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Fans of Sarah J. Maas and Holly Black won't be able to resist the world of Melissa Marr's #1 New York Times bestselling series, full of faerie intrigue, mortal love, and courtly betrayal.Rule #3: Don't stare at invisible faeries.
Aislinn has always seen faeries. Powerful and dangerous, they walk hidden in mortal world. Aislinn fears their cruelty—especially if they learn of her Sight—and wishes she were as blind to their presence as other teens.
Rule #2: Don't speak to invisible show more faeries.
Now faeries are stalking her. One of them, Keenan, who is equal parts terrifying and alluring, is trying to talk to her, asking questions Aislinn is afraid to answer.
Rule #1: Don't ever attract their attention.
But it's too late. Keenan is the Summer King who has sought his queen for nine centuries. Without her, summer itself will perish. He is determined that Aislinn will become the Summer Queen at any cost—regardless of her plans or desires.
Suddenly none of the rules that have kept Aislinn safe are working anymore, and everything is on the line: her freedom, her best friend Seth, her life—everything.
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Aerrin99 An excellent urban fantasy with a creepy and fantastic faerie world, a kick-ass heroine, and a building romance.
20
Need by Carrie Jones
by FFortuna
Aerrin99 A fantastical collection of three short stories, all of which mix romance and magic and our world in chilling, wonderful, engaging ways.
lottpoet similar feel but with vampires instead of fairies
Member Reviews
I severely wanted to read this book when it came out. I stared at this book every time I went into the book store but I never walked out with it. For years, I had hoped I would come across this book on my shopping journeys (because the hunt is half the thrill) but I never did. Finally, this year - time had come. I found the book! I grabbed it, bought it, and decided I would pick it up FINALLY. And, I wasn't disappointed!
This was one of those YA books that I snuggled up with a blanket, a cup of tea, and my cats. I binged the book rather quickly and enjoyed it thoroughly. Add in that this book DOES NOT leave off in a cliffhanger... Yes, Melissa Marr is on my good side. Wicked Lovely was FABULOUS. I am so happy I picked it up and I am show more screaming from the rooftops for people to give Melissa Marr some love. Fairies, prophecies, love squares AND NO CLIFFHANGERS AT THE END. It's my kind of book.
This book is a little darker than the YA I used to read back in the early 2010s, but it wasn't really all that dark. There are some rougher topics, but it's easily a PG-13 rated book. You know there's drugs and bad people around, but it doesn't linger on those facts for too long. It stays in the realm of mostly lighthearted deviance (since fairies are, ya know, pretty wild).
Aislinn is a fairly relatable character. She has a bit of a rough start in life, but she just wants to be a teenager and hang out with Seth (who may or may not be a good match for her, depending on your viewpoints of him). Seth does seem like quite the nice dude and a good friend to Aislinn. Keenan, fairy king bro, is not all that charming in my opinion, but maybe the YA book crowd will like him. I'm not sold, but hey - that's just my opinion. I did LOVE Donia. She was my favourite character and I will stand proud and say that.
Will I continue reading this series? Maybe. If I'm able to stumble across the books in my journey, sure! But, I'm also severely happy with the ending. I almost don't want to ruin it. Although, I now really want to support Melissa Marr because I loved her writing. Binging a good book and not wanting to stop doesn't always happen with me, and Melissa Marr cracked the code.
Overall, I liked this book! It's a twisted story of fairies who are manipulative and scary, but it also has quite the love story. It's a great read.
Four out of five stars. show less
This was one of those YA books that I snuggled up with a blanket, a cup of tea, and my cats. I binged the book rather quickly and enjoyed it thoroughly. Add in that this book DOES NOT leave off in a cliffhanger... Yes, Melissa Marr is on my good side. Wicked Lovely was FABULOUS. I am so happy I picked it up and I am show more screaming from the rooftops for people to give Melissa Marr some love. Fairies, prophecies, love squares AND NO CLIFFHANGERS AT THE END. It's my kind of book.
This book is a little darker than the YA I used to read back in the early 2010s, but it wasn't really all that dark. There are some rougher topics, but it's easily a PG-13 rated book. You know there's drugs and bad people around, but it doesn't linger on those facts for too long. It stays in the realm of mostly lighthearted deviance (since fairies are, ya know, pretty wild).
Aislinn is a fairly relatable character. She has a bit of a rough start in life, but she just wants to be a teenager and hang out with Seth (who may or may not be a good match for her, depending on your viewpoints of him). Seth does seem like quite the nice dude and a good friend to Aislinn. Keenan, fairy king bro, is not all that charming in my opinion, but maybe the YA book crowd will like him. I'm not sold, but hey - that's just my opinion. I did LOVE Donia. She was my favourite character and I will stand proud and say that.
Will I continue reading this series? Maybe. If I'm able to stumble across the books in my journey, sure! But, I'm also severely happy with the ending. I almost don't want to ruin it. Although, I now really want to support Melissa Marr because I loved her writing. Binging a good book and not wanting to stop doesn't always happen with me, and Melissa Marr cracked the code.
Overall, I liked this book! It's a twisted story of fairies who are manipulative and scary, but it also has quite the love story. It's a great read.
Four out of five stars. show less
I was a little bit apprehensive when it came to reading this book. Okay, more than a little bit. But I’d heard SO many good things about the Wicked Lovely series that I finally decided I had to at least start the book. Within the first twenty pages, I was hooked.
The plot of this book was unlike anything I’ve seen anywhere else. Yes, there’s the same basic faery lore – glamours, Summer and Winter Courts, an aversion to iron – but the idea of the Summer King wandering through time in order to break a curse and find his queen? That’s something new and different. And it worked for me.
Everything about this book seemed to buck expectations. Aislinn’s interactions with Keenan felt real. She didn’t want to automatically give show more everything up for some guy who says they’re destined to be together. Because, even though she had to be careful in her life and hide the fact that she could see faeries, her life was pretty decent. She had a group of friends at school, and outside of school she had her Grams and Seth. Seth, who’d do anything for her, believe anything she told him, change his life for her. That’s not exactly something many girls would be willing to give up. But yet, there’s a part of her that is undeniably attracted to Keenan. And the thing that prevents her from coming across as annoying and deplorable for being torn between two guys is the strength she shows when she must make the biggest choice of her life.
Something I liked about this story is that it’s one of the few books I’ve read recently that not only is in third person narrative, it rocks it. Third person can sometimes make me feel detached from the story, but I loved the use of multiple third person limited points of view throughout this book. It enabled me to fully see what each of the characters had at stake, and I like being able to look at the same thing from different angles.
Now that I’ve read the first book in this series, I understand why so many people love it, and I am now one of those people. I’ve enjoyed stepping into the world Marr created, and I’m glad that there is more to the story. show less
The plot of this book was unlike anything I’ve seen anywhere else. Yes, there’s the same basic faery lore – glamours, Summer and Winter Courts, an aversion to iron – but the idea of the Summer King wandering through time in order to break a curse and find his queen? That’s something new and different. And it worked for me.
Everything about this book seemed to buck expectations. Aislinn’s interactions with Keenan felt real. She didn’t want to automatically give show more everything up for some guy who says they’re destined to be together. Because, even though she had to be careful in her life and hide the fact that she could see faeries, her life was pretty decent. She had a group of friends at school, and outside of school she had her Grams and Seth. Seth, who’d do anything for her, believe anything she told him, change his life for her. That’s not exactly something many girls would be willing to give up. But yet, there’s a part of her that is undeniably attracted to Keenan. And the thing that prevents her from coming across as annoying and deplorable for being torn between two guys is the strength she shows when she must make the biggest choice of her life.
Something I liked about this story is that it’s one of the few books I’ve read recently that not only is in third person narrative, it rocks it. Third person can sometimes make me feel detached from the story, but I loved the use of multiple third person limited points of view throughout this book. It enabled me to fully see what each of the characters had at stake, and I like being able to look at the same thing from different angles.
Now that I’ve read the first book in this series, I understand why so many people love it, and I am now one of those people. I’ve enjoyed stepping into the world Marr created, and I’m glad that there is more to the story. show less
I really enjoyed this book. The faeries in this story are just as they should be -- dangerous, untrustworthy, and completely oblivious to the desires of mortals. They're inhuman and not to be trifled with. They are perfect.
But what I really love about this story is that the human protagonist whose life these faeries are playing with is not content to just sit back and let them decide her fate. Aislinn has had the Sight her whole life and knows perfectly well what atrocities faeries can and do commit. When she's forced into a corner and left with two options she doesn't like, she doesn't fall apart about it -- she gets pissed and she fights for what she wants.
