Wingspan by Karis Walsh

Wingspan by Karis Walsh

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


In a detached distant kind of way, both of the women who are the main characters and main points of view, are full-formed and likable by me. In a closer view of the situation, both seem to have the building blocks to be fully formed characters, but both are still somewhat fuzzy. Don't ask me what I mean, I don't really know.

Two women had somewhat unfortunate 'growing up years'; one decided to embrace life on the fringe, on the outside, and put her desires, trust, faith into the avian kind (this isn't a fantasy book, I mean that she likes birds, not that she is romantically interested in intelligent bipeds that have the look and ability to fly); while the other saw what happened, what was happening, what would likely happen if she allowed herself to be on the fringe, to express herself, to live life as herself - so she went deep into conformity. In clothing, in occupation (going for the cookie-cutter career, instead of taking a risk on allowing her imagination to fly free), in relationships (going for the sophisticated city dweller type who always is well-groomed, drives a fancy car, and can acknowledge the view from a rural area, but would rather visit it than live in it), and in other ways.

Bailey Chase is the avian loner one - though instead of living free in the woods with nature, she got educated to be able to be a veterinarian and built an avian rescue/rehap place. A place people bring eagles with injured wings so the eagle could be saved and released back to the wild. Also other birds. Like ospreys.

Kendall Pearson is the one hiding in a beige life. Though cracks occasionally form in the walls hiding her inner geeky rebel, and risky things she wouldn't normally do occur. Like buying an old classic corvette, or an acre of land in a wild, rural area that would require a very long commute by car and ferry to her job. Mostly, though, she lives a bland beige life. Until her acquisition of land, her impulsive acquisition, lead her to find an injured osprey on her land. Which lead her to attempt to save the bird. Which lead her to finding herself outside Bailey's place with an osprey in a box.

The two, Ken and Bailey not the osprey and Ken, circle each other, somewhat distantly, somewhat close, somewhat desiring the other but 'knowing' they can't have the other. Bailey is too . . . delicate and fragile (where Ken got that initial idea eludes me), and definitely not beige or bland - too unsophisticated city slicker for Ken's desires to blend in and hide in conformity (overlooking the part where a sophisticated city dweller type, the kind overly conscious of 'looking good' and 'hair always in place' would stand out a mile in a rural area - where Ken desires to live). While Ken . . . I didn't actually get Bailey's 'can't touch her!' reason, other than repeating thirteen dozen times that 'she's going to leave', and therefore . . . something something.

Can they break down the walls both have built? Well, this is a romance book so . . ..

There was sex. Don't ask me how graphic it was, I kind of more lightly skimmed it than anything else - I didn't particularly want to read sexually explicit stuff right then and there so . . . *shrugs*.

Rating: 3.3

November 20 2017



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