Ink Exchange by M. Marr

Since I just read Fragile Eternity (and loved it), I felt that I shouldn’t put off reading Ink Exchange and I’m glad I didn’t.

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 have to say that Ink Exchange brought out a lot of different emotions in me. Not all of them were exhilaration, but none of them were bad either.  The one thing that stood out to me the most was the lack of romance…courtship.  We have our feminine lead, Leslie, but she really isn’t a heroine, at least not the kind we’re used to seeing.  She’s very much a victim in this story, yet her freedom of choice is never taken away from her.  She’s a prisoner, but one of her own making (to an extent).  Which is pretty much the exact opposite of what we saw in Wicked Lovely.  Aislinn was given the chance to explore a relationship with Seth, but she had all of her choices taken away and she had to struggle with that.  This time around, we have the crush between Niall and Leslie, but it’s never really given a chance to blossom before everything comes crashing down.

However, that aspect of the story makes it amazing at the same time.  The emotional roller coaster that Leslie goes through from the very first pages to the end illicit so many different responses that one doesn’t know where the story is going to go.  And everything is about choice.  Should Leslie get the tattoo?  Should Niall make his presence known to Leslie?  Should he ignore his queen?  Is Irial doing the right thing for his court?  Every event that takes place revolves around the choices Leslie makes and it gives Ink Exchange an underlying theme of survivial and self-determination that take the story in a direction we hadn’t seen in Wicked Lovely (and I say this after already reading Fragile Eternity).

This new direction is one I can totally see coming up in a future novel.  Not because it goes against the story arc – which it doesn’t and is in fact completely separate from it – but because it was a one-sided HEA.  We weren’t given a full HEA and I really want to see one.  I’m not going to say how it’s one-sided, not when there are three individuals tightly woven together for Ink Exchange, but I’m really hoping we’ll see Leslie again.  Although, if you do want to know what I’m talking about, read to the end.  I’ve added a spoiler section.

Overall, I really enjoyed this novel and now I can’t wait to see what the fourth one is going to be about.  I have an idea where the story is heading since Fragile Eternity is all about Aislinn, Seth and Keenan (which is another story arc I can’t wait to continue reading), but I’m really hoping we’ll see more of Niall and Leslie.

Read Order:
Wickedly Lovely
Ink Exchange
Fragile Eternity (4/21/2009)

Also Reviewed By:
Amberkatze Reviews
Darque Reviews
SciFiGuy

—- SPOILER —- SPOILER —- SPOILER —-

Seriously, Niall needs a happy ending.  If Leslie doesn’t come back to him, I’m really hoping someone else comes along for him.  He deserves it.  I’m really hoping Leslie is just needing the time away to get her life back in order and to get stronger so she can evenly match up with Niall (or something).

And I wasn’t a fan of Keenans before, but after reading this (and Fragile Eternity), I am so hoping that Aislinn pulls a Beira.  You know, where she kills the summer king.  I wonder what would happen if Aislinn did try to kill Keenan.  I mean, it’s not another courts regent attacking the Summer Court.  They would still have a monarch.

I mean, seriously, Keenan is nothing but an ass.  I get that he’s trying to do everything to get his court stronger and an actual player in Faerie politics, but to use someone who has been with you for 900 years, that’s cruel, especially knowing what Niall’s feelings on his “fae side” are.  On top of that, playing with Leslie’s life like he did, knowing that Aislinn considers her a close friend and would be devasted by her loss, and he still had no problem killing her off.

I’m really hoping Keenan is going to get smacked around, by both Niall and Aislinn, in the fourth novel.