Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr

Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr – 328 pages

Aislinn, like her mother and grandmother, has the Sight.  She has been taught to not interact with faeries, but when a powerful noble faerie dons a glamour to court her in the human world, she is forced to break the rules she’s followed all her life.  Keenan is the Summer King, and he must find his Summer Queen in order to gain his rightful place and power held by his cruel mother, Beira, the Winter Queen.  Many girls, like the unfortuate Donia, have tried to pass the test to be Keenan’s queen, only to be trapped in the Winter Queen’s cold.  Aislinn wants to be with the human Seth and not become a faerie, but the fate of both faerie and human worlds depend on her choice. 

Dark and sensual with an engaging style, this book portrays the faerie world as full of violence and capriciousness as it is laughter, warmth, and dance.  Though not many of the characters were to my liking, through the view of their inner worlds and the experience of their thoughts and feelings, I was still able to give them some appreciation.  None of the characters face easy choices, but by the finale, their sacrifices and compromises allow them to achieve most of their ends and desires.