Product Description

The clash of ancient rules and modern expectations swirl together in this cool, urban 21st century faery tale. Rule #3: Don't stare at invisible faeries. Aislinn has always seen faeries. Powerful and dangerous, they walk hidden in the mortal world, and would blind her if they knew of her Sight. Rule #2: Don't speak to invisible 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 and 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! Suddenly none of the rules that have kept Aislinn safe are working any more, and everything is on the line: her freedom; her best friend, Seth; her life; everything.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5669 in Books
• Published on: 2008-07-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

Review
"Marr offers readers a fully imagined faery world that runs alongside an everyday world, which even non-fantasy (or faerie) lovers will want to delve into" Publisher's Weekly, starred review "The fantasy of being pursued by two young men is alluring in itself, but when one is a pierced and tattooed sexy outsider and the other is a blindingly beautiful King of Faery, how much better can it get? Readers will beg for a sequel" Washington Post "This is a magical novel! the first book in a trilogy that will guarantee to have you itching for the next instalment. * * * *" Bliss "It is a read that pushes boundaries and is not afraid to be honest. All the things that make a great teen novel are there, including angst and romance, but in a refreshingly edgy way that may well entice a new audience to teen fiction. 'Wicked'!" From Bump to Grump "An assured debut! I look forward to seeing Marr's future work." Locus Magazine "I thought this book had a really great storyline and writing style! The alternative universe was well-explained, and the plot, though complex, was not difficult to grasp. I think anyone over 12 years old should read this book, or they would be missing out on something brilliant." Red House Reader, aged 13 'Riveting and dark: I love this tale of a smart, tough girl who walks the razor's edge between an ancient fairy curse and her future!' Tamora Pierce

About the Author
Melissa Marr was voted in high school the "most likely to end up in jail". Instead, she went to graduate school, worked in a bar, became a teacher and did a lot of writing. Wicked Lovely is her first novel.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
PROLOGUE

The Summer King knelt before her. "Is this what you freely choose, to risk winter's chill?"

She watched him - the boy she'd fallen in love with these past weeks. She'd never dreamed he was something other than human, but now his skin glowed as if flames flickered just under the surface, so strange and beautiful she couldn't look away. "It's what I want."

"You understand that if you are not the one, you'll carry the Winter Queen's chill until the next mortal risks this? And you'll warn her not to trust me?" He paused, glancing at her with pain in his eyes.

She nodded.

"If she refuses me, you will tell the next girl and the next" - he moved closer - "and not until one accepts, will you be free of the cold."

"I do understand." She smiled as reassuringly as she could, and then she walked over to the hawthorn bush. The leaves brushed against her arms as she bent down and reached under it.

Her fingers wrapped around the Winter Queen's staff. It was a plain thing, worn as if countless hands had clenched the wood. It was those hands, those other girls who'd stood where she now did, she didn't want to think about.

She stood, hopeful and afraid.

Behind her, he moved closer. The rustling of the trees grew almost deafening. The brightness from his skin, his hair, intensified. Her shadow fell on the ground in front of her.

He whispered, "Please. Let her be the one..."

She held the Winter Queen's staff - and hoped. For a moment she even believed, but then ice pierced her, filled her like shards of glass in her veins.

She screamed his name: "Keenan!"

She stumbled towards him, but he walked away, no longer glowing, no longer looking at her.

Then she was alone - with only a wolf for companionship - waiting to tell the next girl what a folly it was to love him, to trust him.

Customer Reviews

Wicked AND Lovely
Rule three: Never stare at invisible faeries.

Rule two: Never speak to invisible faeries.

Rule one: Don't ever attract their attention.

These are the rules Aislinn has always been told to remember when dealing with faeries. But its harder then it looks when she can see them, and they don't seem to be playing by the rules. One of them, Keenan, is trying to talk to her, asking her questions that she is afraid to answer. But theres some thing else. Keenan is the Summer King and he wishes to make Aislinn his Queen, at any cost.

So much for not attracting their attention.

A great book, characters are built up enough to know most things about them but stil others are left to the imagination. You'll almost believe that this world is your own. That faeries really are around you.

Clever, enjoyable book
The character development in this book is extremely good, and the storyline well thought out. The author gives readers a chance to empathise with the situation of each individual; for the Summer King's ex-summer-queen contender, Donia - who due to her love for the Summer King, is painfully subjected to an eternity of icy torment until another takes her place. For Aislin who loves Seth, her Gran and both fears and hates the faeries that only she (and other humans with "the sight" can see.) For Keenan, the Summer King, who has a really horrible mother (killed his father) and although Keenan cares for all the poor human girls (but in particular, loves Donia) he must lure human girls into faery life to finally find his Summer Queen (which will save all his fey subjects and dispose his cruel mother from her Winter Queen reign.) For Seth who believes the impossible to believe out of love for Aislin (a guy with incredible faith and patience as well as quite a few body piercings / tattoos). The book winds its way through good Vs evil and even finds a way for all the main characters to be with the one they love. A satisfying book that left me hoping for a sequel - it is worth your time and money.

great fun
Really enjoyed this. Imaginative, complex, magical, and, appropriately enough, given the subject matter, the writing was fae - real and accessible but with a twist. Not easy to achieve. Looking forward to book 2!