Wicked Lovely

Originally published December 8, 2009.

Author: Melissa Marr
Published: 2007
Publisher: HarperTeen
Series: Wicked Lovely series #1
328 pages (paperback)
 
Summary: Ever since she can remember, Aislinn has been told by her Gram that she must not look at, must not speak to and must not attract the attention of the faeries that walk the streets, invisible from mortals’ eyes, except her’s. They are described as both wicked and lovely, who like to play play tricks on mortals and will blind or kill humans that can see them. One day, however, she is approached by a faery named Keenan who tries to court her and Aislinn’s life is turned all upside down because of this: she can’t go to school normally, can’t go out normally, and regrets dragging her best friend Seth into the ordeal. She tries to avoid Keenan but he won’t stop following her. Keenan believes Aislinn might be the Summer Queen he had been waiting centuries for, the one who may be able to stop his evil mother, the Winter Queen, from freezing the world and killing all faeries and mortals alike.

My Thoughts: Faeries aren’t cute little winged creatures in this novel. Some are beautiful, while others are described as grotesque. It’s what attracted me to the novel in the first place. The beginning prologue-thing was eerie and dark, I enjoyed it. It’s a decent novel, but I had trouble staying interested. Virtually nothing happens in the entire first half of the novel — it is filled with a lot of Aislinn walking around, from home to Seth’s to school, rinse and repeat. Most of the dialogue is to build the relationship between Seth and Aislinn. Most of Aislinn’s thoughts revolve around wondering what the faeries want. Nothing actually happens, the first half just drags on and on as if it was just filling up space.

The story never explicitly states what the faeries want either so I was as confused as Aislinn was. It’s up to the reader to piece together the pieces, which wouldn’t be a problem at all if it weren’t for the fact that there appears to be missing pieces, or pieces handed to the reader too late. The faeries speak of a serious ‘game’ they are playing, but nobody explains what the game is, or gives enough hints to the reader to figure it out, not until about three quarters of the way in. Despite being confused, I patiently read through the first half to get to the second half. The second half was a little better, mainly dealing with Keenan trying to convince Aislinn to be his Queen, and things began to make a little more sense but at the end of the novel, I still had many unanswered questions.
I couldn’t relate or care about any of the characters. Everyone seems so emotionless. For the most part, all the characters are trying to keep calm and keep their cool. I think the only character I did care about was Seth, even though I had some issues with him too (I don’t care how long I’ve been friends with someone, if my best friend/boyfriend/someone I care about told me she or he had always been able to see faeries, I can’t see myself accepting that like “Oh, really? Cool so what do we do about that now?”)

But the book isn’t bad by any stretch of the imagination. The writing is excellent: when Marr describes winter’s chill, I actually felt chilly, and when she described the warm summer sun, I felt warm myself. I love the dark, slightly gothic feel to the novel. I love the concept of the ‘game’ the faeries play, and the rules that make it oh-so-intriguing. I wish it was explained more in-depth so I can better understand it and its purpose. The ending was great too, if not a bit predictable, and I am quite satisfied with how each character’s part in the story concludes (or at least, until Fragile Eternity, the sequel, which I can’t quite decide if I want to read at this point). It is overall a decent, average book despite its confusing-ness, just have to have the patience to sit through the first half.

My Rating: 2.5/5