MATLAB and Simulink for Technical Computing

*WARNING – SPOILERS*

I loved the title, loved that it was free for kindle2 and immediately loved that the plot was fantastically original! However, the book built and built and built. Drama, chaos, madness, intensity, angst, suspense. I had it all! Is she the Summer Queen? What will happen when she takes the staff? Will her loved ones be ok? Will she get what she wants? What will become of the Winter Girl? How will they defeat the Winter Queen? Oh the questions were building in my head and I was reading voraciously like a wild animal, half-starved and being taunted with tid-bits of meat and wanting more, more more and THEN….!

It was over. For all the skill this writer has at weaving a good tell and bringing emotional and psychological interest to her characters and her plot … you get to the top of the mountain prepared for the wonderful climax that all books should have and it just fell completely flat on top, hence the title of my review.

Her writing up to the last minute was SO good I would have easily given this book 5 stars had I reviewed it yesterday before finishing it last night but it was just so brutally disappointing that it made me want to cry. The decision for the main character to take the dreaded test was dramatic enough but when the heroin actually took it the scene was rushed, poorly described, hard to picture and choppy. All of a sudden the staff was in her hand and I had to actually go back and re-read the last few paragraphs trying to figure out how it got there … like someone had cut a HUGE chunk from the chapter and gave me the skeleton to read instead. For all the building and waiting it was over and decided far too quickly.

The final battle against the Winter Queen wasn’t really even much of a battle. For all the talk of terrible power beyond imagining throughout the book the attacks on one another by the characters were repetitive, minimal and had already been done earlier in the novel. When you read a climactic fight scene between two ultimately powerful sides of what was set up to be an epic battle … the last thing you want to find out is that both sides used up their playbooks and were left with nothing unique or exciting up their sleeves. And this part, by the way, was over in a flash as well. It was barely even a battle! It was like watching two lions attack a Poodle. Sure the poodle fought back but it never had a chance and it didn’t take long for the poodle to lose.

Then there is the part of the book where the author always cleans up the loose ends left over after the climax, every book has it. I call it the “wind-down” chapter where injured characters will announce that they’re going to be alright, little quarrels are resolved, apologies and forgiveness is made and the happy ever after is painted. In this book, again, it was SUPER CHOPPY. It was as though someone had dropped this manuscript on the way to the printing press and a handful of pages were left under the water cooler on accident. I’m not sure if this writer just didn’t really know how she wanted to end it (the alternate endings and cut scenes found in the bonus material make it clear she didn’t have a strong perspective on her own story) or if she simply ran out of steam and “muse”. Maybe the editors are responsible for hacking it to bits, that is always possible but I just feel that if a writer creates a wonderful climax and “wind-down” there wouldn’t be any reason for the editors to go all Hannibal Lecter on it. I still liked the overall story, YES IT WAS UNIQUE AND ORIGINAL AND REFRESHING! But overall I finished it with a rushed sense of disappointment.
Rating: 3 / 5

Wicked Lovely is a unique story that revolves around fairies and those who can see them. Melissa Marr introduces readers to the world of one of the most depicted and symbolic figures in literature and folklore that have usually been shown as enchanting, beautiful, and delicate. However, Marr shows another side of these creatures that still possess the mythical and medieval quality but with a twist – mortality and immortality faced head on.

Indeed, the main characters that comprise the book, Aislinn, Seth, and Keenan provide an understanding of these major aspects that both challenges each character and the reader alike.

The characters make the story lively and as the title suggests, the wickedness and the loveliness that are key parts of the ingredients of Marr’s narrative. Loveliness, in terms of the relationships that exist and develop throughout the storyline, and one that obviously involves a love triangle between the three main characters that is undeniable. Wickedness, the complexities that are encountered, especially between Aislinn and Keenan, where hierarchical elements come into play that center upon, love, power, and choice; Keenan attempts to woo, preferably court, Aislinn into the world of the fairies and to serve as his Summer Queen. But being a mortal, Aislinn faces a lifetime decision where once turned as a fairy, there is no turning back, and she forever is indebted to immortality. As she meets this challenge, her heart is also with Seth, who happens to be doing research about fairies, which contributes to resilience to Keenan’s wishes.

Although Wicked Lovely starts off slow, as one proceeds to read each passage, the story begins to build and build. It is during the middle of the novel that will catch readers by surprise and want to continue to read on, especially as the climactic parts emerge. Overall, the book may appeal to those who are curious or enjoy a fantasy.

Rating: 4 / 5