Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
I love not just through story, which is very captivating, but the style of the writing. Everything just flows so nicely. The words wrap around your mind drawing the reader into the story. So great. One of the few books I buy and reread.
Young adult books, particularly young adult romance, go through trending topics every couple of years. [b:Marked|30183|Marked (House of Night #1)|P.C. Cast|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1317067002s/30183.jpg|30573] like the vampires, [b:Shiver|6068551|Shiver (The Wolves of Mercy Falls, #1)|Maggie Stiefvater|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1409283154s/6068551.jpg|6244926] with the werewolves, and Wicked Lovely is home to the fae. Aislinn was born with the ability to see invisible faeries, powerful yet dangerous creatures that are best avoided, according to her grandmother. But from the second that she meets Keenan, the Summer King of Fae, her whole life is spun out of control – and her choice could ultimately determine the fate of fae and mortals alike.
This is honestly my first of the faerie trend, and it stayed surprisingly down to earth. Aislinn very much could have easily been a whiny, selfish protagonist, or a textbook timid girl-next-door that suddenly massive things are happening to…but thankfully, none of those cliches were there. This is something Aislinn has been dealing with for her whole life, and yeah, it’s getting worse, but she handles it like a champ. Not once does she cower or bemoan herself for being so weak; instead, she takes steps to strengthen not only her own confidence, but the capabilities of those most important to her. She fights back, and asks questions. She was a strong female protagonist that was incredibly refreshing to see in a book like this one.
So, why did I only give it 3 stars?
What I liked: Aislinn. Honestly, she was one of the few great things about this book. Between her and Donia, the Winter Girl, I was super satisfied with the female representation in this book and how well everything they did was executed. Even Beria (casually abusive mom/Winter Queen) had depth. These are not timid women, and though not all of them are all-powerful, they used what they had and did it well. There is a whole page dedicated to Keenan just admiring Aislinn, and I honestly would have too because of how well she carried herself and her determination to figure out the truth. In addition, the writing was well-paced for the entirety of the book, and I never had to put it down because I was bored. I enjoyed the interactions between the characters, even (*cough* especially) the bro moments between Keenan and Seth. And the ENDING, trashing that love triangle before it even tried to walk up in here. Slow clap for abolishing my least favorite part of any YA book, the dreaded triangle of unhappiness, deceipt, and heartbreak. Maybe it ended kind of slow, but it was worth it, right?
And yet…
What I didn’t like: The whole story was so…anti-climactic. Hide from the faeries? Check. Fend off the affections of a Summer King? Check. Agree to a mission from the Winter Queen? Check. Storm in on the Summer King’s party? Check…the entire book was like reading off a grocery list. Even when something “big” happened, there was no depth to it. Is this a final showdown between the Winter Queen and the new Summer Queen with her King at full power, or is it me microwaving a bowl of leftover spaghetti? I couldn’t tell the difference, it was that weak. I would have loved to see some build up, or any kind of climax at all, but the whole purpose of the story was Step 1: Make Aislinn the Summer Queen. Check. End of story.
Keenan was also my least favorite character. I got a Privileged White Boy vibe from him the entire time, like Aislinn was supposed to just fall at his feet and he was baffled as to why she didn’t. She constantly rejected his advances, but she’s “The One” so obviously her saying no doesn’t mean anything, really. He has barely any reaction to anything that isn’t Aislinn, whether it’s the fact that he also courted her mom (!!! ugh ugh ugh !!!) or that she genuinely wants to stay with her boyfriend because she has no feelings for him whatsoever. No reaction. His only expressions throughout the entire book are “BUT SHE IS THE ONE” at Aislinn and “BUT I DO ACTUALLY STILL LOVE YOU I THINK” at Donia. It was icky and I did not like it, and it kind of sucked that Seth (who was, like, a genuinely nice character) was only there to be a True Nice Guy/the side of the triangle that is better than Keenan but not really that important to the story. The same thing went down with Grams, where one second she is like “avoid the faeries at all costs!! I will take you out of school and lock you in your bedroom for your own good!!” to “oh so he ruined our lives but I mean you’re stuck with him so I’m just not going to appear again for the rest of the book because now my opinion has been rendered invalid.” There was room for more than one fully fleshed out character, and I am saddened by the lack of potential that so many of them had.
Overall, it was okay. It was a decent length, an interesting premise, and I really liked the main character and the ending. But I wish more had happened, and that I actually cared about any of these people. I probably won’t read the sequels because I literally could not care less, but if you really enjoyed this book, I hope the sequels are just as good if not better than this.
