Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr

It seems that I, again, have too many plates in the air and am dropping them. I envy those of you out there that manage to post every day, work a full time job, sustain an in person social life, raise kids, go on vacation, *and* still read and review more than 10 books a month. I am not you, but I would give my right arm...well, maybe not my right arm (I'd be nearly useless without it), but definitely my left arm for some of your secrets. Perhaps Megan, you say, you should stop going away every weekend, letting your bad influence parents talk you into watching hours of television, and sleeping for those 8 hours a night. Perhaps, Megan, you might also consider paper plates so there will be no dishes to do or writing blog posts and comments that aren't mind-blowingly longwinded. Nonetheless, here I am, pondering life and time and how to get more out of the little time that I seem to have left after work and dinner and errand running and cleaning up. I've not come up with an acceptable solution that doesn't involve stopping the world from spinning for a few hours in the evening, which is a bit unattainable at this time, so the only good solution is to quit babbling and write a book review before the moment is gone.

Aislinn has a secret. She can see faeries, and they're not very nice. In fact, many are more than a bit sinister and violent. To cope with her unusual gift, Aislinn has some rules. Don't talk to the faeries, don't speak to the faeries, and don't attract the faeries' attention. Aislinn has more or less fared well by following these rules, but when she unwittingly attracts the attention of a powerful faery who emanates the essence of summer, who won't be put off by her usual tricks, she knows the rules are changing completely.

Aislinn wants nothing more than to be a normal teenager whose only concern is whether to take her relationship with her friend Seth to the next level. Instead she finds herself breaking another of her rules and admitting to him that she can see and is being pursued by dangerously powerful faeries. Caught up in a war between summer and winter court faeries, Aislinn can use all the help she can get.

Wicked Lovely is the first in a series of books author Melissa Marr has penned about faeries the fourth of which, Radiant Shadows, was released in April. Though certainly a part of the burgeoning crop of paranormal young adult fiction on the market lately, Wicked Lovely stands out from the crowd. Wicked Lovely isn't just a fast moving plot. It's got good writing with intriguing characters, both good and bad, that are fleshed out and become sympathetic. While Seth is almost too good to be true when it comes to boyfriend material, Aislinn doesn't fall into the crowd of paranormal heroines who are irritatingly whiny or whose most defining characteristic is clumsiness or something similarly shallow. She is a strong and thoughtful main character in a story filled with captivating characters, both mortal and otherwise.

The story is well-paced, and each chapter begins with an interesting and relevant quote from books about faeries. Marr's attention to detail regarding faerie lore makes the world of faerie seem terribly real, and her ability to weave it all into a compelling story makes for an excellent read for young adults and older adults well. This is a series that I'm eager to follow.