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breezy610's review against another edition
3.0
it was okay for an ending. I felt that something was lacking from the happy ending thought.
cobycoyle's review against another edition
3.0
I love that once she is the only Summer regent that Aislinn really steps up, embraces it, and goes to fight as well. Oooooooooooo
fannfran's review against another edition
5.0
I did not want this to end. IT WAS SO GOOD! I think I actually cried. I loved this book series and thats that.
kathydavie's review against another edition
4.0
Fifth and last full-length story in the main Wicked Lovely paranormal romance fantasy series for young adults set in Huntsdale. This one is the big battle — at last — and ties up a number of loose ends, although from the short stories I've read, the series story continues on and there is the Desert Tales graphic series.
It's been two years since Aislinn became the Summer Queen.
There’s a short story, "Merely Mortal", in Marr’s Faery Tales & Nightmares (you can also find it in Enthralled: Paranormal Diversions), that occurs just before the Epilogue in Darkest Mercy.
My Take
This is where it all takes place and ends, and it's both satisfying and terrible. Yep, I cried. The war with Bananach against Winter, Summer, and Dark when Bananch declares herself the new Dark Queen. Seems Sorcha had been planning in advance as well when she made Seth her son back in Fragile Eternity, 3. And it's all a disaster at the start. Discord is winning on so many levels.
We finally find out where Keenan went, *eye roll*. It makes sense, where he's gone, but I don't see why Marr couldn't have worked the "mystery" more in Radiant Shadows, 4. This journey Keenan is on takes advantages of his strengths, even as he continues to work for the good of his court, for all the courts really.
Sorcha's obsession with Seth is almost funny, considering how cold and logical she was in the very beginning, when Seth confirms what she had intended for him. Gabriel has to know he can't win this, so why does he continue with this? Nor do I understand what Irial did. No matter how often I re-read this, I am not getting it.
And Keenan finally makes a purely selfish choice that can only benefit him.
The Story
Irial is dying from the poison Bananach delivered with her knife in Radiant Shadows. and Niall has gone mad, viciously so. The Summer Court is weak with an unloving King and Queen. Sorcha is still having emotional problems about Seth, and Bananach is winning…
Worse? Neither Sorcha nor Bananach can be killed without destroying all the fae.
The Characters
Niall is the Dark King and going mad as Irial lies dying. He's also a former Summer advisor. The Gabriel is the Hound, their leader and Niall's left hand. Chela is a Hound and Gabriel's sometime mate and his second-in-command. Gabriel's surviving children, Rabbit and Ani, are brought to Faerie. Leslie is the mortal girl beloved of Niall and Irial. Elaina is one of the Hounds.
Seth Morgan has become Sorcha's fae son and her heir with a gift for seeing the future, a seer. He has insisted that Aislinn, the Summer Queen, make a choice between him and Keenan, the Summer King. Tavish and Quinn are two of Aislinn's advisors. The Summer Girls are formerly mortal girls desired by Keenan, but who chose not to take the test. Siobhan is one of the Summer Girls and is promoted to advisor; Eliza wishes to join the Guard.
Donia is the Winter Queen, beloved of Keenan, and the former Winter Girl. Evan is the rowan-man who chose to relinquish Summer for Winter, and he's her chief advisor and guard. Sasha is her immortal wolf. Cwenhild is one of the Scrimshaw Sisters, who, along with the lupine are some of the fey in Don's court.
Devlin has a brief appearance as king of the Shadow Court, primarily for his closing Faerie off from the mortal world. Innis seems to lead the water fae, who take delight in drowning others.
Far Dorcha, the Dark Man, is death-fey. They have no court for all fear them. Ankou is his sister, collecting the dead as she wears her winding sheet.
Bananach, the raven-faery, the bestia, is Discord, the opposite to the High Queen of Faery's, Sorcha's, Logic. Many of the disaffected faeries are flocking to Bananach's new Court including Cath Paluc.
The Cover
The cover is gorgeous in its purples and looks jeweled, and I can't tell if the flower is a rose or a pansy. The background is a haze of lilac with a woman in the background — it's softly beautiful. The series information, the title, and the author's name is in a paler grayed lilac and surrounded by Marr's leafy, scrolling border.
The title is a good summation of both this story and the series, for it is a Darkest Mercy that affects them all.
