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Wicked Lovely
Desert Tales
Return to the world of Melissa Marr's bestselling series and discover how the events of Wicked Lovely set a different faery tale in motion. . . . Originally presented as a manga series and now available for the first time as a stand-alone novel, Desert Tales combines tentative romance, outward strength, and inner resolve in a faery story of desert and destiny.
The Mojave Desert was a million miles away from the plots and schemes of the Faerie Courts—and that's exactly why Rika chose it as her home. The once-mortal faery retreated to the desert's isolation after decades of carrying winter's curse inside her body. But her seclusion—and the freedom of the desert fey—is threatened by the Summer King's newfound strength. And when the manipulations of her trickster friend, Sionnach, thrust Rika into a new romance, she finds new power within herself—and a new desire to help Sionnach protect the desert fey and mortals alike. The time for hiding is over.
The Mojave Desert was a million miles away from the plots and schemes of the Faerie Courts—and that's exactly why Rika chose it as her home. The once-mortal faery retreated to the desert's isolation after decades of carrying winter's curse inside her body. But her seclusion—and the freedom of the desert fey—is threatened by the Summer King's newfound strength. And when the manipulations of her trickster friend, Sionnach, thrust Rika into a new romance, she finds new power within herself—and a new desire to help Sionnach protect the desert fey and mortals alike. The time for hiding is over.
245 pages, Paperback
First published October 8, 2013
52 people are currently reading
5640 people want to read
About the author
Melissa Marr
107 books13k followersMelissa Marr writes fiction for adults, teens, and children. Her books have been translated into 28 languages and been bestsellers in the US (NY Times, LA Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal) as well as overseas. Wicked Lovely, her debut novel, was an instant New York Times bestseller and evolved into an internationally bestselling multi-book series with a myriad of accolades.
In 2024 she released a queer fantasy (Remedial Magic via Bramble), a picturebook about a wee one and his two moms (Family is Family via Penguin), and a DC Comics graphic novel about teen Harley & Ivy (The Strange Adventures of Harleen & Harley).
An Illumicrate edition of 6 Wicked Lovely books will release in 2025.
If she's not writing, you can find her in a kayak or on a trail with her wife.
In 2024 she released a queer fantasy (Remedial Magic via Bramble), a picturebook about a wee one and his two moms (Family is Family via Penguin), and a DC Comics graphic novel about teen Harley & Ivy (The Strange Adventures of Harleen & Harley).
An Illumicrate edition of 6 Wicked Lovely books will release in 2025.
If she's not writing, you can find her in a kayak or on a trail with her wife.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 163 reviews
October 31, 2013
3.5 ★'s
My Thoughts:
✦ This is the story of Rika, who was the Winter Girl, before Donia.
✦ If you're looking for more Aislinn, Seth or Niall...this ain't it.
✦ We do get a bit of Keenan and Donia though.
✦ It's always been hard for me to picture these faeries especially Sionnach with his pointy ears and bushy tail.
✦ I did enjoy all the manipulations especially from that sly fox! LOVE his reasonings behind it!
✦ Jayce was also an interesting character...I'm still not sure why Rika gave him what she did.
✦ Overall, I enjoyed the story. It was great getting back to these faeries with all their interesting "traits".
Favorite quote:
♥ "Finally getting started sounds good."
My Thoughts:
✦ This is the story of Rika, who was the Winter Girl, before Donia.
✦ If you're looking for more Aislinn, Seth or Niall...this ain't it.
✦ We do get a bit of Keenan and Donia though.
✦ It's always been hard for me to picture these faeries especially Sionnach with his pointy ears and bushy tail.
✦ I did enjoy all the manipulations especially from that sly fox! LOVE his reasonings behind it!
✦ Jayce was also an interesting character...I'm still not sure why Rika gave him what she did.
✦ Overall, I enjoyed the story. It was great getting back to these faeries with all their interesting "traits".
Favorite quote:
♥ "Finally getting started sounds good."
October 30, 2013
No Seth? No Aislinn? Donia? NO NIALL??!
We shall see about you Desert Tales.
Either way.... I have grabby hands right now for this book.
Edit 9/18/13: I have won this through GR Giveaway! So excited! =D
<3
Pixie
Merged review:
Loved! I've missed the Wicked Lovely world. I've never been a big fan of Keenan, and he still didn't impress me here. But I liked Rika and her story. I've always been curious about the girls before Donia, and this was a fabulous tale of one of Keenan's previous mortals to try, and fail, the test and take on winter's curse until Donia came along to take her place. If you've read Wicked Lovely, you know exactly what I'm talking about. It helped shed some light on Keenan's character for me, I guess, and I have to say I still just don't like him. Lol. I get there are fans of him, but I'm not one. But I do love many others and just like with the last Wicked Lovely book I finished with the series (Darkest Mercy), I was sad to see Desert Tales end as well. It just makes me want even more from other characters and storylines in the Wicked Lovely world and I wish it'd never end! I love it so much. :)
Ah well... I guess I just have to wait for movies now, right? ;)
A more in-depth, slightly-less rambly review to come soon for my blog.
<3
Pixie
We shall see about you Desert Tales.
Either way.... I have grabby hands right now for this book.
Edit 9/18/13: I have won this through GR Giveaway! So excited! =D
<3
Pixie
Merged review:
Loved! I've missed the Wicked Lovely world. I've never been a big fan of Keenan, and he still didn't impress me here. But I liked Rika and her story. I've always been curious about the girls before Donia, and this was a fabulous tale of one of Keenan's previous mortals to try, and fail, the test and take on winter's curse until Donia came along to take her place. If you've read Wicked Lovely, you know exactly what I'm talking about. It helped shed some light on Keenan's character for me, I guess, and I have to say I still just don't like him. Lol. I get there are fans of him, but I'm not one. But I do love many others and just like with the last Wicked Lovely book I finished with the series (Darkest Mercy), I was sad to see Desert Tales end as well. It just makes me want even more from other characters and storylines in the Wicked Lovely world and I wish it'd never end! I love it so much. :)
Ah well... I guess I just have to wait for movies now, right? ;)
A more in-depth, slightly-less rambly review to come soon for my blog.
<3
Pixie
January 4, 2014
2.5 stars - Spoilers
-Good but also bad. The world building and some aspects of the story were done well, but the characters and relationships were utterly dull.
-What's what: Rika (solitary fae/former winter faery/summer king's sort of ex) lives in the desert away from faery politics, she keeps to herself because she can't get over being used by her sort of ex Keenan (the summer king).
Anyway, Rika avoids the other desert fae and spends all her time feeling sorry for herself because she was betrayed over a century ago by a guy she never even properly dated. Since she doesn't have a life, Rika decides to stalk a human boy (Jared), she manages to fall in wuv him even though she's never talked to him before.
Rika's weird love life is put in danger when Keenan visits and tries to manipulate her and other desert fae into submitting to him so he can get more power. Rika is all hell no and teams up with the alpha (Sionnach) to protect the desert/solitary fae from Keenan and his smarmy politics. In between saving her home and fucking over Keenan she starts hanging out with Jared and falls more in wuv.
