Fragile Eternity

Written by Melissa Marr, Fragile Eternity is book 3 in the Wicked Lovely series.

This book follows Seth as he struggles to deal with his humanity in a circle of immortals - including his girlfriend.  On his quest to become Faerie, Seth meets the reclusive Sorcha, Queen of the High Court, and strikes a deal: one month a year in Faerie to become one.  Unbeknownst to him, one day in Faerie is 6 in the real world.  When he finally serves his month, 6 have passed and Aislinn has turned to Keenan to give their Summer Court a true queen to his king.

I did not like this book at all.  While the bits about the High Court and his deal with Sorcha were fine, the angsty love triangle/rectangle was a little much.  Keenan was still trying to win over Aislinn, and when that didn't work, he stuck it out with Donia.  However, when Seth went missing, he immediately dumped Donia to be at Aislinn's side.  Aislinn starts to feel strongly about Keenan with the approach of summer, so instead of being open with Seth, she hides it from him.  Seth, for his part, knows that something is up with Aislinn and decides to completely change to be with her.

Those elements are wrong on so many levels.  I can forgive Aislinn and Seth since they're young and dumb, but Keenan is 900 years old.  You'd think that having to back off for 100 years-ish, would be super easy, especially now that his powers are unbound.  Instead, he actively tries to seduce Aislinn and then when Seth is gone, he jumps at the chance to soothe her.  His only saving grace is that when she offers her body, he turns her down.  

Aislinn's behaviour at Seth's disappearance is pathetic.  She becomes reclusive, to the point of shutting out her grandmother and close friends, and she leans heavily on Keenan - who I believe she had no right to demand that kind of attention after turning him down so often.  She even offered to sleep with him to make herself feel better!

And Seth?  Seriously?  He seemed to be the only character who was completely satisfied with who he was.  Until he got it in his head that he needed to be with Aislinn forever and went against everyone's wishes to do it.  I believe that compromise is necessary in a relationship; but changing who and what you are to be with someone?  On top of that, Seth has a Persephone-esque contract: 6 months in Faerie and 6 months with Aislinn.  As much as I like happy endings, I almost hope this ruins their relationship.  I think it would be too tidy to have Keenan and Donia together, as well as Aislinn and Seth.

I guess I'll find out eventually.  The next book, Radiant Shadows, is available now.  I, however, am going to read Mockingjay next, book 3 of the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins!!!

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!