Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr

I was overjoyed when I learned that our almost pathetically limited library was shipping in Ink Exchange, the newest novel by Wicked Lovely author, Melissa Marr. It was worth borrowing from Aella to read and review (how she always gets on the hold list before me I will never know...).

First of all, Ink Exchange is not the sequel to Wicked Lovely though it does take place in the same world and shares characters with the novel. However, I would like to recommend reading Wicked Lovely first. It's much easier to understand what's going on in Ink Exchange that way.

Ink Exchange tells Leslie's story. Haunted by the past, Leslie tries to maintain the facade of familial perfection, even when that means paying the cable bills out of her own pocket or "helping" her brother when he gets low on drug money. When she isn't working or at school she often lurks around Rabbit's tattoo shop, Pins and Needles. The one thing that Leslie thinks will help her reclaim her body and sense of self is the perfect tattoo, which comes in the form of an intricate winged eye design. Rabbit warns our heroine that tattoos can change people more than she ever thought, but Leslie plunges forward, now the test subject of an Ink Exchange with Irial, King of the Dark Court.

Throughout the novel, I felt Leslie's aversion to drugs of all sorts and was sickened when she became the drug. The dark fey were wonderfully malicious and intrigued me to no end. Their shadowy ways and interesting source of sustenance was a far cry from the Summer Court, which seemed almost tame in comparison.

Ink Exchange is awarded 6 out of 7 lightnings *insert sound effects here* for being a deliciously intoxicating read.

From the Shadows,