For me, Aislinn just makes this book. She's tough and independent, but not in a show more way that's over the top. She knows what she wants and she is not at all pleased with the Summer King for interfering with that. And the Summer King, not at all used to being so strongly resisted, is kind of at a loss for how to deal with her.
I haven't read a whole lot of books about faeries in the modern world, but this was a great one. Highly recommended. show less
But what I really love about this story is that the human protagonist whose life these faeries are playing with is not content to just sit back and let them decide her fate. Aislinn has had the Sight her whole life and knows perfectly well what atrocities faeries can and do commit. When she's forced into a corner and left with two options she doesn't like, she doesn't fall apart about it -- she gets pissed and she fights for what she wants.
For me, Aislinn just makes this book. She's tough and independent, but not in a show more way that's over the top. She knows what she wants and she is not at all pleased with the Summer King for interfering with that. And the Summer King, not at all used to being so strongly resisted, is kind of at a loss for how to deal with her.
I haven't read a whole lot of books about faeries in the modern world, but this was a great one. Highly recommended. show less
Imagine going your entire life having to pretend you cannot see an entire segment of society because to acknowledge them could be detrimental. Imagine being one of very few humans who can actually see them or know of their existence. Aislinn, or Ash as she prefers to be called, wishes she could not see them and that she was not privy to their very existence. There are three basic rules her grandmother has ingrained in her: “Don’t stare at invisible faeries”; “Don’t speak to invisible faeries”; and “Don’t ever attract their attention.”
Ash had followed the rules very closely all her life, but when Keenan, the Summer King, sets his sights on her, all of those rules fall apart. As Ash, helped by her best friend Seth, show more attempts to sidestep the King at every turn, Keenan’s pursuit of her intensifies. He must find his queen and defeat the Winter Queen who holds all the power and is upsetting the balance.
Melissa Marr has created a world that I instantly found myself transported to. The fae of her world are both charming and terrifying. They are mischievous and playful as well as cruel and powerful. To draw the eye of the King of Summer means the end of one’s human life as she knows it.
For all his charm and good looks, it took me a while to warm to Keenan. The more I learned about him and his predicament, the more I sympathized with him and his situation. He really is a nice person at heart, with the best of intentions. He is used to getting his way, and isn’t sure what to make of Ash, who seems to thwart his every attempt to romance her. He comes to see it as a challenge, and a sign that she truly is meant to be the Summer Queen.
Ash, who is used to trying to hiding her ability to see the faeries, is rightfully scared when she realizes all the precautions she’s taken are no longer working. She is my kind of heroine though—resourceful and smart.
I appreciated how quickly Seth came to believe Ash’s assertions about the faeries living among them, despite his not being able to see them. While in other cases I might find it too convenient, in this instance, I felt it fitting. It spoke to Seth’s devotion to Ash.
I most felt for Donia though, the human who had given her life to be with Keenan, only to be felled by the Winter Queen’s curse. Even above Ash, Seth, and Keenan, I found her to the most interesting character—and probably my favorite. There is a bit of mystery and power about her. She is the underdog who should not be underestimated.
It is obvious from the start that Ash has a crush on Seth, and he on her, despite her protestations that they are just friends. If I had to complain about anything in the book, it would be that Ash ignored the signs as long as she did. For those who do not like love triangles (I rolled my eyes at the thought about this coming into play in this one too), I feel it is worth it to continue anyway. I really liked the way everything played out in the end in that regard.
In case you get the impression this book is all romance, it is far from it. The struggle between the Summer King and the Winter Queen is quite intense, and Ash finds herself right in the middle of it all. It was hard to tear myself away from the book because I had to know how everything would play out.
Wicked Lovely reads much like how I imagine Marr’s faery world—a dash of comedy, a dollop of romance, all swirled in with the darker elements. I loved the author’s imagery of winter and summer in their fae forms, especially when the Summer King and Winter Queen were around. I found this first book in the trilogy to be entertaining and thrilling. I look forward to reading the next book in the series. show less
Ash had followed the rules very closely all her life, but when Keenan, the Summer King, sets his sights on her, all of those rules fall apart. As Ash, helped by her best friend Seth, show more attempts to sidestep the King at every turn, Keenan’s pursuit of her intensifies. He must find his queen and defeat the Winter Queen who holds all the power and is upsetting the balance.
