Ink Exchange
by Melissa Marr
by Melissa Marr
INK EXCHANGE by Melissa Marr
Category: Fantasy
Age Recommendation: Grades 9+
Release Date: 4/29/08
Publisher: HarperTeen
Reviewed by: Lynn Crow
Rating: 4 Stars
Torn up inside after her drug-dealer brother betrays her in the most horrible way, Leslie puts on a brave front with her
friends, pretending her drunken dad isn't letting the bills pile up and hiding all her pain. Hoping to take back control over
her body, she decides to get a tattoo, and picks out a special design at the tattoo parlor she often hangs out at.
Unbeknownst to Leslie, that tattoo is the symbol of Irial, the king of the faerie Dark Court, designed to allow him to filter
the unpleasant emotions that feed his court through her into him and his people.
As Leslie finds her vision changing and her feelings shifting in unpredictable ways, Niall, a faerie of the Summer Court who
has always admired her, steps in, hoping to help her and keep Irial away. He has his own tangled feelings about Irial,
whom he once counted as a friend. But as Leslie sinks further under Irial's thrall, enjoying the escape from the hurt and
fear she'd been living with, only she can decide when to pull away--or whether she would rather stay with him, after all.
INK EXCHANGE is a darkly imaginative novel set in the same world as Marr's first novel, WICKED LOVELY.
Readers will enjoy exploring the lives of some of that novel's minor characters and seeing more of the shadowy side of the
faerie courts. They may find Leslie, Niall, and Irial less engaging than the spirited and perhaps more sympathetic narrators
of WICKED LOVELY, but the trio still make for a fascinating "love" triangle as each deals with conflicting emotions and
tries to decide what is right both for him or herself and for those who are counting on them.
The imagery is striking and evocative, and the politics of the different faerie courts is intriguing to explore. A great book
for dark fantasy fans.
Category: Fantasy
Age Recommendation: Grades 9+
Release Date: 4/29/08
Publisher: HarperTeen
Reviewed by: Lynn Crow
Rating: 4 Stars
Torn up inside after her drug-dealer brother betrays her in the most horrible way, Leslie puts on a brave front with her
friends, pretending her drunken dad isn't letting the bills pile up and hiding all her pain. Hoping to take back control over
her body, she decides to get a tattoo, and picks out a special design at the tattoo parlor she often hangs out at.
Unbeknownst to Leslie, that tattoo is the symbol of Irial, the king of the faerie Dark Court, designed to allow him to filter
the unpleasant emotions that feed his court through her into him and his people.
As Leslie finds her vision changing and her feelings shifting in unpredictable ways, Niall, a faerie of the Summer Court who
has always admired her, steps in, hoping to help her and keep Irial away. He has his own tangled feelings about Irial,
whom he once counted as a friend. But as Leslie sinks further under Irial's thrall, enjoying the escape from the hurt and
fear she'd been living with, only she can decide when to pull away--or whether she would rather stay with him, after all.
INK EXCHANGE is a darkly imaginative novel set in the same world as Marr's first novel, WICKED LOVELY.
Readers will enjoy exploring the lives of some of that novel's minor characters and seeing more of the shadowy side of the
faerie courts. They may find Leslie, Niall, and Irial less engaging than the spirited and perhaps more sympathetic narrators
of WICKED LOVELY, but the trio still make for a fascinating "love" triangle as each deals with conflicting emotions and
tries to decide what is right both for him or herself and for those who are counting on them.
The imagery is striking and evocative, and the politics of the different faerie courts is intriguing to explore. A great book
for dark fantasy fans.