Review: Ink Exchange - Melissa Marr

Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr

Wicked Lovely, 2

Genre: YA/Urban fantasy romance
Pages: 328
Published: 2008

 Unbeknownst to mortals, a power struggle is unfolding in a world of shadows and danger. After centuries of stability, the balance among the Faery Courts has altered, and Irial, ruler of the Dark Court, is battling to hold his rebellious and newly vulnerable fey together. If he fails, bloodshed and brutality will follow.

Seventeen-year-old Leslie knows nothing of faeries or their intrigues. When she is attracted to an eerily beautiful tattoo of eyes and wings, all she knows is that she has to have it, convinced it is a tangible symbol of changes she desperately craves for her own life.

The tattoo does bring changes; not the kind Leslie has dreamed of, but sinister, compelling changes that are more than symbolic. Those changes will bind Leslie and Irial together, drawing Leslie deeper and deeper into the faery world, unable to resist its allures, and helpless to withstand its perils.

The first book was ok, nothing to write home about. This one I liked more, but only in the aspect that it was dark.

First I do have to take up something. Irial and Niall is what like, 500 years old?  More, less? And they do not look like a teenagers either (I am thinking of you Edward). Honestly, can't they just find a woman? Instead they lust after teenage girls. When I was younger I would have liked that, cos I would have seen myself as that teenage girl in love with some older guy...now  I just look at them at semi-old dirty men who should go for someone older instead.

This is then the story about Aislinn's friend Leslie who is living in hell. She has experienced rape and abuse. This is a darker YA book. Because the world she then is thrown into is even darker with death and more. The dark court is a truly dark one that feeds on humans, and fairies alike. Here I got confused, was it supposed to be a love story? It is not like she wanted to be with Irial, that tattoo made her, so that whole sexual relationship they is then wrong, and I do not know what to think. She  likes Niall, even if he would somehow kill her if they were together. But he does keep his dark side under control, and I wish they could be together. If I have to like someone it would be him. I'd like to like Leslie, but I do not know. And I would have liked to like Irial, but absolutely no. Nothing could be more wrong that what he is doing.

Aislinn, Keenan and Seth makes a couple of appearances, and by them only Seth is still a good guy. The rest seems to, I do now know.

I did like this book, because it is how fairies is supposed to be. They are not cute and sparkling. They are wicked and they steal babies, drown people and tease and kill.

Then there was the end, or what am I saying. There was no ending. I hope Marr writes something up because after a book like this the ending seemed like..well like she reached the end, wasn't sure what to do and just did something. Still I will rather read this dark fairy books than cute YA vampire books. These have an edge to them. Even if this might have been a bit too dark, no happiness at all in the entire book.

Blodeuedd's Cover Corner: Dark and beautiful

Reason for reading: Library book

Final thoughts: Dark YA with little hope in it

Wicked Lovely - Melissa Marr

Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr

YA urban fantasy

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. His 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; everything.


I thought the book was ok, but it stayed at ok. It was not bad, not great, well-written with a gripping story that made me go on. But afterwards it made me thinking, what if it would have been even better in English? Sometimes they just seems to simplify things in translations when it comes to children's and youth books. I guess I will not know that and it will stay at ok.

I like that this book had a darker tone and sometimes they brushed up against really dark things, those kinds of things that I don't even want to hear about in other books. But it really made this a darker story in it's way. It was a dark world when it came to humans, and it was a dark world where the fairies lived.

I liked Aislinn, I could not do what she does, walk around seeing fairies and not reacting, not even when she sees something awful. As for her friend and love interest Seth, I was kind of blah on him, didn't want to see them together. He could have been made into more, now I just saw him as someone who was there but that I didn't know that much about in the end.

The faeries then, the winter court was cold, I would like to know about that high court, those summer fairies were to lusty, and the dark court, well they are dark, and I want some info on them too. Keenan, him I liked, there was something to hope for. What a nice summer king, and how did he get a mother like that?! As for Donia, I liked the wolf and some things didn't add up in the end. All those girls, and why should anyone be more special in the end? As I said, they were sure lusty at that summer court.

I saw that book 3 is about them again so would be fun to read that one, and book 2 is about that dark king? Sounds cool to me.

This was a book that kept me reading and wondering about how it all would end, and it did surprise me in the end. She did well there, and Melissa Marr is a good author. A YA book worth reading.