-I had a lot of issues with Rika. I despise heroines that stop living their lives just because they've been hurt in the past. She fell in love with Keenan, he lied to her, and then used and manipulated her. Yea, he was a total douche to her. When she was free of him she ran away to the desert and lived with other solitary faeries. Which was perfectly fine, she'd been through a lot and needed to recover and whatnot. But what pissed me off was that instead of getting over the past, the silly cow literally did nothing for decades, she had no friends, she had no life, she just sat alone in a cave wallowing and licking her wounds. It was pathetic. A few years of moping around would have been bad enough but decades of it was a whole other level of WTFery.
-I rolled my eyes at centuries old Rika not only being a virgin but also never experiencing a proper kiss before. We all know YA heroines have to be inexperienced virgins no matter what their age. Ugh.
It was ridiculous that it took Rika decades to move past her non-relationship with Keenan and find someone else. I'm sorry but what young person puts their life on hold for that long over something that was barely a relationship?! Bullshit.
-Keenan was a dick. He was selfish, arrogant, and idiotic. After using Rika, and pretending to love her, he expected her to drop everything, still be in love with him and do whatever he wanted. He was a delusional douche.
It pisses me off that after ruining so many lives with his lies, he got an HEA instead of being punished. Ugh.
-It was hard to believe Sionnach's declaration of love for Rika. Apparently, he knew she was the one for him yet he was still able to slut around and find romance elsewhere. Yea, right.
-I quite liked Donia in the earlier Wicked Lovely books but not anymore. She was just too pathetic for my liking. Donia pined for Keenan for decades despite him flirting with loads of other girls, and shagging around and falling in love with them. Why would she wait for him when he was happily getting it on with other girls? She was alone for about a century, and Keenan treated her like rubbish, it made no sense her staying single and still being in love with him. It was ridiculous how she waited for him when he was fucking around with every girl he met. He had no loyalty or love towards Donia. The only reason he wanted her at the end was because there was no-one else around. Donia was dumb to not realise that.
-Jayce was such a boring non-character.
-I did like the depiction of the desert, the weird background faeries, and the whole faery hierarchy.
-All in all, it was somewhat of a decent read… I guess the world kind of made up for the lame characters.
-Good but also bad. The world building and some aspects of the story were done well, but the characters and relationships were utterly dull.
-What's what: Rika (solitary fae/former winter faery/summer king's sort of ex) lives in the desert away from faery politics, she keeps to herself because she can't get over being used by her sort of ex Keenan (the summer king).
Anyway, Rika avoids the other desert fae and spends all her time feeling sorry for herself because she was betrayed over a century ago by a guy she never even properly dated. Since she doesn't have a life, Rika decides to stalk a human boy (Jared), she manages to fall in wuv him even though she's never talked to him before.
Rika's weird love life is put in danger when Keenan visits and tries to manipulate her and other desert fae into submitting to him so he can get more power. Rika is all hell no and teams up with the alpha (Sionnach) to protect the desert/solitary fae from Keenan and his smarmy politics. In between saving her home and fucking over Keenan she starts hanging out with Jared and falls more in wuv.
-I had a lot of issues with Rika. I despise heroines that stop living their lives just because they've been hurt in the past. She fell in love with Keenan, he lied to her, and then used and manipulated her. Yea, he was a total douche to her. When she was free of him she ran away to the desert and lived with other solitary faeries. Which was perfectly fine, she'd been through a lot and needed to recover and whatnot. But what pissed me off was that instead of getting over the past, the silly cow literally did nothing for decades, she had no friends, she had no life, she just sat alone in a cave wallowing and licking her wounds. It was pathetic. A few years of moping around would have been bad enough but decades of it was a whole other level of WTFery.
-I rolled my eyes at centuries old Rika not only being a virgin but also never experiencing a proper kiss before. We all know YA heroines have to be inexperienced virgins no matter what their age. Ugh.
It was ridiculous that it took Rika decades to move past her non-relationship with Keenan and find someone else. I'm sorry but what young person puts their life on hold for that long over something that was barely a relationship?! Bullshit.
-Keenan was a dick. He was selfish, arrogant, and idiotic. After using Rika, and pretending to love her, he expected her to drop everything, still be in love with him and do whatever he wanted. He was a delusional douche.
It pisses me off that after ruining so many lives with his lies, he got an HEA instead of being punished. Ugh.
-It was hard to believe Sionnach's declaration of love for Rika. Apparently, he knew she was the one for him yet he was still able to slut around and find romance elsewhere. Yea, right.
-I quite liked Donia in the earlier Wicked Lovely books but not anymore. She was just too pathetic for my liking. Donia pined for Keenan for decades despite him flirting with loads of other girls, and shagging around and falling in love with them. Why would she wait for him when he was happily getting it on with other girls? She was alone for about a century, and Keenan treated her like rubbish, it made no sense her staying single and still being in love with him. It was ridiculous how she waited for him when he was fucking around with every girl he met. He had no loyalty or love towards Donia. The only reason he wanted her at the end was because there was no-one else around. Donia was dumb to not realise that.
-Jayce was such a boring non-character.
-I did like the depiction of the desert, the weird background faeries, and the whole faery hierarchy.
-All in all, it was somewhat of a decent read… I guess the world kind of made up for the lame characters.
September 28, 2024
Slay, I guess
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 5, 2016
This is a YA PNR/UF part of a series (spin-off).
The Story
This book is about Rika (a Winter Girl before Donia), Sionnach (the desert alpha & a fox faery), and Jayce (human male). Some scenes with Keenan & Donia, but no other characters from the series make an appearance in the book.
The majority of the book is about Rika healing emotionally and finally accepting who & what she now is. Sionnach nudges Rika along that path while Jayce is the motivation that gets her going onto that path.
I understood the reasoning behind Sionnach machinations, but some of it was still depressing - especially in the reread. If you like Melissa Marr books for the angst then you will love this part of the story.
The book does end with a few things left up in the air, but not any cliffhangers. I think the author left it open for she could extend the story if she wanted to &/or plans to.
The Characters
Sionnach is what really made this a good book. He is clever, witty, mysterious, & just sooo damn sexy. I loved the parts where we got to see his point of view, just wish there were more scenes with it.
Jayce was a little boring. I never really felt like I got to know him either. I get that he is the laid back go with the flow type of guy, but it made for a flat character.
Rika was a little different to read about. I have mix emotions about her character. At times her melancholy self-absorbed thoughts were a little annoying. The only explanation I can think of to why it's taken her so long to heal is because faery emotions are a little different than humans. Also, I don't know how long she was a Winter Girl for (can't remember if it's mentioned in the series).
The Series
Not recommended to read without having read the series first. If you read this without having read the series there will be a few things that you won't understand.
Overall
I liked it enough to reread all the scenes with Sionnach in it, but didn't love it enough to reread the whole book.
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads. I won this back in September, but it took me awhile to get in the mood for the angst I know Marr tends to write. My review is on the before published version, paperback, uncorrected proof, not for sale edition.
All reviews are always my honest thoughts &/or opinions.
The Story
This book is about Rika (a Winter Girl before Donia), Sionnach (the desert alpha & a fox faery), and Jayce (human male). Some scenes with Keenan & Donia, but no other characters from the series make an appearance in the book.
The majority of the book is about Rika healing emotionally and finally accepting who & what she now is. Sionnach nudges Rika along that path while Jayce is the motivation that gets her going onto that path.
I understood the reasoning behind Sionnach machinations, but some of it was still depressing - especially in the reread. If you like Melissa Marr books for the angst then you will love this part of the story.
