Summary - Unbeknownst to mortals, a power struggle is unfolding in a world of shadows and danger. After centuries of stability, the balance among the Faery Courts has altered, and Irial, ruler of the Dark Court, is battling to hold his rebellious and newly vulnerable fey together. If he fails, bloodshed and brutality will follow.Seventeen-year-old Leslie knows nothing of faeries or their intrigues. When she is attracted to an eerily beautiful tattoo of eyes and wings, all she knows is that she has to have it, convinced it is a tangible symbol of changes she desperately craves for her own life.
The tattoo does bring changes; not the kind Leslie has dreamed of, but sinister, compelling changes that are more than symbolic. Those changes will bind Leslie and Irial together, drawing Leslie deeper and deeper into the faery world, unable to resist its allures, and helpless to withstand its perils. . . .
Review - Melissa Marr unsettles the reader from the beginning as rape, neglect, stalking, drug abuse and everything in between step free of the shadows. This is no sweet romance with chaste kisses, Disney faeries and a happy resolution. Ink Exchange is to Wing Lit as Requiem to a Dream is to drama - heavy hitting, dark, confusing and all encompassing.
Ink Exchange could quite easily be transposed into a purely contemporary messy and brutal lust triangle and yet it works with the faerie angle. Melissa Marr's faery courts are like gangs complete with underhanded dealings, murders and hunger and as such this sets her world apart from many other (in my opinion) unsuccessful faery stories. Her world is vivid and whole, full of shadows and three dimensional beings and nefarious motivations. It’s all involving and at times chilling.
That being said, the story and the characters were less engaging than Wicked Lovely as it missed a grounded character as its centre. Leslie is a mess, Niall is a swirling mass of anger and impetuousness and Irial is slick, devious and plain evil. Leslie is so broken, so wounded that it was difficult to connect with her. Niall was my way in, he’s a teddy bear wrapped in barbed wire with a naughty mind. I adored this character; he’s dark, deep and delightfully pained.
It’s a complex book, not one for the faint hearted or the impressionable. There are some serious themes and ideas that are presented but it made me like the book all the more. With all the positive elements I have spouted there are some things that I found problematic. The females. Leslie wasn’t a character that I could connect to very easily; a reader could take issue with many of her decisions as I did. Even worse was Aislinn who came across as a negligent friend. While the use of the tattoo enabled Leslie to be conflicted about where her true feelings lay, it wasn’t a mechanism that completely worked.
All that said I did enjoy the complex issues braved by Marr. Her characters breathed, they melted into the shadows and murkiness of the world. All conflicted, all flawed, all with some goodness. The conclusion of this tale really connected with my personal need for realism and putting your love for someone ahead of your needs.
A refreshingly grim and hopeful read!
Published: 2008
Format: Paperback, 324 pages
Published: Harper Collins
Source of Review Copy: Purchased
Origin: USA
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http://melissa-marr.com
10 comments:
Thanks for the review :3 I'll think about picking this one up
Nice review. I'm leery of Melissa Marr's books, though, because I thought the character development in Wicked Lovely was appallingly bad. This one looks like it might be interesting (but if you think the characters in Ink Exchange are LESS engaging than in Wicked Lovely, maybe I'll skip this one).
I reviewed this book in my blog a little while ago.
I really didn't like it. I had all of the same issues with it that you do, especially when it comes to Leslie, but I didn't see the good side to it like you did.
Looking back at it from your point of view, though, I might have been a bit too harsh.
On a separate note, will you be doing NANO?
I didn't enjoy this one, not even a little. That said, I read it all the way through. I've been known to put down books that I can't stand, so obviously it was addictive, even if not 'good.' I don't think I'll be reading any more in the series. Maybe Marr will write something else that can hook me in the future? It was disappointing because I did like the realistic fairy story in the first novel. Glad you found something to appreciate in this one!
I like Niall, he's my favourite out of them all.
Wow! Great review. I really enjoyed reading it. I haven't read either Ink Exchange or Wicked Lovely and I'm not sure that they are for me. I'm more of a happy story girl but still I might give them a try. Thanks.
Now that I know that the series is actually darker than I thought, I want to pick it up ever sonner.
I haven't read this or Ink Exchange yet, but I'm looking forward to this one especially. I have yet to meet some of the characters you mentioned, so I'm excited!
I have read all three books, and adored them all! Great review, i don't normally like books with such dark themes but i adore the world she has created.
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