It's been two years since Aislinn became the Summer Queen.
There’s a short story, "Merely Mortal", in Marr’s Faery Tales & Nightmares (you can also find it in Enthralled: Paranormal Diversions), that occurs just before the Epilogue in Darkest Mercy.
My Take
This is where it all takes place and ends, and it's both satisfying and terrible. Yep, I cried. The war with Bananach against Winter, Summer, and Dark when Bananch declares herself the new Dark Queen. Seems Sorcha had been planning in advance as well when she made Seth her son back in Fragile Eternity, 3. And it's all a disaster at the start. Discord is winning on so many levels.
We finally find out where Keenan went, *eye roll*. It makes sense, where he's gone, but I don't see why Marr couldn't have worked the "mystery" more in Radiant Shadows, 4. This journey Keenan is on takes advantages of his strengths, even as he continues to work for the good of his court, for all the courts really.
Sorcha's obsession with Seth is almost funny, considering how cold and logical she was in the very beginning, when Seth confirms what she had intended for him. Gabriel has to know he can't win this, so why does he continue with this? Nor do I understand what Irial did. No matter how often I re-read this, I am not getting it.
And Keenan finally makes a purely selfish choice that can only benefit him.
The Story
Irial is dying from the poison Bananach delivered with her knife in Radiant Shadows. and Niall has gone mad, viciously so. The Summer Court is weak with an unloving King and Queen. Sorcha is still having emotional problems about Seth, and Bananach is winning…
Worse? Neither Sorcha nor Bananach can be killed without destroying all the fae.
The Characters
Niall is the Dark King and going mad as Irial lies dying. He's also a former Summer advisor. The Gabriel is the Hound, their leader and Niall's left hand. Chela is a Hound and Gabriel's sometime mate and his second-in-command. Gabriel's surviving children, Rabbit and Ani, are brought to Faerie. Leslie is the mortal girl beloved of Niall and Irial. Elaina is one of the Hounds.
Seth Morgan has become Sorcha's fae son and her heir with a gift for seeing the future, a seer. He has insisted that Aislinn, the Summer Queen, make a choice between him and Keenan, the Summer King. Tavish and Quinn are two of Aislinn's advisors. The Summer Girls are formerly mortal girls desired by Keenan, but who chose not to take the test. Siobhan is one of the Summer Girls and is promoted to advisor; Eliza wishes to join the Guard.
Donia is the Winter Queen, beloved of Keenan, and the former Winter Girl. Evan is the rowan-man who chose to relinquish Summer for Winter, and he's her chief advisor and guard. Sasha is her immortal wolf. Cwenhild is one of the Scrimshaw Sisters, who, along with the lupine are some of the fey in Don's court.
Devlin has a brief appearance as king of the Shadow Court, primarily for his closing Faerie off from the mortal world. Innis seems to lead the water fae, who take delight in drowning others.
Far Dorcha, the Dark Man, is death-fey. They have no court for all fear them. Ankou is his sister, collecting the dead as she wears her winding sheet.
Bananach, the raven-faery, the bestia, is Discord, the opposite to the High Queen of Faery's, Sorcha's, Logic. Many of the disaffected faeries are flocking to Bananach's new Court including Cath Paluc.
The Cover
The cover is gorgeous in its purples and looks jeweled, and I can't tell if the flower is a rose or a pansy. The background is a haze of lilac with a woman in the background — it's softly beautiful. The series information, the title, and the author's name is in a paler grayed lilac and surrounded by Marr's leafy, scrolling border.
The title is a good summation of both this story and the series, for it is a Darkest Mercy that affects them all.
sirensaria's review against another edition
3.0
I honestly have to say I was disappointed with this book. While it was well written, the plot seemed rushed to the point where it was jumping all over the place. There were events that you couldn't tell what had actually happened, to the point it was almost plot chaos. The ending just kind of... Happened. There was no rhyme or reason, and no explanation as to how it could have happened that way. In all, definitely not one of Marr's better books.
cosymilko's review against another edition
5.0
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was also, entirely way too short. I needed more.
I tore through this book in two days, work was in the way.
I've been reading this series since I picked up Wicked Lovely and thought the cover and premise were pretty cool. I hadn't read faery fiction before and thought, "why not?".
