Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr

Synopsis

In a city of daimons, rigid class lines separate the powerful from the power-hungry. And at the heart of The City is the Carnival of Souls, where both murder and pleasure are offered up for sale. Once in a generation, the carnival hosts a deadly competition that allows every daimon a chance to join the ruling elite. Without the competition, Aya and Kaleb would both face bleak futures--if for different reasons. For each of them, fighting to the death is the only way to try to live.

All Mallory knows of The City is that her father--and every other witch there--fled it for a life in exile in the human world. Instead of a typical teenage life full of friends and maybe even a little romance, Mallory scans quiet streets for threats, hides herself away, and trains to be lethal. She knows it's only a matter of time until a daimon finds her and her father, so she readies herself for the inevitable. While Mallory possesses little knowledge of The City, every inhabitant of The City knows of her. There are plans for Mallory, and soon she, too, will be drawn into the decadence and danger that is the Carnival of Souls.

Straight off the back of my excitement about the new Sarah Rees Brennan book we have a new Melissa Marr. This is almost too much excitement for me to bear! The ending of the Wicked Lovely series was just perfect but I was left a little bereft - all of my favourite series coming to an end in the same year. I needn't have worried as Carnival of Souls arrived with the promise of a new world. The start of a new series is always an exciting event for me: new characters, a brand new world with rules and myths ready to be explored. Melissa Marr is brilliant at merging the recognisable with the bizarre so I wasn't surprised to find that I easily accepted that there is our world and then there is The City. In our world witches live after being banished from The City. I should say that the ones that survived made it to our world as the majority of witches were killed in the wars. In The City, daimons rule but within their world is a rigid caste system which meant that for Mallory's mother her only chance of keeping Mallory safe was to deliver her to our world.

I found Mallory an interesting character. She's been brought up to be on guard, constantly on the run and, we discover gradually, not being told the entire truth about her background. She understands that she'll never fit in to normal school life and that it's nearly impossible for her to have friends. This is why she is surprised by her connection to Kaleb - a boy who appears and starts to show an interest in her. During the first half of the book I really didn't know who to trust. I wasn't sure about Mallory's dad, Adam - but more than anyone I was very unsure about Aya. In the opening chapters Aya is preparing for her latest fight in the competition - fights which set daimons of differing classes against each other in the hopes of becoming a member of the ruling elite. Aya is determined not to marry her love, Belias, for a variety of reasons but her other option is to fight him until one of them is dead or forfeits. Initially, although I could sympathise with her anger at her lack of options I didn't agree with her actions.

This is the brilliance of Carnival of Souls. I found that just as I had made a decision about a character something happened to change my mind. Kaleb is my favourite, a cur and therefore bottom of the pile, his involvement in the competition is about long-term survival and prospects for both him and his pack mate Zevi. They have both managed to survive in The City against massive odds and have had to use everything at their disposal to get as far as they have. I haven't even spoken about the Night Market yet - an intense and dangerous place where people barter services and sell everything imaginable to get by. Zevi and Kaleb use the Night Market to make money but Kaleb has kept his involvement in the real world and Mallory secret from Zevi. As the book powers towards the end the stakes rise for every character and I had a clearer idea of which team I was rooting for. I think that Mallory will be a much more full character in the next book. Without giving away the plot she's not able to come into herself in this book which meant that I didn't fully bond with her as much as I did with Kaleb.

All this aside I thought that Carnival of Souls is a brilliant. I'm already heavily invested in the fascinating world that Marr has created and I await the next installment with excitement.

Enthralled: Paranormal Diversions by Melissa Marr & Kelley Armstrong

Synopsis

A collection of fourteen original teen paranormal short stories from some of today’s bestselling YA talent, united with the common theme of road trips, and edited by bestselling authors Melissa Marr and Kelley Armstrong.

I'm so excited about short story month here on MFB as there's been loads of great anthologies out this year. Also, it gives me a chance to settle down with the ones that I've collected for this month. I may well revisit this collection later in November but at the moment I adored the story by Jackson Pearce, Things About Love which follows Lawrence from As You Wish. Lawrence is hoping to start a relationship, find someone to love and who will love him.

