amazon.com/Days-Without-Wings-Tabatha-Shipley-ebook/dp/B09XRCLTVF

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