Wicked Lovely

Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr

This is not your typical fairy story. If you go into this book thinking it will be a happy-go-lucky sweet tale, you might as well put the book down before you even open it. This is a tale of the dark side of the fairy world, a side known to few humans. Only those humans gifted with “the sight” can see the fairies and the dastardly deeds they get up to, only those like Aislinn.

Aislinn has always been able to see the fairies; a fact that she has to keep hidden or they might blind or kill her. It is a gift she inherited from her mother and grandmother. The only way Aislinn can keep herself safe is to follow the rules. Rule #1 Don’t let the fairies know you can see them, Rule #2 Fairies are hurt by holy people and holy symbols, and Rule #3 Fairies cannot go near steel.

Aislinn is lucky enough to have a best friend who happens to live in an old train car, made of steel. His home is one of her few fairy free areas, but not even the train car can protect her from her feelings about the new fairy in town. Torn between her love for her best friend and her loathing/infatuation with the fairies, Aislinn is placed into a world that few authors have explored.

I found the premise of this book extremely interesting. Aislinn is not your typical fantasy hero, her best friend has tattoos and lives life more on the dangerous side, while she frequently thinks about sex and stays out late on school nights. Those older teens who are a little bit of a rebel with feel a connection to Aislinn while traditional fantasy fans will find the world of the fairies darker and more intriguing than most. I look forward to reading the sequel, Ink Exchange.

Warning: This book contains alcohol usage, sexual content, foul language, and general adult situations.