Wicked Lovely

Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr
Publisher: Harper Teen
Pub Date: June 12, 2007
Pages: 336
Age level: 15+/YA

Synopsis
The clash of ancient rules and modern expectations swirl together in this cool, urban 21st century faery tale. Rule #3: Don't stare at invisible faeries. Aislinn has always seen faeries. Powerful and dangerous, they walk hidden in the mortal world, and would blind her if they knew of her Sight. 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 and 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! Suddenly none of the rules that have kept Aislinn safe are working any more, and everything is on the line: her freedom; her best friend, Seth; her life; everything.

Review
Wicked Lovely is a dark and magical prose of fate and choice, love and hate. A captivating tale that I can guarantee you I will re-read again and again.

In Aislinn, we find a very strong heroin. All her life, Aislinn has had the Sight, the ability to see faeries. She hates them and she fears them, so she follows three seemingly simple rules that are meant to keep her safe. But what happens when those rules no longer apply? Faced with the trial of being in love with one man and being pursued by another, the fey's Summer King, she does what most girls probably couldn't. She takes a stand against fate and does everything in her power to take control of her future. She has her fears, of course, but it is how she faces them that makes her such a wonderful character. She is also very believeable and easy to relate to.

As for the other main characters, I felt Seth was a little to good to be true. Don't get me wrong, I loved him, but I would have liked to see him lose his temper once or twice. Keenan, despite that he is a faery, seemed a little more realistic. A part of me felt sorry for him because I came to discover that he had no more control than Aislinn had. Beira was written well and I can truly say I hated her. Last but not least, poor Donia. She has the misfortune of being the wintergirl, forced to follow Keenan, the man she loves, while he looks for his Queen.

Some of the supporting characters were a little cliche. For example, Aislinn's naughty Catholic school girl friends. Though I admit, they could be very funny at times. I also feel that having some of the minor characters a little less developed only made the main characters stand out even more.

As for the writing itself, I thought Melissa Marr did a good job and I liked getting to read the alternating perspectives. Although, I would have much rather seen Wicked Lovely written in first person point of view. The ending was exactly what I hoped for and left me craving for more, anxious to read the next in the series.

All in all, whether you are a fan of fantasy or not, I recommend this book to anyone who hasn't read it. I, myself, am still just starting to read fantasy and I loved it. I believe that even adults might would enjoy Wicked Lovely.


Grade
Characters: B+
Writing: B
Plot: B+
Ending: A
Cover: A+
Recommendable: A-
Series:A-

Overall: B+