The book does end with a few things left up in the air, but not any cliffhangers. I think the author left it open for she could extend the story if she wanted to &/or plans to.
The Characters
Sionnach is what really made this a good book. He is clever, witty, mysterious, & just sooo damn sexy. I loved the parts where we got to see his point of view, just wish there were more scenes with it.
Jayce was a little boring. I never really felt like I got to know him either. I get that he is the laid back go with the flow type of guy, but it made for a flat character.
Rika was a little different to read about. I have mix emotions about her character. At times her melancholy self-absorbed thoughts were a little annoying. The only explanation I can think of to why it's taken her so long to heal is because faery emotions are a little different than humans. Also, I don't know how long she was a Winter Girl for (can't remember if it's mentioned in the series).
The Series
Not recommended to read without having read the series first. If you read this without having read the series there will be a few things that you won't understand.
Overall
I liked it enough to reread all the scenes with Sionnach in it, but didn't love it enough to reread the whole book.
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads. I won this back in September, but it took me awhile to get in the mood for the angst I know Marr tends to write. My review is on the before published version, paperback, uncorrected proof, not for sale edition.
All reviews are always my honest thoughts &/or opinions.
May 12, 2015
Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales
Quick & Dirty: With cute romance, great drama, and an intriguing plot this is sure to be a hit for both fans of the Wicked Lovely series and those that are new to the series like me.
Opening Sentence: Trusting Keenan had been the mistake that informed Rika’s entire life, a mistake that had cost her both her humanity and her happiness.
The Review:
Rika was a lovely, sweet mortal girl that fell in love with the wrong person and it cost her everything. The Summer King tricked her and made her believe that he loved her, but in all reality he was just looking to break a terrible curse that was laid upon him by the winter queen. Rika took a test to see if she was the mortal girl that could break the curse, but she failed and was left as the snow queen for years until someone else took her burden. Eventually she was released from being the snow queen, but she was still a fey. To get away from all the politics of the two courts and finally feel warmth again she takes off to live a solitary life in the desert.
The desert fae mostly stick to themselves and Rika has had no problem staying away from most of her kind. The only fae she would consider to be a friend is the sly fox faerie named Sionnach, He is currently the Alpha of the desert faeries and one of the only faeries Rika has learned to trust. For years Rika has been content with her life, but she has recently taken an interest in a mortal boy named Jayce. He is an artist and Rika finds herself falling in love with him, even though she has never even talked to him. Then she gets a visit from the dreaded Summer King demanding she swear fealty to him and to get all of the desert faeries to do so as well. Soon Rika is thrown into a world she thought she left behind. But if she wants to protect the mortal boy she has come to care for she will have to come out of her shell and fight to protect not only him but the desert faeries as well.
Rika is a very interesting character and her story was pretty heart breaking. She has spent years trying to recover from the life she lived, and the heart break she felt when the Summer King rejected her. She is a shy, reserved person, and opening herself up to others is really hard for her. For the most part she has completely avoided all relationships because she is so afraid of getting hurt again. It was interesting to watch her story unfold and to see her finally become the person she was always meant to be. I loved watching her grow as a character and learn that there is a lot more to life then she originally thought. She was a very easy character to connect with and I enjoyed reading her story.
Jayce is a cute guy that was a little too easy going for my tastes. He is the artistry type and when I imagine him in my head he kind of looks like a hippy. He loves to draw, rock climb, and spend time with his friends. Upon meeting Rika he fell for her way faster then I liked, but their relationship was still sweet. He treats Rika well and in many ways he forces her to break out of her shell, but I just didn’t really feel the chemistry between them. Jayce was a nice enough guy, I just thought he was a little boring.
Sionnach was a much more interesting character. He is a fox faerie so being sly is a big part of his nature. Like most faeries he is very good looking and at first you think he is kind of a jerk, but as the story developed I completely fell in love with him. He has spent years caring about Rika, but he knew she was in no way ready to be with someone like him. So in many ways he tricked her into starting a relationship with Jayce because he knew that would make her happy. The fact that he was willing to let her be with someone else even though he cared about her was very swoon worthy to me. Of course he isn’t perfect and the way he does things isn’t always the best. But deep down he is a good guy and I loved him!
Desert Tales was a cute, quick story with romance, faerie politics and adventure. This is a companion novel to the Wicked Lovely series by Melissa Marr and I personally have not read that series yet. But I in no way felt lost or confused while reading Desert Tales, it stood on its own perfectly fine. Since I haven’t read the series I can’t really tell you if it spoils anything from the previous books, but nothing stood out to me as a spoiler. I can tell you that after reading this I am very interested in reading the Wicked Lovely series, but it is five books so we will see if I ever get a chance to read it since my TBR pile is huge. I thought that the world Marr created was very captivating and the whole political drama between the faeries was fascinating. The romance was sweet, but certain relationships felt a little rushed to me. The plot was very intriguing and there were a few twists that I wasn’t expecting. Overall, I found this book to be really enjoyable, and I would highly recommend it to both fans of the series and those that are new to the series like me.
Notable Scene:
Jayce reached out and traced her cheek with his fingertips. “I’m alone with the girl I like who happens to be even cooler than I already thought. It’s very okay.” He leaned closer and kissed her. He’d known she was different, but he couldn’t have guessed she was this unusual. He was kissing a faery. The thought made him pull back and grin at her. “This is awesome.”
FTC Advisory: HarperTeen provided me with a copy of Desert Tales. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
Quick & Dirty: With cute romance, great drama, and an intriguing plot this is sure to be a hit for both fans of the Wicked Lovely series and those that are new to the series like me.
Opening Sentence: Trusting Keenan had been the mistake that informed Rika’s entire life, a mistake that had cost her both her humanity and her happiness.
The Review:
Rika was a lovely, sweet mortal girl that fell in love with the wrong person and it cost her everything. The Summer King tricked her and made her believe that he loved her, but in all reality he was just looking to break a terrible curse that was laid upon him by the winter queen. Rika took a test to see if she was the mortal girl that could break the curse, but she failed and was left as the snow queen for years until someone else took her burden. Eventually she was released from being the snow queen, but she was still a fey. To get away from all the politics of the two courts and finally feel warmth again she takes off to live a solitary life in the desert.
The desert fae mostly stick to themselves and Rika has had no problem staying away from most of her kind. The only fae she would consider to be a friend is the sly fox faerie named Sionnach, He is currently the Alpha of the desert faeries and one of the only faeries Rika has learned to trust. For years Rika has been content with her life, but she has recently taken an interest in a mortal boy named Jayce. He is an artist and Rika finds herself falling in love with him, even though she has never even talked to him. Then she gets a visit from the dreaded Summer King demanding she swear fealty to him and to get all of the desert faeries to do so as well. Soon Rika is thrown into a world she thought she left behind. But if she wants to protect the mortal boy she has come to care for she will have to come out of her shell and fight to protect not only him but the desert faeries as well.
Rika is a very interesting character and her story was pretty heart breaking. She has spent years trying to recover from the life she lived, and the heart break she felt when the Summer King rejected her. She is a shy, reserved person, and opening herself up to others is really hard for her. For the most part she has completely avoided all relationships because she is so afraid of getting hurt again. It was interesting to watch her story unfold and to see her finally become the person she was always meant to be. I loved watching her grow as a character and learn that there is a lot more to life then she originally thought. She was a very easy character to connect with and I enjoyed reading her story.
