Darkest Mercy

The Summer King is missing; the Dark Court is bleeding; and a stranger walks the streets of Huntsdale, his presence signifying the deaths of powerful fey.
Aislinn tends to the Summer Court, searching for her absent king and yearning for Seth. Torn between his new queen and his old love, Keenan works from afar to strengthen his court against the coming war. Donia longs for fiery passion even as she coolly readies the Winter Court for battle. And Seth, sworn brother of the Dark King and heir to the High Queen, is about to make a mistake that could cost his life.
Love, despair, and betrayal ignite the Faery Courts, and in the final conflict, some will win . . . and some will lose everything.
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Beth says 5 Stars…

I’m so sad that this series is over. I absolutely loved the dark and unexpected world of Marr’s faeries and am rather distressed to leave it. This review will probably be more than slightly biased because of how much I’ve invested in the series, through its ups and downs, which makes it rather difficult to separate this book completely. However, I’m going to do my best to neither wallow in the slight misery of the ending of a favorite series of mine nor gush about the awesomeness of this conclusion. The world Marr created is spellbinding and seductive; enriched and enlarged over the course of the novels. As this isn’t a new world that needs creating entirely, very little expansion of the established ended up being necessary. I think that the main enhancement came in the guise of the characters and not from the settings surrounding them. The plot constantly diverged in different directions, and all of the little threads placed in previous novels came together beautifully. Before reading the book I worried about how having different main characters in the other novels would affect the flow of the plot. I needn’t have been bothered, because Marr shifted focus from one character to another smoothly, entwining their individual stories to make a whole. All I’m going to mention about the actual plot is that I didn’t see the end coming, but I loved it and thought it a fitting close to the series.

The characters didn’t lose their quality and brilliance, and in fact just became more and more fascinating. I enjoying reading about all of the old, familiar friends and foes with just enough new faces throw into the mix to keep it fresh. Some of the characters, of course, fell slightly by the wayside because of the sheer numbers of them, but most of those either weren’t my favorites or had supporting roles previously. It was delightful to see how much Ash changed to meet the challenges of becoming the Summer Queen, much as Donia had in transitioning over to being the Winter Queen. I particularly enjoyed how they functioned as foils for one another to highlight the differences and similarities in the nature of the courts. Then there are the boys, and Marr knows how to make some very delightful fey men. Niall, Seth, and Keenan all had some ups and downs in this book and have changed dramatically since their first introduction. What I love about a series this long is that it allows for remarkable amounts of character development; you really can see an interesting arc.

It’s sad to see this series draw to a close, but I thought this novel a fitting end to it. I’ll miss the faeries and the world they inhabit. I’m excited to see what Marr’s next YA project will be (I know I need to grab her first adult novel soon) and be transported into another world by her. Hopefully it will be as seductive and fascinating as this was.