Sanctuary

Wicked Lovely: Desert Tales #1

by Melissa Marr, Xian Nu Studio (Illustrations)

The world of Melissa Mar's New York Times bestselling dark fantasy series Wicked Lovely comes to manga! This three-volume series focuses on Rika, a minor character in Wicked Lovely : formerly a mortal, formerly a Winter Girl, and formerly loved by the Summer King.

The dry, near-empty desert is a million miles away from the plots and schemes of the Faerie Courts—and that’s exactly why Rika likes it. Once mortal herself, now she seeks out isolation, and she revels in her faery ability to become invisible to human eyes. Until she meets him . Jayce is a mortal blessed with artistic ability and kindness, and he is the last person Rika wants to hide from.

But change is sweeping the faery world, challenging Rika’s freedom and even her tentative romance with Jayce. And the politics Rika has fled from pursue her, even into the heart of the desert. . . .

Genres: Manga, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Young Adult, Fairies, Romance, Paranormal

176 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2009

About the author

Melissa Marr writes fiction for adults, teens, and children. Her books have been translated into 28 languages and been bestsellers in the US (NY Times, LA Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal) as well as overseas. Wicked Lovely, her debut novel, was an instant New York Times bestseller and evolved into an internationally bestselling multi-book series with a myriad of accolades.

In 2024 she released a queer fantasy (Remedial Magic via Bramble), a picturebook about a wee one and his two moms (Family is Family via Penguin), and a DC Comics graphic novel about teen Harley & Ivy (The Strange Adventures of Harleen & Harley).

An Illumicrate edition of 6 Wicked Lovely books will release in 2025.

If she's not writing, you can find her in a kayak or on a trail with her wife.

Reviews

[Alice-Elizabeth (Prolific Reader Alice) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A new reading achievement unlocked... my first ever manga!

This was such a fast read, with good illustrations but sadly, the story-line a little underdeveloped for me personally. This does take place within the world of Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely series, following a side character called Rika. As I have only read the first book in the series, I was a little tricky working out at times who was who. It was an interesting visual concept but missing something for me.

[Grace Arango · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh.
Liked the art style, and... actually that was it unfortunately.

[Rain Misoa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yup! You guessed it! I am still going strong with my manga binge. I don't plan to stop anytime soon. I'm just having so much fun with these. I cannot wait to keep going~ So I decided that after the last bomb I reviewed (seriously, that manga was utter crap) I had to go for something that had a little more promise. A little more. I've read the first three books of the Wicked Lovely series and... I have mix feelings of it. I liked the first book enough to read the second. The second was okay but I hated the main character with all my heart and found myself only liking the yaoi parts (Niall and Irial are just smex!!!). And the third book... was the worst in the bunch. Nothing happened in it. It basically a waste of time. So... it's a hit and miss with me. BUT! I did like the series as a whole enough to look into the manga series. When I saw that my library has all three volumes, I checked those babies out like a BAMF. Well, I read the first one and it's... eh, okay. I liked it and there were some parts I even went fangirly over but there are somethings, like in the novels, where I was just not into it. There were some good points to the story, but a lot of it was like... "WHA-!?" And some parts that just made me roll my eyes. Point is... I think I'm just so-so with this book.

Let me start off by saying... I have a love/hate relationship with Melissa Marr. I love her writing. I think it's absolutely brilliant and when she gets something down, you bet your ass it's going to be awesome. However, there are some moments where I feel that she just... doesn't get it. She thinks that love has to be right there and then and there's no need to learn about the other person. Another thing that bothers me about the stories that she writes is the fact that she makes all girls appear pathetic when it comes to men. The degrade themselves just so that they can be with the guy for just one more moment. It's annoying and it really comes off as if this is behavior that's okay for teenage girls to go through. It's not. Girls should be strong and not go to the guy first. Especially if he shows little interest in being with you in the first place. Marr also has a habit of writing instalove. Really? You meet for the first time and right away you're in love? That's what happened with these characters in this manga (more on that later). One thing that really confused me with this manga is the fact that it just right into the plot. There wasn't a lot of backstory so anyone going into this would be confused to high heaven. If you didn't read at least the first two novels of the Wicked Lovely series, you would be REALLY confused by this manga. Hell, I was confused for a good half of it and I read the first three novels. Basically, it's a manga meant just for the fans of the series. Not saying that's a bad thing but anyone who is curious and goes into it without much research would be lost quite a bit. Still, I do like Melissa Marr and respect her as a person... I just have my issues with her at times.