Melissa Marr has created a world that I instantly found myself transported to. The fae of her world are both charming and terrifying. They are mischievous and playful as well as cruel and powerful. To draw the eye of the King of Summer means the end of one’s human life as she knows it.
For all his charm and good looks, it took me a while to warm to Keenan. The more I learned about him and his predicament, the more I sympathized with him and his situation. He really is a nice person at heart, with the best of intentions. He is used to getting his way, and isn’t sure what to make of Ash, who seems to thwart his every attempt to romance her. He comes to see it as a challenge, and a sign that she truly is meant to be the Summer Queen.
Ash, who is used to trying to hiding her ability to see the faeries, is rightfully scared when she realizes all the precautions she’s taken are no longer working. She is my kind of heroine though—resourceful and smart.
I appreciated how quickly Seth came to believe Ash’s assertions about the faeries living among them, despite his not being able to see them. While in other cases I might find it too convenient, in this instance, I felt it fitting. It spoke to Seth’s devotion to Ash.
I most felt for Donia though, the human who had given her life to be with Keenan, only to be felled by the Winter Queen’s curse. Even above Ash, Seth, and Keenan, I found her to the most interesting character—and probably my favorite. There is a bit of mystery and power about her. She is the underdog who should not be underestimated.
It is obvious from the start that Ash has a crush on Seth, and he on her, despite her protestations that they are just friends. If I had to complain about anything in the book, it would be that Ash ignored the signs as long as she did. For those who do not like love triangles (I rolled my eyes at the thought about this coming into play in this one too), I feel it is worth it to continue anyway. I really liked the way everything played out in the end in that regard.
In case you get the impression this book is all romance, it is far from it. The struggle between the Summer King and the Winter Queen is quite intense, and Ash finds herself right in the middle of it all. It was hard to tear myself away from the book because I had to know how everything would play out.
Wicked Lovely reads much like how I imagine Marr’s faery world—a dash of comedy, a dollop of romance, all swirled in with the darker elements. I loved the author’s imagery of winter and summer in their fae forms, especially when the Summer King and Winter Queen were around. I found this first book in the trilogy to be entertaining and thrilling. I look forward to reading the next book in the series. show less
I'll start with the inevitable - The obvious comparison to Twilight. This was a much better book than Twilight. It has characters that make sense, a Heroine who is has an actual true reason for being the Loner girl, but still manages to have friends kept at a distance. She doesn't give up her life for her love interest and she is smart and actually has plans for the future.
Now, the book really isn't much like Twilight at all, with exception of the loner girl and the immortal who wants her. The girl is totally believable. She has a reason to keep her distance from everybody and has managed to do it without becoming a total loner. Her love interest is also believable, I've known men like him, friendly to everyone, but only close to a show more few.
The fairies are truly scary. Ash (short for Aislinn) has a very good reason to be scared of them. Melissa Marr manages to capture the darkness of the fairy world, but does it discreetly, so the reader has a choice of making this book a very dark fantasy, or reading it as something lighter. There are a number of violent scenes, most relating to the evil Winter Queen, who really is a scary character.
Pacing was a bit slow. The reader is told very early on why Keenan is going after Aislinn. The chapters in between seem mostly filler, with a bit of character development. I also wish that Keenan was written differently - he seems too human in this story. A Summer Elf King should be prone to more emotional fits.
I really enjoyed this story. I especially like the way the story resolved itself. Everybody was true to character and was an intelligent solution, very true to Titania and Oberon. This is the first book in a trilogy, but it ended completely with no unresolved plot lines. show less
Now, the book really isn't much like Twilight at all, with exception of the loner girl and the immortal who wants her. The girl is totally believable. She has a reason to keep her distance from everybody and has managed to do it without becoming a total loner. Her love interest is also believable, I've known men like him, friendly to everyone, but only close to a show more few.
The fairies are truly scary. Ash (short for Aislinn) has a very good reason to be scared of them. Melissa Marr manages to capture the darkness of the fairy world, but does it discreetly, so the reader has a choice of making this book a very dark fantasy, or reading it as something lighter. There are a number of violent scenes, most relating to the evil Winter Queen, who really is a scary character.
Pacing was a bit slow. The reader is told very early on why Keenan is going after Aislinn. The chapters in between seem mostly filler, with a bit of character development. I also wish that Keenan was written differently - he seems too human in this story. A Summer Elf King should be prone to more emotional fits.
