Wicked Lovely

My Review (Spoiler Free)

Wicked Lovely is a classic coming of age story told in terms of magic and faeries. The Summer King is at the mercy of his mother and must find his Summer Queen, who is a mortal girl waiting to be found. Of course, it is not as easy as just picking a girl at random and attempting to woo her. Instead, Keenan, our Summer King, has spent centuries courting several girls, attempting to find the one who unknowingly holds the key to his fully unleashed powers. Aislinn is a normal mortal girl with a small hidden skill,  she can see faeries. It is a family trait, one that her grandmother has carefully instructed her how to use, or, in better terms, to pretend she doesn't have. Throughout her life, Aislinn has see faeries commit a variety of acts and has heard everything they thought they said in the comfort of invisibility. She has endured this all with poise and aloofness. That is, until one day when a pair of faeries, who look much different from the rest, take a particular interest in her. From there, Aislinn's life is changed forever. Her relationship with her grandmother and her friend Seth hang in the balance as she tries to fight against the oncoming dangers of the fey and lose the pair of faeries that are so keen on her.

Melissa Marr presents a wonderful story of fey and faeries grounded very heavily in reality. She begins each chapter with a quote from a variety of works, including: The Celtic Twilight, Folk Tales of Brittany, The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries, The Mabinogion, Fairy Mythology, and The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns and Fairies. Though this is a work of fiction, Marr devoted considerable time to researching the accepted lore of the inner workings of faeries. This shines through in her portrayal of the faeries, from what they look like to how they act, including her descriptions of the discrete political power struggles between the four faery courts: Summer, Winter, Dark, and High. She is masterfully able to create her own rules and world within the world created and talked of in these nineteenth century books. The ending to her book is also noteworthy. Though it does continue on into a series of books, she ends it in a way that, if she had never lifted a pen or booted up a computer again, the reader would be left content. It is a thoroughly appreciated ending to the story.

I must confess that this is my second time reading this book, and though I remembered scant details, it felt like the first time reading it all over. As I've mentioned before, reading was a huge passion and pastime for me, especially in high school. I vividly remembering picking this book up in the library, shortly after its publication and finishing it within a day or two of checking it out. The story may seem a bit slow or tame to adult readers, but that is to be expected when adults are not the target audience. I must also confess that Marr's early description of Seth did create desires for facial piercings and dyed hair in my teenage self. Thankfully my parents did not allow me to give in to those inclinations and there are no cringey emo pictures of teenage me lingering around (though there are still pictures of cringey teenage me). Reading this book took me back to my childhood and was greatly appreciated. For an adult reader, this is an easy read and can be read in one sitting, or stretched over a few days. The chapters are short and quick to read. Overall, this book is worth checking out if you are looking for something easy, or just fascinated with stories of the fey. It is very similar to Holly Black's The Cruel Prince, but takes place in a modern, urban setting, which I find to be a lot more interesting. Maybe the biggest drawback to this book is now I'm dealing with the urge to get piercings and dye my hair all over again!