Ink Exchange (edition 2008)

Not as good as the first one although I liked the tattoo angle. The story just felt a bit rushed and under developed, which happens when your first book is a hit I suppose. ( )

Sigh. I was okay with the first book–not wild, but okay. I thought I might as well read the second one and I was more than not wild. I didn’t hate it. I just didn’t care very much. It was interesting to see Niall from the first book in a different perspective.[Nov. 2008] ( )

I'm not ready to pass judgment on INK EXCHANGE. When I turned the last page and closed the book, I thought: this story is not over. Melissa Marr's first book set in the world of faerie, WICKED LOVELY, was self contained - and I'm not sure what, or who, the next book is supposed to be about. If INK EXCHANGE is supposed to be Leslie's whole story, I have to say I'm disappointed. But if it's the beginning of a series, I'm delighted.

INK EXCHANGE starts off with Leslie, the protagonist, getting ready to leave for high school while her brother smokes crack at the kitchen table. It's an early warning to the reader: this is an unrelentingly dark book. Leslie is living in a nightmare version of the human world, and it isn't long before she is unwittingly caught up in a nightmare version of the faerie world: the Dark Court. These solitary fey nourish themselves on pain, hatred, greed, lust, and just about any other ugly urge that man or faerie is capable of. They starve without this nourishment, and peaceful times are lean indeed.

Marr has set herself the difficult task of rendering these Dark faeries sympathetic to the reader. They are emotional parasites, and they literally thrive on suffering. Their King, Irial, shows us that at least some of these repulsive creatures are capable of great virtue: Irial is a devoted caretaker of his people, capable of true friendship, self-sacrifice, and sensitivity. It is moving when he exhibits these qualities, and then doubly repulsive when he sets them aside. Frequently, Marr follows the Dark faeries as they prepare for their hideous feasts - and then fades to black. But we can imagine how they must proceed, by watching how Irial treats Leslie - a girl he loves, and swears to protect. He treats her very, very badly.

I think Marr is a very talented writer indeed. Her worlds, both human and faerie, are gritty, alive, and feel very real. Her teenage protagonists are good kids who grow up too fast, and are wise beyond their years. This faerieland is no saccharine paradise for Tinkerbells and pretty princesses - profoundly alien, both gorgeous and hideous.

INK EXCHANGE was hard to put down, very compelling, but I wonder what will happen next. ( )

This was a cute book. I really liked the characters and the magic involved with the ink exchange was really fascinating. I really enjoyed reading about Niall. I thought he was great. Leslie... ohh... you can't help but feel for her! Irial wasn't as bad as I thought he was going to be... he comes off as being REALLY AWFUL at the beginning...

But I thought this story was a lot more predictable than [b:Wicked Lovely|305234|Wicked Lovely (Wicked Lovely, #1)|Melissa Marr|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173568263s/305234.jpg|296240]. I pretty much pegged what was going to happen by page 35. And I guess I just enjoyed the first book more. *shrugs* But I have a feeling that that's personal preference, not anything to do with the writing or anything like that. I didn't think it would end the way it did. (The last chapter, not the epilogue — I called the epilogue back at page 35...) I never expect books to end like that. But I thought it was appropriate, given the circumstances... ( )

Interesting premise, but not as good as the first book. The peripheral characters in this were much more interesting than the main characters, although the story did move along at an ok pace. However, even if I were being drugged into a stupor periodically, I like to think I would notice dead teenagers all around me when I happened to be up and about. And I like to think I would feel some sense of outrage that it was happening and I was enabling it--but maybe I'm just strange that way. ( )