I really enjoyed this story. I especially like the way the story resolved itself. Everybody was true to character and was an intelligent solution, very true to Titania and Oberon. This is the first book in a trilogy, but it ended completely with no unresolved plot lines. show less
I almost want to shelve this as "horror". It's not a typical horror book in that there aren't jump scares, there aren't obviously hideous monsters or gore, and there isn't any psychological thriller elements. What's horrific about this book, however, is how the book handles consent.
Book Content Warnings:
sexual assault
So this book is supposedly about a 17-year-old girl named Aislinn, who grew up with the Sight--that is, she can see fairies. And for some reason, fairies are stalking her. But . . . really, this book is more like a cheap soap opera where she loves pierced dude, but other dude wants her to love him, and his ex still loves him, and maybe he'll try to find someone to tempt the pierced dude away from her, but his evil mom show more doesn't want any of this to happen and ?? I expected this to be a "real" fairy book, and I get some cheap high school drama (emphasis on the cheap)?
What makes this book even more cheap is that the villain, the Winter Queen, is laughable. She's not intimidating; she's just annoying. She goes around making threats, calling everyone "darling", but never really does anything to prevent what she obviously doesn't want to happen. Usually villains are pretty proactive, keeping the MC from fulfilling their goals, but this villain just strides around making icicles and petty threats.
I'll get to the consent issues, but first I need to talk about Aislinn, the MC. The character I'm supposed to cheer for, feel for, etc. She's another one of those characters who just makes stupid decisions so the plot can move forward. I lost count of the number of times I had to put the book down to roll my eyes.
Example #1: Aislinn doesn't like the Summer King. At all. Doesn't want anything to do with him. BUT. Thinks it's an ok idea to meet him at a carnival alone in the name of "finding out what he wants from her," drinks fairy wine, and dances with him. It's just so transparent? Written to get to the next plot point, obviously. At this part, I really didn't want to read on.
Example #2:The Summer King finds out who Aislinn's "Grams" is, and that he pretty much killed Aislinn's mother (and Grams's daughter). Ok. So then Aislinn and the Summer King just decide to leave Grams's house, without thinking of taking Grams to a safe place or placing guards in front of the house, even though they know how much fairies gossip? So of course, Grams gets hurt. Because the story needs Aislinn to be motivated. It's a weak-assed attempt at creating tension in like half a page.
Most of this is because of the writing failing, I understand . . . especially since the writing fails for other characters too, like when characters had extremely awkward dialogue because what they said was information purely for the audience. It was obvious these characters already knew the information they were spewing (such as the Winter Queen telling someone the rules of the plot, etc.).
One more thing before I get to my main complaint: usually endings are packed full of tension and move fast to keep readers transfixed. But oh no, not this book's ending. Tension drops. Near the very end before what's supposed to be the climax, Aislinn and the Summer King decide to make a social call and chat with Aislinn's boyfriend, who even makes some rice. To quote Aislinn's inner dialogue, "WTF"?
Okay. Here we are: consent.
I could tell things were going to be rocky when Aislinn was sexually assaulted in order to meet a fairy. This introduction could have happened so many other ways, but this author chose to go this direction, which is just lazy and unappealing writing.
The plot turns out to be the Summer King trying to woo Aislinn (pretty much against her will), and more than halfway through, the dude hadn't even thought about whether or not he'd actually be good for her (he states constantly how good she'd be for him though)! And then one of his advisors basically say make her say yes even if the method is unpalatable. All of this is gross and lazy.
"You were born to belong to me." (p.224)
This Summer King is also a character who needed to see a fairy sexually assaulted in front of him to realize it was wrong. How messed up is that, storytelling-wise? Because as a reader, all of this is shown in detail. Yuck.
But then Aislinn's boyfriend actually talks about consent. About how if Aislinn took something, if she was drunk or high, that she CANNOT CONSENT, which is SUPER IMPORTANT, especially in a YA book. Which goes against what's happening in the book, so I'm really confused?
In the end,Aislinn eventually becomes the Summer Queen, even if she doesn't love her King and even if she still stays with her boyfriend. Which means . . . the Summer King's harassment worked. Which means it's ok to not listen to a girl saying "no" to a guy's advancements.
