Playing Catch Up! Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr

Playing Catch Up has really been helping me through my ever growing TBR list. I'd like to welcome all other blogs to participate too! If you do, be sure to post your links in the comments section. I'd love to see your Playing Catch Up Reviews, and I'm sure others would too!! *wink*

Want to know more about Playing Catch Up? I'll tell you all about it here!

Wicked Lovely (Wicked Lovely #1) by Melissa Marr 
Genre: Young Adult (Fantasy Romance)
Date Published: June 12, 2007
Publisher: HarperTeen

Rule #3: Don't stare at invisible faeries.

Aislinn has always seen faeries. Powerful and dangerous, they walk hidden in the mortal world. Aislinn fears their cruelty - especially if they learn of her Sight - and wishes she were as blind to their presence as other teens.

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, who 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 — regardless of her plans or desires.

Suddenly none of the rules that have kept Aislinn safe are working anymore, and everything is on the line: her freedom; her best friend, Seth; her life; everything.

Faery intrigue, mortal love, and the clash of ancient rules and modern expectations swirl together in Melissa Marr's stunning twenty-first-century faery tale.

Wicked Lovely is the first book in the Wicked Lovely series by Melissa Marr. For me, it's either hit or miss with fairy stories. In this case, it was pretty good. Aislinn was a smart character who's lived with seeing faeries her whole life, and she's learned, with the help of family, to keep that fact unknown from the fae. Unfortunately for her, the Summer King has noticed her anyway, and he thinks she's his Queen. The story was mixed with fairy lore I'd heard before, and some I hadn't which made it different and interesting. There were times that dragged a bit, and I had to put some effort into staying focused, but the overall story was pretty darn good. The characters all had depth and their histories pulled me into their lives. I'm definitely interested in reading the other books in this series to see where it takes us.

Check out my review of another book by this author!

Hmm, I’m never good at the bio bit. I used to teach college & bartend, now I write novels. I love to meet new people, to hear their stories, to walk through new streets and see new vistas. I enjoy art in all its guises–graffiti, surrealist paintings, classic sculptures, tattoos, interesting buildings, Renoir, photography . . . Art & nature, they feed my soul & thus my muse.

To learn more about Melissa Marr and her books, visit her website.You can also find her on Goodreads, Facebook, and Twitter.

Teaser Tuesday! Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by The Purple Booker. 

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share  doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teaser this week is from Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr

“She was afraid, but she couldn't just sit around waiting for someone to save her. She had to try to save herself, try to figure it out.” 

Rule #3: Don't stare at invisible faeries.

Aislinn has always seen faeries. Powerful and dangerous, they walk hidden in the mortal world. Aislinn fears their cruelty - especially if they learn of her Sight - and wishes she were as blind to their presence as other teens.

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, who 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 — regardless of her plans or desires.

Suddenly none of the rules that have kept Aislinn safe are working anymore, and everything is on the line: her freedom; her best friend, Seth; her life; everything.

Faery intrigue, mortal love, and the clash of ancient rules and modern expectations swirl together in Melissa Marr's stunning twenty-first-century faery tale. 

Do you have a blog? Post a link to your Teaser Tuesday post in the comments.

No blog? Post a Teaser in the comments anyway!

Top Ten Week! My Favorite Book Covers of 2014

You probably already know this, but I'm cover crazy. It's very hard for me not to judge a book by it's cover, but how can you blame me? Look at all the breathtakingly, beautiful covers out there!

Below, are my favorite covers of 2014 in no particular order.

(click the image for my review)

Top Ten Week!
Monday: My Favorite Books of 2014

Tuesday: My Favorite Book Quotes of 2014
Wednesday: My Favorite Book Covers of 2014

Thursday: My Favorite Book Boyfriends of 2014

Friday: Books I’m Looking Forward to in 2014

Tour! A Review of Made for You by Melissa Marr

Made for You by Melissa Marr
Genre: Young Adult (Paranormal Mystery)
Date Published: September 16, 2014
Publisher: HarperCollins

Bestselling author of the Wicked Lovely books Melissa Marr’s first contemporary YA novel is a twisted southern gothic tale of obsession, romance, and murder. A killer is obsessed with Eva Tilling. Can she stop him, or will he claim her?

