Wicked Lovely is a young adult/urban fantasy novel by author Melissa Marr. It was published by HarperTeen, a division of HarperCollins, in June 2007. The novel has also been released in the United Kingdom, Italy, Australia, France, Denmark, Sweden, (under the title Mer än ögat ser meaning 'More than the eye sees'), Germany (under the title of Gegen das Sommerlicht meaning 'Against/Towards the Summer Light'.) and in Spain (under the title of "Encanto fatal" meaning 'Fatal Encounter'). Wicked Lovely was originally written as a short story, ("The Sleeping Girl"), before the author decided to expand on her work in order to further develop the characters. She completed the novel over a period of four months, and submitted it to an agent in January, 2006. By early March of that year, it had been accepted for publication.
Plot summary
Wicked Lovely is the first novel in a series about a world where fairies and mortals intermingle. The story introduces Aislinn, a teen who can see the faeries around her, but who has been taught all her life to pretend
not to see them. She is struggling to cope with the faeries when Keenan, the faery Summer King, enters her life and takes away her mortality, asking her to become the Summer Queen and defeat his mother, the Winter Queen. If she refuses, Winter will take over and kill all the summer faeries and mortals alike. However, Aislinn has no desire to become part of the faerie world, and is already in love with her best friend, Seth. In the end, she cannot avoid becoming the Summer Queen, and reigns alongside Keenan over the creatures she once feared. Upon defeating the Winter Queen, Aislinn brings peace to the world of fey. She also sticks with her best friend and new lover, Seth
Reception
Reviews for the novel have been very positive.
Annette Klause in
The Washington Post spoke highly of the work, praising the "fully realized" world and the
romance, while other reviewers, such as
Charles de Lint, highlight both the tight plotting and the
characterization. Nevertheless, there is some concern with the character of the Winter Queen: Klause found her to "a little too over the top to be totally threatening",
References
Category:2007 novels
Category:American children's books