Jayce is a cute guy that was a little too easy going for my tastes. He is the artistry type and when I imagine him in my head he kind of looks like a hippy. He loves to draw, rock climb, and spend time with his friends. Upon meeting Rika he fell for her way faster then I liked, but their relationship was still sweet. He treats Rika well and in many ways he forces her to break out of her shell, but I just didn’t really feel the chemistry between them. Jayce was a nice enough guy, I just thought he was a little boring.
Sionnach was a much more interesting character. He is a fox faerie so being sly is a big part of his nature. Like most faeries he is very good looking and at first you think he is kind of a jerk, but as the story developed I completely fell in love with him. He has spent years caring about Rika, but he knew she was in no way ready to be with someone like him. So in many ways he tricked her into starting a relationship with Jayce because he knew that would make her happy. The fact that he was willing to let her be with someone else even though he cared about her was very swoon worthy to me. Of course he isn’t perfect and the way he does things isn’t always the best. But deep down he is a good guy and I loved him!
Desert Tales was a cute, quick story with romance, faerie politics and adventure. This is a companion novel to the Wicked Lovely series by Melissa Marr and I personally have not read that series yet. But I in no way felt lost or confused while reading Desert Tales, it stood on its own perfectly fine. Since I haven’t read the series I can’t really tell you if it spoils anything from the previous books, but nothing stood out to me as a spoiler. I can tell you that after reading this I am very interested in reading the Wicked Lovely series, but it is five books so we will see if I ever get a chance to read it since my TBR pile is huge. I thought that the world Marr created was very captivating and the whole political drama between the faeries was fascinating. The romance was sweet, but certain relationships felt a little rushed to me. The plot was very intriguing and there were a few twists that I wasn’t expecting. Overall, I found this book to be really enjoyable, and I would highly recommend it to both fans of the series and those that are new to the series like me.
Notable Scene:
Jayce reached out and traced her cheek with his fingertips. “I’m alone with the girl I like who happens to be even cooler than I already thought. It’s very okay.” He leaned closer and kissed her. He’d known she was different, but he couldn’t have guessed she was this unusual. He was kissing a faery. The thought made him pull back and grin at her. “This is awesome.”
FTC Advisory: HarperTeen provided me with a copy of Desert Tales. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
October 4, 2017
Kept me turning the pages throughout the 1 day it took me to read cover to cover -- same overall as other books in this series --- but can i please say, "Ms. Marr, WHY THE CONSTANT RIDICULOUS FRIKKEN REDUNDANCY?!?" Oh my glory!! HOW MANY BLESSED TIMES DID SHE REALLY NEED TO REPEAT THE ENTIRE MODUS OPERANDI OF POSSIBLY BECOMING THE WINTER QUEEN ??!!!! Especially NOW, at the very last book in a 6 book series, given its been repeated in nearly every book thusly???!! In case you can't tell..... that bugged me! Hahaha!! i enjoyed the series, but hadn't realized this was entirely different concurrent story line, rather than three last book in the series! I wonder...
May 11, 2014
One of the main things that really drew me into Wicked Lovely was the whole concept of the Winter Girl—Donia was one of my favorite characters throughout the series, and I really loved her strength and development over the course of five books. (Even if she did take Keenan back at the very end.) But one of the things that did stick with me during the series was the idea that humans who are touched by the faery world can never truly leave it, and there’s only an offhand mention of some of the former Winter Girls who had struck out of Huntsdale in order to live away from the courts. Rika is one of the former Winter Girls who gets a mention, and although her story doesn’t entirely effect the greater plot of Wicked Lovely, it is really interesting to see her story here.
(The weird thing is that I actually didn’t read Desert Tales when it first came out. For one thing, I really hadn’t been bitten by the bug to read All of the Things at that point—I had only read the first book—and also, I’ve had bad experiences with OEL manga based on book properties. And after having read this, I kinda want to hunt down the original series. Alas, Tokyopop’s all out of print.)
What really helps in Desert Tales is that not only do we have a new protagonist and setting, but they come with a whole new set of rules. While urban fantasy faerie courts are interesting, I’ve seen it in so many other places that there’s really nothing new to them. Here, we have a much looser faerie world in the Mojave Desert, where there isn’t much need to properly blend into mortal society, nor is there much regard for mortals in the desert. We also get the first look at faeries, who by Huntsdale’s standards would be solitaries, but they prefer to rule themselves through more of a survival-of-the-fittest stance. There’s no stands on ceremony, and while there are still pawns and the Courts’ games do reach far and wide, it is a very different world from what we’ve seen in the past five and a half books.
I really loved Rika. Even though we had seen the effects of being a pawn in the main series, Keenan’s manipulations of girls he’d never truly loved hadn’t been explored yet. It’s noted that Rika had held the position of Winter Girl for the longest, so the fact that she runs away to the desert and closes herself off makes so much sense. She’s had to suffer for a lie, in hopes that she could be a lot more important than her birth decreed, and had to live with Keenan seducing girl after girl. (And then you remember that Rika and Donia were the last two Winter Girls after nine centuries of searching. How many other girls are wandering after Keenan’s betrayal out there? I actually have a theory that some of the Scrimshaw Girls are actually the oldest Winter Girls, twisted by Beira’s hand.) And I loved that this wasn’t entirely a story about Rika learning to love again after so many decades, but rather, her accepting her own strength and creating a new path for herself. Oh, and I loved it when Rika gave Keenan his verbal asskicking. (I think this takes place in between Fragile Eternity and Radiant Shadows?) I really enjoyed how Rika’s character grew throughout the book, as she’s realizing her own inner strength and the choices she can make. And I just love that although she does ultimately choose to swear fealty to one of the Courts, Rika chooses Donia not because of their shared past, but because Donia nor her guards can actively interfere in the desert.
And what I do like about the central romance in this book is that even though Jayce is incredibly chill about learning what Rika is, he does understand that Rika is going to have to move on from him one day. I don’t think Marr fully explores the complications of their relationship, seeing as how both Sinnoch and Rika view Jayce as more of a “brief fling” rather than a fully committed relationship in the long term. I get that Jayce would eventually learn what Rika’s true nature was, and while he’s a character where it does make sense that he would be chill with finding out that “Hey, faeries are real and they’re not actually twee Disney pixies,” what we know about faeries’ nature probably wouldn’t work out for him the long run. (We need to have a PNR book where the mortal main character finds out the love interest’s daaaaark secret, but then having to deal with “No, really, you are so screwed in the long run.”) I am not as big of a fan of Sinnoch—he’s not the worst manipulator in the series, but I have a hard time trusting him after his whole plan to push Rika into the arms of Jayce and making her step as the Alpha. And I did like him to start with, I actually didn’t mind that he was pushing Jayce as a rebound relationship. But the whole reveal about actually pushing Maili to the point where things got complicated…that I wasn’t as huge of a fan of.
Much like Faery Tales & Nightmares, Desert Tales really isn’t essential reading for the whole of the Wicked Lovely series. But I’d actually recommend this over the short story collection, mainly for the fact that we get a little bit more backstory on at least one of the girls who had been manipulated by Keenan, and also a decent exploration into some of the other faery communities that exist in this world. It’s also a very light read (not too dense into the world), and I did really enjoy reading this.
