Review: Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr

Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: September 4, 2012
Pages: 306
Source: Traded with Stories & Sweeties
Rating: 2.5 Stars

In a city of daimons, rigid class lines separate the powerful from the power-hungry. And at the heart of The City is the Carnival of Souls, where both murder and pleasure are offered up for sale. Once in a generation, the carnival hosts a deadly competition that allows every daimon a chance to join the ruling elite. Without the competition, Aya and Kaleb would both face bleak futures--if for different reasons. For each of them, fighting to the death is the only way to try to live.
All Mallory knows of The City is that her father--and every other witch there--fled it for a life in exile in the human world. Instead of a typical teenage life full of friends and maybe even a little romance, Mallory scans quiet streets for threats, hides herself away, and trains to be lethal. She knows it's only a matter of time until a daimon finds her and her father, so she readies herself for the inevitable. While Mallory possesses little knowledge of The City, every inhabitant of The City knows of her. There are plans for Mallory, and soon she, too, will be drawn into the decadence and danger that is the Carnival of Souls.

In short: Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr has a ton of potential, but is unfortunately bogged down with an exposition-heavy story that lacks in action and character development.

Creating dark and gritty fantasy worlds is something that Melissa Marr excels at. Her books tend to have these really sinister atmospheres that make for edgy and dangerous stories. And Carnival of Souls is no exception. Enter the world of the carnival in which cage fighting matches and masked seduction occur in equal parts. Transitioning between two different worlds - the normal human world and the parallel daimon realm - and four different characters perspectives, Carnival of Souls has a lot going on and a lot of potential.

Unfortunately, I didn't feel like the concept and premise of Carnival of Souls was used to its full potential. What should've been a dangerous and exciting read was more often slow and boring. I blame the crux of this problem on the poor world building. Melissa Marr has created a wonderfully complex world, but it is the execution of the set-up of this world that was lacking: a good majority of Carnival of Souls is exposition. The particulars of the daimon realm and the caste system are described at length and it really bogs down the story as there is very little actual action going on. The exposition-heavy story really hurts the pacing and reads more like a textbook at times as it is not integrated very well into the text.

And I can't say I particularly cared for any of the characters either. We never truly get to know any of them that well and that makes it difficult to relate to them. The romances were similarly underdeveloped and one of them was another ubiquitous case of insta-love. I spent Carnival of Souls feeling removed from the story and the superficial characters, not really caring what happens and eager to set it aside so that I could start something more engaging. And I hated the ending.

I can't help but think that most of the problems I had with Carnival of Souls could be fixed if only it was longer in page length. Very talented authors can get a lot done in very few pages, but I think even the most talented author would have had a hard time setting up such a complex world and still having time for character development and action scenes in just 300 pages. But as it is, Carnival of Souls was 300 pages of exposition - the execution of which was fairly poor and boring - and that's a shame because it really could've been a truly exciting story.

Other Reviews:
Books and Sensibility
Good Books and Good Wine
Novel Sounds

Author Links:
Website
Blog
Twitter
Goodreads

Review: Darkest Mercy (Wicked Lovely #5) by Melissa Marr

Publisher: HarperTeen
Published: February 22, 2011
Pages: 336
Source: Won ARC from HarperTeen
Rating: 4 Stars - I Loved It!
Description: The Summer King is missing; the Dark Court is bleeding; and a stranger walks the streets of Huntsdale, his presence signifying the deaths of powerful fey.

Aislinn tends to the Summer Court, searching for her absent king and yearning for Seth. Torn between his new queen and his old love, Keenan works from afar to strengthen his court against the coming war. Donia longs for fiery passion even as she coolly readies the Winter Court for battle. And Seth, sworn brother of the Dark King and heir to the High Queen, is about to make a mistake that could cost his life.

Love, despair, and betrayal ignite the Faery Courts, and in the final conflict, some will win . . . and some will lose everything.

In short: The final book in the Wicked Lovely series, Darkest Mercy by Melissa Marr, is a satisfying finale and the most action-packed and intense book yet. Keenan becomes more tolerable.

