Review: Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr

Wicked Lovely
(Wicked Lovely #1)

Author: Melissa Marr

Publication Date: June 12, 2012

Publisher: HarperTeen

Genre: Fantasy

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Synopsis:

Rule #3: Don't stare at invisible faeries.
Aislinn has always seen faeries. Powerful and dangerous, they walk hidden in the mortal world. Aislinn fears their cruelty - especially if they learn of her Sight - and wishes she were as blind to their presence as other teens.
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, who 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 — regardless of her plans or desires.
Suddenly none of the rules that have kept Aislinn safe are working anymore, and everything is on the line: her freedom; her best friend, Seth; her life; everything.
Faery intrigue, mortal love, and the clash of ancient rules and modern expectations swirl together in Melissa Marr's stunning twnety-first-century faery tale.

My Thoughts: I enjoyed Wicked Lovely immensely. It was a fresh take on a heroine, which I always find myself immersed in. I loved the main characters, I enjoyed the villains and the story didn’t feel rushed.

Aislinn was a unique heroine. She knew what she wanted and refused to be pushed around just because of the situation she found herself in. Most heroines are self-sacrificing, but Aislinn managed to balance her own happiness with the impossible circumstances she found herself in. She didn’t hesitate to step up when the situation called for it and she wasn’t scared to show her emotions. I respect Melissa Marr for writing such a strong female character.

Seth, Aislinn’s best friend and maybe-something-more, is also a unique lead character. He believes that “one can never have too many piercings” and demonstrates that on his own body. He is a renown playboy and has one of the most awesome house I could ever imagine (train cars turned into a house!). Despite his bad-boy appearance, he has a personality that would make any girl swoon.

Keenan, I wish had been a bit more multi-faceted. I hope to learn more about him in the future books, but for Wicked Lovely he fell short as a main character. He was charming, handsome and kingly but I felt that we could have gotten more out of him than what we did. I know it is in there somewhere and I believe that Marr will show it in the future. I really want to know more about him and what makes him tick.

The only real issue I have with Wicked Lovely actually has to do with the series. I get invested in characters and their story-lines. The Wicked Lovely series is one that follows various characters throughout the series which throws me off. I tend to want to stick with two to three and follow them constantly instead of switching. I know that this is a personal preference, but it turns me off to the rest of the series a little bit (especially since the main heroine, Aislinn, is so awesome).

Overall though, Wicked Lovely is a great read for people who like faeries and heroines who don’t let themselves get pushed around (too much).

Review: Meeting Destiny by Nancy Straight

Meeting Destiny

Author: Nancy Straight

Publication Date: June 26th, 2010

Publisher: Self-Published

Genre: YA/Paranormal/Romance

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Synopsis:

Lauren is visited in her dreams for years by a stranger claiming to be her destiny. Destiny becomes reality when paths cross during a failed robbery attempt. Lauren and the stranger experience chemistry like no other and now her doubt over her long time relationship with her high school sweetheart is not her only secret…someone else knows about her keen intuition and sixth sense. A mysterious clairvoyant seeks Lauren out and tells her not only of her life now but what the future may hold. Soon Lauren is in the middle of a murder investigation and a questionable friendship with the key suspect. Law enforcement, friends and family are concerned for Lauren but unfortunately they are unaware of the true danger…Sinister forces are at work and will stop at nothing to destroy Lauren’s abilities.

My Thoughts: Reading this book was a lot of fun. There was no slow beginning or waiting for the action to start, the constantly twisting story line starts right from the beginning, this is a good thing by the way :).

The main character in the story is a college girl named Lauren, who all her life has had this knack for judging people's intentions. Throughout the course of this story, and all the unfolding events she discovers her knack is a lot more powerful than she originally thought. Lauren seems to constantly be in the path of danger and even near death, which makes trying to deal with these new discoveries of herself even  harder. Harder still is that she feels she can't share these things with anyone, cause they would think she was crazy, and you have to admit you'd feel the same way if you were experiencing the same things she is.

Lauren has this ever repeating dream where a man comes to her and tells her that he is her destiny, and she must find a way to him. She doesn't pay a whole lot of attention to this dream until she comes face to face with the man from her dreams.  Their connection is instant!  They are immediately drawn to each other and feel like seperation from each other is almost painful. They are some how very deeply connected, but neither of them quite knows how, Lauren has slightly more insight, but she is afraid to share her dreams  with him in the event that it would scare him away. On top of this she has a random meeting with a lady who knows all about her dreams and abilities and who she can communicate with telepathically, even when they aren't near each other.

The story is full of startling events, jaw dropping moments, and even nail-biting moments. Throughout the story Lauren is faced with many trials and complications and with each one she discovers more about herself. She also discovers love, intense, soul-mate kind of love. Even with all these discoveries, there is so much she has yet to learn, and that is why I am very anxious to read the second installment 'Destiny's Revenge'. For pretty much the whole story  I was very anxious to see what would happen next, but especially in the last few ending chapters, it was really intense! When it ended I was so sad. I know I will definitely be reading the sequel. There is so much left to be discovered, and more to learn. Nancy did a very good job of planting the seed and making us feel the need to know what happens next, there is no way you can read this book without feeling the need to read the second!

So in summary, it's a fun, full of excitement page-turner. It's got mystery, paranormal, romance , action and an ending that will leave you craving more! I would recommend this book for sure!