Marr's writing has matured throughout the series to reach a point where the court politics are more believable, the characters motives true and flawed all at the same time.
War was coming. Faeries were dying. Courts were in chaos. I loved this one so much. The love triangle between Keenan, Aislinn and Donia finally resolved and surprisingly, I think it was a good choice. I wanted more about court politics. I wanted to know more of Irial's and Niall's past. I wanted to know more about Tavish, and more about the binding of Keenan by the dark and winter courts.
I'm sad it is over but, wow, what a final piece to the ride.
I tore through this book in two days, work was in the way.
I've been reading this series since I picked up Wicked Lovely and thought the cover and premise were pretty cool. I hadn't read faery fiction before and thought, "why not?".
Marr's writing has matured throughout the series to reach a point where the court politics are more believable, the characters motives true and flawed all at the same time.
War was coming. Faeries were dying. Courts were in chaos. I loved this one so much. The love triangle between Keenan, Aislinn and Donia finally resolved and surprisingly, I think it was a good choice. I wanted more about court politics. I wanted to know more of Irial's and Niall's past. I wanted to know more about Tavish, and more about the binding of Keenan by the dark and winter courts.
I'm sad it is over but, wow, what a final piece to the ride.
mellomorissa's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
anits12's review against another edition
5.0
I feel so sad that this series has ended and i would really like more but i guess she ended in the best possible way at least to my likings.
her characters have been so captivating and so far Niall is my best hero.
now i will reread the series again at aslower pace to relive the wickely lovely world.
her characters have been so captivating and so far Niall is my best hero.
now i will reread the series again at aslower pace to relive the wickely lovely world.
freadomlibrary's review
5.0
Disclaimer: It's been three years since I read this, I'm sharing my notes from that time.
Critically
Plot - 4.5 out of 5 stars
intense, dramatic, action packed, death, suspense, twists and turns
Writing Style - 4 out of 5 stars
deliberate, detailed, destructive, suspenseful, engaging
Characters - 5 out of 5 stars
Favorite part about this series. Love them all for different reasons. One of my favorite ensemble cast. They're all great and they compliment each other really well.
Emotionally
The plot was what I'd come to expect from this series and so much more than that too. It was intense, dramatic, dark and full of action. It was a culmination of all the different threads that had been developing throughout the series. There is so much going on at once, so many different parts that come together to create the plot for this book and it's in such a crazy way. I didn't see a lot of what happened coming and it really shocked me when I thought this series couldn't possibly do that anymore. As for the outcome of everything, there were things I loved, things I hated and things that made total sense to me as they happened.
I feel like this is one of my favorite casts of characters ever. They are all complex and intricate, and they're connected to each other in immeasurable ways. By this book, there aren't any main characters. Each one had their own book almost, which highlighted their history and their plot lines and helped to culminate the end of this story. It makes the story so much more beautiful in my opinion (kind of want to reread this series now).
Critically
Plot - 4.5 out of 5 stars
intense, dramatic, action packed, death, suspense, twists and turns
Writing Style - 4 out of 5 stars
deliberate, detailed, destructive, suspenseful, engaging
Characters - 5 out of 5 stars
Favorite part about this series. Love them all for different reasons. One of my favorite ensemble cast. They're all great and they compliment each other really well.
Emotionally
Spoiler
This is definitely one of my favorite series finales of all time.The plot was what I'd come to expect from this series and so much more than that too. It was intense, dramatic, dark and full of action. It was a culmination of all the different threads that had been developing throughout the series. There is so much going on at once, so many different parts that come together to create the plot for this book and it's in such a crazy way. I didn't see a lot of what happened coming and it really shocked me when I thought this series couldn't possibly do that anymore. As for the outcome of everything, there were things I loved, things I hated and things that made total sense to me as they happened.
I feel like this is one of my favorite casts of characters ever. They are all complex and intricate, and they're connected to each other in immeasurable ways. By this book, there aren't any main characters. Each one had their own book almost, which highlighted their history and their plot lines and helped to culminate the end of this story. It makes the story so much more beautiful in my opinion (kind of want to reread this series now).
lydiad's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I’ll never really forgive Melissa for not just letting Iri and Niall just be in love and give them the happily ever after they deserve. Always heartbroken for this series to end.