WICKED LOVELY BY MELISSA MARR

Synopsis:  All teenagers have problems, but few of them can match those of Aislinn, who has the power to see faeries. Quite understandably, she wishes that she could share her friends' obliviousness and tries hard to avoid these invisible intruders. But one faery in particular refuses to leave her alone. Keenan the Summer King is convinced beyond all reasoning that Aislinn is the queen he has been seeking for nine centuries. What's a 21st-century girl to do when she's stalked by a suitor nobody else can see? A debut fantasy romance for the ages; superlative summer read. (From Good Reads).

My Review:  Loved it!   This is truly some of the best writing I've experienced this year.  I've seen it compared to Twilight but it reminded me a little more of the Outlander series.  Although Outlander was about time travel (the travel was to a "different" kind of time and had an other-worldly feel to it) and Wicked Lovely is about an alternate world in present time.  I think the author has developed believable real-world characters but also has done a superb job on the other-world characters:

Aislinn (pronounced Ashlynn):  Catholic high school girl, would be Summer Queen.  Her Gram, her Mother and she have all been sighted to the Faery world.  Gram has given her three rules to survive her sight:  1.  Don't stare at invisible faeries; 2.  Don't speak to invisible faeries; 3.  Don't ever attract their attention.  These rules have worked great until now....

Seth:  The dark boy with a surprisingly good set of  moral values.  Will do anything for Ash.

Keenan:  The Summer King desperately searching for his Summer Queen.  He's been in the business of finding her for centuries.  He has a string of waiflike summer girls that were not brave enough to take the staff and a true love that was not equipped to be Summer Queen.  Will he ever find the Summer Queen?

Donia:  Loves Keenan with all her heart but was not able to be his Summer Queen.  She is destined to spend her life in the chill of Winter unless Keenan can find his true Summer Queen.

Beria:  Keenan's mother, the Winter Queen.  She does not want Keenan to find his true Queen. 

Wicked Lovely tells the story of two worlds colliding:

In an inhumanly quick move, he stepped closer until they were chest to chest.  In less time than it took to blink, he stood there as he truly looked - not wearing his glamour.  Warmth rained over them, as if sunbeams fell from his hair like warm honey pouring slowly over her.

She gasped, feeling like her heart would burn out from racing so fast.  The warmth rolled across her skin, until she was almost as dizzy as she'd been when she danced with him.

Then he stopped it, like turning off a faucet.  There were no breezes, no waves, nothing but his voice.  "I promised you I would do anything you asked of me within my power.  What you ask is not within my power....

Her knees felt like they'd give out; her eyes wanted to close.  She had the awful temptation to ask him to do that - whatever it was - just once more, but she knew that didn't make sense.


Wicked Lovely earns: