Faeries Among Us

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.

Faery intrigue, mortal love, and the clash of ancient rules and modern expectations swirl together in Melissa Marr's stunning twenty-first-century faery tale.

Title: Wicked Lovely
Author: Melissa Marr
Published: 2007
Publisher: Harper Teen
Pages: 336
Genre: Young Adult-Fantasy

Wicked Lovely is a fairy.. oops, very, special award-winning debut book for author Melissa Marr and the first book set in her fairy world. It’s a fantasy book that loosely mixes fairy folklore with a modern teenager’s life.

I love how Melissa Marr sums up the whole book in a blog interview: “It's a story about three characters who each want something. Keenan wants to find his missing Summer Queen (who happens to be a mortal); Donia wants freedom from the curse she's carrying (because of Keenan); Aislinn wants a normal life (but she sees faeries). Keenan and Donia are at odds, bound to compete to convince Aislinn to choose as they want/need. Aislinn is trying to hide the fact that she knows faeries are real. Ultimately, it's a story of choices made and un-made.”

I've always loved anything "paranormal" but faeries have fascinated me the most so when I heard about Wicked Lovely I had to pick it up. It was just as good as I thought it would be! I can’t say I would want to be able to see faeries all the time but Marr’s fairies sure do sound like they would be frighteningly beautiful.

I really liked the main character Aislinn (pronounced Ash-linn) for being such a strong character even though she has lived most of her life in fear of her “gift” (or curse, which her whole family seems to have) being discovered by the faeries because it could mean instant death. Her goth friend Seth has to be one of the most interesting humans in the book. Typical bad boy look (piercings, etc.) but totally good through and through. I loved how he was protective of her without being overbearing. Plus it takes a lot of guts to not only believe in things you can’t see but also to stand up to them.

I also liked the gritty, down-to-earth feel to the book. It reminded me a lot of Holly Black’s young adult novels about faeries and made me want to go and pick up the rest of the books I haven’t read by her yet. I’m so glad that Marr is going to continue writing about the incredible world she has created in Ink Exchange! Even though the characters from Wicked Lovely won’t be the main focus, at least the reader can get reacquainted with them.

I have found a surprising amount of interviews with Melissa Marr, including two from the blogs Cynsations and YA Authors Cafe then one from the publisher that’s mainly just about the author herself. My favorite thing though is the fansite I found that has tons of info, interviews, podcasts, contests, and more. It’s the very first one for Melissa Marr but I can see that there will more soon!