Well... well... well, Rad Readers,
I am going to pop a quick I told ya so, and I knew it all along in there. Yes, it is an acknowledged fact proven by science that 'Ink Exchange' was a pretty bad sequel in the 'Wicked Lovely' (series that started out so so so very stron), but it is also a fact that 'Fragile Eternity' was a total and absolute Rad Reads CERTIFIED BANGER!
I would like to pat myself on the back for knowing that we were merely in a second book slump, and that this series wasn't doomed for the worst after a fantastic first book. (Divergent-esk..? No shade but, like, we can all admit it now...) I was so nervous to read this book because I was so scared that this series was going down the dumps, but Melissa Marr would never disappoint us Rad Readers!
Anyways, this will be a fairly spoiler-y review, so for those of you that have not yet read 'Fragile Eternity,' this is the third book in the 'Wicked Lovely' series. There are a few more books after this one (that I will definitely be reading), but before you read 'Fragile Eternity,' read 'Wicked Lovely,' and (unfortunately) 'Ink Exchange to catch up. Check out my review on 'Wicked Lovely if you want to know what the main gist of the story is about. AND, for those of you that are all caught up in the series but after the wreck of 'Ink Exchange' you wonder if it is worth it to keep tracking along, I will say that absolutely yes it is.
We are back following our main characters Aislinn, Keenan, and Seth. The drama is better than ever, the stakes are high, and you really never know what could come next. When you think you have a character all figured out, when you think you know who's side they are on... BANG! Plot twist! The plot has never mattered less to me though, because can we talk about CHARACTER DRIVENNN!! All I care about is what is going on in Aislinn and Keenan's lives, I literally could not care less about this impending war between courts. It is a nice subplot, but to me the main plot is all about the characters! And weirdly, I liked that. It is a nice break from these extremely complicated universes and laws and worlds that we all read about all the time. Is it intellectually provoking? Far from it. Is it a fun book about stupid drama and cool characters? Totally. All in all, great book, great characters, exciting action, fun drama, give it a read if you haven't already!
The main focus of this addition to the story is that Seth is a mortal and because of this he is growing more distant to Aislinn. Aislinn is getting more involved with the summer court. 1+1=2, this+that= Seth trying to gain immortality. We saw how that worked out with Voldemort... never a good move to aim for immortality when you simple are just not meant to be immortal. Appropriate, I think that this is entitled 'Fragile Eternity.' I digress, Seth's yearning, Aislinn's suffering because of it, and Keenan's reaction to the both of them is the heart of the novel.
Okay, now for those of us that have read this beauty-- I think we can all agree that there were parts of it that were certainly a little confusing. A lot of important parts and laws of this world have either been skimmed over or they were explained in massive information dumps that I just skimmed over because I HATE information dumps, but regardless, my biggest qualm was the fact that I didn't really understand why these faeries needed Seth to get to the Summer Court? Was it just because they didn't like a mortal having a say in their world? But he didn't even have a say, he just hung around the people that had a say? I don't know I felt like the way that was all explained was either too brief and vague, or too boring and seemingly unessential to care about. Like, why are Niall and Donia all of a sudden bad guys? I could have sworn they were on our side, like, a second ago? I think if there is a really important point to understanding a story it should be given in the middle of some sort of action or high stakes moment because otherwise if it seems boring, honestly I and many many many others will skim over it. Thus, there was a lot about this book that I was reading and my brain was just going "?????" but I kept on going and I kept on loving it because I love these characters so much. Or rather, I should say I love their drama so much.
Seth? He's holding Aislinn backkkkk! She could be so much better off if she just let him go entirely and that is why I quite liked this book, because we didn't get to see him hold her back because he was GONE! I gasp! No. No I don't. His decision to go pursue something so incredible problematic and dumb wasn't unexpected, but the direction that the story took afterwards, and the ending certainly caught me by surprise.
Keenan? Heavily unpopular opinion, but my favorite character by a mile. I like that he is kind of conniving and moral questionable. I also like that when it comes down to it he knows what his duties are as a king more than his duties just as a regular dude. I think it is very fair and people shouldn't hate his character because it is realistic of how a real monarch would act. I don't get how people can prefer Niall over Keenan because when the going gets tough, Keenan sticks around, but Niall goes running. Anyways, I respect Keenan's cunning and very Slytherin-esk nature. I think he's the most exciting and unpredictable character torn between Aislinn and Donia even though he knows that he's only using Donia which I think is hilarious but also tragic but also so realistic. All I'm saying is, class A power move knowing where Niall is and not telling anyone. It's not his place to get involved in Niall's issues. He's not a fairy and he's not in the Summer Court. It would benefit Aislinn if she let Niall go and Keenan knows this, for selfish reasons yes, but he still is right.
I will also make an amends to another statement, aside from the vagueness I did have a problem with the fact that I am kind of getting used to, out of this series, the rush and excitement only to end in an inevitable cliff hanger. I find myself here about to write about the ending of this book and I realized that there isn't really much to write because the book didn't really end if you know what I'm saying. I understand that the story needs to continue because, ya know, there are more books in the series, but I just hate when there isn't really a conclusion at all and it's just kinda like... well, guess you just have to buy the next book?
Anyways, I was very pleased with this story, it is like the author knows exactly what we want to read about and she has started to deliver. I loved 'Wicked Lovely,' hated 'Ink Exchange,' and finally 'Fragile Eternity' is a return to the former!
Team Keenan all the way,
-C8 ;)