Darkest Mercy was a truly satisfying finale to an involved series. It had tons of interesting plot developments and twists that made reading very quick and easy. It was definitely the most action-packed and fast paced of the series yet which was refreshing because one of my main complaints from the previous books in the series was that there was a lot of talk about the end of the world but very little action to back it up. The main drama of the previous reads was focused on the relationships. In Darkest Mercy, we get both relationship drama and action to create a truly intense read.

In Darkest Mercy, the reader gets to read from the point of view of a record total of eight different characters, including three that we hadn't heard from before in the previous books. This brings the total number of unique character point of views to fourteen! Quite a feat, especially because I never got confused or had difficulty distinguishing between so many different voices. If you're interested, here is the breakdown of the characters featured in each of the books (may be spoilery so highlight to read):

Wicked Lovely: Aislinn, Keenan, Donia
Ink Exchange: Leslie, Niall, Irial
Fragile Eternity: Aislinn, Seth, Donia, Sorcha
Radiant Shadows: Ani, Devlin, Rae
Darkest Mercy: Aislinn, Seth, Keenan, Donia, Niall, Far Dorcha, Gabriel, Chela

I'm still left with quite a few questions about faery mythology after Darkest Mercy. I'm the kind of person who likes tons of details and world building in everything I read so I was a bit disappointed that I still had a lot unanswered at the end. If you're not one of these people who is so obsessively involved in knowing every little detail about the mythology in a book then this probably won't bother you.

The characters in the Wicked Lovely series were ones that I had a hard time relating to. I almost feel like they were too "cool" for me with their multiple piercings, tattoos, motorbikes, and cigarettes. I'm just a simple nerd, a square really. And yet, I found that I really came to care for and love (almost) all of them. I'm probably going to miss Seth and his quirked eyebrow the most. He's a very easy character to love. And I don't think I mentioned this earlier but he lives in a train house! I mean, how cool is that?! I wish I lived in a train house.

And of course, I wouldn't be able to write a review for a book in this series without mentioning Keenan. In previous reviews, I've made sure everyone knew my loathing for him, calling him a plethora of things, including fake, manipulative, selfish, a prick, and a dick. He is able to redeem himself in Darkest Mercy which leads me to sympathize with his character a bit more than in the previous books but I have to say, I still dislike him on a whole. When faced with the decision between his court or his true love, there is only one clear choice that he could've made to make me like him and he took way too long to settle on it.

Previously, My Reviews for Wicked Lovely, Ink Exchange, Fragile Eternity, and Radiant Shadows.

Melissa Marr is going to be making a special appearance in celebration of the release of Darkest Mercy! She will be doing a signing and Q&A at Mysterious Galaxy in San Diego which will also be streamed live for everyone! Be sure to tune in on February 23rd at 5PM Pacific Time!

Other Reviews:
A Blog About Nothing
A & C Book Junkies
Eleusinian Mysteries
An Avid Reader's Musings

Stalk the Author (not for serious):

Website
Blog
Goodreads
Twitter
Fansite

*Read as part of the YA Series Challenge

Review: Radiant Shadows (Wicked Lovely #4) by Melissa Marr

Publisher: HarperTeen
Published: April 2, 2010
Pages: 340
Source: Library
Rating: 3 Stars - I Liked It
Description: Hunger for nourishment. Hunger for touch. Hunger to belong. Half-human and half-faery, Ani is driven by her hungers.

Those same appetites also attract powerful enemies and uncertain allies, including Devlin. He was created as an assassin and is brother to the faeries' coolly logical High Queen and to her chaotic twin, the embodiment of War. Devlin wants to keep Ani safe from his sisters, knowing that if he fails, he will be the instrument of Ani's death.

Ani isn't one to be guarded while others fight battles for her, though. She has the courage to protect herself and the ability to alter Devlin's plans—and his life. The two are drawn together, each with reason to fear the other and to fear forone another. But as they grow closer, a larger threat imperils the whole of Faerie. Will saving the faery realm mean losing each other?

In short: Unfortunately, I had a hard time connecting to the characters and relationship in Radiant Shadows by Melissa Marr. But at least there was no Keenan!

Radiant Shadows is the second departure from the Aislinn-Seth-Keenan storyline in the Wicked Lovely series (the first one being Ink Exchange) while still being a continuation of the story. If that makes any sense at all. Radiant Shadows features halfing Ani, who we learn about briefly in Ink Exchange, the advisor to the High Queen, Devlin, who we learn about briefly in Fragile Eternity, and a completely new character, Rae, who is a dreamwalker.

I was pretty tolerant of the first departure from the main storyline in Ink Exchange (Wicked Lovely #2), I think because I hadn't become as invested in the main characters at that point, but after reading Fragile Eternity (Wicked Lovely #3), I found that I didn't have very much patience for these new characters. While Marr does a fairly good job at tying in this book to the overarching storyline, I couldn't help but feel like I just wanted to get back to the main story with the main characters. I think it's for this reason that I had a hard time connecting to any of the characters. Also, the relationship between Ani and Devlin was just sort of random and felt inauthentic. There was no real buildup to their relationship.

I hesitate to mention this, but I have one nitpick with the plot that just won't stop bugging me: I really wish Marr had taken the time to understand how the Sleep Cycle and REM Sleep works. Or maybe she does know but she just chose to ignore it. At any rate, there were certain scenes involving Rae, the dreamwalker, that just didn't work for me because they didn't have at least a basis of fact. It might be unfair of me to nitpick to this detail but unfortunately, it did impact my enjoyment of the novel and simple research on Marr's part could have corrected this.

The ending was the saving grace of Radiant Shadows; I really liked the direction and advancement of the plot at the end. It sets it up perfectly for the final in the series, Darkest Mercy! Another thing I really liked was the further look into the mythology of the Dark Court, and along with that, Niall and Irial's relationship. Also a plus: no Keenan!

Previously, My Reviews for Wicked Lovely, Ink Exchange, and Fragile Eternity.

Other Reviews:
Shaded
A Blog About Nothing
Musings Of A Reader Happy

Stalk the Author (not for serious):

Website
Blog
Goodreads
Twitter
Fansite

*Read as part of the YA Series Challenge
*The Letter R in the A-Z Reading Challenge

Review: Fragile Eternity (Wicked Lovely #3) by Melissa Marr

Publisher: HarperTeen
Published: January 1, 2009
Pages: 389
Source: Library
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Description: Seth never expected he would want to settle down with anyone—but that was before Aislinn. She is everything he'd ever dreamed of, and he wants to be with her forever. Forever takes on new meaning, though, when your girlfriend is an immortal faery queen.

Aislinn never expected to rule the very creatures who'd always terrified her—but that was before Keenan. He stole her mortality to make her a monarch, and now she faces challenges and enticements beyond any she'd ever imagined.

In Melissa Marr's third mesmerizing tale of Faerie, Seth and Aislinn struggle to stay true to themselves and each other in a milieu of shadowy rules and shifting allegiances, where old friends become new enemies and one wrong move could plunge the Earth into chaos.

In short: Though I didn't love Fragile Eternity by Melissa Marr as much as the previous two books in the series, it was still a solid, entertaining sequel. I still hate Keenan.

I've never written a review for a sequel in a series before (Ink Exchange didn't really count) so I am going to do my best to try to make this as vague as possible to avoid any spoilers.

First off, let me say that I am glad I decided to read Ink Exchange instead of skipping it even though it wasn't technically a sequel. In Ink Exchange, the reader gains loads of information about the Dark Court. As the Dark Court is still integral to the plot in Fragile Eternity, I would have missed some significant developments had I chosen to skip it.