This is honestly my first of the faerie trend, and it stayed surprisingly down to earth. Aislinn very much could have easily been a whiny, selfish protagonist, or a textbook timid girl-next-door that suddenly massive things are happening to…but thankfully, none of those cliches were there. This is something Aislinn has been dealing with for her whole life, and yeah, it’s getting worse, but she handles it like a champ. Not once does she cower or bemoan herself for being so weak; instead, she takes steps to strengthen not only her own confidence, but the capabilities of those most important to her. She fights back, and asks questions. She was a strong female protagonist that was incredibly refreshing to see in a book like this one.
So, why did I only give it 3 stars?
What I liked: Aislinn. Honestly, she was one of the few great things about this book. Between her and Donia, the Winter Girl, I was super satisfied with the female representation in this book and how well everything they did was executed. Even Beria (casually abusive mom/Winter Queen) had depth. These are not timid women, and though not all of them are all-powerful, they used what they had and did it well. There is a whole page dedicated to Keenan just admiring Aislinn, and I honestly would have too because of how well she carried herself and her determination to figure out the truth. In addition, the writing was well-paced for the entirety of the book, and I never had to put it down because I was bored. I enjoyed the interactions between the characters, even (*cough* especially) the bro moments between Keenan and Seth. And the ENDING, trashing that love triangle before it even tried to walk up in here. Slow clap for abolishing my least favorite part of any YA book, the dreaded triangle of unhappiness, deceipt, and heartbreak. Maybe it ended kind of slow, but it was worth it, right?
And yet…
What I didn’t like: The whole story was so…anti-climactic. Hide from the faeries? Check. Fend off the affections of a Summer King? Check. Agree to a mission from the Winter Queen? Check. Storm in on the Summer King’s party? Check…the entire book was like reading off a grocery list. Even when something “big” happened, there was no depth to it. Is this a final showdown between the Winter Queen and the new Summer Queen with her King at full power, or is it me microwaving a bowl of leftover spaghetti? I couldn’t tell the difference, it was that weak. I would have loved to see some build up, or any kind of climax at all, but the whole purpose of the story was Step 1: Make Aislinn the Summer Queen. Check. End of story.
Keenan was also my least favorite character. I got a Privileged White Boy vibe from him the entire time, like Aislinn was supposed to just fall at his feet and he was baffled as to why she didn’t. She constantly rejected his advances, but she’s “The One” so obviously her saying no doesn’t mean anything, really. He has barely any reaction to anything that isn’t Aislinn, whether it’s the fact that he also courted her mom (!!! ugh ugh ugh !!!) or that she genuinely wants to stay with her boyfriend because she has no feelings for him whatsoever. No reaction. His only expressions throughout the entire book are “BUT SHE IS THE ONE” at Aislinn and “BUT I DO ACTUALLY STILL LOVE YOU I THINK” at Donia. It was icky and I did not like it, and it kind of sucked that Seth (who was, like, a genuinely nice character) was only there to be a True Nice Guy/the side of the triangle that is better than Keenan but not really that important to the story. The same thing went down with Grams, where one second she is like “avoid the faeries at all costs!! I will take you out of school and lock you in your bedroom for your own good!!” to “oh so he ruined our lives but I mean you’re stuck with him so I’m just not going to appear again for the rest of the book because now my opinion has been rendered invalid.” There was room for more than one fully fleshed out character, and I am saddened by the lack of potential that so many of them had.
Overall, it was okay. It was a decent length, an interesting premise, and I really liked the main character and the ending. But I wish more had happened, and that I actually cared about any of these people. I probably won’t read the sequels because I literally could not care less, but if you really enjoyed this book, I hope the sequels are just as good if not better than this.
Aislinn (I'm assuming it's pronounced Ash-lynn?) has always seen faeries, like her mother and grandmother before her, but she's always had the rules drummed into her. Most important is to NOT let the faeries know she has the "sight", they will kill any mortal that can see them, so Ash has always kept it hidden by not reacting to them and getting out of their way when they show up. It becomes harder to do when a faery approaches her and then even joins her school, turn out he's the summer king and is looking for his queen to fully bring about his powers and stop the winter from killing all the summer fey - he thinks Ash is that queen but she wants nothing to do with him or the faery world that she's spent her whole life ignoring.
