Review: Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr

Wicked Lovely (Wicked Lovely #1)
by Melissa Marr
Published June 12th 2007 by HarperTeen

Rule #3: Don't stare at invisible faeries.
Aislinn has always seen faeries. Powerful and dangerous, they walk hidden in the 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.

Synopsis from Goodreads.

This book had been on my to-read shelf for a little over two years. I'm still not sure why I didn't read it sooner. It just kept getting pushed back, and back, until it was all but forgotten. I really wish that I had read it sooner, that it had been my first experience with Fairy books. But it wasn't. Instead I read The Iron King. *sigh* My mistake. (And yes, I know I'll be making enemies by saying that.) And then I put off reading Wicked Lovely because I had developed an aversion to all books Fey. Lucky for me, I read Marr's Carnival of Souls. I realized that I really liked her writing style, and so decided that Wicked Lovely deserved a fair break.

Melissa Marr's writing is wonderful! Straight forward without being overly flowery. I'm not bogged down by too many details. Instead, she lets the characters take center stage. And Oh! how I LOVE the characters! Aislinn is strong and unrelentingly stubborn. I love that she is able to stand her own ground, no matter what. Seth is so delicious, on so many levels. The ultimate good bad-boy, complete with piercings. Protective, considerate, artistic. He is my new obsession, and book boyfriend. And what story is complete without some villains. The beauty, though, is that the villains are unstable in their alliances. Those who start out evil, will undoubtedly switch sides. And vice versa.

The story is not too big for this book, which was the main problem I felt in Iron King. Here, there is not too much activity going on at all times. And though it isn't a cliffhanger, the groundwork which has been lain promises for a solid series. I look forward to book two, if only to secure my Seth fix.