I am sad and disappointed that I did not like this book as expected: I was excited to do a throw back in some old good 10's urban fantasy with fae and seeing why the publisher decided to republish it, but in the end it just did not aged well and I could not connect with the main characers and was not involved in the "love triangle" (uggggh) and in the destiny of the fae or human realm. The style and the idea is not bad and I will totally check out other books by the author and I reccomend you to do so, but for this serie I am stopping here.

Okay, where to start.

I have to be completely honest, this took me a while to get into.

Stick with me here…

I started it, read a few chapters, didn’t really feel any type of way about it and then didn’t read any further.

Until I did.

I decided to give it another shot and I’m actually really pleased that I did.

I found the storyline interesting, enough so that I wanted to finish the book. The build up of the characters was pretty good, I felt like I got to know them somewhat, although I would have liked to go a little deeper here.

I found the end quite sudden, it seemed to build and build and then the ending happened in a few pages and that was it. Again, I would have like to go a bit deeper here.

Overall, I did like it and I’m glad that I went back to finish it.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and I wish Melissa Marr much success with the release.

The beginning was interesting and promising, but then very little happened throughout the book. It left me wanting more, and unfortunately only very close to the end did it start getting better. It did remind me a little of Holly Black's Modern Faerie Tales, but not necessarily in a good way.

I really enjoyed this book! I loved how original and creative the writing was.

I instantly fell in love with Aislinn and Seth and their cute innocent relationship.
What a magical faery tale!

Fantastic YA Faerie Tale. With likeable characters (and morally grey ones you shouldn’t like but really do), this book keep you the turning pages as the storyline keeps you captivated until the very end.

I absolutely loved this book and I'm already desperate to read more from Melissa!

The world building was rich and intricate without being too heavy on exposition. Melissa gave enough detail to differentiate each faction, but it didn't feel overwhelming as a reader.

I really enjoyed the pace of the story, and I felt that it kept a steady tempo the whole time. I didn't feel rushed at any point even though a lot happened during the novel. I think this is a credit to Melissa's talent as a writer.

The addition of quotes from other fairylore created a sense of the danger presented by the faeries and this helped to build the tension as the book progressed. It was a clever tool to use and I enjoyed it.

Onto the characters!

Aislinn was a fantastic heroine - strong, determined and likeable. Her character arc was so well executed and I enjoyed watching her grow throughout the novel.
She's a smart and relatable character and I hope to see more about her in future novels.

Keenan surprised me. I started the story thinking he was a nefarious and untrustworthy villain with no redeeming qualities. However, by the end of the novel, I was really rooting for him because he was much deeper than I realised.

As for Seth, I thought he was a great example of positive masculinity. He was so kind and respectful of Aislinn at all times.
It was a pleasure to read his actions, and he was exactly the sort of portrayal that should be more present in literature.

All in all, it was a brilliant book. Definitely five stars.

My only criticism is that it needs a trigger warning for a couple of nasty scenes, but that's it.

I really did not enjoy this book.

Although the beginning and the concept were promising, the book just didn't deliver.

The characters have no personality and are quite...bland? Makes it very difficult to connect with them so that's the first thing that goes wrong in a book because you just don't really care about them to want to keep reading.

For the length of the book it feels as if there's too much that wants to happen, but really, nothing does. And then suddenly we have a very rushed ending that makes no sense at all.

I sadly would not recomment this book

Overall, this was a fun read - a darker faerytale full of forbidden romance and a suspenseful plot, but I didn't quite fall in love with the plot or characters like I'd hoped to. I think I'd have felt differently when I was younger,. It does a good job of addressing the cost of power, and destiny vs freedom of choice. It's an interesting story that I would definitely recommend it to an audience younger than myself (I'm 28) - but for me, for now, it just didn't hit the spot.

Despite its beautiful prose, this book left me wanting more. For a book so heavy in pages, it's shocking how little actually happened. The beginning and end were amazing, but the content in between felt lacking. Really disappointed.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC❤️

An enchantingly dark tale of the fae world.
Fate and love run closely alongside each other.
This was a nice book and it also reminded me a bit of Holly Black's tales.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, Childrens for the ARC

I had a great time reading this novel. I liked the fairytale aspect of it and the forbidden romance. The fmc was brave and independant. She was strong-willed and clever. The forbidden romance was good because who doesn't like a sexy fae? An exciting fantasy novel.

I discovered Melissa Marr through a post somewhere on Facebook. Someone read this series and loved it. I checked the books, but decided not to get them. And then I googled for books set in New Orleans and stumbled upon this author again, although another series. I read the first book in that series and loved it and this series instantly landed on my wishlist. And then I discovered they were reprinted and the first book was available through Netgalley. Luckily Harper Fire granted my request.

This book was not what I had expected and I think I need to read it again to appreciate it for what it is. Because what you expect does color what you read. I read certain scenes with certain expectations and therefore didn't always like them. However, now I know that my expectations were wrong for most of the book (if not almost all of the book), I might read those scenes differently and might also appreciate them way more.

