Book Review: Wicked Lovely

Wicked Lovely  by by Melissa Marr is a prime example of a book that has it all. Another good cover. Another good concept. Another good author.

Except, for some reason, I couldn't really get "into" it, you know?

According to the book's blurb:

All teenagers have problems, but few of them can match those of Aislinn, who has the power to see faeries. Quite understandably, she wishes that she could share her friends' obliviousness and tries hard to avoid these invisible intruders. But one faery in particular refuses to leave her alone. Keenan the Summer King is convinced beyond all reasoning that Aislinn is the queen he has been seeking for nine centuries. What's a 21st-century girl to do when she's stalked by a suitor nobody else can see? A debut fantasy romance for the ages; superlative summer read.

It didn't sing to me. Probably because almost right off the bat, I didn't like any of the characters. And maybe that was the point. They're pretty "human" with their flaws and failings, but in the end it seemed like they were just so flawed that I didn't have any interest in them. I didn't root for any of them. Honestly, it took me a long while into the book before I even cared if they lived or died.

The one exception was Donia. But the story wasn't really about her. It was more about Aislinn and Keenan and Seth. I remember thinking when I read the first scene from her POV "Why isn't this book about her?" She's the interesting one. She's the one who's suffered. Who's given up everything to be with someone who may or may not have loved her.

Instead it was about Aislinn, AKA the Summer Queen. Which, really, is never in any doubt. Even the characters find it out a little too easily, in my opinion. So, that tension, that plot, sort of fell flat. And, call me bloodthirsty, but the villain was terminated just a little too easily.

What DID appeal to me was the gritty, urbanity of the story. I've read quite a few urban fantasies, and the only one that surpasses this one in its "real-world" hardcore appeal is the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs. Very seldom do we see the girls like Aislinn taking center stage in a YA. It's either the cruel popular girl or the artistic outcast. Aislinn falls somewhere solidly in-between, reminding me of my own status in high school. I liked the setting: the railroad tracks, the concrete, the secret "green" places. I liked that the main love interest had multiple piercings. I liked that there was a realistic (though not flagrant) view of sex (and foreplay). I liked how very "teenage" Aislinn was. Spontaneous, strong-willed, passionate, but not always making the best decisions.

So, you see, there were a lot of good things about this book, but it just wasn't my cup of tea.