I must say that I do love the artwork. Xian Nu Studio did an excellent job in drawing this manga. It's very nice and easy on the eyes. Even the comical scenes are great to look at. One thing I will say about the art that wasn't really to my liking were some of the character designs. Especially with the males. Sure, when their shirts are off they look like males but when you can only see their face, you could swear they are women. The men are REALLY feminine looking. I don't have a problem with that. I read a lot of manga so I am used to men looking some what like girls. But in this manga they REALLY look like girls. There's no distinction unless one of the characters say so or their shirt is off. I also had a bit of a problem with the way Jayce's hair is drawn. It looks bizarre. It appears, to me, as if he has branches or weeds in his hair. I don't think it's an appealing look for him as a character. Other than that, I think the manga is beautifully drawn. I like how the setting is drawn and I like the way the faeries are drawn. They have a lot of details put into their design and I love them all the more because of that. So the artwork is okay in my book!

Some of the characters I had an issue with. The first being our female lead, Rika. I love that she can fight and all that. She doesn't really need anyone to defend her in that aspect. However, she's a little pathetic when it comes to men. She had a relationship with Keenan, the Summer King (of you read the book, you'll know who he is), and despite the fact that she said she doesn't have feelings for him, she still cries over him. Even though he did shitty things to her... she still CRIES over him! You can't be serious! You should never shed tears over a man who did you wrong. It's pathetic and weak. Speaking of being pathetic, Rika stalks her love interest, Jayce, for a long time before she had the guts to show herself to him and expect for him to like her right away... AND HE DOES!!! Instalove at its finest, people! DX She threw herself at him when she thought that he was going to distance himself from her. Rika, a little tip. If a guy questions having a relationship with you, DON'T FORCE HIM TO BE WITH YOU!!! DX One last thing that I didn't like about Rika was that she seems to be a girl that just wants a relationship and it doesn't matter with who. I say this because her friend, Sionnach (I call him Sion for short), was flirting with her and then she starts questioning some feelings towards that. (I know it sounds vague but I'm trying not to spoil it here.) Bah... I hate girls that just want to be with someone without trying to stand on their own. -_-" Moving on! Jayce... he was okay. Typical nice guy. He wasn't too amazing. He was just kinda... there. There to be pretty. Still, I didn't hate him so that's a plus! Then there's Maili, one of the antagonists in the manga. I have to say that I LOVE her character design. I don't know what about it makes me happy but it does! I think she is really beautiful. More beautiful than Rika. Her personality... well, she's evil. A bitch. I like that in my characters. XD Needless to say, I enjoyed her a lot. I didn't get to see much of her but that's okay. I'm sure she'll appear in the other volumes. Last character to talk about Sion! I love him to bits! I mean you get certain hints about him (which I will not say) but I think he's cute, fun, hilarious, sweet, a bit flirty, and everything else I like in a male. He has a female face, too, but that didn't really bother me since he just came off as a fun character. In fact, he's the only reason I am going to pick up volume two. Well, him and Maili.

To sum everything up, it's a good read. It's not the best but it certainly is far from being horrendous. I'm quite glad I gave this manga a try. It was entertaining even if it did have its faults. I cannot wait to read the second volume. Do I recommend this series? Yes but only to those who have read the novels. Non-fans would just not get it. Be warn. There are moments that might drive you up the wall if you have little patience for... well... stupid girls. But you might find yourself enjoying it. Give it a go. Wouldn't hurt you none if you've already read the books. ^_^

[Sarah Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Same story as Desert Tales

[Vanessa *Bluest Ribbon* · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let me start by saying that I am fan of Melissa Marr's books. She is really talented and boy, can she tell a story. So the moment I saw this in the bookstore, in my most girlish high-pitched voice, I screamed, "Ah! Melissa Marr!". That earned me alarmed looks from the nerds at the manga section. I ignored them. Immediately, I searched for the rest of the Desert Tales series. I even pulled one busy sales person aside and demanded asked for numbers 2 and 3, but they didn't have it yet. *insert sad face here*


Since I am so patient and calm, I ripped off the plastic packaging as soon as I was out of the mall. I sat on the bus and read my way through home. Let me tell you, reading on a moving vehicle is not the brightest idea, I got dizzy when I got off.