(The weird thing is that I actually didn’t read Desert Tales when it first came out. For one thing, I really hadn’t been bitten by the bug to read All of the Things at that point—I had only read the first book—and also, I’ve had bad experiences with OEL manga based on book properties. And after having read this, I kinda want to hunt down the original series. Alas, Tokyopop’s all out of print.)
What really helps in Desert Tales is that not only do we have a new protagonist and setting, but they come with a whole new set of rules. While urban fantasy faerie courts are interesting, I’ve seen it in so many other places that there’s really nothing new to them. Here, we have a much looser faerie world in the Mojave Desert, where there isn’t much need to properly blend into mortal society, nor is there much regard for mortals in the desert. We also get the first look at faeries, who by Huntsdale’s standards would be solitaries, but they prefer to rule themselves through more of a survival-of-the-fittest stance. There’s no stands on ceremony, and while there are still pawns and the Courts’ games do reach far and wide, it is a very different world from what we’ve seen in the past five and a half books.
I really loved Rika. Even though we had seen the effects of being a pawn in the main series, Keenan’s manipulations of girls he’d never truly loved hadn’t been explored yet. It’s noted that Rika had held the position of Winter Girl for the longest, so the fact that she runs away to the desert and closes herself off makes so much sense. She’s had to suffer for a lie, in hopes that she could be a lot more important than her birth decreed, and had to live with Keenan seducing girl after girl. (And then you remember that Rika and Donia were the last two Winter Girls after nine centuries of searching. How many other girls are wandering after Keenan’s betrayal out there? I actually have a theory that some of the Scrimshaw Girls are actually the oldest Winter Girls, twisted by Beira’s hand.) And I loved that this wasn’t entirely a story about Rika learning to love again after so many decades, but rather, her accepting her own strength and creating a new path for herself. Oh, and I loved it when Rika gave Keenan his verbal asskicking. (I think this takes place in between Fragile Eternity and Radiant Shadows?) I really enjoyed how Rika’s character grew throughout the book, as she’s realizing her own inner strength and the choices she can make. And I just love that although she does ultimately choose to swear fealty to one of the Courts, Rika chooses Donia not because of their shared past, but because Donia nor her guards can actively interfere in the desert.
And what I do like about the central romance in this book is that even though Jayce is incredibly chill about learning what Rika is, he does understand that Rika is going to have to move on from him one day. I don’t think Marr fully explores the complications of their relationship, seeing as how both Sinnoch and Rika view Jayce as more of a “brief fling” rather than a fully committed relationship in the long term. I get that Jayce would eventually learn what Rika’s true nature was, and while he’s a character where it does make sense that he would be chill with finding out that “Hey, faeries are real and they’re not actually twee Disney pixies,” what we know about faeries’ nature probably wouldn’t work out for him the long run. (We need to have a PNR book where the mortal main character finds out the love interest’s daaaaark secret, but then having to deal with “No, really, you are so screwed in the long run.”) I am not as big of a fan of Sinnoch—he’s not the worst manipulator in the series, but I have a hard time trusting him after his whole plan to push Rika into the arms of Jayce and making her step as the Alpha. And I did like him to start with, I actually didn’t mind that he was pushing Jayce as a rebound relationship. But the whole reveal about actually pushing Maili to the point where things got complicated…that I wasn’t as huge of a fan of.
Much like Faery Tales & Nightmares, Desert Tales really isn’t essential reading for the whole of the Wicked Lovely series. But I’d actually recommend this over the short story collection, mainly for the fact that we get a little bit more backstory on at least one of the girls who had been manipulated by Keenan, and also a decent exploration into some of the other faery communities that exist in this world. It’s also a very light read (not too dense into the world), and I did really enjoy reading this.
January 29, 2020
I really enjoyed the ending
February 18, 2023
This was such a great read, loved reading about these characters and the politics of the solitaries here at the desert, and seeing how Keenan is interrupting thing!
August 3, 2016
The Author's Note in the Desert Tales book states that the previously written five novels in the Wicked Lovely series stand on their own, so it is not necessary to read Desert Tales to enjoy and understand the going-ons in the other books, it's just a companion novels for fans who want to know more about the faery world. The story of Desert Tales happens roughly at the same time as Radiant Shadows, the forth book in the series.
Desert Tales is a wonderful addition to the Wicked Lovely Series if you are in the middle of reading it or have finished it recently. But if you are like me and you were done with the series years ago and you've forgotten the details, you'll probably find yourself at times confused, trying to figure out who's who, what happened before Desert Tales and what happens after it.
Since the series stands on its own, nothing that happens in Desert Tales is of any great importance, I don't think it impacts the other books at all. Which does take the pleasure out of reading it a little, or at least the reason to read it at all. But it does give us a nice look into how the solitary fairies live, how they are managed despite not living under a court's rule. Let me tell you, they are quite vicious and cruel, they cause trouble just to pass the time away, maim mortals just for the fun of it. We also get to see what it really means for a faery to date a mortal, when there's no magical way to make them live forever, when there isn't a solution to the problem (like with Seth and Aislinn). Talk about love being doomed from the start.
Keenan and Donia both make and appearance. I've really like Donia before and I still do after reading Desert Tales, Keenan on the other hand is a whole new story. I've always thought he was a bit of an asshat, but I never fully grasped how abhorrent his behavior really was, searching for his Summer Queen. Reading the story from a POV of Rika, one of the Winter's Girl, a girl who feel for his trickery and paid for it dearly, showed just how manipulative and exploitative he is. I get his motivation, but the end just doesn't justify the means. Or at least he could treat the girls better after they failed the Summer Queen's test, if there truly was no other way to save the world from the Winter Queen.
Desert Tales is a wonderful addition to the Wicked Lovely Series if you are in the middle of reading it or have finished it recently. But if you are like me and you were done with the series years ago and you've forgotten the details, you'll probably find yourself at times confused, trying to figure out who's who, what happened before Desert Tales and what happens after it.
Since the series stands on its own, nothing that happens in Desert Tales is of any great importance, I don't think it impacts the other books at all. Which does take the pleasure out of reading it a little, or at least the reason to read it at all. But it does give us a nice look into how the solitary fairies live, how they are managed despite not living under a court's rule. Let me tell you, they are quite vicious and cruel, they cause trouble just to pass the time away, maim mortals just for the fun of it. We also get to see what it really means for a faery to date a mortal, when there's no magical way to make them live forever, when there isn't a solution to the problem (like with Seth and Aislinn). Talk about love being doomed from the start.
Keenan and Donia both make and appearance. I've really like Donia before and I still do after reading Desert Tales, Keenan on the other hand is a whole new story. I've always thought he was a bit of an asshat, but I never fully grasped how abhorrent his behavior really was, searching for his Summer Queen. Reading the story from a POV of Rika, one of the Winter's Girl, a girl who feel for his trickery and paid for it dearly, showed just how manipulative and exploitative he is. I get his motivation, but the end just doesn't justify the means. Or at least he could treat the girls better after they failed the Summer Queen's test, if there truly was no other way to save the world from the Winter Queen.
June 14, 2016
Desert Tales
Rating: 4.5/5
Reading Thoughts:
15% I like Rika so far. She seems pretty badass and able to take care of herself. She dealt with Keenan pretty well. I miss this world.
