It's the great Melissa Marr reread that won't die! Don't worry folks, I only have two more books to read after this, I swear! (Well, three if you count the third manga to this series coming out in 2011). I just finished the first of the manga spin off series - Wicked Lovely Desert Tales: Sanctuary. Volume 1. There, I think I got the whole cursed title.Rika was once a consort of Keenan, the infamous Summer Court King. When she picked up the staff of Beira she became of the Winter Court, intaking Beira's breath and ice into herself. Since then Donia (and who knows how many others) have been chosen to bear Winter's ice, and Rika is free to roam as a fairie. The trouble is she cannot be around iron, or cities... or people, so she has relocated herself to the desert. With a band of meddlesome faeries, and Sionnach, a friend, she tries to make a new life.She has become fascinated with a young man named Jayce who frequents her cliffs. One day he falls... well, in truth, the faeries have pushed him. Before she considers the alternatives Rika saves him. This sets in motion a series of events that only begin to highlight how different she is from him.These are fun. Brief and fun. They're manga, prettily illustrated by the Xian Nu Studio. I read this in about a 1/2 hour... they don't take much brain power, or time... but they look beautiful. and it's nice to see the characters in the flesh... or, at the very least in ink. This addition to the world of Marr's faeries is very entertaining. 5 out of 5 stars.- review courtesy of www.bibliopunkk.net