Because I think it's one of the best parts of this book. It's not the standard "human girl falls in love with a fae prince, despite the fact that he's actually manipulating her and not a healthy relationship choice". The book is actually addressing his behavior, it's calling him out when he needs to be called out and despite the fact that there are quite some cute and almost romantic scenes, the book never allows us to forget who he is, what he is and what his reason for doing this are.

Since the book is not following the expected patterns, it's also not always easy to follow what's going on. That's a compliment in this case. The reason I had issues understanding what was happening was that the book took a turn I hadn't seen coming. And I liked how the book challenged me that way. It kept me on the tips of my toes. I really had to focus on what I was reading. I really had to be fully present. I therefore can't wait to read the rest of the series.

I received an ARC of 𝑾𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒚 by Melissa Marr through NetGalley, which was available in celebration of the series, getting a fresh set of new covers coming November 2024.
Although the series has long since concluded, it’s a treat to jump into this captivating world.

⋆ 𝐏𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 ⋆
𝑾𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘈𝘪𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘯, 𝘢 𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴—𝘢 𝘨𝘪𝘧𝘵 (𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦) 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦.
𝘐𝘯 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘳'𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥, 𝘧𝘢𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘬𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦; 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴, 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘴. 𝘈𝘪𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘵 𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦: 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.

𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘒𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘢, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘎𝘪𝘳𝘭, 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘒𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘈𝘪𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘣𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘘𝘶𝘦𝘦𝘯.
𝘐𝘧 𝘈𝘪𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘘𝘶𝘦𝘦𝘯, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘒𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳.
𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦, 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘦𝘵𝘩, 𝘢 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘰𝘺.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘈𝘪𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴, 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘢𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘴.

Aislinn’s character is compelling as she navigates a dangerous new reality. She isn’t just a passive victim of the faeries’ manipulation—she is brave, independent, and constantly fighting to maintain control over her own life. The tension between her desire to be free from the faerie world and the inevitability of her entanglement in it forms the backbone of the narrative.
She is torn between accepting her fate and holding onto her autonomy.

One of the standout themes in the book is the idea of choice versus destiny.
Aislinn constantly battles against the idea that she must fulfill a predetermined role in the faerie world, and much of her struggle comes from trying to make her own choices.
This theme ties into larger questions about power, especially in the way Keenan and the Winter Queen manipulate the people around them. The book also explores the darker aspects of desire, love, and loyalty, as well as the cost of power and what it means to truly be free.

⋆ If you like dark faerie tales, forbidden romance, and stories about strong heroines fighting to make their own way in the world, then this book and series is for you. ⋆

It has a very promising beginning that is sure to grip younger readers. I am not too sure about the stereotype of women falling for men (human or fae) that are bad news though. As I read on, I found parts of it a bit too mature for a YA readership, or maybe I am just a bit too conservative.

It is a well-written book that will probably grab the attention of teenage readers, but it is not for me.

This book started out promising with Aislinn having the Sight to see the Fae when no one else does and she has worked her whole life to not show the Fae that she can see them, until suddenly they start to notice her.

However I was just bored throughout. If this wasn't an ARC I would have DNF'd, but I pushed through thinking it might get better, unfortunately it didn't.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an eARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I was shocked to learn this wasn’t a new series! I had never heard of it but I guess it went on Netgalley since they have new editions coming out. Just finished one and immediately going to read the rest. This series definitely needs to be more hyped!

Aislinn has seen faeries all her life. She hides this secret as she knows what will happen to her if the fae discover this truth. So, she lives by three simple rules: don’t stare at the invisible faeries, don’t speak to an invisible fae and don’t attract their attention.

She thought these rules would keep her safe. But now powerful and dangerous faerie are stalking her, including Keenan, who is positive she is important to his and the Summer Court’s survival. But Aislinn isn’t going to give her humanity so easily… but it might already be too late.


I remember this series from the mid-2000s. It seem to explode on the scene around the same time as the Twilight Saga hype train while every publisher was trying to find the next big thing to ride on Stephenie Meyer’s success. But I didn’t know much about this, expect that the original cover was very weird (I will see if I can find it and put in the post somewhere so you can see).

And you can tell that it was written in the 2000 YA. It hits all the YA supernatural romance troupe. It reminds me of an Instagram video of someone gently-poking fun at YA heroines (search for “Lavender Arsenic Avocado Basket” and you’ll see what I mean). There was something nice and easy about reading this and I am tempted to read the sequel, Ink Exchange, if it is ever really cheap on my kindle or if I see it in my local library randomly.

However, it wasn’t the most filling read. Does that sense? It feels like a sunny, beach read rather than a Halloween read. Plus, we have come a long way from the 2000s and the YA fantasy romance off the time. We’ve all read Twilight, Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare, Need by Carrie Jones, The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting and Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor and many others from that time and some were strongly written and have survived the test of times and others… not so much. So, you have to give this series the respect it deserves as it’s still here and going from strength to strength, even now after 20 years on the tough teen market.

While the writing is solid and I get why many readers hold this series close to their hearts, this isn’t really for me. It’s readable and it was enjoyable, was not exactly something I would rave about. Maybe as the series goes on, I will fall under its spell (I am very curious over the next book in the series, Ink Exchange…)

I flew through this book! Super easy to read. If you're a young adult fae fan, then you'll love this. Full of romance, suspense and excitement. Not to mention that Seth was such an adorable love interest. Overall a fun read!