First off, that cover ....... just plain gorgeous. It's always called out to me on bookshelves but I've just never picked it up 'cos I wasn't sure about the story or the author (never read anything by Marr before). But it's definitely a cover that makes you look, makes you pick up and "ooh" & "aah" at the shininess.
Sadly, the story didn't excite me as much as the cover. I didn't like Keenan or Ash as main characters, Keenan was very spoiled brat-ish and a tad pushy for my liking and Ash .... I don't know what it was about Ash but there was just something I didn't like about her. I much preferred Seth and Donia. That said, I still like the actual storyline and the faery folklore as well as the imagery of the winter queen and winter girl - I'd quite like to see the image in my head brought to life on paper but I can't draw. I think I'll still pick up the next book since it seems to be different characters so I might like it more?
First off, that cover ....... just plain gorgeous. It's always called out to me on bookshelves but I've just never picked it up 'cos I wasn't sure about the story or the author (never read anything by Marr before). But it's definitely a cover that makes you look, makes you pick up and "ooh" & "aah" at the shininess.
Sadly, the story didn't excite me as much as the cover. I didn't like Keenan or Ash as main characters, Keenan was very spoiled brat-ish and a tad pushy for my liking and Ash .... I don't know what it was about Ash but there was just something I didn't like about her. I much preferred Seth and Donia. That said, I still like the actual storyline and the faery folklore as well as the imagery of the winter queen and winter girl - I'd quite like to see the image in my head brought to life on paper but I can't draw. I think I'll still pick up the next book since it seems to be different characters so I might like it more?
Mi mancava un libro sulle fate, e questo è stato il primo. Devo essere sincera, ero reticente prima di comprarlo, perchè il mondo fatato non mi ha mai attirato tanto; ma dopo averlo letto mi sono dovuta ricredere: nonostante non mi piaccia come scrive l'autrice, la storia mi ha preso molto e mi ha dato molte emozioni.
I read this book YEARS ago when it first hit shelves but by the time I got a goodreads account, so much time had passed that I didn't want to rate it without a reread. So that it was I did. If you're interested in urban fantasy- specifically faeries- then look no further. This was one of the very first books about faeries and is definitely worth your time and money!
This is one is a 3.5 not a 3.
I liked it but just shy of loved it. It was like if Spinning Silver and The Wicked King had a baby.
Very solid fairy tale elements and writing plus not veering in to the gratuitous while still maintaining tension push this one to almost a 4 star.
Feeling a bit long to read and short on action keeps it in the 3s.
I will read more in the series.
I liked it but just shy of loved it. It was like if Spinning Silver and The Wicked King had a baby.
Very solid fairy tale elements and writing plus not veering in to the gratuitous while still maintaining tension push this one to almost a 4 star.
Feeling a bit long to read and short on action keeps it in the 3s.
I will read more in the series.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Haven't read many books about the fey/fairies and what I do know is more along the lines of tinkerbell/
Aislinn is trying to be a normal teenager, go to school, have a crush and make her Grams proud. only problem is she sees fairies, Her Grams does do. So she gave her a set of rules, and worked with her so mere mortals wouldn't suspect a thing. Things are great until, the Summer King decides she is the one to be the Summer queen. Only problem is she wants nothing to do with him or his world.
To further complicate things, she is falling in love with a mortal and trying very hard to pretend none of this fairy business is about her. Well she learns how much she is in the middle of the battle between summer and winter. So she has choices to make and she won't go quietly. She tells the King the conditions in which must happen in order for her help.
My issue with this book, I needed some more background on how this battle between summer and winter came about, and the ending answer a few questions, but it was also a set up for book 2
Aislinn is trying to be a normal teenager, go to school, have a crush and make her Grams proud. only problem is she sees fairies, Her Grams does do. So she gave her a set of rules, and worked with her so mere mortals wouldn't suspect a thing. Things are great until, the Summer King decides she is the one to be the Summer queen. Only problem is she wants nothing to do with him or his world.
To further complicate things, she is falling in love with a mortal and trying very hard to pretend none of this fairy business is about her. Well she learns how much she is in the middle of the battle between summer and winter. So she has choices to make and she won't go quietly. She tells the King the conditions in which must happen in order for her help.
My issue with this book, I needed some more background on how this battle between summer and winter came about, and the ending answer a few questions, but it was also a set up for book 2
this is a re-read for me and I still absolutely adore this book.
Reread number... I don't even know anymore, and I still love this book so much. One thing I'd forgotten was how much I love Seth for the consent king he is.