Wicked Lovely
Author: Melissa Marr
Publisher: HarperTeen
Young Adult
352 pages (328 hardcover)
Summary:
In the midst of the crowded streets, back alleys, parks, and neighborhood hangouts in Huntsdale there lurks creatures of unthinkable demeanor; invisible to the human eye, except to those with the Sight. These creatures are faeries. No, not the frilly little things that dance around in meadows sprinkling magical dust. Like your preconceived idea of faeries, they can be delicately beautiful and mischievous creatures, but there are also ones with gnashing teeth; always looking for a good fight, alluring mortals, and with no intention to play by the rules. Aislinn can see them. She watches as they play tricks on mortals and do unthinkable acts to one another. Every time a faerie gets too close or curious, her Gram’s rules repeat in her head:
In the midst of the crowded streets, back alleys, parks, and neighborhood hangouts in Huntsdale there lurks creatures of unthinkable demeanor; invisible to the human eye, except to those with the Sight. These creatures are faeries. No, not the frilly little things that dance around in meadows sprinkling magical dust. Like your preconceived idea of faeries, they can be delicately beautiful and mischievous creatures, but there are also ones with gnashing teeth; always looking for a good fight, alluring mortals, and with no intention to play by the rules. Aislinn can see them. She watches as they play tricks on mortals and do unthinkable acts to one another. Every time a faerie gets too close or curious, her Gram’s rules repeat in her head:
#3: Don’t stare at invisible faeries
#2: Don’t speak to invisible faeries
#1: Don’t ever attract their attention
Easy enough right? Well, it is until she catches the attention of Keenan, the Summer King. Keenan, unlike many of his fellow faeries, isn’t looking just to allure any attractive mortal; he is on the hunt for his Queen. A Queen he’s been searching for centuries, for without his Queen the Summer Court will die out. Is Aislinn the one? The one that will save the Summer Court and be Keenan’s source of strength? Aislinn sure hopes not.
All her life she’s been trying to avoid this sort of attention; avoiding being sucked into the world of faerie. And then here comes a young faerie King that threatens the very core of what her Gram tried to build for her. Safety.
As Keenan pursues her, Aislinn finds comfort in her growing friendships with Seth, the pierced, calm young man who lives in a train, and with Donia, the Winter Girl.
Soon Aislinn realizes the inevitability of her situation. There’s nothing she can do. She has been chosen by the Summer King and without being asked her mortality is taken away. She battles with herself on what path to take, which of the only four options left she should choose.
1. Become the Winter Girl. Take up the Winter Queen’s staff and forever carry its chill (well until another mortal makes the same choice).
2. Become a Summer Girl. Not risk the chill and become forever needy of Keenan.
3. Be the one. The Summer Queen. Risk the chill but discover you’re really meant to be with Keenan.
Only one girl has ever escaped this all together. The fourth and final option and less desirable:
She died.
Which choice will Aislinn make? Will she ever get to be with the one she truly loves? Is she the one, the Summer Queen, the girl Keenan’s been searching for?
My Rating: 4 ½ stars
I’m in LOVE with this series. However, I can’t guarantee that everyone else will be. I’ve heard many mixed reviews about Wicked Lovely; which isn’t so good because it reminds me of mixed signals, and those are very horrible and just plain annoying. Maybe things shouldn’t ever be mixed? No, actually I can think of quite a few things that should be: fruit salad, PB&J, cheese and crackers. I guess that’s not a valuable argument because all my good mixes are foods…and now I’m hungry.
At times, the characters may seem a little too stubborn, and make you want to slam the book down and just yell “Grow up already!” Or maybe even something a bit harsher? However, they have many good traits. You’ll love how strong willed Aislinn is, even if you wish she’d just grow up and choose. You also have a couple of adorable, strong male characters: Niall, Tavish, Seth, and Keenan. And my favorite character, Donia the Winter Girl; she sacrificed everything for the guy she loved. She risked the chill for him and discovered that she wasn’t who he was meant to be with. It almost broke my heart thinking of how much Donia loved her King for centuries, watching as he wooed girl after girl, looking for his Queen. She may also be the most complex of all the characters (until you read more about Niall later in the series). At first she can be depressed and madly in love, but then you’ll see her temper flare and her resolve.
One message that I saw throughout this novel and even the rest of the series is: You can’t escape your fate. I think Romeo and Juliet are prime examples of that.
Which choice would you have made if you were Aislinn? Can you think of any other good mixes that aren’t edible?
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