However genie Juliet appears and she wants to know more about love. Everything she understands about it comes from films or books. She believes that if she kisses a human then she'll understand more. Lawrence agrees to help her and rejects her offer in return - to make the object of his desire, Jeffrey, show interest in him. What starts as a simple request becomes more complicated by the second and Juliet realises that love and emotions aren't as simple as she once thought. Far from being heartless she learns far more than she expected. The ending of the story was gorgeous too - I could happily read a whole book about Lawrence.

I enjoyed the stories by Melissa Marr and Rachel Caine too but won't review them here as both will spoil the series for those who haven't read them. I think that's what attracts me most about anthologies - I can often find out little side stories or follow-ups on my favourite characters.

Darkest Mercy by Melissa Marr

Synopsis

The Summer King is missing; the Dark Court is bleeding; and a stranger walks the streets of Huntsdale, his presence signifying the deaths of powerful fey. Torn between his new queen and his old love, Keenan left Huntsdale to wander aimlessly but after centuries of leading his court it was not long before the reality of being Summer King became too pressing. Violence seemed more inevitable by the day and the Summer Court was not yet strong enough to face conflict, so Keenan made a dangerous deal with the water fey. It is a desperate bargain he makes to strengthen his court against the coming war. Aislinn tends the Summer Court, searching for her absent king and yearning for Seth. She knows she must be a powerful queen to hold her court together, while Bananach becomes more and more dangerous, and she is losing faeries to her. Donia longs for fiery passion even as she coolly readies the Winter Court for battle. Her court is still powerful, but she must remain focused on keeping them that way and not get distracted by Keenan when he shows up at her door again. The Dark Court is thrown into chaos when they are rocked by tragedy. And Seth, sworn brother of the Dark King and heir to the High Queen, is about to make a mistake that could cost his life.

They all know what Bananach seeks – the raven-faery is the embodiment of war and discord. She and her growing number of allies want mutiny and murder. Love, despair and betrayal ignite the Faeries Courts, and in the final conflict, some will win… and some will lose everything. The thrilling conclusion to Melissa Marr’s bestselling Wicked Lovely series will leave readers breathless.

I can hardly bear it. Yet another of my favourite series is ending. This one is definitely final - it even says it on the cover which extinguishes all hope of a sneaky extra one turning up. As the lengthy synopsis has explained, chaos rules the fae at the start of Darkest Mercy which is Bananach's dream. The ruling fae are at odds with each other and isolated when they should be drawing together. Everything is set for a grand finale. I think I've loved this series because of its darkness. Marr's fae can be incredibly cruel and self -centered with very little evidence of mercy at all.

I knew that this would obviously be the book to tie up the million threads that began with Wicked Lovely. I wondered if this would be the book to make me like Aislinn again or to stop getting angry with Keenan. Would Leslie appear? What would happen to Seth? All of these questions are answered and, of course, more. Each of the books has concentrated on the story of a single character prior to this but Darkest Mercy involves everyone. Before I read it I did wonder if this would be Bananach's book but in hindsight I think that could have been a bit too dark. Instead we follow each character in turn starting with Niall and Irial. Niall's descent into darkness and what that means for his followers is probably one of the bleakest moments in the series. I, much like some of the characters, made the mistake of humanising Niall and seeing him as sort of a good guy who sometimes does bad things. In Darkest Mercy I was forced to see him for what he was - a cruel fairy before everything else.

I must say that I fell in love with Aislinn all over again in this book. To be fair it wasn't her fault at all that she's been caught between Seth and Keenan but she's tried my patience at points in the series. However, Keenan has gone leaving her to cope alone which she does admirably. She approaches Donia alone and makes difficult decisions - I really was cheering her on throughout. As well as all the old favourites there are some new fae too. Keenan meets up with the water fae who are a brilliant invention being both mysterious and terrifying. I only wish that they had appeared earlier in the series. Also there's Far Dorcha and his sister Ankou whose purpose I won't reveal so as not to spoil the plot.