26% Oh my, Jayce and Rika are pretty cute even though they don't know much about each other yet. I think they'll be an awesome couple. I wonder what Sionnach is planning and what it has to do with Rika. Does he love her/ want her as a lover? Or is she a pawn for him? I really hope not because he seemed like a pretty decent fey so far.
41% Things are progressing swiftly, but then again Melissa Marr won't disappoint with the action. I can't believe Maili did that!!! What a wench. I really like Jayce and Rika. They're so good for each other. I hope Rika will come out of her shell more, interact with the other fey. And she needs to go beat up Maili like right now.
Review:
*Sigh* Melissa Marr, I’ve missed the Wicked Lovely world. The way she builds worlds is fantastic! I just love how everything is interwoven. The world is seamless, it’s like it could really exist in reality.
I love how dynamic her faeries are and how, even though they are not human, they exhibit human traits. They have motivations similar to ours. It makes them understandable and believable. It also makes your heart hurt when they’re not happy or hurt.
I loved Rika, I thought she was so strong. Her character went through an extraordinary ordeal and she still lived after it. Granted, she had to work through her memories and learn to let go, but she was still herself (though a faerie version).
One thing I loved about Wicked Lovely was how we got to experience almost every characters’ viewpoint at least once. This continued in Desert Tales but to a much lesser degree. I even got a glimpse into my favorite character from the Wicked Lovely series, Donia.
Rating: 4.5/5
Reading Thoughts:
15% I like Rika so far. She seems pretty badass and able to take care of herself. She dealt with Keenan pretty well. I miss this world.
26% Oh my, Jayce and Rika are pretty cute even though they don't know much about each other yet. I think they'll be an awesome couple. I wonder what Sionnach is planning and what it has to do with Rika. Does he love her/ want her as a lover? Or is she a pawn for him? I really hope not because he seemed like a pretty decent fey so far.
41% Things are progressing swiftly, but then again Melissa Marr won't disappoint with the action. I can't believe Maili did that!!! What a wench. I really like Jayce and Rika. They're so good for each other. I hope Rika will come out of her shell more, interact with the other fey. And she needs to go beat up Maili like right now.
Review:
*Sigh* Melissa Marr, I’ve missed the Wicked Lovely world. The way she builds worlds is fantastic! I just love how everything is interwoven. The world is seamless, it’s like it could really exist in reality.
I love how dynamic her faeries are and how, even though they are not human, they exhibit human traits. They have motivations similar to ours. It makes them understandable and believable. It also makes your heart hurt when they’re not happy or hurt.
I loved Rika, I thought she was so strong. Her character went through an extraordinary ordeal and she still lived after it. Granted, she had to work through her memories and learn to let go, but she was still herself (though a faerie version).
One thing I loved about Wicked Lovely was how we got to experience almost every characters’ viewpoint at least once. This continued in Desert Tales but to a much lesser degree. I even got a glimpse into my favorite character from the Wicked Lovely series, Donia.
November 14, 2013
I absolutely LOVED this series and to have a Novella come out later on to tell us about one of the Winter Girl's story? Phenomenal! Melissa did a wonderful job on keeping us linked with some of the other characters from the series. She paints a great picture for us to see exactly what Rika, main female character, is like. You get pulled into the scenes and emotions right along with the characters in the story. There is a rift in the Desert Fae and watching Rika get interested in a "human boy" is becoming a person priority for another Fae. Sionnach, the Desert Fae Alpha. What he does, how he does it and all that happens in between it happening AND after, is quite a ride to enjoy!
3 things bummed me out on this book. 1 - It was extremely short! 2 - kinda pricey for being so short! $8.06 for 275 pages?? 3 - The ending was kind of rushed.
But overall an excellent novella to add to the series. I would really love to see a few more come out as well. Are you reading this Melissa? (Or one of your helpers?) :-)
I do recommend this read. Even though this says it's a stand alone book, I truly believe that it's not. There are too many things that come up and characters that you will wonder about. Reasons for why things are the way they are and so on. These things can get you confused if you haven't read the other books in the series. However, I really don't think you'd mind doing that. Because, now I actually have to go back and re-read the whole series again. Why? Because this story brought back so many memories of what the series was like and reminded me of how much I loved it! So I am going to go back and get lost in Wicked Lovely "land" again. LOL Happy Reading whether you decide to read it as a Stand Alone or as part of the series!
3 things bummed me out on this book. 1 - It was extremely short! 2 - kinda pricey for being so short! $8.06 for 275 pages?? 3 - The ending was kind of rushed.
But overall an excellent novella to add to the series. I would really love to see a few more come out as well. Are you reading this Melissa? (Or one of your helpers?) :-)
I do recommend this read. Even though this says it's a stand alone book, I truly believe that it's not. There are too many things that come up and characters that you will wonder about. Reasons for why things are the way they are and so on. These things can get you confused if you haven't read the other books in the series. However, I really don't think you'd mind doing that. Because, now I actually have to go back and re-read the whole series again. Why? Because this story brought back so many memories of what the series was like and reminded me of how much I loved it! So I am going to go back and get lost in Wicked Lovely "land" again. LOL Happy Reading whether you decide to read it as a Stand Alone or as part of the series!
March 4, 2016
DNF: 80 pages.
I did read this story in the original manga form when it was first published. I'm a huge fan of the Wicked Lovely series, and I was one of many who wanted this story in novel form. Now I'm just wishing it didn't exist.
The writing felt lazy. For something that was originally written for a visual medium, there's very little description of setting. I usually don't notice this in other books, but having seen this story before, the lack of description really stood out to me.
Secondly, I was hoping this story being written out in novel form would provide extra insight into the characters. I wanted to know Rika's thoughts and feelings and understand what went through her head. That's kind of a basic expectation of a POV character. No such luck. It felt like the characters were just puppets being moved around from one place to the next. They didn't stay in one place for long, and there wasn't much forethought or afterthought to allow you to understand their actions or the mood of the scene.
What ultimately made me decide to abandon this book fully was the realization of just how ridiculous the "love story" was becoming. Rika and Jayce meet, have maybe ten seconds of very awkward face-time per interaction before she's either running away, or taking him somewhere else to protect him, or running off to have another extended conversation with Sionnach while Jayce is... what? Standing in a corner? She kisses him, with no real buildup, and then immediately runs away to talk to Shy again. It didn't feel like a love story. Rika was like a crazy person.
This was a frustrating experience I won't be repeating.
I did read this story in the original manga form when it was first published. I'm a huge fan of the Wicked Lovely series, and I was one of many who wanted this story in novel form. Now I'm just wishing it didn't exist.
The writing felt lazy. For something that was originally written for a visual medium, there's very little description of setting. I usually don't notice this in other books, but having seen this story before, the lack of description really stood out to me.
Secondly, I was hoping this story being written out in novel form would provide extra insight into the characters. I wanted to know Rika's thoughts and feelings and understand what went through her head. That's kind of a basic expectation of a POV character. No such luck. It felt like the characters were just puppets being moved around from one place to the next. They didn't stay in one place for long, and there wasn't much forethought or afterthought to allow you to understand their actions or the mood of the scene.
What ultimately made me decide to abandon this book fully was the realization of just how ridiculous the "love story" was becoming. Rika and Jayce meet, have maybe ten seconds of very awkward face-time per interaction before she's either running away, or taking him somewhere else to protect him, or running off to have another extended conversation with Sionnach while Jayce is... what? Standing in a corner? She kisses him, with no real buildup, and then immediately runs away to talk to Shy again. It didn't feel like a love story. Rika was like a crazy person.