I just don't get this book's conflicting messages and I don't feel comfortable with it. show less
Book Content Warnings:
sexual assault
So this book is supposedly about a 17-year-old girl named Aislinn, who grew up with the Sight--that is, she can see fairies. And for some reason, fairies are stalking her. But . . . really, this book is more like a cheap soap opera where she loves pierced dude, but other dude wants her to love him, and his ex still loves him, and maybe he'll try to find someone to tempt the pierced dude away from her, but his evil mom show more doesn't want any of this to happen and ?? I expected this to be a "real" fairy book, and I get some cheap high school drama (emphasis on the cheap)?
What makes this book even more cheap is that the villain, the Winter Queen, is laughable. She's not intimidating; she's just annoying. She goes around making threats, calling everyone "darling", but never really does anything to prevent what she obviously doesn't want to happen. Usually villains are pretty proactive, keeping the MC from fulfilling their goals, but this villain just strides around making icicles and petty threats.
I'll get to the consent issues, but first I need to talk about Aislinn, the MC. The character I'm supposed to cheer for, feel for, etc. She's another one of those characters who just makes stupid decisions so the plot can move forward. I lost count of the number of times I had to put the book down to roll my eyes.
Example #1: Aislinn doesn't like the Summer King. At all. Doesn't want anything to do with him. BUT. Thinks it's an ok idea to meet him at a carnival alone in the name of "finding out what he wants from her," drinks fairy wine, and dances with him. It's just so transparent? Written to get to the next plot point, obviously. At this part, I really didn't want to read on.
Example #2:
Most of this is because of the writing failing, I understand . . . especially since the writing fails for other characters too, like when characters had extremely awkward dialogue because what they said was information purely for the audience. It was obvious these characters already knew the information they were spewing (such as the Winter Queen telling someone the rules of the plot, etc.).
One more thing before I get to my main complaint: usually endings are packed full of tension and move fast to keep readers transfixed. But oh no, not this book's ending. Tension drops. Near the very end before what's supposed to be the climax, Aislinn and the Summer King decide to make a social call and chat with Aislinn's boyfriend, who even makes some rice. To quote Aislinn's inner dialogue, "WTF"?
Okay. Here we are: consent.
I could tell things were going to be rocky when Aislinn was sexually assaulted in order to meet a fairy. This introduction could have happened so many other ways, but this author chose to go this direction, which is just lazy and unappealing writing.
The plot turns out to be the Summer King trying to woo Aislinn (pretty much against her will), and more than halfway through, the dude hadn't even thought about whether or not he'd actually be good for her (he states constantly how good she'd be for him though)! And then one of his advisors basically say make her say yes even if the method is unpalatable. All of this is gross and lazy.
"You were born to belong to me." (p.224)
This Summer King is also a character who needed to see a fairy sexually assaulted in front of him to realize it was wrong. How messed up is that, storytelling-wise? Because as a reader, all of this is shown in detail. Yuck.
But then Aislinn's boyfriend actually talks about consent. About how if Aislinn took something, if she was drunk or high, that she CANNOT CONSENT, which is SUPER IMPORTANT, especially in a YA book. Which goes against what's happening in the book, so I'm really confused?
In the end,
I just don't get this book's conflicting messages and I don't feel comfortable with it. show less
Much like Cinder and the rest of the Lunar Chronicles books, the Wicked Lovely series is another series of books I used to see the covers of when I roamed my childhood Target. They all looked nice next to each other, but I never read them (on account of being a child). So when LibraryThing recommended them to me after finishing Cinder, I knew I had to go down this childhood retail bookshelf nostalgia rabbithole and give Wicked Lovely a read. I found an audiobook version at my local library, and gave it a listen... Unfortunately it didn't really live up to the hype for me.
Wicked Lovely is a paranormal romance involving a human girl who's always been able to see (and has always been told to ignore) fairies. She's been told her whole life show more that fairies were bad and needed to be avoided, and has become skilled at ignoring them despite being able to see them constantly, with no way to get rid of this magical sight of hers. Unfortunately the fairies become impossible to ignore when the king of the summer court comes to the human world and is dead-set on pursuing her romantically, desperately hoping that she'll be the fated summer queen to save both the fae world, and the human world. The fated mates trope wasn't one I was expecting, but as I kept listening, it's probably the most interesting use of the fated mates trope I've seen so far, since our main character is trying hard to fight against fate at every turn, and really doesn't want anything to do with fairies, period. And that's also interesting to me because this book was written in 2008, which was when you had that big supernatural/paranormal romance boom, and unfortunately many books in this genre from that era (and even today, with the rise of BookTok, self-publishing, more "spiciness" in fiction, etc) featured love interests that basically stalked the protagonist and acts that would be considered stalking and harassment in a court room were dismissed as love or overprotectiveness - with narratives and characters within those narratives bending over backwards to justify the one true pairing. And I can't think of any other main characters who outright try to fight fate, reject their magical love interest, calling out creepy and unwanted behavior, or openly try to negotiate/advocate for their freedom in or outside of a romantic relationship with said magical love interest. So I did like seeing that!
But on the topic of love interests, this story has both the most boring, yet most supportive love interests I've seen in fiction thus far...
You have the summer king of the fairies who's been dreaming about our protagonist and who's desperate to find his summer queen in order to stop the villain of the story. He's driven by fate and doesn't think the protagonist will be able to fight fate (i.e. the protagonist can't NOT fall in love with him). He comes off as a persistent, nonchalant stalker and a creep at first, but once more of the plot is revealed, you can kind of see why. Not that it justifies him stalking the protagonist or making her uncomfortable, but it becomes understandable since he's the immortal magical love interest - so he's been through this cycle more than a few times. Once that's out of the way, the stalkery aspects of his character go to the wayside, and he ends up becoming probably the most open-minded love interest from this era of paranormal romance I've seen so far (which adds just the tiniest bit of depth to a character I otherwise found pretty bland).
And then you have Seth, which is a friend (childhood friend?) of the protagonist who lives in a series of train cars. He's this artsy guy who's ambiguously aged (which can definitely make his relationship and romantic chemistry with the protagonist questionable by 2020 standards), but when the protagonist comes out to him about being able to see fairies, because she's *always* been able to see fairies and has been keeping this secret her whole life, Seth isn't just open minded, but he also does research into the fae in an attempt to help and support the protagonist so she doesn't have to suffer alone. Going to the library to research fairies and trying to find a way to give himself "the sight" so he can see them and protect the protagonist? Not something I've seen any other human love interests do, not in the 2000s/2010s era of paranormal romance, or even now. He's definitely got just a bit more personality than the magical love interest, but idk. I found him pretty bland as well.
Still a surprise to have two love interests be so supportive, and trying to go out of their way to be helpful without the possessiveness and abusive behaviors disguised as love!
Overall, I found Wicked Lovely to be okay at best. I'm glad I gave the audiobook a listen, as it's given me some newfound inspiration for my own projects, and for the time it was written, the types of discussions all of the main characters have feels like this could've been written today (in a good way). The premise was fine, but it just felt like the story itself fell off. show less
Wicked Lovely is a paranormal romance involving a human girl who's always been able to see (and has always been told to ignore) fairies. She's been told her whole life show more that fairies were bad and needed to be avoided, and has become skilled at ignoring them despite being able to see them constantly, with no way to get rid of this magical sight of hers. Unfortunately the fairies become impossible to ignore when the king of the summer court comes to the human world and is dead-set on pursuing her romantically, desperately hoping that she'll be the fated summer queen to save both the fae world, and the human world. The fated mates trope wasn't one I was expecting, but as I kept listening, it's probably the most interesting use of the fated mates trope I've seen so far, since our main character is trying hard to fight against fate at every turn, and really doesn't want anything to do with fairies, period. And that's also interesting to me because this book was written in 2008, which was when you had that big supernatural/paranormal romance boom, and unfortunately many books in this genre from that era (and even today, with the rise of BookTok, self-publishing, more "spiciness" in fiction, etc) featured love interests that basically stalked the protagonist and acts that would be considered stalking and harassment in a court room were dismissed as love or overprotectiveness - with narratives and characters within those narratives bending over backwards to justify the one true pairing. And I can't think of any other main characters who outright try to fight fate, reject their magical love interest, calling out creepy and unwanted behavior, or openly try to negotiate/advocate for their freedom in or outside of a romantic relationship with said magical love interest. So I did like seeing that!
But on the topic of love interests, this story has both the most boring, yet most supportive love interests I've seen in fiction thus far...
