Rating: 
(70 reviews)
Author: Melissa Marr
Publisher: HarperTeen
Book Description
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.
Faerie intrigue, mortal love, and the clash of ancient rules and modern expectations swirl together in Melissa Marr’s stunning 21st century faery tale.
5 Comments
I did not feel this book was apropriate for teens. It was way too focused on sex and there is inappropriate language.
These factors alone spoiled the rest of the book for me. In addition, the characters were not very well rounded.
All in all, I will sell my copy instead of keeping it for a reread.
I was super excited about reading this book because the excerpt makes it sound so magical, but I was not very happy with the outcome. I often felt throughout the whole book that I was missing something. A lot of the details were fuzzy. I finished the book still confused about what happened. It was often hard for me to figure out who was speaking too. I wasn’t very impressed with this read.
I don’t know what people are talking about, this book was very good. It is sort of like Twilight by Stephenie Meyer but with faries not vampires. It was a charming book with some plot turns that keep you turning the page, plus some love pursuits that are being shot down, but never leave. And then it all come to a happy ending, for two couples that were originally one. It was one of the best books I read last year. I recommend it.
My sister picked this up for me since I adore YA fantasy but never have time to read it anymore. I’m a self proclaimed former addict of novels written for teens, so it was refreshing to return to such amusement. I must say that this book was a good quick read that provided some great entertainment over a sunny afternoon and a plane flight.
From a more serious writing perspective, Marr has some work to do. I had a really hard time getting a sense of who Aislinn, the main character, was for the first few chapters. This was mainly because musical tastes and physical description were mainly used to describe her, tastes that seemed to stem from the author more than the character that she was trying to create. It was difficult for me to get into the actual story for the first few chapters, since most of the writing had me annoyed with cliches or just bored.
The overall tone of Wicked Lovely is also not as solid as other works I’ve loved, such as those of Tamora Pierce and Francesca Lia Block. The story flutters between dark, sexy, and complex and shallow simplicity. While those authors I mentioned have addressed sex in their novels, the maturity of the writing style usually matches in my opinion. Reading the mature subject matter in this book would probably make some conservative parents pause. I will give kudos to Marr, however, for wonderfully addressing STI testing and perfectly describing the awkward excitement of two friends falling in love.
The writing itself is very simple in this novel and tends to rely on purple prose to make it seem more sophisticated. However, that’s a common problem for those, like me, who are older than 14 trying to read a young adult novel. It’s basic writing skills that need to be improved. Marr has the awful issue of “telling, not showing.” A tricky issue, since it makes sense to not describe the awful things Aislinn has apparently seen in a novel geared towards the young teen set. At the same time, it left me wishing she could have gone further and actually make me understand Aislinn’s fear of the fae.
Problems aside, the book is entertaining! And, better yet, the author truly made me fall in love with the character of Seth. While I had a problem connecting with Aislinn, I really did feel the emotion of that relationship. About a third of the way through the novel I was finally sucked in and couldn’t put it down. Scary faerys! And a plot full of twists and turns, faery court political intrigue, sex, and fascinating characters.
This is not a faery story…it’s an allegory for relationships and life. Am I the only person to see a deeper meaning to this book? Melissa Marr is a major young talent in my opinion. I hope she lives up to the promise.