Title: Fragile Eternity
Author: Melissa Marr
Series: Wicked Lovely #3
Genre: Teen Paranormal Romance
Rating: 2.5/5 stars
The Overview: Seth never expected he would want to settle down with anyone – but that was before Aislinn. She is everything he’d ever dreamed of, and he wants to be with her forever. Forever takes on new meaning, though, when your girlfriend is an immortal faery queen. Aislinn never expected to rule the very creatures who’d always terrified her – but that was before Keenan. He stole her mortality to make her a monarch, and now she faces challenges and enticements beyond any she’d ever imagined. In Melissa Marr’s third mesmerizing tale of Faerie, Seth and Aislinn struggle to stay true to themselves and each other in a milieu of shadowy rules and shifting allegiances, where old friends become new enemies and one wrong move could plunge the Earth into chaos. -Goodreads
The Review:
Okay, let’s keep it real. We all know I’ve had trouble getting into YA lately, but I needed something light to listen to while doing yoga. It turned out to be a rather insightful experience, however, because reading Fragile Eternity help me pinpoint a little better why YA just hasn’t been hitting the spot lately (and I don’t think it’s because I’m getting too old for it, thank the stars).
You see, I’m in a reading point in my life where I’m looking for more world building and event-driven novels. Good character development is important, but I need more than a strictly character-driven “are they going to end up/stay together” story to grab and keep my attention. As many YA plot structures are romance-centric, this would explain why I’m not loving them like I used to. Something keeps me reaching for them, and I genuinely like what I read, they’ve just been getting lower ratings because I’m in the mood for something more robust. Fragile Eternity was solely a romance/character-driven plot with a ton of introspection, communication, and zero world building and action. Nuff said.
Don’t get me wrong, the story was on par with Wicked Lovely and Ink Exchange (which were also character driven), and I absolutely loved both of those (they’re among the strongest teen paranormal works, in my opinion). So if you love those, you’ll love this… unless you’re having a reading crisis like me. Although it would seem all of the interesting things about this world have been revealed by this point, so maybe Fragile Eternity was slightly weaker because it just maintained the status quo. Overall, it was a light read filled with plenty of teenaged angst, and I’m looking forward to half paying attention to the final two as I do yoga, lol.
Recommendations: This highly character-driven YA Paranormal Romance is something I wish I’d continued shortly after reading (and loving) the first two books. Wicked Lovely is one of the strongest in the genre and I still recommend it with gusto to older teens (and up). If you’re in the mood for a story as lovely as it its unique, this is the series for you.
Other books you might like:
“many YA plot structures are romance-centric”
And that is the main reason I stay away from the YA label. May your next book be better :-)
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Yes exactly. The genre as a whole seems to be moving away from that, but these older ones are dead ringers for the things I’m not in the mood for. And thank you – I hope it shall. :)
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This is one of my all time favourite series but this wasn’t a favourite in the series. Like you said, I found the romance became the main focus of this novel when there was the potential for better world and plot building.
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I agree! I read the first book a couple of times because I really loved it. How did you find books 4 and 5? :)
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I liked the 4th book but I loved the finale. It just brings everything together so nicely!
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Oh good – thanks!! I have those two lined up next. Now I’m excited. :)
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I hope you enjoy them! I’m curious to know what you think :)
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