Jenn's Review: Wicked Lovely

Summary:  Rule #3: Don't stare at invisible faeries.

Aislinn has always seen faeries. Powerful and dangerous, they walk hidden in mortal world. Aislinn fears their cruelty—especially if they learn of her Sight—and wishes she were as blind to their presence as other teens.

Rule #2: Don't speak to invisible faeries.

Now faeries are stalking her. One of them, Keenan, who is equal parts terrifying and alluring, is trying to talk to her, asking questions Aislinn is afraid to answer.

Rule #1: Don't ever attract their attention.

But it's too late. Keenan is the Summer King who has sought his queen for nine centuries. Without her, summer itself will perish. He is determined that Aislinn will become the Summer Queen at any cost—regardless of her plans or desires.

Suddenly none of the rules that have kept Aislinn safe are working anymore, and everything is on the line: her freedom; her best friend, Seth; her life; everything.

Review:  Having just read Melissa Marr's adult novel, Graveminder, for our GJR Challenge, I thought it would be the perfect time to launch into one of her YA books that has been on my TBR list for a while, Wicked Lovely.  I think it really clarified Melissa Marr's voice for me.

There are things I really like about Ms. Marr's writing style.  She writes compelling characters. And I felt like I got to know them a whole lot better in Wicked Lovely than I did in Graveminder, or perhaps I just liked them better.  I adored Ash because she wasn't your typical heroine.  Instead of being enthralled by the fey, she wants nothing to do with them. All she wants is a little normality.  Seth is also not the typical hero, though a little more far-fetched -the bad boy who has just been waiting for her to be ready for him- but that doesn't make him any less fascinating.  I adored Donia too her tragedy and ensuing suffering was captivating.  

The other wonderful thing is how easy it was to slide into the story unlike Julie Kagawa's Iron Fey series, which I love but it took me almost a third of the first book to get into.  The storyline was full of engaging twists and though I had hopes for how the story would end, but it didn't take any of the conventional paths to get there. 

However, as with Graveminder, I found there was much that I wanted explained in more detail. I want to meet and know more about Irial. What happened between the Summer King and the Winter Queen?  How did the game come into existence?  But unlike Graveminder, this is the first book of a series so there may be answers yet to come.

I will definitely be reading more of this series. It was intriguing and I am excited to return and learn more. 

Final Take:  4/5