When Eva Tilling wakes up in the hospital, she’s confused—who in her sleepy little North Carolina town could have hit her with their car? And why? But before she can consider the question, she finds that she’s awoken with a strange new skill: the ability to foresee people’s deaths when they touch her. While she is recovering from the hit-and-run, Nate, an old flame, reappears, and the two must traverse their rocky past as they figure out how to use Eva’s power to keep her friends—and themselves—alive. But while Eva and Nate grow closer, the killer grows increasingly frantic in his attempt to get to Eva.

For the first time, New York Times bestselling author Melissa Marr has applied her extraordinary talent to contemporary realism. Chilling twists, unrequited obsession, and high-stakes romance drive this Gothic, racy thriller—a story of small-town oppression and salvation. Melissa’s fans, and every YA reader, will find its wild ride enthralling.

Made for You is the first book by Melissa Marr that I've read so far. I enjoyed how the mystery was built up during the first 3/4 of the book. We are given multiple point of view's including Judge's, the murderous stalker. Having his point of view really let me see inside his head. His perspective was twisted and dark, but it was needed to bring the story to life. In the last quarter of the book, Judge basically tells you who he is. After that, the mystery was gone. We obviously needed to find out eventually, but I expected the revelation to be less casual in manner. I thought the pacing flowed pretty nicely. The characters were significant within the story. There weren't random perspectives thrown in just for the heck of it like you find in books sometimes. I appreciated that. It steadily kept my attention.

Made for You by Melissa Marr was kindly provided to me by the publisher through Edelweiss for review. The opinions are my own.

I glance inside Eva’s room as I pass it. It’s only a moment, a split second, but she’s there. She’s awake and speaking softly. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear she was an angel. She’s not though. She’s one of Them. If I can’t save her, she’ll have to die. She’s been spared for now, but I need her to understand. If she doesn’t, she’ll be a sacrifice at the altar of venality.

Like the rest of them.

My mouth is dry at the thought of how close I am to her now. I could walk straight into her room and visit her, but I’m not ready to talk to her. Still, I needed to see her.

I wonder if she’ll notice my name on the card. I listed several names—the editor, a few staff writers, and then I added my own in the middle. Judge. It’s not the name I was born with but it’s my true name, my soul name. I’m not really an executioner yet, and
without Eva, I’m not a jury. Together, we could be a judge, jury, and executioner.

I’d despaired when I realized that she was one of Them. On the night I tried to kill her, I thought I would be always solitary. Now that she survived, I have hope again.

Outside, I pause to breathe the already thick air. Early summer in North Carolina isn’t as humid as the heat of July and August, but the air is heavy already. The sweet taste of wisteria fills my mouth, and I wonder if Eva likes the flowers. They’re not as sweet as the pale purple clusters of wisteria clinging to the trees. For her, I brought common flowers—like her, not truly special. That was my mistake before: I raised her up like a false idol. I know better now.I cross the parking lot to the car I have today and slip on my gloves before I touch the handle. Like my uniform, it’s not memorable, a dark blue, four-door sedan. I’ll park it beside the one that has Eva’s blood on it.

Hmm, I’m never good at the bio bit. I used to teach college & bartend, now I write novels. I love to meet new people, to hear their stories, to walk through new streets and see new vistas. I enjoy art in all its guises–graffiti, surrealist paintings, classic sculptures, tattoos, interesting buildings, Renoir, photography . . . Art & nature, they feed my soul & thus my muse.

To learn more about Melissa Marr and her books, visit her website.You can also find her on Goodreads, Facebook, and Twitter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway