Ink Exchange

Melissa Marr is an amazing writer with a soft spot for tattoos - this affection is apparent in her book Ink Exchange, book 2 in the Wicked Lovely young adult series.

This book follows Leslie, Aislinn's best friend, who goes in for a tattoo and ends up as an energy conduit to help feed the Dark Court.  Coddled in the Dark Court, Leslie's spirit starts to wither and she starts to tend towards destructive behaviours (ie, starting fights) just for a fleeting glimpse of any emotion, even pain.  Only the combined power of Aislinn and Donia (the Summer and Winter Queens, respectively) can free Leslie since she desperately wishes to belong to a world that does not include the faeries.

What struck me the most about this book was the spirituality placed on the tattoos.  To Leslie, a tattoo was the one thing that she had control of and the inking was her way to reclaim her body.  Looking at the process of picking a design and getting it etched permanently onto one's body was fascinating from the perspective of someone who has never gotten a tattoo (but who really wants one!).  The machinery, the inks, the whole process was interesting and was told so vividly that for someone with a curiousity like mine, it was greatly appreciated!  And at the end of the story, Leslie comes to realization, with a maturity that is not too common, that it was her own actions and choices that defined her and changed her situation - not the tattoo itself.

I was also greatly surprised when at the end of the story Leslie opted out of the Faery world and out of the lives of Irial and Niall.  While I believed that Leslie would have to make a hard choice at the end, I honestly believed that it would be a choice between the guys - but not choosing to leave them both.  Again, that shows a maturity not normally found in books for young adults.

Overall, I'm highly impressed by the character of Leslie in this book: on the outside she doesn't seem like such a wonderful person, but she's a survivor and her story is one of survival.  I would definitely recommend this story to others - if you like stories involving faeries, even better!  I already know the next story follows Niall and his leadership in the Dark Court but I am still looking forward to reading about it!