Ink Exchange (Wicked Lovely #2)

Reader reviewed by Rin




Leslie, a good friend of the new Summer Queen, Aislinn from Wicked Lovely, leads a harsh life. Ever since her mother left, Leslie's father has given up all responsibility and so running the household falls to her and her druggie brother Except Ren isn't exactly the best brother. He brings home dangerous people...

Because of an incident involving said dangerous people, Leslie finds herself wanting to take control of her own body and thinks that a tattoo will help her do so. Since none of the usual tattoo designs seem to call to her, Rabbit, the tattoo artist, shows her a book with special designs. Of course Leslie falls in love with one. And has to have it.

The tattoo is a catalyst, one that will cause her to see a world that she's never seen before and help her grow into herself.

Also, Niall, Aislinn's guard for Leslie and Irial, the King of the Dark Court, both are prominent characters in the story, creating a love triangle somewhat similar to the one in Wicked Lovely.

This book was awesome and I'd reccommend it to any fairy lovers/ fans of wicked lovely.

Reader reviewed by Allison Fraclose

Since her mother took off, Leslies life has crashed into a nightmare. She works to pay the bills that her drunken, absent father ignores, and does her best to avoid her druggie brother, who has spiraled so deep into his habits that hes even used Leslie to pay back some of his debts. Even Leslies friend Aislinn seems to be keeping huge secrets, and Leslie certainly isnt going to divulge the horrible things that have happened to her. The only solace she finds is in Rabbits tattoo shop, where shes searching for the perfect ink to claim back her body.

She finally finds it in a special book of designs that Rabbit shows her, marks given to him by the fey of the Dark Court. Leslies ink of choice happens to be the symbol of the Dark King, Irial, who struggles to feed his court now that the cruel Beira has been vanquished. When Rabbit implants Irials own blood into the skin of his chosen mortal, the bond between them will allow Irial to siphon through Leslie those negative emotions that the dark fey need to survive.

But Leslie has help. Ever since Aislinn became the new Summer Queen, she has sent her faeries to guard her human friends, and her kings advisor, Niall, has slowly grown infatuated with the broken Leslie. As one who has suffered at the hands of the Dark Court, Niall is determined to protect Leslie at any cost, even if he must throw away everything he has believed for the past millennium.

Melissa Marrs second book ties in nicely with her first, which chronicles the Summer Courts fight against the Winter Queen. However, Leslies story is compelling on its own, as are the struggles of the background characters who have now taken center stage. This dark, delicious triangle radiates a passion that one can almost taste on the tongue as clearly as any member of the Dark Court. I eagerly wait to see who will feature in the next tale of this enticing faery world.

Reader reviewed by the book muncher

Leslie has led a troubled life ever since her mother walked out on her family. Her father has turned to alcohol and cant be depended on to do anything like paying the bills unless hes in a good mood. Her brother Ren has turned to drugs, and unfortunately, hanging out with than crowd under the influence has caused horrible things to happen to Leslie. But Leslie is so ashamed and tries to hide it. She refuses to tell her friends and works as a waitress so she can pay the bills. She feels trapped inside her life.

Release comes in the form of a tattoo, only Leslie doesnt know that its just another trap. She sees the tattoo as a way of finally claiming her body as her own, as a symbol of taking over her life. What she doesnt know is that Irial, the king of the Dark Court, is forging a bond between the mortal and faerie world in order to gain nourishment for his court. Leslie still doesnt understand until she is forced into Irials world.

Throughout the novel, Leslie experiences attraction for two different faeries who both like her too. Unfortunately, both those faeries, Niall and Irial, have a sort of drug inside their skin that makes them addictive to mortals such as Leslie. Nialls job is to protect Leslie from the faerie world, so hes not allowed to get close to her; in fact, its forbidden by Aislinn, the Summer Queen and friend of Leslie. Irial on the other hand, does not expect to fall for Leslie, but after spending so much time, he realizes that he loves her.

In some ways, Ink Exchange was just as confusing as Wicked Lovely, also by Melissa Marr. However, if you get into the book, it becomes easier to understand. This novel is primarily in Leslies perspective, although there are sections told from with Nialls or Irials point of view. The characterization is amazing, and although none of these three characters were very developed in Wicked Lovely, I felt that I had read about them for a long time. The plot is filled with so much emotion, but not to the point that I started crying. Ink Exchange is a beautiful story about the choices you make, how they affect your life, and how you can live with them.

I definitely recommend every fan of Wicked Lovely and other faerie books rush out to buy Ink Exchange at the end of April or pre-order a copy now. And if you havent yet read Wicked Lovely, go do so now before Ink Exchange gets published. This is definitely one of my new favorite books, and one I will recommend to everyone.

reposted from http://thebookmuncher.blogspot.com/

Reader reviewed by jocelyn

Anyone who reads Melissa Marrs debut, Wicked Lovely (not necessary to reading this book, but certainly highly recommended, as its quite brilliant, and will give readers a fuller grasp of what is going on in Ink Exchange), will have very high expectations for Ink Exchange. I know I did, and I was far from disappointed.

Ink Exchange is not a sequel to Wicked Lovely, but the main characters here were minor characters there, and the main characters in Melissa Marrs first novel do have parts to play in her second. Leslie is a friend of Aislinns from schoola good friend of hers, one of the friends that Aislinn wants to protect from her new life as a faerie queen.

Leslie has a tough life, no question about it. A father who hasnt been much of a father since her mother left and a brother whos addicted to drugs are Leslies family, and, add that to the dangerous people her brother brings home, you can see why Leslie doesnt like to go home more than she has to. Aislinn has guards protecting Leslie, but they cant keep her safe from her own family very well.

Leslie wants to take control of her own body after an awful experience, and the way she sees to do it is to get a tattoo. None of the typical images, however, appeal to her, so Rabbit, the tattoo artist, shows her a book of designs that most customers dont get to see. When she finds one that she likes, however, she has no idea of what the consequences will be, that she will soon be involved in a world that has, up until now, been invisible to her. I dont want to give too much away, but, trust me, its awesome. Ive talked about Leslie, but shes not the only main characterIrial is the king of the Dark Court, and he certainly plays a major part in this story, but I feel like talking about him might be giving a little too much away, more than Id like. The same goes for telling Nialls part of the story, beyond the fact that he is one of Keenans top people, and one of Leslies guards, and that she has feelings for him, but neither of them can act on it.

Ink Exchange is a captivating, well-told story. Its haunting and dark and lovely and amazingjust as good as, and maybe even better than Wicked Lovely (though I couldnt decide for sure). Its a darker story than its predecessor. Melissa Marr creates a wonderful story, dealing with serious topics such as addiction and rape (yes, it is a faery story, but these are certainly not of the Walt Disney variety!). There is also the same fascinating mythology from Wicked Lovely, and Melissa Marr again shows her talents at creating wonderful characters. This is yet another brilliant book from a brilliant author! I cant wait for her third book, which will be a more direct sequel to Wicked Lovely.

Reposted from http://teenbookreview.wordpress.com