Helpful Score: 5
Reviewed by LadyJay for TeensReadToo.com
When last we saw Aislinn, she had become the embodiment of Summer, and taken her rightful place as Summer Queen.
Aislinn has had to adapt quickly to her new faery abilities, and it is certainly not easy. She struggles with her feelings towards Keenan, her Summer King, and her mortal boyfriend, Seth. She loves Seth, but is drawn to Keenan in a way that is inexplicable.
Aislinn searches for a happy balance, but it eludes her.
Keenan is also facing troubles of his own. Donia, the new Winter Queen, is his heart's desire, but she cannot bear sharing him with Aislinn. They also face a physical barrier that could destroy them both.
Aislinn, Keenan, and Donia continue their search for middle ground, but it all comes crashing down when Seth disappears. Aislinn becomes lost and wonders if joining the Faery Court was the right decision.
Melissa Marr's sequel to WICKED LOVELY is wonderful. She delves more deeply into the story of the Dark and High Courts, and gives a larger presence to Seth, Aislinn's mortal, and Sorcha, queen of the High Court.
Fans of both WICKED LOVELY and INK EXCHANGE will not be disappointed. I am looking forward to further installments in this amazing series!
When last we saw Aislinn, she had become the embodiment of Summer, and taken her rightful place as Summer Queen.
Aislinn has had to adapt quickly to her new faery abilities, and it is certainly not easy. She struggles with her feelings towards Keenan, her Summer King, and her mortal boyfriend, Seth. She loves Seth, but is drawn to Keenan in a way that is inexplicable.
Aislinn searches for a happy balance, but it eludes her.
Keenan is also facing troubles of his own. Donia, the new Winter Queen, is his heart's desire, but she cannot bear sharing him with Aislinn. They also face a physical barrier that could destroy them both.
Aislinn, Keenan, and Donia continue their search for middle ground, but it all comes crashing down when Seth disappears. Aislinn becomes lost and wonders if joining the Faery Court was the right decision.
Melissa Marr's sequel to WICKED LOVELY is wonderful. She delves more deeply into the story of the Dark and High Courts, and gives a larger presence to Seth, Aislinn's mortal, and Sorcha, queen of the High Court.
Fans of both WICKED LOVELY and INK EXCHANGE will not be disappointed. I am looking forward to further installments in this amazing series!
Theresa C. (fantasygonewild) reviewed Fragile Eternity (Wicked Lovely, Bk 3) on + 5 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
I followed Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely series since it first came out and I fell in love with a bunch of the characters. This third enstallment broke my heart, but not in the way you think.
I really began to care about the characters and the way that Marr left off in the epilogue of Fragile Eternity literally left me breathless. I was so torn between being happy for some characters, while utterly destroyed for others.
I had a hard time falling asleep after reading this, and still have a knot in my stomach about the way things turned out.
Marr makes you fall in love, hate and cry with her characters, which is a tough thing to accomplish as a writer.
Love this series, definitely recommend!!
I really began to care about the characters and the way that Marr left off in the epilogue of Fragile Eternity literally left me breathless. I was so torn between being happy for some characters, while utterly destroyed for others.
I had a hard time falling asleep after reading this, and still have a knot in my stomach about the way things turned out.
Marr makes you fall in love, hate and cry with her characters, which is a tough thing to accomplish as a writer.
Love this series, definitely recommend!!
Helpful Score: 3
It seems as each book comes out this series just becomes darker and darker. Fragile Eternity is a hard book to read. The characters, Seth in particular, are not happy unless they are unhappy. It physically made my heart hurt to read this book and I had a hard time sleeping afterward. It really depresses you. Although it is well written and has a a good plot, if you want a happy ending, don't read further then the first book.
Stephanie S. (skywriter319) -
Helpful Score: 1
You would think that once the malevolent Winter Queen Beira's reign was destroyed and the Summer King, Keenan, was restored to full power when he found his Summer Queen, Aislinn, that the this alternative faerie world, located in Philadelphia, would be peaceful again. But it's not. The monarchs of all three faery courts have changed hands, and former friendships (Niall, Keenan's former advisor, now the king of the Dark Court) and flames (Donia, the new Winter Queen) will become enemies to be wary of.
Meanwhile, in between adjusting to being a faery and learning her duties as Summer Queen, Aislinn struggles to find balance between Keenan--her king, her partner, her friend, to whom she experiences an undeniable attraction--and Seth, her wonderful mortal boyfriend. Seth is frustrated that his mortality hinders his ability to protect Aislinn from faery threats. With a hint from Bananach, the dangerously insane faery of Chaos and War, Seth goes to Sorcha, the faery queen of Reason, in order to be changed into a faery, so that he and Aislinn may stay together forever and equally.
What none of them except Bananach know, however, is that every one of their actions takes them all a step closer to a war that could destroy everything they know...
If you thought the world of faerie couldn't get more dangerously sexy and alluring than Melissa Marr's first book, Wicked Lovely, well, you're wrong. Fragile Eternity focuses mostly on the characters' relationships with one another. And what brilliantly hot and tension-filled ones they are! Lengthy conversations between Keenan and Aislinn, Keenan and Donia--okay, Keenan and anyone--should come with a "sexual tension!" warning/preview. Melissa Marr definitely writes wonderfully complex characters who are stuck in situations that have no easy solutions.
The writing of Fragile Eternity is fantastic: lyrical, magical, completely befitting the ideas it wants to express. This is poetry in motion, beauty in black and white. (And this is not even mentioning the gorgeous cover that this book is graced with.)
