20 April 2010

Review: Fragile Eternity by Melissa Marr

Book Description

Seth wants to be with Aislinn forever. Forever takes on new meaning, though, when your girlfriend is an immortal faery queen.

Keenan stole Aislinn's mortality to make her a monarch. 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 to 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.

Book 3 in The Wicked Lovely Series.

Review:
FRAGILE ETERNITY is the true sequel to Wicked Lovely that Ink Exchange wasn't. Ashlinn, Seth, and Keenan are once again the main characters picking up not long after the events in Wicked Lovely. I had some issues with Ink Exchange because I felt like it was much too similar to the story in Wicked Lovely. FRAGILE ETERNITY is completely its own story.

Seth was so cool in Wicked Lovely, it was easy to see why Ash fell for him. Unfortunately, I think he lost some of his cool this time out. Playing the long suffering boyfriend essentially neutered him in a lot of ways. The role he was reduced to in light of Ash’s new role of Summer Queen to Keenan’s King was pretty emasculating. He just sat in on meetings and watched the two of them fight against the bond that draws them together, and later consoled Ash when she confessed how much she is drawn to Keenan. Rinse, latter, repeat. If he had stayed in that docile position, I think it would have ruined the book for me. ‘If’ being the operative word: he didn’t.

I also think it took a little to long to get into the plot. It hadn’t been that long since I’d read the first two books, but in the beginning, I had difficulty trying to remember who everyone was. After the first 60 pages or so, everything started to click again, and the plot took off. From then on, I couldn't put it down.

I can’t really say anything about the plot without giving too much away, but just make sure you read Wicked Lovely first, or you'll have a hard time following the story. If you haven't read Ink Exchange yet, you'll mostly be okay (though you should still check it out).

Overall, Melissa Marr's writing is enchanting and her ability to create empathy with her characters is masterful. Of all the faeries in YA right now, Melissa's are easily my favorite. Now out in paperback, pick this one up and get ready for Radiant Shadows due out April 20, 2010.

YA Warning: FRAGILE ETERNITY is the most YA friendly in the series to date. The sexual content is very low and there isn't any drug use.

Sexual Content: References to sex. References to homosexuality.