Marr, Melissa: Wicked Lovely
Wicked Lovely
Writer: Melissa Marr
Genre: Young Adult/Urban Fantasy
Pages: 328
Someone on LJ, I'm not entirely sure who it was, though I suspect it was ccfinlay, plugged this book in his journal. So curious as I'm wont to be, I checked it out on Amazon. I fell IN LOVE with the cover. I mean, really. It's just gorgeous. Then I read the blurb, and realized that yes, I needed to read this book.
It wasn't until I found the book at Border's and was waiting at the check-out line that I realized this book was YA. For a moment, I hesitated, because at the time, I was still a little suspicious of reading YA books. But then, I took another look at the adorable little hardback, the gorgeous cover, the fantastic title, and noting the price was only fifteen bucks, I decided, why not?
I decided to settle down with Wicked Lovely after my last read because I wanted something fast and something I'd most likely enjoy, but something that wasn't remotely similar to what I'd just finished reading.
I was right. I finished this book in 24 hours. It was fantastic.
One of the first things that struck me was the complexity of each POV character. Everyone had something to lose, everyone had to make hard choices. That was great. And another thing that surprised me, badly at first, but then I decided I liked it, was that this book didn't follow the traditional romantic tropes. Aisleen doesn't end up with Keenan, even though that's the pairing that's set up, but rather with Seth, her best friend she wants to love but is afraid to. And Keenan, while he wants Aisleen as his Summer Queen, his heart really belongs to Donia, who still loves him, despite the betrayal that made her Winter Girl.
And I also love how Aisleen fights to find a different solution to her problem. She can't lived locked away from the faeries, but she doesn't want to go the way of her mother either (which we don't learn the significance of until the end). Aisleen knows what she wants, and once she's ready to admit it, she becomes unstoppable.
Another kudos to the narrative was how well Marr handled the question of sex and what it means to be active in today's society. It made sense for the narrator to be worried, and I thought all of it was handled well. And even though Seth was a bit TOO perfect, he almost had to be in order to be a believable choice for Aisleen. She needed Seth to avoid Keenan's charms. Though I wonder, in the future, when Seth is old and Aisleen isn't, how their relationship will really stand. And I wonder if Aisleen will find herself loving Keenan regardless, after a time. It's something to look forward to, if Marr decides to go that far.
Oh, I'm beyond excited to read more books from Marr, particularly more books from this world. Donia's fate is fantastic, and I love that she and Keenan can finally consummate their love by the end, even though by all rights, they shouldn't be together. But that raises it's own set of questions, and I couldn't help but get the feeling that Donia may use Keenan before everything's said and done, because while he always loved her, that never stopped him from searching for THE ONE or messing around with the girls who weren't. That was a lovely note of tension at the end.
I did have questions: was Aisleen's grandmother ever involved with Keenan or the faeries? The mother was, obviously, but then that raised another question: she had Aisleen. Who was the father? The only interest we know of is Keenan, but that would mean Keenan is Aisleen's father, and I doubt that's the case. As it stands, though, Aisleen's father is a mystery, so Keenan's involvement with her mother is beyond creepy.
Then there's the Winter Queen, Beira. From what I gathered, she seduced the Summer King to kill him, but ended up pregnant with his kid, which was a monkey-wrench in her plan to rule the seasons (or world, whatever), so she created the limitations in order to old on to her power for as long as possible. But, did the Summer King not have his own Summer Queen? It seems like originally, that wasn't the case, that there was meant to be a balance of opposites. The Summer King to the Winter Queen. So does that mean the Summer Queen was merely a necessity from the game that spun out of Keenan's birth? It's hard to say, and I'm a little confused about the politics and the workings of it all, but I hope some of those answers will be given in later books.
Overall, I was beyond satisfied with this book. I'm not familiar with books that focus on faeries, so I had no expectations from the text, and what little expectations I did have in terms of fantasy literature and romantic subplots, even those were thrown out the window at some point, which was lovely. It's a great debut from Marr, and I can't wait to read more of her work.
Next up: The Blade Itself: First Law, Book One by Joe Abercrombie (ARC)