When I read Wicked Lovely I thought it was a decently written urban fantasy novel but nothing special. That's why I was so surprised at how much better I thought Fragile Eternity was. Parts of the story are still frustrating to me--despite how well drawn the characters are and how good the writing is, I still can't seem to fully connect with them--but I have no doubt that fans of Wicked Lovely will run out to buy this one. The ending, while rather anticlimactic after so much buildup over 300+ pages, promises a possibly even more exciting and tension-filled sequel. This may not be a hands-down favorite fantasy series of mine, but the love triangle and Melissa's beautiful writing are enough to keep me reading, and far less picky fantasy lovers will passionately declare their ardour for Marr's faerie world.
Meanwhile, in between adjusting to being a faery and learning her duties as Summer Queen, Aislinn struggles to find balance between Keenan--her king, her partner, her friend, to whom she experiences an undeniable attraction--and Seth, her wonderful mortal boyfriend. Seth is frustrated that his mortality hinders his ability to protect Aislinn from faery threats. With a hint from Bananach, the dangerously insane faery of Chaos and War, Seth goes to Sorcha, the faery queen of Reason, in order to be changed into a faery, so that he and Aislinn may stay together forever and equally.
What none of them except Bananach know, however, is that every one of their actions takes them all a step closer to a war that could destroy everything they know...
If you thought the world of faerie couldn't get more dangerously sexy and alluring than Melissa Marr's first book, Wicked Lovely, well, you're wrong. Fragile Eternity focuses mostly on the characters' relationships with one another. And what brilliantly hot and tension-filled ones they are! Lengthy conversations between Keenan and Aislinn, Keenan and Donia--okay, Keenan and anyone--should come with a "sexual tension!" warning/preview. Melissa Marr definitely writes wonderfully complex characters who are stuck in situations that have no easy solutions.
The writing of Fragile Eternity is fantastic: lyrical, magical, completely befitting the ideas it wants to express. This is poetry in motion, beauty in black and white. (And this is not even mentioning the gorgeous cover that this book is graced with.)
When I read Wicked Lovely I thought it was a decently written urban fantasy novel but nothing special. That's why I was so surprised at how much better I thought Fragile Eternity was. Parts of the story are still frustrating to me--despite how well drawn the characters are and how good the writing is, I still can't seem to fully connect with them--but I have no doubt that fans of Wicked Lovely will run out to buy this one. The ending, while rather anticlimactic after so much buildup over 300+ pages, promises a possibly even more exciting and tension-filled sequel. This may not be a hands-down favorite fantasy series of mine, but the love triangle and Melissa's beautiful writing are enough to keep me reading, and far less picky fantasy lovers will passionately declare their ardour for Marr's faerie world.
Helpful Score: 1
Fragile Eternity is the sequel to Wicked Lovely, a continuation of Melissa Marr's tale of faery. It is technically book three in a five- book series, although books two and four follow the stories of other key characters in the series.
If that sounds a little confusing, it is. It's also a little frustrating to know that ultimately, there won't be any major tying up of loose ends in the next volume, and that most likely, readers will be treated to another book's worth of wheel-spinning as Marr parses out more tidbits of the "big" story to whet our appetites, while actually following another set of characters operating in the same world.
Don't get me wrong -- Fragile Eternity does advance the story of once-mortal faery queen of the Summer court, Aislinn; her Summer King, Keenan; and the mortal she loves, Seth. The love triangle -- not to mention the rest of the romantic entanglements of the "love web" created by the other supporting characters -- is complicated further in this book. These players swap partners as often as the cast of Grey's Anatomy.
But in this book, the dialogue has taken on a whiny air. Marr beats the same conversations to death. No one can be with the person they want to be with. Keenan loves Donia, but is drawn to Aislinn. Aislinn loves Seth, but is drawn to Keenan. Seth loves Aislinn, but... well, that's too spoilery for this review. Let's just say, Marr is ever creative in the romantic conflicts she creates.
Overall, I enjoyed the book, but much of it really did feel like filler material. I think it would have been a bit more satisfying if it would have ended about 75 pages sooner. I liked getting an inside view of Faerie, though. I hope that Marr revisits that territory in the books she has planned in the future. [close]
If that sounds a little confusing, it is. It's also a little frustrating to know that ultimately, there won't be any major tying up of loose ends in the next volume, and that most likely, readers will be treated to another book's worth of wheel-spinning as Marr parses out more tidbits of the "big" story to whet our appetites, while actually following another set of characters operating in the same world.
Don't get me wrong -- Fragile Eternity does advance the story of once-mortal faery queen of the Summer court, Aislinn; her Summer King, Keenan; and the mortal she loves, Seth. The love triangle -- not to mention the rest of the romantic entanglements of the "love web" created by the other supporting characters -- is complicated further in this book. These players swap partners as often as the cast of Grey's Anatomy.
But in this book, the dialogue has taken on a whiny air. Marr beats the same conversations to death. No one can be with the person they want to be with. Keenan loves Donia, but is drawn to Aislinn. Aislinn loves Seth, but is drawn to Keenan. Seth loves Aislinn, but... well, that's too spoilery for this review. Let's just say, Marr is ever creative in the romantic conflicts she creates.
Overall, I enjoyed the book, but much of it really did feel like filler material. I think it would have been a bit more satisfying if it would have ended about 75 pages sooner. I liked getting an inside view of Faerie, though. I hope that Marr revisits that territory in the books she has planned in the future. [close]