I found this last instalment really enjoyable. In fact I think there's so much material there that Melissa Marr could quite easily have carried on. I also loved the epilogue, it may not be for everyone but I thought it was the perfect way for to bring the story to a close. I don't want to say more and have tried to give a spoiler-free review for a change. The writing is beautiful too and I'm just glad that, although I'll miss the world of Huntsdale, there's more to come from Melissa Marr this year.

Radiant Shadows by Melissa Marr

Synopsis

The events of Fragile Eternity have left the faery world off-balance, its key players fighting to maintain control over their world - and its secrets... Devlin lives in a world where everything is beautiful, ordered... and cruel. As a prominent member of the High Court and a half-brother to Sorcha, the High Queen, he's one of the most powerful faeries of the old guard. Ani lives in a world where every line is blurred. Half human, half faery, half in the decadence of the Dark Court and half out of it, her life of dive bars, tattoos and street fights couldn't be farther from the clean lines of the High Court.

But you can't choose where your heart will take you, and when Devlin and Ani meet, two extremes of the faery world collide - with passion, violence and heat; for better - and for worse ...

I don't know about you but whenever a longed for sequel in a series is published I experience a range of feelings; nervous that I won't love it and increasingly sad as I read that it will be over soon. Or will I feel disappointed? Like I said, lots of feelings.

I had a little shimmy through Fragile Eternity to remind myself of the events that lead up to this one. Marr has a brilliant talent to show enough of characters in previous books that they don't feel like strangers in the next. As a result I felt I had an idea who Devlin was. He and Ani take the limelight in this book and I warmed to them both immediately.

All I knew about Ani from previous books was that she's the irrepressible daughter of Gabriel. Gabriel is head of the hunt and Ani has inherited more from him than her human mother. In Radiant Shadows we find that Ani is changing and that her blood means that she's potentially deadly. I was used to Dark Court fae feeding themselves upon the emotions of others but Ani is an anomaly, she can feed from both emotions and touch - a dangerous combination. As a result more than a few fae want her dead and the likes of Irial are experimenting on her to discover how she can help the Dark Court. Unfortunately for Ani she had attracted the attention of Sorcha - ruler of the High Court and her twisted sister Bananach, the terrifying bird-like faery who is becoming more deadly with each instalment.

Another main character in Radiant Shadows is Rae, a ghostly girl who wanders into faery and asks Devlin to protect her. He hides her away, his secret, telling no-one that she exists. She can take over his body and also walk within people's dreams. She isn't simply Devlin's friend though. Unbeknownst to him she befriends Ani in her dreams, willing the two to get together. Ani is a fabulous character; gutsy, reckless, loyal and frustrated by her limited role in life. She feels that she is changing, becoming less mortal and more hound with every passing day but her father won't take her seriously and scares away any potential partners. As soon as she meets Devlin the action picks up its pace and (as predicted by Rae) events begin to unroll. Their complicated relationship develops in a surprising way; Devlin is used to rules and following order whilst Ani can barely control her impulses.

Meanwhile Sorcha is a mess in this book. She took on a touch of mortality when she turned Seth into a faery which was evident at the end of Fragile Eternity. The end result is that Sorcha has lost interest in her land and disorder begins to intrude. I was intrigued by Bananach's motivation for taking Seth to Faery but in Radiant Shadows her motives become clearer and the road to war seems inevitable. I can only bow down to the intricate web of Marr's plot as decisions made in earlier books come out to play. There's one more book to go in the series and although Radiant Shadows has a satisfying conclusion there are still many unanswered questions.

In case anyone is wondering, Aislinn barely appears in this book. I must admit that I'm pleased as she did iritate me a little in the last book. I love Seth, so this has probably clouded my judgement a little but this argument is one for another day! In terms of female protagonists Ani is right up there alongside Leslie who I adored - oh, and Donia.

I loved Radiant Shadows and was sad to have finished. When the last book comes out I wonder if Marr would consider doing a book that delves deeper into the world and gives a little more background on characters like Rae or Niall. I'm envisaging a glorious coffee table type book with amazing drawings. Excuse me while I dream about that for a while.