SO ANYWAY...

**** SPOILERS AHEAD ****


I do not recommend it to ALL readers. Yes, Rika did give accounts of her being a faerie in the first place, but it's hard to symphatize with her if you haven't read the Wicked Lovely novels yet. Let's admit it, being a faerie is cool 'cause you get to be immortal and have powers. So why should I feel sorry for Rika? She's just being a whiny little... erm Tinkerbell? But if you read the series, you'll understand that being involved in faerie politics is not as hot as it appears.


Now that I got that out of the way...


I liked Rika. She seems genuine to me and I kind of feel for her. She's lonely but strong. She doesn't show off her powers even though she can totally kick some faerie butt. As for the illustrations, I liked how I can easily see their facial expressions, it's so refreshing. It doesn't make me put a lot of effort into "imagining" what they looked like. Yes, sometimes that can make my head hurt. And my head hurts easily.


There are two things that didn't make me love this manga. Yes, 2, hence, the 3 stars. Hek hek, I'm so good in Math. Now, where was I? Oh yeah, 2 things. First is that I have a lot of trouble liking Jayce. And that's not because of his ugly hairstyle that only looks cool in the cover. Ahem. Jayce, at least in this first book, is just a drawing on a paper. He doesn't have character. He is uninteresting and his actions are unrealistic. Imagine this: you met a stranger. Stranger dragged you inside a club. Stranger got attacked and dragged you to the desert. Then you found out that she lives in a CAVE, which is in the middle of a dangerous DESERT, and it's NIGHT time... would you still allow yourself to be dragged inside her house cave? Hell NO. If that were me, I would run the other away. So what if she saved my life? I'm still going to run the other way, and as fast as I could because bad people are after her. But hey, LOVE is supposed to be blind, right? Especially, instalove. And since this is YA fiction, I'm like, okaaayyy...

The second thing that bothers me about the manga is that it is too short. The only thing that happen in this book is introduction, and I don't even know who the hell Sionnac is! But oh well, I guess that's just another carefully planned tactic to sell the second and third book. -_-


All in all, this was an easy and a very short read. I liked it but it wasn't a big deal of a book. I guess I will be buying/borrowing #2 and 3 just because I'm curious of what will happen next to Rika.

I still think Melissa Marr is awesome, because she is. But I'm just not 100% sold on this book. Sorry.

[Yan · Rating 1 out of 5]

You would think by now I learned to stay away from Melissa Marr’s books but I thought “hey, I enjoyed the Vampire Kisses manga even though the book series kind of sucks, maybe it’ll be the same for Melissa Marr’s!”. WRONG! Wrong to the infinite suckage power.

Let’s start with the background information. Wait, opps we can’t! There was hardly any! The manga is designed that we have to have had read the Wicked Lovely, understand the court system, understand Keenan’s past, understand the whole “finding the ice queen” scenes for the reader to even get pass the first 10 pages! Even that I was willing to slide on some levels. Maybe, just maybe, the manga might explain some of that in the sequels to come.

My biggest issue is the “thing” between Jayce and Rika. Completely unbelievable. Rika practically stalks Jayce for some time before reveling herself. Even then Jayce somehow falls madly in love with her despite the fact that they’ve known each for oh less than 24 hours. They even smooch a little in the end! Someone must have answered my prayers and decided to add a little action in the end! (If you guys can’t tell I’m being super sarcastic then you should just smack yourself in the head).

The lines delivered were unrealistic. The fight scene in the club stupid. I mean so the faeries are invisible to humans but when they were trying to force Rika to speed things along with Jayce (by trying to kill them of course, that’s the answer to all of life’s questions) are they suddenly visible? Because Jayce clearly mentions one of them having a knife later on. And if they were visible, why was no one stopping the desert faeires from trying to kill them!? You’re in a populated club with people surrounding you, just starring! You would think someone would have screamed or cried out stop or something!
And let’s not forget the love triangle-ish. Yes ish because it might happen or Melissa Marr is just leading us on. *sigh* ugh. Let’s all I have to say.

The artwork is also kind of average. Some parts were weird since the head looked kind of squashed. The hair on Jayce—what the hell is that? Dreadlocks? An alien life form suctioned onto his head!?

Overall: I want my 20 minutes back. Might pick up the sequel if I’m in a nasty mood.

[Andrew Ives · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this amongst a bunch of other books, so while this wasn't necessarily a genre I'd go for, having recently read a wonderful Manga version of Hamlet, I thought I'd give this a whirl too. This starts off with very little dialogue and lots of pictures. It's b&w throughout and the artwork is pretty decent too, even if, as always with Manga, I find it difficult to tell characters apart in certain panels. Story-wise, it's kind of reminiscent of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, only with faeries in the desert. Hmm. I didn't really understand what it was about to be honest, but it was quite brisk, easy-going, fairly pleasant to look at and I wouldn't mind reading #2 if it came my way. The 10-page text story at the back about Hounds made very little sense to me at all, so I'd rather skip that. All in all, 3.75/5 for the art, 2/5 for the story, so about 3/5.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Review written as a teen around 2009/10 - probably not how I'd feel about this book if I read it now!

This is the first manga/graphic novel that I have read. I love Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely series, and I think you definitely need to have read Wicked Lovely for this book to make any sense at all. The story felt really rushed, and I felt that another fifty or so pages needed to be added in to show the relationship development between Rika and Jayce. The dialogue felt forced and there wasn't much of a plot, but I guess the pictures were pretty. Maybe graphic novels just aren't my thing..."

[Katie Kaste · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rika loves being alone. She is now a Solitary fae living in the dessert trying to survive with the other Solitary fae. She loves to invisibly hang out with Jayce, an artist who comes out to draw. This was a great beginning to the Dessert Tales. I love the Wicked Lovely series. I am finally getting to one of my last books in the series. I really enjoyed the art style, the manga style really added to the sharp edges. It showed how different the fairies are from people. I can’t wait to continue reading these.

[Eleni · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m interested in Rika’s character and her past with Keenan. Also Keenan still sucks. I keep waiting for him to stop sucking in this series and he just doesn’t. He always sucks. I’m a little confused as to what’s going on in the story and who this Sionachh guy is but I’m sure we will see in the next one.

[Debby Tiner · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the novelization of this a few years ago, so now I’m reading this version. I like it, but I’m not sure if it makes sense as a standalone. Having forgotten much of the rest of the series, it was hard for me to untangle what was going on at times, and I wonder what someone new to the series would think.

Favorite character: Shy. Such a trickster, but seems well-intentioned

[Jamie Lerner · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love this book. I remember reading the full book as a teen in high school and I can't wait to read it again. The art work is also very good in this and matches my idea of what I thought the characters would look like.

[Henry Acuña · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is an interesting beginning to the whole story. I hope it gets better in the second volumen, because what we have so far is a fairy-human love story with emotive scenes, but a love story at the end. I loved the drawings similar to the Japanesse ones. At the end, I liked this story.

[Alexandra Beatriz · Rating 5 out of 5]

such a cute short story!

[Ria · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read this one a few times already, it's quite good

[Mckoylyn Dillon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the romance!!!

[Bre · Rating 2 out of 5]

i felt angry just by reading this comic, the artsyle really reminds me of bleach tbh

[Jes ♡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

23:29
Quick read

[Nerski · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first in Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely spin-off Desert Tales, focusing on Rika one of the former Winter Girls mentioned by Donia a few times in Wicked Lovely

So, to start: if you haven't read at least Wicked Lovely you are probably going to be a little lost regarding the court systems, Rika's backstory and her complicated relationship with Keenan and mortality.

Assuming you've read the firts book, here goes: Rika is a pretty good lead heroine; she's definately tough and holds her own in a fight, and is even capable of being pretty viscious to other faeries; I liked that she didn't have to stand back and wait for rescue or struggle with harming the faeries threatening mortals she cared about. It was like 'you've been bad' WHAM. No lingering guilt that usually seems to follow female characters like an unhappy cloud and completely miss the males.

While I'm not a fan of insta-love I think it works here. Rika has been watching artist Jayce for a while, and is drawn to his art, his sensitivity, his adventurous spirit. When they meet for real she's already pretty much in love with him. On his part, Rika is a faery, captivating; a mysterious beautiful girl who disappears into the desert. And he's seventeen. That's pretty much a standard recipie for supernatural love at that age; I would've for sure.

Another really interesting character was Sionnach, a faery friend of Rika's. He's got his own agenda but seems to be willing to try to help along Rika's happiness. He provokes the desert fae Maili and her gang to attack Jayce in order to keep forcing Rika and him together (denying all knowledge of this of course) and nobly offers to hold them off so they can escape together. Sion's pretty interesting, I'm curious as to where his machinations are heading.

Finally, there's Keenan. For centuries he was the bound King of Summer; unable to reach his full power without finding his Queen. Rika was one of many mortals whom he thought may be her; but when she took the test and touched the staff that would determine her fate she ended up as a slave to the Winter Queen instead, only released until the next girl takes the test. After so long she still cannot forget the horror of carrying winter's chill within her and this is why she's chosen to live in the desert. Now Keenan is back and unbound wanting her to swear fealty to his court; and Rika's scared as to what's really going on, and wants him to get lost and leave her alone. I'm also curious to see what else is going to happen with the two of them in Volume 2.

The artwork is very nicely done; I liked the four main characters best of course. Keenan's arrogance is perfectly captured, Rika is a suitably mysterious beauty, Sion is sharply adorable and Jayce looks artsy and athletic, the kind of guy I'd love to meet in real life. I love his hair especially. The setting was beautiful, I had the urge to go outside and explore a desert of my own (sadly my own location is a winter wonderland this time of year haha).

Overall, very good manga. Interesting and well-paced and enticing to look for volume 2.

[Cyna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank God for Melissa Marr, seriously. In an ocean full of been there-done that - or, as our friend Gwen would say, "Same Shit, Different Author" - Marr's stories have formed an oasis of sorts for us. They're beautiful, tragic, unique, and captivating - Wicked Lovely is one of the best contemporary series out there, not to mention one of our favorites. Which is why we were so very EXCITE to find out that Marr had done a Wicked Lovely manga.

Well, that and because manga is AWESOME.

The best part is that, where a lot of other YA authors have had their stores adapted into graphic novel format, Marr has gone the extra mile here and penned a whole new tale set in the Wicked Lovely universe for her manga. So not only do we get to see some of our favorite characters in action, but we don't have to read the same story over again to do so. We get some new mythology, new characters, and new developments, in addition to a gorgeous rendition of the world we've come to enjoy so much.

Desert Tales is the story of Rika, a former Winter Girl who has fled to the desert to escape the memories of her years carrying the winter chill. When the story opens, she's been in seclusion for somewhere around a century, from both the faery world and the mortal. She has no court, few friends, and has lately taken up "spending time with" a human named Jayce. Which is to say, when he comes out to the desert to sketch, she paints nearby in invisi-faery mode she he can't see her.

The first volume is mostly set-up, obviously. It establishes the characters and their relationships, but the plot is mostly concerned with the development of Jayce and Rika's. We see their meeting, their disastrous "first date", and the events that lead to Rika revealing her true nature. It closes on the two of them admitting their mutual attraction for one another, and I have to admit, I thought that might be it. That Desert Tales might be all about the romance between a faery and her mortal lover, which is okay I guess, but, well, I was hoping for more from Marr.

Oh, ye of little faith...