This was a frustrating experience I won't be repeating.
July 14, 2017
2.5/5
Rika and Jayce were rather flat characters. Jayce in particular was so boring and faded into the background. Sionnach was the real star of this book,
Also, Rika, you are the Number 1 Stalker.
Rika and Jayce were rather flat characters. Jayce in particular was so boring and faded into the background. Sionnach was the real star of this book,
Also, Rika, you are the Number 1 Stalker.
November 5, 2013
Wow I will admit I wasn't expecting to get too involved with this book or its characters but I was happily proven wrong.
I must say that Sionnach was my favorite from the beginning. Maybe its my love of Foxes or maybe it's because I love a man (or faerie) who manipulations aside, has really amazing motives. Any character (or real life person although its less likely to find one of those) who can love someone enough to recognize they aren't what the person needs right now is a solid 10 in my eyes.
We only get glimpses of Keenan and Donia in this book so if you're jonesing for your starcrossed (season-crossed?) love affair fix, I am sad to say you'll only be getting half a hit lol
However it is a beautiful companion story and Melissa Marr is just so talented and fluid in the way she takes us back into her magical world of Fey. hopefully you enjoy it as much as I did.
I must say that Sionnach was my favorite from the beginning. Maybe its my love of Foxes or maybe it's because I love a man (or faerie) who manipulations aside, has really amazing motives. Any character (or real life person although its less likely to find one of those) who can love someone enough to recognize they aren't what the person needs right now is a solid 10 in my eyes.
We only get glimpses of Keenan and Donia in this book so if you're jonesing for your starcrossed (season-crossed?) love affair fix, I am sad to say you'll only be getting half a hit lol
However it is a beautiful companion story and Melissa Marr is just so talented and fluid in the way she takes us back into her magical world of Fey. hopefully you enjoy it as much as I did.
November 22, 2018
The main character in this story was just what I wanted! She was fierce yet a little timid. It really is great book. However the reason I gave it only 3 stars is because
1. It retold the story of her and Keenan and how she felt for him too many times in the book. Once is enough. Keenan sucks. We know.
2. I did not like how it ended. It needed more to it. It started like it was going to an epic battle of sorts then it abruptly ended and left me wanting to know more about these fey.
Other than that I loved the characters dearly!!!
1. It retold the story of her and Keenan and how she felt for him too many times in the book. Once is enough. Keenan sucks. We know.
2. I did not like how it ended. It needed more to it. It started like it was going to an epic battle of sorts then it abruptly ended and left me wanting to know more about these fey.
Other than that I loved the characters dearly!!!
April 1, 2016
Somewhere between 3.5 and 4.
This was a nice, cute add on to the Wicked Lovely series that I love so much, although not the best written. It was interesting seeing what was going on in the Desert and where Keenan went while he was away. Rika was an interesting character and so was Sionnach. Jayce was a nice human character in amogst all the faery politics but I enjoyed the realistic ending.
This was a nice, cute add on to the Wicked Lovely series that I love so much, although not the best written. It was interesting seeing what was going on in the Desert and where Keenan went while he was away. Rika was an interesting character and so was Sionnach. Jayce was a nice human character in amogst all the faery politics but I enjoyed the realistic ending.
July 22, 2018
This was my second time round with the book. I read it a while ago but couldn't really remember much and was happy to get back into the Wicked Lovely world for a while.
July 23, 2022
I read this story first in it's manga form, but it was nice to revisit it through a new lens. As much as I love manga, I think do prefer this story in it's novel form just because of the extra details.
It's a simple story and I think that's what I like about the series. It's simple, easy to follow, and set with a magical backdrop. I do think the romance between Rika and Jayce is a little too quick, suddenly going from 0 to 100, but the story itself is pretty fast paced for it's small size, so it's not too jarring. Shy was by far my favorite to follow though. He's a rather complex character compared to the others and I like how his motives align. While Rika is more or less just reacting to what's happening around her for most of the story and Jayce even more so than Rika, Shy is very actively managing the desert and planning ahead.
To get into spoiler territory
Overall, it's nice to revisit the series and be farther away from Aslinn's part of the story as possible.
3.5 stars
It's a simple story and I think that's what I like about the series. It's simple, easy to follow, and set with a magical backdrop. I do think the romance between Rika and Jayce is a little too quick, suddenly going from 0 to 100, but the story itself is pretty fast paced for it's small size, so it's not too jarring. Shy was by far my favorite to follow though. He's a rather complex character compared to the others and I like how his motives align. While Rika is more or less just reacting to what's happening around her for most of the story and Jayce even more so than Rika, Shy is very actively managing the desert and planning ahead.
To get into spoiler territory
Overall, it's nice to revisit the series and be farther away from Aslinn's part of the story as possible.
3.5 stars
July 31, 2018
I love the Wicked Lovely series so it was a no brainer that I should pick this one up! Unfortunately, I did not like this as much as Wicked Lovely. I mean, it was a nice backstory to one of Keenan's former potential queen's. It gave us an insight to someone who was never apart of the story and is on a different side of the realm. Rika is among other fae in a desert who don't belong to the Winter or Summer Court they just exist in a world of their own. She has not forgiven Keenan for taking away the person she used to be. Over the years she has grown stronger as a fae and is now the strongest of the desert fae. She even falls for a mortal who she has been stalking/watching for a year. But almost nothing happens between Rika and Jayce. Rika really likes him because he's the first human she has felt close to. They both have the same interests and are drawn to each other. But there's not much to the relationship after that. After a few years Jayce doesn't visit Rika as often as she would like and he attends college. She makes the hard choice of letting him go for good. She doesn't tell him, but knows that it's time to end the relationship that's basically never going to go anywhere. And this leads to Shy admitting that he likes her and wants a shot in the future. She agrees, but wants to go slow so the ending was bittersweet and I wasn't a fan of that. I feel like she could've just told Jayce and ended it instead of just thinking that he'll catch on and move on with his life. I felt like this book had elements that were necessary to make a book, but at the same time certain things happened that I thought didn't have to. I didn't really understand the romance between Jayce and Rika much. I get she found someone she actually liked and who was like her, but the romance was just not there. It wasn't good and didn't need to happen. I could definitely see her more so with Shy because they actually have a relationship while I barely knew why she and Jayce hung out besides having their art in common. So over all this gets two stars because this book wasn't necessary in my opinion.
September 16, 2021
I wasn't a fan of this book until the epilogue. It was boring and like reading a rehashed version of wicked lovely: formally mortal faerie loves human artist and he gets the sight somehow. A faerie is competing for the main character's love and manipulates her to get what he wants. She ends up as a coruler with someone she isn't in love with.
I liked Rika's character and Shy was an interesting addition but it was all angst similar to WL so I got bored so quickly. And the fact that like Seth, Jayce was an artist and also somehow adjusted very well to the existence of faeries despite not knowing they existed before. The desert was an interesting set for the story and I think it would have been more engaging if it brushed over the presumable short relationship between Jayce and Rika and we got to see how Shy and Rika sorted things out while working together. Even though that would be similar to WL too, there was at least more potential for a unique story.
I really only got through this through sheer determination.
