Wow. That is really the only coherent word my brain can come up with to describe this book. I am now a Melissa Marr fangirl.
Keenan, The Summer King and head of all of the summer fey, needs to find his match, the Summer Queen. For centuries he has been searching for her to help bring warmth and summer back to all the faeries that belong to him. Keenan’s mother is the Winter Queen, a cold hearted ruler that is stronger than Keenan and as a result her coldness has been slowly integrating into human society. If he does not find her soon, coldness will take over earth slowly killing mortals and his faeries.
When a mortal girl sparks Keenan’s interest, he courts her and with his spectacular beauty and charm of being Summer King, she inevitably falls in love with him. The mortal must then make a decision – risk the cold of the Winter Queen’s chill if she is not truly the chosen one, or choose not to take the risk and she can become one of the summer girls who dance and sing and play for eternity. If she is the chosen one, she will become the Summer Queen and rule with Keenan.
Keenan makes Aislinn his next in line for wooing. Aislinn is not your ordinary teenager because she can see the fey. Fey and humans walk everyday together through the world, yet no one ever sees them except Aislinn and her grandmother. She has been raised to ignore them because some are dangerous and would harm her if they knew she could see them. When times get tough, she always finds refuge in her best friend Seth. Up until recently, that is all they have been, friends. Aislinn is worried that by turning their relationship into a romantic one, it will mess up what they currently have.
Keenan takes on a human form even though Aislinn can see him, he does not realize this. She knows he is fey, and he could be the best looking guy in the entire world (ok, maybe he already is) but she would never fall for his advances because she is terrified of him. At the same time Keenan starts his courting of her, she is falling in love with Seth and moving their relationship forward.
Aislinn in ultimately left with a choice that is more about everyone else than about herself – take the risk and become the Summer Queen, securing the happiness of fey and mortals around the world or stay with her true love as a mortal and let Keenan and the fey to fend for themselves.
When people recommend YA (young adult) books to me I always do an internal cringe. I have no idea why I do that! I love the Harry Potter series and Twilight, so when I read a review for this series, I made myself buy it and thank goodness I did. Melissa Marr has become an auto-buy for me.
What a great cast of characters – Keenan, a handsome, yet slightly vain, Summer King that seduces people literally with his sunshine and golden tears. He has been searching for centuries for his Summer Queen and you can feel his desperation throughout the book. His mother, the Winter Queen is evil – really, really evil. She is a great villain that you love to root against.
Although Aislinn is a teenager, she has seen things in her lifetime that gives her a maturity and wisdom beyond her years. She never whines, she fights back, and slowly gives into her feelings she has for her best friend Seth. He is the guy every girl wants – he has piercings and lives in a train car so he is a little edgy, but he worships Aislinn and will do anything for them to be together.
This book has everything – a girl who has to choose between the man of her dreams, or the man who could give her anything she dreamed of, evil villains, great action scenes, and most of all a great story that will not let you fall asleep at night until you have turned the last page.
Rating: 4 Stars
This series includes:
Wicked Lovely – April 29, 2008
Ink Exchange – March 31, 2009
Fragile Eternity – April 21, 2009
Katie’s review of Fragile Eternity is the reason I decided to read this series.
Visit Melissa Marr’s website.
I loved this book! And you’re right, who wouldn’t want Seth- at first glance he is exactly the guy you shouldn’t want. He’s a nice suprise though. I love how descriptive Marr is of her fairies and how there is nothing cutesy about them.
Great review! I’m sooo looking forward to read this book. I have this book in my TBR pile, but the pile is rater large so I have lent this book to my sister. I can’t wait to hear what she thinks of it.
Fantastic Review Mandi!!
“When people recommend YA (young adult) books to me I always do an internal cringe.” I do the EXACT same thing! I’ve also read Harry Potter and the Twilight saga but there is just somethng about YA that makes me immediately uninterested. Is it the lack of sex?? I don’t know. I think that sometimes but I didn’t miss the sex in the Twilight Saga. I guess we assume that the books will read elementary in fashion.
I’ve read some really great reviews on Melissa Marr’s series and I even had them on my Wish List for a while but then I dropped them for a reason that I can’t even remember. If you vouch for the them though… I think I just might have to add them back on the list.
:) VFG
Jane – yes, the faeries were quite creepy and volatile..I liked that aspect.
Ladybug – I am making my friends and mom read it:)
VFG – I don’t know what it is about YA either. Yes there is no sex, yes I like to read about sex, yes I am a hussy:) No..this book, as I am sure a lot of YA books, was very multi-layered…it didn’t lack because of no sex and it was written to an adult audience in my opinion. I am going to make myself read YA more often:)
Wow, Mandi ~ Awesome review. **okay notebook starting to get too damn full.. opening up new notebook** I am writing this one down for sure. Maybe even Brooke would like this one. She told me the other day, she is enjoying books with witches in it… well, if i read about the mother right… this will be right up Brooke’s alley.
I agree with you and VampFanGirl about the YA books. I loved (of course who does not know that) Twilight… and Harry Potter. But I kinda knew what I was getting involved with on those two series. Not sure either what is about YA… but this one sounds very interesting and entertaining!
Cecile – I definitely think your daughter is at a good age for this book!!
(my wishlist/tbr pile is out of control!!!!)
Okay, okay, okay! I’ll move it closer to the top!
YA has come a long way since I was YA (which was, like, yesterday! *g*).
Aymless – When does YA officially end? Maturity level is quite underdeveloped ;)
Wow is the perfect word to describe Wickedly Lovely. So glad I could stir you in the right direction :D
I believe YA is supposed to cover all those wonderful teenage years. You know… the pimply, awkward, gangly years. I suppose they end at 18 because then they are considered “adults” but I think they are geared more toward the 16 and under crowd. Beside who would want to read something labeled “teen”. YA is so much cooler.
Yup that’s right I was 18- yesterday! *g* Still in denial about this whole grown-up thing. Its just not working for me so I’m regressing or at least deciding to stay mentally 5-ish.
I had meant to put “MY” maturity level is underdeveloped:) Yes, who wants to be grown-up?? I am now reading Ink Exchange and love it just as much:)
Hi Mandi! I have an award waiting for you.
Squeee!! Thank you!
Hell Ms. Smexy…
Just catching up on your blog…
I love your thoughts on this – I have been seeing it all over the place
but
"When people recommend YA (young adult) books to me I always do an internal cringe"
That's me – I am really trying to read them… hence the Twilight summer read..
But i do like the sound of this..
another thing I notice, she releases her follow up quite quickly..
Is there another one in the series.
E.H>
Hello Ms. Horizon – Currently Ink Exchange and Fragile Eternity are the second and third in the series. I have not dug around enough to see if there will be more.
Nice to see you on Twitter ;)