Scan barcode
kathydavie's review
5.0
This one is 2.5 in the Wicked Lovely so-very-romantic paranormal series for Young Adults. The couple focus is on Leslie, Irial, and Niall.
My Take
This is so romantic and makes me cry. Makes my heart hurt with all that Irial is giving up.
It irritates me that Leslie wants nothing to do with the Dark Court, and yet she encourages Irial to hang around. She likes the protection of the fairies, but she doesn’t want to give back. I can, however, understand why she doesn’t want to be part of their Court: she’s too attracted to it and worries that she’d succumb. Annnd, okay, the fae do live forever so hanging around “invisibly” for however long Leslie will live is equivalent to a long weekend for them. Still, it bugs me.
Means I have to suspect that Marr intends to bring Leslie back into the fold at some point…*grin*…
I have to love Irial. I know he’s a bad guy. Selfish against humans, but caring very much for his subjects. And he is actually unselfish. He really impresses the hell out of me.
The Story
Leslie may have gone off to college, but she hasn’t really left the Dark Court behind. She wants her cake, even if she doesn’t want to eat it.
I suppose it keeps the Hounds from the Dark Court, the rowan-people from Summer, and the lupine fey from Winter busy as they look in on Leslie. A good thing when she’s taken hostage.
The Characters
Leslie is off to college, but still stealthily “seeing” Irial, the ex-king of the Dark Court, who is back to being a Gancanagh and adviser to the current king. Michael and Jill are some of her human friends at school. Ren is her jerk of a loser brother.
Niall is the new Dark King. And still in love with Leslie, as is Irial. Gabriel is now Niall’s Hound.
The Cover
The cover is quite plain in its brilliant purple background. All the text and Marr’s signature curling vine is in gold.
I imagine the title means one of two things: either Irial and Niall are Stopping Time for themselves as they cater to Leslie or it’s Irial’s trick that he doesn’t want Niall to know about.
My Take
This is so romantic and makes me cry. Makes my heart hurt with all that Irial is giving up.
It irritates me that Leslie wants nothing to do with the Dark Court, and yet she encourages Irial to hang around. She likes the protection of the fairies, but she doesn’t want to give back. I can, however, understand why she doesn’t want to be part of their Court: she’s too attracted to it and worries that she’d succumb. Annnd, okay, the fae do live forever so hanging around “invisibly” for however long Leslie will live is equivalent to a long weekend for them. Still, it bugs me.
Means I have to suspect that Marr intends to bring Leslie back into the fold at some point…*grin*…
”The only monster I see is you.”
I have to love Irial. I know he’s a bad guy. Selfish against humans, but caring very much for his subjects. And he is actually unselfish. He really impresses the hell out of me.
The Story
Leslie may have gone off to college, but she hasn’t really left the Dark Court behind. She wants her cake, even if she doesn’t want to eat it.
I suppose it keeps the Hounds from the Dark Court, the rowan-people from Summer, and the lupine fey from Winter busy as they look in on Leslie. A good thing when she’s taken hostage.
The Characters
Leslie is off to college, but still stealthily “seeing” Irial, the ex-king of the Dark Court, who is back to being a Gancanagh and adviser to the current king. Michael and Jill are some of her human friends at school. Ren is her jerk of a loser brother.
Niall is the new Dark King. And still in love with Leslie, as is Irial. Gabriel is now Niall’s Hound.
The Cover
The cover is quite plain in its brilliant purple background. All the text and Marr’s signature curling vine is in gold.
I imagine the title means one of two things: either Irial and Niall are Stopping Time for themselves as they cater to Leslie or it’s Irial’s trick that he doesn’t want Niall to know about.
michellewalsh's review
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
moonpie's review
4.0
I'm still reading the Wicked Lovely series, so it's made it past the two-book test. Marr dips back into Leslie's storyline with Stopping Time, a novella-slash-epilogue to Ink Exchange.
I was surprised by how much I liked it; I like it more than the novel that preceded it, honestly, maybe because there's way more Niall than Irial in this one.
I was surprised by how much I liked it; I like it more than the novel that preceded it, honestly, maybe because there's way more Niall than Irial in this one.
aliencatl0rd's review against another edition
4.0
I really wish that this had been expanded into a fuller book. Marr definitely would earn brownie points by expanding the Leslie-Niall-Irial triangle. Actually, I'd love to get into the nitty gritty of it. It wasn't something I expected at all, but I think with the Gancanaghs a polyamorous, three way relationship would fit nicely into Wicked Lovely. Looking back (I read this after finishing [b:Darkest Mercy|6368611|Darkest Mercy (Wicked Lovely, #5)|Melissa Marr|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1278717537s/6368611.jpg|6556073]), the same could almost be said about Aislinn-Keenan-Donia, seeing as Aislinn was truly falling in love with Keenan at various points, but quite obviously not all parties are in agreement there. And not to mention that I really don't care for Donia.
The writing itself needed to be more developed. Maybe I was reading too quickly but there were some parts that didn't flow well or I was missing enough description to connect the actions in the scenes. For example
The writing itself needed to be more developed. Maybe I was reading too quickly but there were some parts that didn't flow well or I was missing enough description to connect the actions in the scenes. For example
Spoiler
did Leslie actually push Ren down the stairs? So in my opinion this was a rough draft for something far greater. Such a shame it was wasted in a miniature side story.lindaunconventionalbookworms's review against another edition
3.0
Pretty light stuff, but it was nice to see Irial act less selfishly. Although is a total bad-boy and I like him like that. At least a little something letting us know a few things before the next Wicked Lovely book comes out.
hoping4more's review against another edition
5.0
I always felt sad at how quickly Leslie's story was dropped, now I know a little of what happened next. Short and sweet read that i quite enjoyed. I would suggest reading Old Habits first if you want to read them in chronological order juts FYI.
lmetcalfe23's review
4.0
What a great way to get some closure. Really like how this wrapped up. Worth the read.
oldladysadie's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
mysterious
fast-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? Yes
4.5
🖤🖤🖤
Content Warnings
Graphic: Stalking
Moderate: Toxic relationship
Minor: Rape and Addiction