Review: Darkest Mercy by Melissa Marr

I remember when I first read Wicked Lovely. I was so skeptical--a book about fey? A YA book? I thought neither of those things would be appealing to me. But I let the positive blurbs convince me. Oh how I loved it!

I've been a huge fan since then and I can't overstate what these books did for my reading life. They threw open the door to all of the YA I would grow to love. The best part, though, is that there were FOUR more books to come! I've loved them all, all of them. I adore the world of Huntsdale and it's fey, love the characters, love the themes. So it was not without a little sadness that I approached Darkest Mercy. First, can we all agree that the cover is stunning? It really gave me high hopes that the series would end well. And those hopes were well founded, the series ended brilliantly.

THE REST ASSUMES YOU HAVE READ THE FIRST FOUR BOOKS

By this point, four books, two short stories, and two manga in we have a really well developed world and many characters. A lot has happened and I've always been impressed with the way Marr tells a single story while pushing forward the overarching tale. There's a lot of tension and drama that has built up and a lot of characters that need some sense of resolution to their stories. So Darkest Mercy really had a tall order to fill.

Thankfully we get to see most of the characters we've grown to love to some degree in Darkest Mercy. I would say that this book focuses primarily on Seth and Aislinn and Keenan and Donia, bringing us full circle which is incredibly appropriate for the way the series has been structured. There is, luckily for me, a fair bit of time spent in the Dark Court, as well, with Niall.

Things ended dramatically in Radiant Shadows as you may recall, with the formation of the Shadow Court and the closing of Faerie from the mortal world. Banananch attacked and Irial is in dire shape. Niall is overwhelmed with grief. Things are out of balance, Banananch is gaining power, and no one's happy in their love life!

The events unfold with a sense of dread..a new guy is in town and his name is Death. And that's all I'll say about that, but the lingering presence of doom, the gathering threat of war, gives the narrative a stronger sense of urgency than ever before. The same conflicts that have always existed are becoming so important as to force our characters into decision points that have permanent consequences. And yes, sacrifices will be made.

This is the kind of book you race through because you must know what will happen, and yet, when I finished I wished I could discover the series all over again for the first time. I love this world and always wish I could get more of it, which is the very best compliment I know to give a series of books. It sets my imagination on fire and I love the characters. And yes of course there's romance, the same strong romantic tension and conflict and angst that is part of the reason I adore these books so.

I loved Darkest Mercy, was sorry to see it end, but I'm so thankful it ended well. I have every one of these books in hardcover in my permanent collection. It was a smart investment--they are beautiful books and now I can revisit them whenever I want.

Rating: 5/5
Things You Might Want to Know: profanity, and a fair bit of sexual behavior though nothing explicit
Source of Book: Received ARC from publisher but also pre-ordered hardcover
Publisher: Harper

My reviews of Ink Exchange, Fragile Eternity, Stopping Time and Old Habits, Radiant Shadows, and the first manga, Wicked Lovely: Desert Tales.



Please note I'm an Amazon affiliate. If you click on a link and make a purchase at Amazon, I may receive a small commission.

Review: Stopping Time and Old Habits by Melissa Marr (and Darkest Mercy ARC Giveaway)

It's no secret that I love the Wicked Lovely series by Melissa Marr. I've been eagerly awaiting Darkest Mercy but also dreading it a tiny bit because it marks the end of the annual tradition of a new Wicked Lovely book each spring....this is the final book that will wrap up all the storylines of the series. Marr does many things well, not least of which is romantic tension. I become utterly consumed and transported in these books and I'm sorry to see them end.

Marr has written two short stories that fill in events between books. While I do not think they are necessary to read to enjoy the series, I decided to spend my holiday Monday reading them to prepare myself for Darkest Mercy. If like me you love these characters, if you particularly love Irial and Niall even a fraction as much as I do, you'll want to make sure to read these. At the moment they are available in electronic format only, but Marr has said on her website they'll be available in print sometime in 2012.

Stopping Time

Stopping Time is a Leslie-Irial-Niall short and as Ink Exchange remains my favorite of the series, I devoured every word. Even though Leslie is off living normal human life, Irial and Niall both keep an eye on her. As a new threat emerges to her, they must figure out what to do about their complicated relationships to keep her safe.

The threat against Leslie, is of course, not what's interesting about this story, it's this relationship between the three of them, romantic in every way, that's so delicious. I was practically drowning in all of the emotions as I read, the longing, the heartache, the desire, the fragile hope. This is a decadent treat for those of you who love this little threesome like I do...oh how I love Irial. Trust me it's beautiful and the ending is pitch perfect--sweet and painful all at once.

Old Habits

While "Stopping Time" felt more like a rich treat back into the worlds of my favorite characters from the books, Old Habits feels much more functional in that it seems to strengthen understanding of court ties and relationships and the way things work. It's also heavy on Irial and Niall but also Sorcha and Devlin. (and a tiny bit of Seth) It works to fill in some of the missing gaps between Ink Exchange and Darkest Mercy. If like me, you love this world and can't get enough, you won't want to miss this one either. I also think it helps and serves as a good reminder of some of the tensions going on heading into this final book. Heavily explored is the relationship between Irial and Niall now that Niall is king.

Both shorts are available in e-format, I got mine for 1.99 each from the Sony Reader Store.

Having opened up the floodgates to this world, I've already begun reading Darkest Mercy. I'm only taking a short break to write up these reviews and then I plan to dive back in! Melissa Marr is a master of addictive fiction and I can't wait to see how it all ends.

Check out this awesome trailer for Darkest Mercy! Please note that it contains spoilers for the first four books so if you haven't read them, you might want to wait until you do!

Also, HarperTeen kindly sent me an extra ARC of Darkest Mercy and I'd love to give it away to someone who loves these books like I do and has been eagerly awaiting the conclusion. To enter just fill out the form below. I'll send this one anywhere in the world and the contest will close next Monday January 24th. Winners will be notified by email.






Please note I'm an Amazon affiliate. If you click on a link and make a purchase at Amazon, I may receive a small commission.