Friday, April 13, 2012

Review: 'Radiant Shadows' by Melissa Marr (Wicked Lovely Book 4)


THE DETAILS:
Pages: 340
Genre:Young Adult Fiction, Fantasy
Release Date: 2010
Publisher: Harper Collins
Bought in a Store.
Book 4 in a series.

THE DESCRIPTION:
He was sculpture-perfect but had a tangled feel. Shadow and radiance. He didn’t look much older than her, until she saw the arrogance in his posture. Then, he reminded her of the faeries who walked through the courts and crowds confident that they could slaughter everyone in the room. Like chaos in a glass cage.
“Come dance.”
Ani turned her back and let herself be swept into the crowd.

Alluring romance, heart-stopping danger and sinister intrigue combine in the penultimate volume of Melissa Marr’s best-selling Wicked Lovely series.


MY THOUGHTS:
If I could sum this review up into one sentence I would say "I had to make myself read it, but I'm glad I did." While this series is something that I adore, I have found that it was getting a little harder to get through and a little boring. That was until I read this book. It was only after reading the anthology 'Faery Tales and Nightmares' that I got back into Marr's writing style and decided to move this one up the TBR pile...

So yes, this book definitely didn't continue on the downward trend in quality that I had noticed from Books 1-3. I thought this book was just as good- maybe even better - than the first book 'Wicked Lovely'. All of the books were interesting and enjoyable, but this one had an actual love interest with chemistry; One thing that I think can make a book all the more appealing...

In 'Radiant Shadows' the reader gets to learn a little more about the Dark Court and High Court. I really enjoyed learning about some of the other characters in the Wicked Lovely world. It was enjoyable not only because I was learning about these characters, but because of the different relationship dynamics and court rules. For example, the brotherly relationship between Seth and Devlin.

Once again, I would like to note that Melissa Marr's creation of a faerie world and society in this series has been amazing. The different types of names, the different rules, the different creatures and the descriptions of these all indicate beautiful story telling. I always feel like I'm reading a grown up story book when I pick up one of her novels. One thing that makes this one even more enjoyable is the humour, which there doesn't seem to be a lot of in her other books.

Overall, I think this book is worth 5/5 stars. I'm not about to favourite it though, because I don't think I'd want to read it again in a hurry. If you are having a little difficulty with this series or are a little apprehensive about starting the fourth book, don't give up! I'm really pleased with myself for picking this one up and having another go. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I'm going to forget my reading plans for this month (just for a bit) and pick up the final book 'Darkest Mercy'. If you haven't read or started this series yet I strongly recommend it. Just a warning though: It's confusing if you don't pay close attention, It's not for the faint-hearted and it may just be too awesome for some people to handle...
WICKED LOVELY SERIES
1. Wicked Lovely
2. Ink Exchange
3. Fragile Eternity
4. (This Book)
5. Darkest Mercy: Next

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1 comment:

Erica said...

I loved this series - I still need to read Darkest Mercy, but its so much fun :)