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.
Faerie intrigue, mortal love, and the clash of ancient rules and modern expectations swirl together in Melissa Marr's stunning 21st century faery tale.
I've never read a Faery book before but I really did like this book. Normally it's not my style but Marr didn't go with cliches and I liked how the characters were more three-dimensional than just good or bad. I really hope she does a sequel though, because the ending lends itself to one.
writes,
I LOVED this book! Instantly I fell in love with the characters and am itching with excitement and impatience for the second (Ink Exchange) to come out in May! I loved to hate Keenan; fell head over heels in love with Seth and couldn't get enough of Aislinn. This isn't your run-of-the-mills faery book. I couldn't put it down!
writes,
This book is something I would recommend for people who love Holly Black's stuff and are in withdrawal waiting for her next book to come out. The tone, the style, the setting, even some of the characters would not be out of place in one of Black's delicious novels.
This book is a light read and relatively fast-paced. The middle drags a bit and the secondary romance is clunky at best. The villainess is your basic cardboard caricature of Evil (she reminded me of nothing so much as one of the Evil Queens from the early Disney fairytales). The plot is predictable but it makes for good junk food, fluff reading for when you need something bright and easy.
As many other people have said, it seems like Seth would be the most appealing character of the lot, but for some reason Marr never chooses to give us his POV and I think that was a mistake as it means his character never feels fully fleshed out.
I think Marr's main problem, though, is that she constantly pulls her punches. Unlike Holly Black's gritty world and stark, hard truths, Marr skirts the line of pain and angst and never crosses it. This makes for rather bloodless characters and a general emotional disconnect from the plot as a whole. Like giving us Seth's POV I think the book would have been stronger if she had let her characters really feel some of what they were going through, if she had upped the stakes a little in her conflict.
Not a bad book, but not a great one either. Competant writing, satisfying romance, interesting idea. Probably won't make it onto my keeper shelf, though. If you finish this feeling unsatisfied and want some urban fantasy with wit, grit and a bit of bite check out Holly Black's stuff. You won't be disappointed.
(Totally off topic here but what were the cover designers thinking when they put the radioactive affids on the cover? Wtf?)
