Ink Exchange (Wicked Lovely, #2)

by Melissa Marr

[inlibrisveritas]

Let me start off by saying, yes this can be a stand-alone however there are references to the first as well as all the characters from the first so I would recommend reading Wicked Lovely first just as a introduction to everyone and the the world they live in.

At first I found this one a bit more tedious to read then the first but as I progressed I found myself enjoying it just as much. Unfortunately now I want the tattoo I've been putting off....but that has nothing to do with the book. Anyway. The main character, Leslie, kind of follows the same structure as Ashlinn while maintaining differences that really make her character. She's intriguing and I really felt for her when you truly learn of the situations she has gone through in the past or the ones that she has to face during the book. You also get to know Niall from the first book more and I ended up really loving his character. I had hopes for Leslie and Niall but I do like the way the book ended, so I'm not upset it didn't go the exact way I wanted. Irial is also an interesting character, as is the Dark Court and it's cast of dark characters. I wasn't sure how to take the initial introduction to more courts other then Winter and Summer, because none of the other books I have introduce them but it turned out to be kind of cool. I love the fact that authors are taking in to consideration that the Fae are just as dark as they are cheerful, sometimes both at one time which can be fairly uneasy. Ash, Seth, and Keenan play minor but important roles but are otherwise kind of background.

The love triangle thing is about the same as the first one as well, just with some twists here and there to make it feel different. While I enjoyed it I do hope that it doesn't end up being this way with the next books or I'll tire of it really quickly.

The idea of a tattoo being a sort of link to the faerie is a really cool idea and it was handled really well, I thought I qas going to be confused based on the description but Marr did a great job of explaining the exchanges that she has to go through. She also includes a picture of the actual tattoo at the end of the book, which to my disappointment doesn't look as nice as the one of the cover. It's still really nice artwork but the cover-art looks better too me.

Overall I really enjoyed it and I do plan on reading the next in the series. I do recommend this one if you've read Wicked Lovely already, but like I said it can be a stand-alone if you really want to just go for it.