Diving right into the third installment of Melissa Marr's lush written Wicked Lovely series, I was immediately bombarded with the sense of barely controlled tension. After some tricky maneuvering in Wicked Lovely and Ink Exchange, Aislinn, Keenan, Seth, Donia and even Niall have all reached a somewhat tenuous balance but everyone knows the least little provocation could set off a war none of them can afford. Aislinn is thankfully settling into her role as co-Queen of the Summer Court but finding it daily harder and harder to hold Keenan at arms length when every instinct tells her she should get closer as summer draws nearer. And Keenan, well, he's never been a faery to miss a golden opportunity and he's not gonna budge an inch where Aislinn is concerned. He knows the stronger their bond is, the stronger the Summer Court will be and he's not going to let anything, let alone a mere mortal, get in the way of his goals. The mere mortal in question happens to be Seth - Aislinn's human boyfriend who is becoming increasingly frustrated with his mortality. Knowing he's too fragile and weak to truly protect Aislinn against any faery wishing her harm, he's stuck waiting on the sidelines, watching as Keenan draws her ever closer. This little love triangle is further complicated by Donia, who is slowly turning into the Ice Queen she truly is as she watches Keenan woo Aislinn while professing he truly loves only her. I'd be a little bitter too. And Niall? Well, we can all just sit back and appreciate the Dark Lord in action, because frankly, if I was the betting type, my money would be on him.Melissa Marr has such a way with words, sending her readers into this convoluted world full of court politics and murky relationships. Each individual Marr introduces is more alive and solid than the previous with each adding their own spin to events. Often while reading this series, I've found Ms. Marr's faeries to be remarkably human. That could be due to the fact that the boundaries between faery and mortal are so thin in her world - they go to the same night clubs, the same parks - and not surprisingly, they often seem to have more human than faerie qualities. That said, when Seth travels to meet Sorcha of the High Court of Faeries, I was so entranced with her complete 'otherness' as a quintessential faery. I should have fully expected that someone embodying Faerie would be a little bit different but I was surprised by how imperial everything about Sorcha and her court appeared. Just loved the contrast.There are so many characters to love in Fragile Eternity but I found myself constantly irritated with Aislinn. How did she stray so far from being one of my favorites? The girl makes some seriously deluded choices that made me want to strangle her. Out of every single character that has set foot in a Melissa Marr book, Niall has to be the winner - hands down. Who else could have began as a bodyguard and adviser and in one decisive step taken up the role of the King of the Dark Court and no one doubts for a minute that's where he belongs? That's right, NOBODY. I love his friendship with Seth and I love even more his barely controlled violence. He's freaking awesome. ( )

Everything is getting harder for Aislinn, the Summer Queen. She’s finding it harder and harder to resist Keenan, her king, who it seems she is naturally inclined to lust after. Keenan loves Donia, the Winter Queen, and vice versa, but with such opposing natures, these two struggle to make any kind of relationship work. Aislinn still loves Seth and wants to be with him, but he is a human in a faery world and it’s hard on both of them. Aislinn has lost most of her human friends and finds it hard to separate herself from the faery world, making everything more awkward for Seth, who can feel her separation from him. He determines to take drastic measures in an attempt to be with Aislinn forever, not realizing the potential consequences of his choice.

Much of Fragile Eternity is spent on the characters agonizing over one another. A natural, and easy, pairing would have been Aislinn and Keenan, the Summer royalty, who are almost doomed to love one another given the eternity that they are forced to have. Yet both Aislinn and Keenan love elsewhere, hurting both each other and their lovers equally. They can’t stop being drawn together even though they don’t love one another. It is a difficult time for all four people, and Marr explores the tough choices that they have to make with some finesse, even if it feels frustrating. I know I had trouble returning to this book because the relationships were so well drawn and so painful. It was hard to know where the book was going to end up.

Seth’s choice, about halfway through the book, made sense even though I wished it hadn’t come to that. His journey into the world of Faerie was the best part for me. He was finally at peace with his choice, becoming more than frustrated ball of love for Aislinn, and Sorcha is a great addition to the cast of characters. She’s strong, interesting, and simply feels mythical. She adds immeasurably to a book that is largely about tortured lovers by giving the story another outlet. Besides, I always love great worldbuilding and Seth’s journey was a stellar opportunity for Marr to engage in it. I was really looking forward to learning more about the world and I wasn’t at all disappointed.

Overall, I’m not sure this one lives up to Wicked Lovely or Ink Exchange. I think it’s telling that I had to put it aside and take a break from all the angst, and then I dreaded going back to it because I didn’t want the characters to be so unhappy or tortured anymore. To some extent this has always been true of this series, but I really had a hard time here. It also ends in a cliffhanger and the next book isn’t out until 2010. So, I’ll be biting my nails until then! I do plan to continue but next time, I’m going to approach Marr’s books with a totally open and relaxed mind, rather than one which didn’t really need more stress. ( )

The third book in this enthralling series takes some interesting and unexpected turns and still leaves me wanting more. The author shows her readers, once again, that the direction the series will take is not a foregone conclusion and no character is without weakness. It definitely calls for another sequel. ( )

Reviewed by LadyJay for TeensReadToo.com

When last we saw Aislinn, she had become the embodiment of Summer, and taken her rightful place as Summer Queen.

Aislinn has had to adapt quickly to her new faery abilities, and it is certainly not easy. She struggles with her feelings towards Keenan, her Summer King, and her mortal boyfriend, Seth. She loves Seth, but is drawn to Keenan in a way that is inexplicable.

Aislinn searches for a happy balance, but it eludes her.

Keenan is also facing troubles of his own. Donia, the new Winter Queen, is his heart's desire, but she cannot bear sharing him with Aislinn. They also face a physical barrier that could destroy them both.

Aislinn, Keenan, and Donia continue their search for middle ground, but it all comes crashing down when Seth disappears. Aislinn becomes lost and wonders if joining the Faery Court was the right decision.

Melissa Marr's sequel to WICKED LOVELY is wonderful. She delves more deeply into the story of the Dark and High Courts, and gives a larger presence to Seth, Aislinn's mortal, and Sorcha, queen of the High Court.

Fans of both WICKED LOVELY and INK EXCHANGE will not be disappointed. I am looking forward to further installments in this amazing series! ( )