A Mosaic of Wings by Kimberly Duffy

A Mosaic of Wings  by Kimberly Duffy is a historical romance/coming of age tale centered upon Nora Shipley, a young entomology graduate struggling to find the next step in her life.

Duffy was a new author to my bedside table and I was interested to see what her style would bring. Duffy creates a wonderful world for readers to explore. Her descriptions were vivid and engaging and the world easily leapt of the page as Duffy leads her readers through Ithaca New York to the jungle in India. I appreciated her ability to world build and her attention to little details felt authentic and well researched.

The story itself also was well presented. Duffy has broken the story into three separate sections which is helpful as they all have distinct feelings, settings, and supporting characters. I found her plot line following Nora on her quest for a resolved direction in life after her father to be well constructed and the plot lines were all wrapped up to varying degrees by the time the last chapter closes.

As far as characters go, Sita was a joy to read and easily the highlight of the story. Duffy gave a well balanced story line between Sita's joy and talent in contrast to the serious issues she was faced with despite her young age.

There were, however, two personal sticking points I encountered while reading.

First, while Duffy's use of scientific names for the different insects was completely within Nora's character, I found it to be jarring to my engagement as I would leave the story mentally and attempt to remember what particular bug was being hunted this time (and to be fair that wasn't a unit I paid much attention to in science). While it added authenticity it just disrupted the story's flow for me.

Secondly, I had a hard time connecting with the characters until the introduction of Sita. While Nora and Owen were well written and you could see the care and detail Duffy crafted into their personalities, I struggled to find any emotional investment with them until their interactions with and regarding Sita.

While this isn't a book I would reread, Duffy has a clear skill and love for her craft and characters that leaves me confident A Mosaic of Wings will find its way into the hearts of many readers.

3.75 stars out of 5

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc."