Wicked Lovely - Melissa Marr

Sorry for the delay in posts. Suffice to say that while taking 6 classes wasn’t my best idea, taking six classes including a high level accounting class ONLINE, a high level literature class, and an economics class of any kind, was among the worst I’ve ever had. But I actually had some time to read over spring vacation, and manage to devour a whole three books in my free time, and I wanted to share them with you all!

So Wicked Lovely was prominently placed at the library by my fiance’s house in South Carolina, where I spent my week, and his mother let me use her card to get it. I’ve heard of it a lot, but I’ve never actually had a chance to look at it before. I’m really glad I did pick it up, though, because I kinda fell in love with it. I also hate myself for picking it up, because I can’t read the sequels until after May 16^th, when finals are over!

Wicked Lovely is the story of four interesting individuals and a lot of fairies and magic. Keenan is the summer king of the fairies, but his powers are bound by the winter queen, his mother, until he can find his own queen of summer—a human girl converted by his will into one of the fae, who can withstand the power of winter when she touches the winter queen’s staff. Aislinn is the newest human girl he’s pinning his hopes on—but what he doesn’t know is that Aislinn can see fairies, has always been able to see them, and knows what he is…and she doesn’t want anything to do with it. Seth is her human crush and her safe house, a mortal boy who lives in an old converted train car and provides her a place surrounded in steal and empty of fairies. Donia is the winter girl—the last human girl who took a chance of Keenan, but couldn’t withstand the magic of winter. Thus, she is bound to be in the winter queen’s power until such a day that another girl takes the test and loses, taking the winter magic from her. Her goal is to tell any girl who prepares to try of the dangers of trusting Keenan and taking the test.

First off, I’m biased and I can admit that. I absolutely love books about fairies, even to the point that I was able to get over my initial desire to avoid the book just because of how central the romance is to the plot, something I’ve been more and more uninterested in lately. From the very first chapter, I was so incredibly glad I’d decided to give it a chance. The book starts out with the test of the summer queen, and Donia reaching for the staff and first becoming the winter girl. This is the part where I instantly fell in love with the book, because Donia is truly in love with Keenan when she takes this test….and it doesn’t matter. Love doesn’t cure all, and Donia still becomes the winter girl, and faces the fact that Keenan continues looking for his queen even while she suffers in love for him.

This certainly isn’t an entirely original idea, and I’ve read plenty of books where the main character has an old flame who tries to tell off his current affection, but I’ve never read a book where the old flame had such reason, and had her story told just as much as his. Wicked Lovely completely takes the stereotypes that young adult books have been producing in the past few years, stereotypes about love conquering all, the old jealous flame, and the girl who starts out headstrong and somehow ends up melting into the male lead...and it turns them on their head. I love it for that reason.

There are so many things I could say about this book that I’m honestly afraid I’d ruin it for you if I went on, because I truly, truly love this book. I know I could gush about it for pages, but that wouldn't be as much fun for you! So I’m going to just say that I heartily recommend this book, if you’re one of those people who haven’t yet touched it—although I think I’m a minority in not having done so before this past few weeks, haha. Wicked Lovely is a great book, with a great idea behind it, and I completely devoured it in a few mere hours because I didn’t want to put it down. So if you’re a fan of fairies, especially wicked and cruel fairies, or you just want to read a book that breaks some of the romantic stereotypes of the modern YA genre, definitely look into picking up a copy of Wicked Lovely next time you go book hunting!

Fads and Trends - A spazzing out by a bibliophile

Every once in a while, some book or movie succeeds so well that it starts a craze for the same type of book or movie. If you don't know what I mean, you probably haven't been paying attention to the same book shelves as I have, and haven't noticed the vampire craze that Twilight started. Some of these fads I love, some I hate, and there are some I just want to happen. Here's my top three lists for book trends and fads.

Top 3 Book Fads That Make Me Hate Books

• Vampires - Now, don't get me wrong. I used to love vampire fiction. I read Twilight back when it first came out, before it became a goddamn cult for tweens and unhappy housewives, and I didn't hate it. My favorite books for the longest time were Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark-Hunter series, which revolve around vampire-esque beings, and I like the Sookie Stackhouse books and a lot of other vampire books that have come out. But I'm getting really sick of picking up the same goddamn books rewritten almost every time I pick up a YA book with vampires. So maybe I should say that I'm more sick of YA vampires, not vampires as a whole. I mean, damn. Can I get a little originality, please? At least Twilight did something new, even if it was just body glitter.
  
• Love Triangles - Has nobody else noticed this annoying trend? You get this great book, with an awesome female main character whose strong and absolutely badass--until it comes to these two guys, where she's like a bubbleheaded Beverly Hills barbie. "Oh, I can't pick which one I want. They're both so special and amazing and sexy, and sure I've been with this one guy forever, but this new one is so sparkly and neat!" I swear, it seems like some authors only do this to get their fans into shipping wars. Obviously, some authors do it well. Others, however, completely fuck up a plot that could have been great by making it all about some stupid girl who can't pick a boy and, in some cases, cheats or kisses both or something because she's so 'helpless to resist her feelings'. It makes me hate the characters, and sometimes, it makes me hate the books. What the hell happened to female characters who were strong and confident and not confused sometime-sluts who can't make up their minds between the footballplayers/werewolves/vampires/nerds/badasses/bestfriends/etc
• Dystopia - It started with Hunger Games. Well, really it started with Battle Royale, and the Giver, but nonetheless, Hunger Games set this off. Now, if you actually read my reviews, you're probably surprised to see this on the list, because I think I've stated my preference for Dystopia fiction a few million times. But here's the thing about fads: no matter how good the original idea is, and how amazing a few of the books come out...there's always a sudden rush of books that shame the entire subgenre, and get published just because they have the theme that's popular. I'm not going to list any names, because you can probably think of two or three on your own, but if you've been reading any of the new dystopia books lately, you've probably noticed at least a few that had a great idea but were pretty much terrible in practice. As much as I love Dystopia, I am not looking forward to what this subgenre becomes in a year or two.

Top 3 Book Fads That Are AMAZING

• Werewolves - I know, I'm probably a hypocrite for hating the vampires and loving the werewolves, but I can't help it. I've always loved the idea of shapeshifters, and I adore how the werewolf genre has evolved. It's one of the things I give a happy nod to Twilight for, even though I hate what the book has done to vamp fiction. Liar, Raised by Wolves, Blood and Chocolate, etc.Wolfs, and shapeshifters in general, just make me happy, and I'm loving the flood.
• Dystopia - I know, it's on both lists. I have a love hate relationship with this book trend. On one hand, yeah, I'm hating how the average quality of a YA dystopia book is declining. On the other, I'm loving the sudden vast influx of stories with the themes I love. I loved Dystopia back when the Hunger Games idea was still just Battle Royale, and I'm loving the new ideas that keep springing up. A lot of them have flaws, but then you get books like Divergent, which I adored, Uglies, Unwind, Inside Out, Jenna Fox... I mean, yeah there are some bad ones that annoy me, since I get excited to read them only to find out I've wasted my time...but at the same time, I'm loving that I suddenly have so many choices, and there are such amazing gems that its' worth it.
• Real Life Grittiness - Maybe this isn't really what you can consider a fad, but I'm loving the sudden influx of the really gritty, dark stories. I love a good fluffy story, and I reallllyyy love when the main character pretty much just kicks everyone's ass out of sheer awesome, even if that does make me a sue lover....but goddamn, I am liking these stories where I get to LEARN when I read. You know, books like...The Chosen One, say, or anything to that effect. Stories about the stuff from real life or that could be real life, but not MY real life. Angsty stories, gritty and real stories, stories about sex or rape, murder, the gay kid's rebellion, the skinny barbie who suddenly gets fat (My Life In the Fat Lane, anyone?), nerds, polygamy, cults...I love it. I love when a good fictional story still gives me stuff that I get to learn about. I love reading about angst and terror and confusion and learning and awesome and yes. <3

