Wicked Lovely and Ink Exchange author Melissa Marr delivers another little masterpiece of Urban Faery, that budding subgenre. In this ethereal romance, Aislinn has achieved the fragile eternity of the title; she has become an immortal faery, complicating both her life and that of Seth, the man who loves her.
Marr's fantasy world is complex and involving.
—The New York Times
Gr 9 Up
Fans of the fey world will devour this sequel to Wicked Lovely (HarperTeen, 2007). The groundwork laid in that book makes navigating the world of the Summer Queen, Winter Queen, and Dark Court easier, although determined readers could make it through this book alone. Marr has created a world both harsh and lush, at once urban and natural, with decaying buildings covered with blooming vines, unkempt Victorian mansions, an overgrown park for the Summer Court, with living Rowan people, gazing ravens, and a mysterious fountain. This world exists within the mortal world and yet remains invisible to most. Aislinn moves uneasily between high school life (although she rarely seems to attend class or study) and her "job" as Summer Queen, a role that increasingly pervades every aspect of her life and draws her deeper into Faerie. Chasteness is not a particularly valued faery trait, and descriptions of interactions, while not explicit, have a mature sensuality and desire. Keenan, Seth, and "Ash" are respectful of boundaries, although the longing to be physically close is never far from the surface, and is sometimes acted upon. Tattoos, body piercing, pool halls, and smoking are portrayed as glamorous parts of teen life. Wicked Lovely, Fragile Eternity , and their companion, Ink Exchange (HarperTeen, 2008), would be good suggestions for fans of Maggie Stiefvater's Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception (Flux, 2008).-Maggie Knapp, Trinity Valley School, Fort Worth, TX
Three months after the events of Wicked Lovely (2007), Aislinn and her boyfriend, Seth, are still trying to figure out the complex world of Faerie. Though Aislinn, as the Summer Queen, has an antagonistic relationship with the Winter Queen, Donia, Donia's frigidity is the least of Aislinn's problems. Elsewhere in the city, two sisters representing Order and Chaos predict war for Faerie. The overwrought, repetitive writing (one character "quirks his brow" at no fewer than three points in the book) that is Marr's trademark does not let up for a moment here. In spite of this, the plots of multiple love triangles and impending war manage to move much more smoothly from scene to scene than in Wicked Lovely or the companion Ink Exchange (2008). Romantics will be touched by Seth's undying, if blind, devotion to the ever-more-untouchable Aislinn; he goes so far as to become a faery himself in order to be with her forever. Like its predecessors, this book is a few hundred pages of mediocrity underneath an exquisite cover, and it will fly off library and bookstore shelves. (Fantasy. YA)
This urban fairy tale is impossible to put down.” — School Library Journal (starred review)
Praise for Wicked Lovely: “Riveting and dark: I love this tale!”—Tamora Pierce “A fully imagined faery world which even non-fantasy (or faerie) lovers will want to delve into.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“A fully imagined faery world which even non-fantasy (or faerie) lovers will want to delve into.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“This dark fantasy about survival and transformation is as mesmerizing as its urban faery subjects.” — ALA Booklist
This dark fantasy about survival and transformation is as mesmerizing as its urban faery subjects.
