Radiant Shadows (Wicked Lovely 4 by Melissa Marr)- Review

Back blurb:

Hunger for nourishment.

Hunger for touch.

Hunger to belong.

Half-human and half-faery, Ani is driven by her hungers.

Those same appetites also attract powerful enemies and uncertain allies, including Devlin. He was created as an assassin and is brother to the faeries’ coolly logical High Queen and to her chaotic twin, the embodiment of War. Devlin wants to keep Ani safe from his sisters, knowing that if he fails, he will be the instrument of Ani’s death.

Ani isn’t one to be guarded while others fight battles for her, though. She has the courage to protect herself and the ability to alter Devlin’s plans—and his life. The two are drawn together, each with reason to fear the other and to fear for one another. But as they grow closer, a larger threat imperils the whole of Faerie. Will saving the faery realm mean losing each other?

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

My Review:

This, is paranormal YA writing at its most intelligent, elegant, atmospheric form. A perfect blend of eerie atmosphere and graceful, poetic prose.  What I absolutely adored about Radiant Shadows (and every other Wicked Lovely book) is the eeriness and the darkness in the writing. There is no vulgarity, no unforgivably bad language, no too-fast skips from one character to another.  And of course, there is never the question of knowing the characters too well, as any one who has read the first few books would surely know.

I simply love Melissa Marr’s Wicked Lovely series, for its unpredictable awesomeness. Just when I was tearing out my hair wondering who the new protagonists would be, in Book 4 of the lovely Wicked Lovely series, she brought two people who were always in the background out in full regalia: Ani and Devlin have been mentioned in nearly all the previous books, but I love the fact that now we get to know so much more about the strange half-mortal half-fey girl whom Irial seems to consider family and the High Court’s seemingly cold and passionless assassin Devlin, brother to Reason and War. But it is not just Ani and Devlin that we learn so much more about in this amazing installment: Sorcha is not the Unchanging Queen without any emotional flux anymore. Seth’s arrival into her life has changed all that. Again, we get to know about Bananach, about deeper fey magic than before.

I continue to adore Seth and be impressed by Niall and Irial. Especially the former Dark King, Irial, still captivates me. There is something about him that’s new to the genre in a whole. Something amazingly fresh about his (and Ani’s, actually) characters that make him irresistible.

Ani, I liked better than Aislinn and Leslie, actually. (Maybe I'm biased because she's called Ani....) She was braver, spunkier yet not so hardened or stoic that tragedies and losses don’t crush her. She is, as Devlin says, the most captivating faery. Devlin is another great character with shades that I would never have realized from the appearances he put on in the other book.

Radiant Shadows also brings out the strange and slightly sad relationship between Irial and Niall…which really makes me wish for Darkest Mercy. There’s not much of Aislinn or Keenan or Donia in the book, and the book does make some unexpected and very unusual turns.

I loved the near-end, with the well-described fight. I actually cared enough about the book that a BELOVED character’s near possible death is freaking me out. (If you are a WL fan and you haven’t read the fourth book yet, dump this now and go read)

I want Darkest Mercy NOW. Seriously.

Cover: always awesome, but doesn’t really compare to the first and third book.

Plot: why do I need to mention? I’ve said enough about awesomeness.

What I loved: EVERYTHING, including the Harper Collins book trailer available on the website. Except maybe some bits in between which I skipped because I was so eager to get to the next bit. Harmless little skips though.

What I hated: I  got a little annoyed with Seth’s slight departure from the calm, completely in control kind of character I’ve come to absolutely love…just a little annoyed.

Rating on 5 hearts : ♥♥♥♥


Note: I'm on an on-off spree from the net because of, ah, college.