Book: Wicked Lovely
Author: Melissa Marr
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release date: June 12, 2007
Source: Purchased for Kindle (still only $0.99!)
Series: Wicked Lovely #1
Summary: (from Goodreads) All teenagers have problems, but few of them can match those of Aislinn, who has the power to see faeries. Quite understandably, she wishes that she could share her friends' obliviousness and tries hard to avoid these invisible intruders. But one faery in particular refuses to leave her alone. Keenan the Summer King is convinced beyond all reasoning that Aislinn is the queen he has been seeking for nine centuries. What's a 21st-century girl to do when she's stalked by a suitor nobody else can see? A debut fantasy romance for the ages; superlative summer read.
First impressions: Man, this book is DARK. Way darker than I anticipated. Perhaps the gorgeous cover should have clued me in, since it is kind of spooky beautiful, but I wasn't really prepared for how awful the fairies were going to be in this story, particularly right off the bat.
Lasting impressions: I can't tell if I should be frustrated with Melissa Marr or celebrating her genius. The only reason I didn't like this book was because I didn't want Aislinn to have to make the choices she did. She was put in an impossibly unfair predicament, and I didn't want her to be in it, so I got really angry with the book. Frustrating to read? Yes, but it also provoked some strong emotions and I obviously connected with the characters, so well done Ms. Marr. Well played.
Conflicting impressions: Though I didn't have as strong feelings about Keenan as did Aylee, I definitely agree that he is a pompous ass who would never deserve Aislinn in a million years. Many of the characters in this book were not likable, which contributed to the dark aspects I enjoyed, but it sure made it hard to read sometimes.
Overall impressions: I agonized over whether to give this book 2, 3, or 4 stars. I really liked Aislinn (Ash), even though I don't know how to pronounce her name, and absolutely adored Seth. Sure he's a bit of a man slut, but he's hopelessly devoted to Ash and I want to steal him away and have all of his babies. And I hate babies.
Besides Seth, I also really liked Donia, the Winter Girl who must help Keenan find his Summer Queen. As much as Seth loves Ash, so does Donia love Keenan. And just as Ash is put in a hopeless position, so is Donia. She loves Keenan, but must help him find his queen so he can resume the throne. That queen was supposed to be her, but it's not, and that's a tough pill to swallow.
On the sidelines is Beira, the Winter Queen, and Keenan's mother. She's pretty much pure evil, and tries to convince Donia to save her own life and betray Keenan in the process. Seriously, everyone in this book is stuck between a rock and a hard place. I so wanted to throw this book across the room, except in my case that would also mean throwing my Kindle around, and I've really been trying to avoid that.
Needless to say, the tension is amazing. Marr really knows how to build the plot, piece by piece, in such a way that you can't help but finish it off. Her characters are likewise carefully constructed and fully developed. I found everything about the book compelling, and my only reservations are based on my gut reactions to the people and actions involved.
While the characters had to make tough choices, it also rang true to life. We don't always get what we want, and when things change it's usually impossible to get them back to the way they used to be. I loved that Marr didn't hand anything over easily and made the characters work to find their own solutions. Even though the process frustrated me as a reader, it made a great story, and for that reason I look forward to reading the next books.
Rating: 3/5 stars
Want a different perspective? Check out this fabulous and funny four star review by Aylee at Recovering Potter Addict.
6 comments:
Don't feel bad for not loving this book. I actually listened to the audiobook versions of these before Darkest Mercy came out because I wanted to re-read them, and I think I liked it better than when I first read them!
Ah, Keenan, douche-extraordinaire. I definitely don't miss him now that the series is over. But I do miss Seth! Like you, I just adored him and his quirked eyebrow.
Dang, you're right: the characters really did have a hard time in this book. And yet I just couldn't bring myself to give a damn about some of them. They were just unlikeable.
Whoa! It's pretty major to want to have a book boy's babies when you hate babies!
Only .99?! You sold me. Maybe now I can agonize too.
Thanks Logan!
@Jess - I can see that. I think I would like this one better on a second read too.
@Aylee - I couldn't properly review this without linking to you. Keenan is something else, but most of the characters were definitely unlikeable.
@Missie - You can't beat that price. I hope you like it!
A large part of my fairy hatred comes from this book. Fairies are just very bad and this book proves that point. I think Evie from Paranormalcy is right: We should just take a Taser and zap all of those horrible fairies. You're right. This book is DARK.
I don't remember Seth, I felt really bad for Donia (she got shafted hard), I hated Keenan, and how do you pronounce Aislinn's name?? My butchered "A-Eye-slyn" is so wrong I'll be laughed at, but I can't stop myself from calling her that. Maybe that's why I disliked the book so much. Could you imagine going through an entire book saying that in your head?
I had a very similar reaction to this book in that it evoked enormous amounts of emotions from me. Even though there were aspects that didn't sit well with me, I still enjoyed it a lot. I read this when it first came out years ago, and was in agony waiting for the next book. When I finally got my hands on Ink Exchange, it wasn't my favorite. It's just as dark, possibly darker, and it tackled some serious issues fairly well. But I thought Valiant by Holly Black did it a little better.
I've got the next three books on my shelf, so you're welcome to borrow them if you like.
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