Top 3 Book Fads I Want To Happen

• The Fae - The Fairy, Fairies, Faeries, what have you. The Iron Daughter, Meredith Gentry, Tithe, Valiant, I LOVE THIS AND WE NEED MORE. Obviously Meredith Gentry isn't YA, but still. I love the dark, evil fairies, the twisted tinker bell. I love the Sidhe and Unseelie and the brownies and trolls, the summer kings and wow. I am so hoping this becomes something big, very soon. I would be so hyped for this. It seems like it might be on the cusp of becoming popular, and I want it to. Now.
• Time Travel - I always used to love reading fanfiction, and my favorites were always alternate universe, dimensional travel, time travel, etc. And I want that to become something big in my fiction. I want that now. I want modern day girl forced to live in ancient times, I want the future girl who can't function in today's society messing up and struggling. I want the YA version of the highlander being sent by magic into the future, and attacking a car. I want a HUGE flux of time travel and awesomeness.
  
• Super Powers - This seemed like it was getting popular for a while, then suddenly the trend was all about dystopia instead. I want more of the super powered fics. I want more Hero, more Shatter Mes. I want flying and fighting and the coolest powers ever. I want this to become some awesomely popular thing, so the part of me that still squeals in glee over the new batman game can squeal in glee over books that don't have pictures.

What about you? What book trends do you hate? Love? What would you like to see as the next fad, if you have a choice?
And hey, got any good suggestions for my favorites? <3
Let me know!

A Kiss Of Shadows - Laurell K. Hamilton

Note: This review is for a paranormal romance novel for adults, not YA. If you are uncomfortable with graphic sex, violence, and language, this is not a review or book that you'd be interested in.

A Kiss Of Shadows is the first book in the Meredith Gentry series by Laurell K. Hamilton. Now this is not a new book. In fact, A Kiss Of Shadows actually came out in 2000, making this book over a decade old. However, thanks to graduation rehearsal, work, and a cleaning fest I've had to undergo in order to host my birthday/graduation party tomorrow, I haven't had time to read one of my BEA books within the last 24 hours. Instead I've decided to review a book from my dirty little secret list of trashy romance novels that I love.

A Kiss Of Shadows is the story of Meredith Gentry. Meredith, or Merry, is a private investigator for a firm that boasts an entirely magical or Fae staff in a world where fairies not only exist, but are accepted and even popular in the current world. Merry has a normal life, with a boyfriend who just happens to have once been able to turn into a seal and a boss who just happens to be a Trow. Well, normal if you ignore the fact that she's the missing fairy princess who vanished three years ago. After a case gone awry, Merry's cover is blown and she is suddenly being hunted down by the queen of the court she ran away from those years ago.

One thing you have to know about Laurell K Hamilton before you decide to read this book is that her series tend to start with really mild to no romance in the first book, then slowly become raunchy, sexual, and kinky-weird at times. The first three books in her other popular series, Anita Blake, were almost completely innocent as far as sexual material, for instance, but that same series a few books down has her with a harem of men and a sex scene every few chapters. So understand that when I say trashy romance, I mean trashy romance. There's an amazing plot, but there's a lot of other stuff too.

The one thing that Laurell K. Haminton excels at the most is her characters, and I've never seen her talent better at work than in the Meredith Gentry series. In A Kiss Of Shadows alone, there's Merry herself, a trow, a Jack-In-Irons, a man known as 'darkness' for the sheer fact that everything about him is pitch black, and dozens of other Fae with unique appearances and powers. There's a man who can bring death with a touch, a girl who can turn anything she touches into an inside out living ball of flesh, and a man who can cause spiders to break from a man's back until it consists of so much meat.

Now, the Meredith Gentry series is not for everyone. It's graphic in a lot of ways, and it's definitely an adult book, not YA or otherwise. If you like paranormal romance, stuff like Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark-Hunters or Gena Showalter in general, you'll probably love this series. If you like dark world that don't hide what they are, you might like this book. And if you want to start a new paranormal romance series, and you like the idea of evil Fae, then I'd suggest you pick this book up next time you go to your local bookstore.