Fragile Eternity by Melissa Marr

Fragile Eternity is the third book in Ms. Marr's Faery series. This book opens with a return to Aislinn's story. The Summer Queen is adjusting to her change from mortal to fairy. She has to be increasingly careful of Seth, his mortality makes him very fragile in the face of her fairy abilities. Aislinn is also plagued by attention from the Summer King, Keenan. Both "men" are vying for her attention while trying to remain civil for her sake. Seth is increasingly frustrated by Keenan's pull on Aislinn. He feels that each day draws her further and further away from him. His solution is to try and find a way to become part of the fairy world, permanently. His journey begins as Aislinn is trying to find her proper place in the summer court. She is fond of Keenan and feels a pull toward him, but she does not love him. She tries to remain true to her feelings and yet fulfill her purpose for the summer court. She experiences many trials due to her infant knowledge of fairy dealings.

Ms. Marr's first two books dealt mainly in the struggle of human versus fairy. While this book also has an element of this, it is much more focused on the fairy world in this story. It will be interesting to see if she returns to the human versus fairy pattern for her next book.

Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr

This is Ms. Marr's second book in the series. I already mentioned that this was my introductory book to the series.

Ink Exchange breaks away from the story of Aislinn, who is still present but not as central in this story. We follow her friend Leslie. Leslie has been abandoned by her mother and father. Her mother is gone and her father uses substances to avoid reality. She is left to the mercy of her brother, a user who uses her as payment to settle his debts with his dealers. Leslie is broken because of the rape, abuse and abandonment. She is estranged from her friends because she feels like she cannot share what has happened to her.

As a sign of independence and liberation, Leslie decides that she needs to get a tattoo. It is a symbol for her that her body is her own. She takes a long time deciding what tattoo to get and finally settles on one that is created by her friend the tattoo artist. It is a unique design and Rabbit will not tattoo it on more than one person. Leslie is unaware of the link it will cause between her and the fairy realm. She must face another battle to liberate her body and escape the dark fairies that persue her.

I enjoyed this story. Because I read this story before reading the Wicked Lovely, there were times that I felt like I was missing some of the story. Another darkly good read.

Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr

This was the second book of Ms. Marr's that I read. The first was the sequel to this book. Although, I would have preferred to read them in order, I was able to follow the story line without too much difficulty. I did feel like I was missing some information as I read Ink Exchange, but it didn't affect my enjoyment of the story. Ms. Marr's series definitely leans to a darker side of fairy tales. I tend to gravitate towards Cinderella type stories, so this was a detour for me.

In Wicked Lovely, we meet Aislinn, a teenager who, for her whole life, has hidden her ability to see fairies. Her mother died when she was an infant and so she was raised by her grandmother. Aislinn has a circle of friends at school and is attracted to Seth. Seth lives in an old rail car, which offers protection from fairies. Just as Aislinn and Seth start to explore a relationship, she draws the attention of the Summer King. He is a powerful fairy who is the embodiment of summer. He has been searching for his missing Queen for centuries. He thinks Aislinn might be the one, or she might be the next in a long line of mortals who are sacrificed because of his search. Aislinn soon finds herself drawn to both Seth and the Summer King. She is forced to navigate her feelings for both "men" and her emerging importance to the fairy realm.