You have the summer king of the fairies who's been dreaming about our protagonist and who's desperate to find his summer queen in order to stop the villain of the story. He's driven by fate and doesn't think the protagonist will be able to fight fate (i.e. the protagonist can't NOT fall in love with him). He comes off as a persistent, nonchalant stalker and a creep at first, but once more of the plot is revealed, you can kind of see why. Not that it justifies him stalking the protagonist or making her uncomfortable, but it becomes understandable since he's the immortal magical love interest - so he's been through this cycle more than a few times. Once that's out of the way, the stalkery aspects of his character go to the wayside, and he ends up becoming probably the most open-minded love interest from this era of paranormal romance I've seen so far (which adds just the tiniest bit of depth to a character I otherwise found pretty bland).
And then you have Seth, which is a friend (childhood friend?) of the protagonist who lives in a series of train cars. He's this artsy guy who's ambiguously aged (which can definitely make his relationship and romantic chemistry with the protagonist questionable by 2020 standards), but when the protagonist comes out to him about being able to see fairies, because she's *always* been able to see fairies and has been keeping this secret her whole life, Seth isn't just open minded, but he also does research into the fae in an attempt to help and support the protagonist so she doesn't have to suffer alone. Going to the library to research fairies and trying to find a way to give himself "the sight" so he can see them and protect the protagonist? Not something I've seen any other human love interests do, not in the 2000s/2010s era of paranormal romance, or even now. He's definitely got just a bit more personality than the magical love interest, but idk. I found him pretty bland as well.
Still a surprise to have two love interests be so supportive, and trying to go out of their way to be helpful without the possessiveness and abusive behaviors disguised as love!
Overall, I found Wicked Lovely to be okay at best. I'm glad I gave the audiobook a listen, as it's given me some newfound inspiration for my own projects, and for the time it was written, the types of discussions all of the main characters have feels like this could've been written today (in a good way). The premise was fine, but it just felt like the story itself fell off. show less
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Author Information
92+ Works 24,383 Members
Melissa Marr is a LibraryThing Author, an author who lists their personal library on LibraryThing.
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Awards and Honors
Awards
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Wicked Lovely
- Original title
- Wicked Lovely
- Original publication date
- 2007-06-12
- People/Characters
- Aislinn Foy; Seth Morgan; Leslie; Keenan (The Summer King); Donia (the Winter Girl); Elena "Grams" Foy (show all 12); Beira (the Winter Queen); Niall; Irial (the Dark King); Tavish; Evan; Rianna
- Important places
- Huntsdale, Pennsylvania, USA; Pennsylvania, USA
- Epigraph
- Chapter 1: SEERS, or Men of the SECOND SIGHT,…have very terrifying Encounters with [the FAIRIES, they call Sleagh Maith, or the Good People]. -The Secret Commonwealth by Robert Kirk and Andrew Lang (1893)
Chapter 2: [The Sleagh Maith, or the Good People, are] terrifyed by nothing earthly so much as by cold Iron. -The Secret Commonwealth by Robert Kirk and Andrew Lang (1893) - Dedication
- For Loch, Dylan, and Asia, who believed in me even when I didn't, and the memories of John Marr Sr. and Marjorie Marr, whose presences linger and give me strength when I would falter.
- First words
- The Summer King knelt before her. (Prologue)
"Four-ball, side pocket." Aislinn pushed the cue forwards with a short, quick thrust; the ball dropped into the pocket with a satisfying clack. (Chapter 1) - Quotations
- "Please let it be I'm looking for," he whispered to the scepter of the Winter Queen clutched in his hand and hoped - a brief moment of optimism. But then the ice is bored into them, spread out like shards of glass in her vein... (show all)s. "Keenan," she cried. She stumbled toward him, but he walked away, no longer lit, it did not look at it anymore. Then it was a wolf allein. Nur keeping her company while she waiting to tell the next girl, how stupid it was to love him, trust him.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)It's not perfect, but it will be.
- Publisher's editor
- Hoppe, Anne; Lake, Nick
- Blurbers
- Pierce, Tamora; Klause, Annete Curtis; de Lint, Charles
Classifications
- Genres
- Teen, Fantasy, Fiction and Literature, Young Adult
- DDC/MDS
- 813.6 — Literature & rhetoric American literature in English American fiction in English 2000-
- LCC
- PZ7 .M34788 .W — Language and Literature Fiction and juvenile belles lettres Fiction and juvenile belles lettres Juvenile belles lettres
- BISAC
Statistics
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- 6,343
- Popularity
- 1,941
- Reviews
- 319
- Rating
- (3.74)
- Languages
- 12 — Czech, Danish, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 53
- ASINs
- 11