Wicked Lovely, Melissa Marr

Synopsis:

The clash of ancient rules and modern expectations swirl together in this cool, urban 21st century faery tale. Rule #3: Don't stare at invisible faeries. Aislinn has always seen faeries. Powerful and dangerous, they walk hidden in the mortal world, and would blind her if they knew of her Sight. Rule #2: Don't speak to invisible faeries. Now faeries are stalking her. One of them, Keenan, who is equal parts terrifying and alluring, is trying to talk to her, asking questions Aislinn is afraid to answer. Rule #1: Don't ever attract their attention. But it's too late. Keenan is the Summer King and has sought his queen for nine centuries. Without her, summer itself will perish. He is determined that Aislinn will become the Summer Queen at any cost! Suddenly none of the rules that have kept Aislinn safe are working any more, and everything is on the line: her freedom; her best friend, Seth; her life; everything.

I have heard some genuinely good things about Melissa Marr's writing (thanks Karen!) and was therefore very chuffed to find a copy of Wicked Lovely at my local Waterstones on Oxford Street.

And in a testament to how engaging I found the book, I read it in one evening.

The story is as old as time itself...a faerie lord desires a human girl, he declares his desire and that girl stands no chance, at all. A bit unfair, I always thought. What chance does this poor girl stand? She doesn't even put up a token resistance. What a farce.

Marr takes that opinion too and has Aislinn be the one to stand firmly against Keenan. She finds him beautiful yes, scary and annoying, but she fights and does not give in. She refuses to be swayed, to fall under his spell. She clings to the teachings her Gran taught her and she clings to Seth, a boy who is as remarkable as a human can be, when contrasted against the glory of Keenan, the Summer King.

An interesting counter-point to Keenan's belief that Aislinn is "the one" we have Donia, the Winter Girl, whom Keenan thought many years ago to "the one" too. I found Donia's story to be heartbreaking. Still in love with Keenan, after so many years, but being unable to be with him, she has to watch him go through years and years of young girls, whom he tempts into taking the test, to be "the one". None of them chooses to take the test...instead they become part of a group of young female fae called The Summer Girls. Donia is trapped as the Winter Girl until someone can be convinced to take up the challenge to become the Summer Queen and succeed.

Keenan's mother, the Winter Queen, has effectively bound Keenan's powers until he finds a girl to stand by his side as the Summer Queen. Winters are becoming colder and summers are becoming shorter. Without a Summer Queen, the Summer King's powers are curtailed and can be hugely detrimental to the world at large.

It is a deftly written book. Aislinn's character is a well developed and initially I thought she was going to be a flash in the pan, blindly following Keenan but once she showed some backbone I cheered her on. Seth remains remarkable as her best friend and later, as something more. He does sound delicious, I have to admit. Keenan could so very easily have become a one dimensional character - obsessing about Aislinn, but we are introduced to his inner turmoil by the small interludes he has with his mother - who is, in plain words, a bitch. He is fighting for his own existence and that of his court, and importantly, in a roundabout way, for the continued existence of humanity. His mother has managed to browbeat him so much that he sulks, like a petulant child, until Aislinn stands by him, voluntarily to ward off the Winter Queen.

I punched the air in glee, going "yes!" when I read that section. But all is still not well. Aislinn has definite ideas about being her role in all of this. She is a clever negotiator. Keenan is taken aback and we find Donia's heart breaking as she watches it all from the sidelines.

I really enjoyed reading Wicked Lovely much more than I thought I would. It ranks, to me, up there with Holly Black's Tithe in the YA Urban Fantasy genre. It's written with a new slant, an unwilling Queen who remains unwilling but does what she has to do because it is the right thing to do in the end. It shows true friendship, it highlights the loneliness of someone in a role of responsibility and how hard it is to break out a role which others have created for you, so that you can be your own person.

Melissa Marr has quite a following and you can find her site here - if you follow the links to her livejournal site, do check out some of the youtube videos fans have made of the book. Excellent work!