Unbeknownst to mortals, a power struggle is unfolding in a world of shadows and danger. After centuries of stability, the balance among the Faery Courts has altered, and Irial ruler of the Dark Court is battling to hold his rebellious and newly vulnerable fey together. If he fails, bloodshed and brutality will follow.Seventeen-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 Leslie has 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 faery world, unable to resist its allures and helpless to withstand its perils...
(summary from jacket flap)
Ink Exchange wasn't quite as good as Wicked Lovely, but it was still highly readable and addictive. I think the thing lacking in the second book was deep character connection. I felt like I knew the characters in the first book better than the ones in the second book which isn't a huge problem, but I think that if anything could be improved in Ink Exchange, that would be the one small thing I would fix. Other than that, the rest of the aspects of the story were on par with the first book and I finished it satisfied. In Wicked Lovely, some of the details of the other faery courts were skimmed over and this book gave us an opportunity to look at the dark faery court from a different view point; the view of someone who has no idea what she is getting herself into. I think the best part about the book, for me, was how all of the tattooing tied in. I've never thought about getting a tattoo myself, but after reading about the whole art and history of it, I think I have a deeper understanding of what drives people to permanently mark their bodies. I would never go through with it as I have a very low pain thresh hold, but I like the idea of claiming your body as your own, as Leslie did. I think Melissa Marr put a lot of effort in to that part of the book and it definitely paid off. I was a teensy bit disappointed by the ending of the book, but I think the contrast of the endings between Wicked Lovely and Ink Exchange was needed and overall, the end fit the book; even if I didn't particularly like how things were tied up. I am looking forward to a possible third book because there is one (maybe two) faery court(s) that haven't been told about yet, and I think the last one, Sorcha's court, should be the most interesting of all. Let's cross our fingers that a third book is one its way!
