I must confess, I'm simply loving the urban fantasy trend running through young adult literature right now. One of my recent favorites is Wicked Lovely, the debut novel from Melissa Marr.
Like her mother and grandmother before her, Aislinn has always seen fairies. And, like them, she must follow a long and elaborate list of rules to guard her from attracting their cruel and mischievous interest. To keep her protective grandmother's threat of house arrest at bay, Aislinn begrudgingly follows the rules and takes to the city where the iron and steel of girders and bridges provide some shelter from unwanted attention.
But the rules haven't been working so well lately for Aislinn. Keenan, King of the Summer Court, must find and wed his mortal queen or his entire kingdom will forever fall to the power of his sadistic mother, the Winter Queen. He's convinced that Aislinn is the one and will do whatever it takes to make her his bride, whether she embraces her destiny or not.
Wicked Lovely is an imaginative, compelling story, deftly crafted and rife with delicious romantic conflict. That Aislinn and Keenan both have others who call to them - Aislinn's longtime best-friend-turned-secret-crush Seth and Donia, a former mortal in love with Keenan who failed his test long ago - sets in motion not one but two love triangles that will keep readers flipping pages to see how it all turns out.
Melissa Marr has created a rich and realized setting in Huntsdale, the small fictional city outside of Pittsburgh where Wicked Lovely takes place. Folklore fans and scholars will get a kick out of the references to classic 19th century fairy texts that precede each chapter.
I can't wait to see what Melissa does next. According to her Livejournal profile, she has a number of projects in the works, including a 3-book manga series from Tokyopop and Ink Exchange, the next book in her urban faerie series (I hear tell it's about tattoos, which just makes me smile). Also be sure to check out her website for more information about Melissa and to read an excerpt of Wicked Lovely.
Melissa is the founder and co-moderator of Fangs, Fur & Fey, a Livejournal community of urban fantasy authors. While you must be a published (or under contract) author to become a member and post topics, any Livejournal member can read and reply to posts. With a membership of over 60 authors, the community is very active with new posts almost every day on the writing life and everything in between. To join the conversation, simply add the community to your friends list.
I am ust reading Wicked Lovely - I've been reading it on-and-off for a month and cannot say it's engaged me much... it feels cliche ridden, not imaginative enough and at the same time not real enough. I keep looking for the Urban Fantasy book that will hit the right spot for me.. I suppose I am really really picky though.
Posted by: Lisa | October 09, 2007 at 11:21 AM