Tuesday Review Day!

Wicked Lovely (Wicked Lovely #1)

Written by Melissa Marr

Publication date:

Released in Paperback, Hardcover, Kindle & ebook

328 pages

4 stars 

Synopsis: 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.

My Review: I wish the beginning was a little easier to understand. It's one of those stories that you come into the middle of things already happening. Almost halfway through, and I still didn't really understand how the whole staff thing worked with the Summer King and Queen. Touch the staff, don't touch the staff; take the cold, don't take the cold. Being with Keenan is a good thing or a bad thing? I don't know! But I'm on an Iron Fey high so I'm craving some faeries and this felt close enough.

Their names? Don't get me started. The only one I like is Seth and I was never a big fan of that name before. But this guy Seth, BFF/hottie-potential-love-interest, is something else! He's totally hot and totally the perfect guy! He says the most perfect thing at the right moment and doesn't try to be too macho when Aislinn takes control but he's not a wimp either. Now Aislinn, or Ash as she is nicknamed in the book - which confuses me with Ash from the Iron Fey is a pretty cool character. I like how she handles being able to see the fey and having to pretend that she can't. She has a lot of self-discipline and will power and is more capable of resisting temptation than any woman I know! Speaking of temptation, back to Seth. Melissa Marr knows how to write some serious romance. It took, like, no time at all for me to fall in love with him! 

QUESTION:
HAS TWILIGHT SET A PRECEDENT FOR ALL LOVE TRIANGLES NOW? 
WILL THERE ALWAYS BE TEAMS?

Because if that's the case, I'm TEAM SETH all the way!

Here's a list of other teams I am a long time member of:

Team Damon - Vampire Diaries

Team Shay - Nightshade

Team Eric - True Blood
Team Dimitri - Vampire Academy

Team Jace - City of Bones

Team Ash - Iron Fey

Team Tam - Wings

Team Edward (in the books) Team Jacob (in the movies)-if that makes any sense

Anyway, Seth is romantic, in subtle ways; dropping hints and whispering sweet nothings. And what girl doesn't love a tight squeeze?? No one I know. A quarter of the book to go and I was really not liking the direction of the book. There was no Seth for like, two or three chapters and that was not cool.

As for the faeries, I don't blame Aislinn for avoiding them like the plague. I wouldn't be comfortable with that many "invisible" "people" walking around either. Then to be stalked by one? A royal one that is not likely to let her go now that he's found her? That's something completely different! Keenan is far more difficult to read. It's hard to tell what his intentions and his motives really are. But early on when Ash drops a bomb on him about having competition (Seth) and the fact that Keenan is left speechless is hilarious! I guess it is if you're Team Seth! LOL. Keenan can be such a jerk and at other times, kind of sweet. You start to feel a tug-o-war when it comes to him. You want him to be happy, to find what he's been searching for...just not with Aislinn.

Donia is the Winter Girl (wtf is a Donia??), and Beira (again, wtf?) is the Winter Queen. Maybe I'm not pronouncing these names correctly and that is why they sound so terrible, but these names made it a little hard to read for me. Although I know Donia is supposed to be an important character in the story, I don't really feel anything about her. I don't like her but I don't hate her either. I do feel sorry for Donia though, she sounds miserable and desperate to be free of the cold she holds within her. Problem is that she, like all others, is under the Queen's thumb. I'm sure the Winter Queen is quite the bitch to deal with seeing as how she's so powerful and all, but honestly, I didn't see a whole lot of displays of the power that had everyone so scared of her. It was hard to view her as a true villain when all I had was the notion that she was truly evil.

Melissa Marr's vocabulary is undoubtedly extensive. It did not make for a breezy read, but one that kept you curiously wanting more. The tone, the conversations between characters was so seamless and fluid. I mean, the characters actually interrupt each other which sounds weird for it to be a good thing but it makes things realistic - the visual is without interruption and easier to play out in your head. It took a little getting used to at first because a lot of other books can feel so scripted - perfectly set-up - snapshots of moments. I don't care either way, I just love a good story. Marr is also a genius with metaphors; for example:

"Seth slid a hand around her waist and kissed her like she was the air,

and he was suffocating." (pg.131)

Isn't that beautiful??

Overall: The cover is infinitely more awesome once you know the meaning behind it. Slow progress. A lot of things happening but not a lot of wow moments. The twist at the end was something I had suspected for a while. It wasn't a surprise but still, it's always nice when a book ends the way you think it will. It wasn't a book I was in love with afterwards. I didn't crave more. With one exception, Seth...delish!