Right at the start of Fragile Eternity, there's a promise of action the likes of which we haven't seen before in the previous books in the series. Unfortunately, this turns out to be a false promise because there wasn't really a whole lot going down for the first half of the book. There was a lot of talk of the impending doom of the world, but very little danger actually takes place. The majority of the drama in the story occurs in the complicated relationships. Of course, this is true for the previous books in the series as well but I was able to overlook that because that was during the still early stages of the series. I'm getting a bit impatient for some real action now that I'm more than halfway done the series.

In case you were wondering, Keenan is still a selfish prick. He continues to manipulate both of his love interests for his own gain, blatantly leading them both on. He wants the total love and attention of both of them. And somehow they're both still forgiving and sympathetic towards him?! There were some hints that he feels bad for his actions, but I just don't buy his feelings.

Okay, okay. Enough of the bad. Now let's talk about the good. I enjoyed the new reveals in the faery mythology. Whereas Wicked Lovely focused on the Summer and Winter Courts and Ink Exchange focused on the Dark Court, Fragile Eternity focuses on the High Court. I've really come to enjoy and appreciate this slow reveal of the Faery World that Marr has been doing with each book, learning about it all in bits and pieces rather than all at once.

Although I didn't like Fragile Eternity as much as the first two books in this series, it was still a fairly entertaining read. I look forward to reading Radiant Shadows next!

Previously, My Reviews for Wicked Lovely and Ink Exchange.

Other Reviews:

Novels On The Run

Musings of a Reader Happy

The Story Siren

Stalk the Author (not for serious):

Website
Blog
Goodreads
Twitter
Fansite

*Read as part of the YA Series Challenge
*The Letter F in the A-Z Reading Challenge

Note: I'm so sorry that it's been two weeks since I last posted a review! I'm feeling completely overwhelmed with school at the moment as I scramble to write up a research grant proposal for the summer. And it's only going to get worse as midterms are fast approaching... Sincerest apologies.

Review: Ink Exchange (Wicked Lovely #2) by Melissa Marr

Publisher: HarperTeen
Published: May 1, 2008
Pages: 325
Source: Library
Rating: 4 Stars - I Loved It!
Description: Unbeknownst to mortals, a power struggle is unfolding in a world of shadows and danger. After centuries of stability, the balance between the Faerie Courts has altered, and Irial, ruler of the Dark Court, is battling to hold his rebellious and newly-vulnerable fey together. If he fails, bloodshed and brutality will follow.
17-year-old Leslie knows nothing of faeries or their intrigues. When she is attracted to an eerily beautiful tattoo of eyes and wings, all she knows is that she has to have it, convinced it is a tangible symbol of changes she desperately craves for her own life.
The tattoo does bring changes—not the kind that Leslie had dreamed of, but sinister, compelling changes that are more than symbolic. Those changes will bind Leslie and Irial together, drawing Leslie deeper and deeper into the faerie world, unable to resist its allures, and helpless to withstand its perils.

In short: Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr is darker and edgier than Wicked Lovely but just as engaging. I still hate Keenan.

After reading Wicked Lovely, I was really looking forward to reading more about Aislinn and Seth's story so I was a bit bummed that they were only secondary characters in Ink Exchange. Instead, Ink Exchange focuses on three different characters who were minor in Wicked Lovely. The story rifts off of a two second scene in Wicked Lovely where Aislinn runs into her friend Leslie and a dark faery in a tattoo parlour.

Leslie comes from a broken home. Her mother abandoned her. Her father is an alcoholic. Her brother is a drug addict who abuses her. And one time, her brother let his drug dealer rape her. Definitely much darker than Wicked Lovely. Like an episode of Degrassi on crack.

Still, I found I could admire Leslie's strength to overcome what has happened to her in the past. There was something very powerful about her decision to get a tattoo, reclaiming her body as her own after the rape, making herself whole again. It's this quality that in her that makes her an ideal candidate for an ink exchange with the Dark King which would bind them together and allow the Dark King to feed on mortal emotions through her.

Thankfully, Keenan, the Summer King, was in this one a lot less than in Wicked Lovely. Unfortunately, he's still a dick. He purposely puts Leslie in danger and he manipulates his friend and Leslie's love interest, Niall, to get what he wants. I'm wondering if I'll ever come to like him.

