Book:Ink Exchange

Melissa Marr
Young Adult
HarperCollins Publishers / Apr 2008 (orginal)
Quality Paperback / 352pp
Companion Novel : Wicked Lovely
Date 6-17/6-18

Unbeknownst to mortals, a power struggle is unfolding in a world of shadows and danger. After centuries of stability, the balance between the Faerie Courts has altered, and Irial, ruler of the Dark Court, is battling to hold his rebellious and newly-vulnerable fey together. If he fails, bloodshed and brutality will follow.

17-year-old Leslie knows nothing of faeries or their intrigues. When she is attracted to an eerily beautiful tattoo of eyes and wings, all she knows is that she has to have it, convinced it is a tangible symbol of changes she desperately craves for her own life.

The tattoo does bring changes—not the kind that Leslie had dreamed of, but sinister, compelling changes that are more than symbolic. Those changes will bind Leslie and Irial together, drawing Leslie deeper and deeper into the faerie world, unable to resist its allures, and helpless to withstand its perils.

I picked this book up because it is the second book set in the same world & the first was EXCELLANT!

What I liked the Most? Leslie's journey to reclaim herself after what happens.

What I liked the Least? I had alot of trouble getting into this story. It seemed like the author was trying too hard to make this book edgier than the first and the characters just fell flat, they were not nearly as vivid as in the first book.

Review:Welcome to the Dark Side and yes, it is very alluring. Marr’s depiction of addiction and all the lust and masochism that goes along with it is frightening and perfect. If you have ever been addicted to anything you’ll recognize all the symptoms. Yet, even as you overcome your addiction you just never quite get over it and the temptation is always be there.

Leslie is putting on a brave front with all her friends, pretending that life is still all good and hiding her pain. Hoping to take back some control she decides ask Rabbit for a tattoo. She picks out a special design but unbeknownst to her, that tattoo is the symbol of something dark and fey. As Leslie finds her vision changing and her feelings shifting in unpredictable ways, Niall, Summer Court Right Hand, steps in, but he has his own tangled feelings about the situation.

Recommended to: If you enjoy dark books with even darker themes.

Best Quote: "Do you ever wonder if what you look at is the same thing everyone else is seeing?"

Challenges: 100+