Probably the thing that motivates me the most to read a book is when I have a friend who really wants the book, because then I am in a position to pass the book on to the friend when I am done with it, and you guys I am in this constant losing battle with storage space for my books. So, when the slim Desert Tales showed up on my doorstep, I totally knew that it was a book that Jen formerly of Makeshift Bookmark would want, as she is a huge Melissa Marr fan. Anyways, despite having read zero Wicked Lovely books, I had previously read two books by Marr that I liked the writing of, so with some nervous trepidation, I dived right in, because you know I had to mail the book and get it out of the house like ASAP!
Desert Tales is a very slim, very quick read about Rika, one of the Winter Girls apparently from the Wicked Lovely series. Basically, this whole book is a companion novel to that series and as someone who has zero experience with it, I found that Marr provided enough background information in the prose to keep it understandable for newbies like me. So basically, Rika is a Winter Girl which means that she tried to break Keenan, who is like a fairy prince or something, from this curse. She is not the chosen one so she has to carry winter inside her for like a wicked long time. Then once some other chick breaks the curse, Rika is turned into an immortal fairy. She decides to live in the desert because it is far from those dramatic courts and so, she basically is licking her wounds and recovering when she meets a boy named Jayce who is her mortal love interest – and also kind of a dread lock wearing dud to be honest. OH and there is another fairy who is kind of the boss of the desert called Sionnach, who is a fox faerie and the desert Alpha, also my favorite <3. So I guess the drama lies in the fact that some of the fairies in the desert are deranged and dislike Rika and will do whatever it takes to mess with her.
I thought that Rika was a nice girl who genuinely cares about humans. She is finally getting back up on the horse of life after being screwed over by the Summer King, ah yeah that’s what he is, – Keenan who is a total jerk. I liked that she had some fight in her, despite being super depressed about being dumped/not being ‘the one’. Oh, and I totally was like that Keenan is THE WORST. I guess I just was not feeling the male characters in this book, except for Sionnach also known as Shy. He is cocky and awesome.
For me, the best thing about Desert Tales by Melissa Marr was the way she made use of the setting. You guys, there need to be more desert books. There’s just something lovely about a cactus and sand and idk, now I am like whoo-hoo deserts after reading this book. Take that as you will. She just makes you feel the heat and the desolation, but also, it just works so well with the characters because you see the type of character one has to be to survive in the desert — someone who is strong, okay with being lonely, okay with heat, and just, hmmm, tenacious, maybe? Either way, I liked Desert Tales as a total non-reader of the series and non-lover of the fey. It was quick, painless, and entertaining. Not a lot of time is spent on boring exposition stuff. I felt thrown into the book, but because I am smart, I was able to adjust and figure out pretty quickly what was what.Also, I think I need to get on reading Marr’s Wicked Lovely books. She’s great, yo.
Disclosure: Review Copy Provided By Publisher
Other reviews of Desert Tales by Melissa Marr:
Basically all the reviews I can find are from the graphic novels. Drop your link if you review this and I will try to add it up here when I am feeling motivated.
Books by Melissa Marr:
Graveminder
Carnival Of Souls
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I’ve not a lover of the fey either, and rarely read a book about fairies. I have always been tempted to try out Wicked Lovely, but I always end up bringing it back to the library unread.
I don’t think this one is for me, but I do think the cover is super pretty.
I have been waiting for this one. I saw it recently came out so I’ll have to get it. I read the whole wicked lovely series a while back. I really enjoyed it. It’s not my favorite Fey series, the Iron Fey take that prize, but it’s a close second.
Keenan, he’s definitely a jerk. I felt like he was a jerk for much of the series, though I warmed up to him towards the end. I have always been curious about how Rika so this book will probably be a total win for me. 🙂
I’m not overly fond of the fey, if I’m being honest. The reason I still read your review though is because of the desert setting. Like you, I think there should definitely be more of that setting in books! It’s surprisingly poignant and also picturesque if described just right.