We get to learn more about faery mythology in Ink Exchange, specifically the Dark Court. Still, I wish we got a little more background information during some of the scenes. Some scenes were a bit confusing and I had to read them twice to figure out what was going on.

Overall, Ink Exchange wasn't as fun as Wicked Lovely with its serious subject matter, but I still found myself taken into the story of Leslie as she struggles to reclaim herself. This book was largely about the importance of making your choices your own and the ending of Leslie's story was very satisfying in this respect.

Previously, My Review for Wicked Lovely

Other Reviews:
i swim for oceans
Musings of a Reader Happy
Novels On The Run


Stalk the Author (not for serious):
Website
Blog
Goodreads
Twitter
Fansite


*Read as part of the YA Series Challenge
*Qualifies for the Into the Old World Reading Challenge
*The Letter I in the A-Z Reading Challenge

Review: Wicked Lovely (Wicked Lovely #1) by Melissa Marr

Publisher: HarperTeen
Published: June 12, 2007
Pages: 328
Source: Library
Rating: 4 Stars - I Loved It!
Description: All teenagers have problems, but few of them can match those of Aislinn, who has the power to see faeries. Quite understandably, she wishes that she could share her friends' obliviousness and tries hard to avoid these invisible intruders. But one faery in particular refuses to leave her alone. Keenan the Summer King is convinced beyond all reasoning that Aislinn is the queen he has been seeking for nine centuries. What's a 21st-century girl to do when she's stalked by a suitor nobody else can see?


In short: I loved Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr but hated Keenan, the Summer King.

Well, this was a fun read. This was the first faery book I'd ever read so I didn't really know what to expect. In Wicked Lovely, the Winter Queen has bound the Summer King's powers, freezing the earth steadily for nine centuries. The only way for the Summer King can overcome the Winter Queen's powers is to find his Summer Queen. Okay, so not realistic at all. But still an interesting concept.

It's been awhile since I've read a book told in third person. I've almost forgotten how much I love being able to switch character perspectives when reading and with Wicked Lovely, you get to view the story through the eyes of three different characters. And what you see are utterly fascinating and bizarre creatures. Each faery had its own unique description and look, and all of them were mighty odd. Metallic hair, blue lips, lion's manes, vines for veins. Very creative.

I liked Aislinn; she was a strong protagonist. Not perfect, but not totally helpless. Her best friend and love interest Seth was totally loveable and just as a best friend should be: very supportive of Aislinn even when she tells him her crazy secret that faeries are stalking her.

Aislinn's other potential love interest is of course Keenan, the Summer King. I hope I'm not alone in saying that I completely loathed Keenan. I do not see the appeal. Everything about him seemed fake. His feelings toward Aislinn seemed fake and in return, Aislinn's feelings toward him were only a product of faery magic. Keenan only needed someone to become his Queen so that he could gain back his powers.

I wasn't fond of the ending. It seemed way too rushed and abrupt. But at least there was no cliffhanger! And I would have liked the faery mythology to be more fleshed out, but in this case I assume we'll learn more over the course of the next few books in the series. I have tons that needs to be answered.

Overall, Wicked Lovely was an entertaining read. I was able to overlook certain flaws because I was enjoying myself reading it. Next up to read is Ink Exchange, which from what I understand, isn't really a sequel so much as like a book #1.5 between Wicked Lovely and Fragile Eternity with a new set of characters.


Other Reviews:
Unputdownable Books
Musings of a Reader Happy
Novels of the Run


Stalk the Author (not for serious):
Website
Blog
Goodreads
Twitter
Fansite


And to the person who checked this library book out before me and tore out 15 pages near the end of the book: Screw you. Seriously, who does that? So inconsiderate. No respect whatsoever.


*Read as part of the YA Series Challenge
*Qualifies for the Into the Old World Reading Challenge
*The Letter W in the A-Z Reading Challenge