Wednesday Reads: Wicked Lovely

Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr. I was actually pleasantly surprised with this book. I hadn't expected to like it as much as I did. Basic story line: girl gets sucked into a world she didn't want to get involved with, and men compete for her attention. But the voice, characters, and the ending won me over.

Synopsis:

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.

First Sentence: From the Prologue: "The Summer King knelt before her. 'Is this what you freely choose, to risk winter's chill?'" Here's what I love about the Prologue--it's short. While it isn't super important to the story, it does let you see how it began with one character, and helps round out her story arch.

While deciding whether I actually wanted to read this book, I looked up the excerpt from Amazon. It was the first few pages of Chapter 1 that hooked me. "'Four-ball, side pocket.' Aislinn pushed the cue forward with a short, quick thrust; the ball dropped into the pocket with a satisfying clack." She's a fun character, and we get to see her spunky attitude combined with her fairy-sight and how that's affected her, right off.

Beefs: This sassy, pool playing chick that opened the book sorta goes away. She is still spunky, but she's also a shy character who doesn't put herself out there very often. It's nice that she has so many facets, but I was disappointed that we didn't see her return to the pool hall. But her friend Seth and his uniqueness mostly made up for it.

POV shifts were good, but at time I found myself skipping ahead to get back to the main story line. Seth and Aislinn are amazing together.

Brownie Points: The end. I can't give it away. But the decision Aislinn makes--about which boy she ends up with--seriously made me happy.

Ending: Happy making.

Recommendation: If you like YA paranormal romance, read it.

Would I represent it? Probably. :)

Happy reading!