by Melissa Marr
ages: 14+
First sentence: “Irial watched the girl stroll up the street; she was a bundle of terror and fury.”

Leslie has not had an easy life. With a deadbeat dad who drinks away everything she can earn, and a druggie brother who actually sold her body for drugs, things are not as cheerful as she makes them seem. She’s afraid, she feels out of control. Which is why she wants a tattoo: to do something to herself for herself.

But the tattoo that calls to her is a dangerous one: it’s the mark of the faerie Dark Court king, Irial. His court is barely surviving with the peace that has been established between the Summer and Winter courts. The Dark Faerie feed off of negative emotions: greed, lust, revenge, fear… and with peace there isn’t as many of those hanging around. And when Irial discovered that he was drawn to Leslie — as she was to him, even if she didn’t know it — he realized he could use their connection to feed his court: use Leslie as a conduit for mortals’ emotions.

This however has some unexpected consequences. First, Niall — advisor to the Summer King — is in love with Leslie, and even though he’s a Gancanagh (they’re addictive to women) he’s more than willing to do anything to protect her. Second, Leslie, while she’s attracted to the world at first, eventually realizes that this is no way to live.

It’s a dark novel, but less harsh than expected. Also, while it’s repelling in its subject matter, and the characters are not as likable as they could be, it’s an incredibly compelling read, as addicitive as Niall is to women. Which is a good thing, because it has a very satisfying and quite heroic ending. And that does much to help offset the darkness of the world Marr has created.

Buy it at Amazon, Powell’s, or your local independent bookstore.