I liked Rika's character and Shy was an interesting addition but it was all angst similar to WL so I got bored so quickly. And the fact that like Seth, Jayce was an artist and also somehow adjusted very well to the existence of faeries despite not knowing they existed before. The desert was an interesting set for the story and I think it would have been more engaging if it brushed over the presumable short relationship between Jayce and Rika and we got to see how Shy and Rika sorted things out while working together. Even though that would be similar to WL too, there was at least more potential for a unique story.
I really only got through this through sheer determination.
May 14, 2022
I started this book unsure of what to expect, as you don't know much about Rika other than she used to be the Winter Girl and really doesn't like Keenan.
But as the story progressed, I quickly fell in love. As always, Melissa Marr wrote a fantastic story, Giving us more insight to not only who Rika was but but who she became after going to the desert.
This is a story of growth and finding oneself. This is her story of becoming who she is meant to be and being her strongest self, out from under Keenan's reign. Her love for the Human Jayce, and her friendship with Sionnach are precious and I wish the story had been longer.
I would love to see even a short story of what their life looks like years after this book takes place.
While you dont have go read this story to understand the original book series, i definitely recommend checking it out. This one was a really good story, and gives a different view of who Keenan and Donia are as Regents. It takes place somewhere around book three (Fragile Eternity)
But as the story progressed, I quickly fell in love. As always, Melissa Marr wrote a fantastic story, Giving us more insight to not only who Rika was but but who she became after going to the desert.
This is a story of growth and finding oneself. This is her story of becoming who she is meant to be and being her strongest self, out from under Keenan's reign. Her love for the Human Jayce, and her friendship with Sionnach are precious and I wish the story had been longer.
I would love to see even a short story of what their life looks like years after this book takes place.
While you dont have go read this story to understand the original book series, i definitely recommend checking it out. This one was a really good story, and gives a different view of who Keenan and Donia are as Regents. It takes place somewhere around book three (Fragile Eternity)
March 7, 2025
I’ve had my copy of this book for nine years, and I think a lot of my complaints with the book come from no longer liking YA nearly as much.
If you’re a fan of Keenan and Donias relationship, you get a chapter of them. Otherwise, it’s mostly new characters. I’d recommend reading this book after book four of Wicked Lovely series if you’re a completionist.
I wasn’t able to connect with either Rika or Jayce by the end of this book. Throughout the last chapter, I kept being reminded of how Ink Exchange ends with it having been done better the first time.
Aside from being chill and an artist, Jayce doesn’t have a lot of personality and his story gets resolved really quickly. We’re told throughout how strong Rika is, but it takes half of the book to start seeing that. It was interesting seeing how the Winter Queens curse has affected the Winter Girls once they were free, but I wished we’d seen more of Rika than her trauma response and finally accepting responsibilities in her new home.
Not bad overall, but note a lot happens overall.
If you’re a fan of Keenan and Donias relationship, you get a chapter of them. Otherwise, it’s mostly new characters. I’d recommend reading this book after book four of Wicked Lovely series if you’re a completionist.
I wasn’t able to connect with either Rika or Jayce by the end of this book. Throughout the last chapter, I kept being reminded of how Ink Exchange ends with it having been done better the first time.
Aside from being chill and an artist, Jayce doesn’t have a lot of personality and his story gets resolved really quickly. We’re told throughout how strong Rika is, but it takes half of the book to start seeing that. It was interesting seeing how the Winter Queens curse has affected the Winter Girls once they were free, but I wished we’d seen more of Rika than her trauma response and finally accepting responsibilities in her new home.
Not bad overall, but note a lot happens overall.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 24, 2019
I prefer prose format to graphic novel as a story style, so I was glad to get this novel version of the manga story. She has expanded the details of the tale told in the manga, particularly in terms of world building and character relationships, which took an unexpected turn. While it still feels a little...rough? in places, unpolished, it’s certainly well worth a read if you enjoyed the Wicked Lovely series as much as I did. Besides, its desert setting and the harsh dynamic of the solitaries kind of suits a rougher tone than the carefully crafted beauty of Wicked Lovely or even Radiant Shadows in a darker form.
Especially enjoyable, I found, after having read the conclusion of the series — there’s a lot that feels significant because of what is going to happen later — and/or if you particularly liked the character of Donia from the originals. She comes into her own here.
Especially enjoyable, I found, after having read the conclusion of the series — there’s a lot that feels significant because of what is going to happen later — and/or if you particularly liked the character of Donia from the originals. She comes into her own here.
May 16, 2020
I did like this, I had trouble concentrating on it at times though so it took me a while to finish it, and made me like it less.
I liked Rika, although personally I don't think I'd enjoy living in a cave in the desert. I did feel sorry for her
I liked Rika, although personally I don't think I'd enjoy living in a cave in the desert. I did feel sorry for her
February 4, 2019
After Donia becomes the Winter Girl releasing Rika from that cold hell, Rika flees to the Mojave Desert to live there among the Solitary Fae. She lives basically in isolation for years, not really speaking to anyone but the desert alpha Sionnach. But, when the solitaries and life in the desert is threatened Sionnach needs Rika to help him protect them because she is the strongest of them all. He devises a plan involving a human boy Jayce that she seems to be infatuated with to draw her out of her solitude.
I read the Wicked Lovely series several years ago and loved it. This is a great companion novel. It was interesting to see a story of a former Winter Girl, and how the curse changed her life forever.
I read the Wicked Lovely series several years ago and loved it. This is a great companion novel. It was interesting to see a story of a former Winter Girl, and how the curse changed her life forever.
December 14, 2020
Wonderful gentle teen fairy romance with a protagonist who comes into her power and learns to choose her allies carefully in a dangerous desert. I've never read a story with such hetero behaving fae before, but I assume they're all bi and just happen to be interested in male female relationships at the moment. Forever is a long time. It felt like some characters were only there to support the main character. I wish her dreadlocked lover had a bit more character development. The manipulation and plots and alliances are interesting. I think it could build an exciting universe, and I'm looking forward to the next one.
March 17, 2018
I want MORE!!!!
I don’t know how I missed this book when I was reading the wicked lovely series but I am so glad I found it. We could lovely is the best ever series about fairies that I have ever read and I have read a lot of books. I have read the whole series at least five times and I’m actually about to start reading it again. If you have not read the series and you like fairies even a little bit this is the series you need to read! The world building is PHENOMENAL, the characters are AMAZING, even the ones I didn’t like. Do yourself a favor and READ THIS SERIES!!!!!!
I don’t know how I missed this book when I was reading the wicked lovely series but I am so glad I found it. We could lovely is the best ever series about fairies that I have ever read and I have read a lot of books. I have read the whole series at least five times and I’m actually about to start reading it again. If you have not read the series and you like fairies even a little bit this is the series you need to read! The world building is PHENOMENAL, the characters are AMAZING, even the ones I didn’t like. Do yourself a favor and READ THIS SERIES!!!!!!
June 24, 2018
A great read!
I absolutely loved Wicked Lovely series and was so excited when I saw this book! While it branches off into another story line, there are still many references to the original series.. I only wish it were longer and she would write more stories about the original characters, because I have yet to find another author that can write as enchanting a tale about the Fae as well as Melissa Marr!
I absolutely loved Wicked Lovely series and was so excited when I saw this book! While it branches off into another story line, there are still many references to the original series.. I only wish it were longer and she would write more stories about the original characters, because I have yet to find another author that can write as enchanting a tale about the Fae as well as Melissa Marr!
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