Read more at You're Killing.Us

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Marr books always make me feel old, just because the kids in the stories feel more like real kids than most books. Add manga and I'm a bit lost. I like the story so far. The main characters are sympathetic. Rika is a former winter girl, if I remember the mythology correctly, which lends her a lot of sympathy for readers of the Wicked Lovely series. Those girls really have been through a lot. Jayce is an adorable human boy (although the manga often makes him look like a girl with odd ropey hair). And there's a mysterious faerie named Sionnach who may or may not be a good guy. I just have a hard time following graphic novels in general, and manga even more. Some of the conventions are so odd too. The characters look so different, sometimes in frames on the same page, that I occasionally can't even tell who's speaking. And they change from beautiful pictures with expressive eyes to, well, cartoonish sketches with dots for eyes. Plus did I mention that the boys often look like really pretty girls? I know, I'm old. I'm aware.

Anyway, followers of the novels will probably enjoy it. It seems pretty confusing for people who don't know the basic story set-up, but maybe people who like this format wouldn't be as confused as I was. The original price of $10 seems steep, but I got it on sale for $2 and it was certainly worth that and more. Plus I will probably donate it to my library since the wait time of 3 months (without it coming yet) indicates that they need it, so I got quite the bargain.

[Krys · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.bibliopunkkreads.com

[Suzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a HUGE fan of Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely books and usually devour any little scrap I can get my hands on. I had put off reading these graphic novel due to bad reviews but now with the series completed I had been going through withdrawl! Unfortunately I can see why people were disappointed with the spin off. I thought it was a great idea and I'm all about exploring the WL world in every aspect but these graphic novels seem rushed. Maybe they were pushing to get them out too fast because the storyline is lacking and fans are going to be disapointed in the artwork. Keenan who is one of the main characters in the books has long hair and peirced ears in the graphic novels and he definitely did not in the books. Minor details I suppose to some, but one of the things I love most about Melissa Marr's writing is how she creates a picture! Her writing is so descriptive and she is so good at creating interesting characters. Of course we all picture different things in our heads when we read books and we are all disappointed when they don't match our own view! But something like this just shows how there must not been a lot of effort put into these except to rush them out. Not to mention the storyline is super cheesy. I want depth and details and background about Rika and the desert that she lives in and while there is some, there is only so much information they could put into these short graphic novels.

[Sonia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Non sono una gran lettrice di fumetti, manga o graphic novels, o meglio non lo sono più.
Un tempo impazzivo per le storie disegnate, parlanti attraverso nuvolette, ma che erano in grado di raccontare un mondo attraverso le immagini, semplicemente attraverso espressioni facciali.
Ritrovarmi di fronte ad una narrazione del genere mi ha un po' spaesata, un po' confusa.
Ero pronta a tornare a quel tipo di racconto, a vivere la storia in maniera diversa... ma l'incanto non è scattato.
Non ne faccio una colpa ai Racconti del deserto in quanto tali, ma al mio approccio verso di essi.
Mi aspettavo qualcosa di più appassionante, più lungo, da potermi godere in un tempo che superasse i dieci minuti. E invece le pagine si girano velocemente e sembra quasi che non accada nulla, se non piccole situazioni...
Ho capito, e a malincuore accettato, che trovandoci di fronte ad un inizio di saga, I racconti del deserto si incentrano sulla presentazione dei personaggi, senza approfondire troppo passato, presente, ed eventuali futuri degli stessi.
Ho capito che non era la storia la protagonista ma le immagini, e l'ho sfogliato una seconda volta, immergendomi in esse.
Il pregio è di aver instillato in me la curiosità verso i romanzi di Melissa Marr, che finora non avevo ancora affrontato ma che a questo punto ben presto farò. :)

anche qui
http://cuoredinchiostro.blogspot.com/...

[Karin · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was such a treat to get this graphic novel and realize it was a completely different story within the WICKED LOVELY world. Keenan makes a brief appearance, but other than that the reader is introduced to totally new characters.

Rika lives in the isolation of the desert. She maintains invisibility around humans in order to observe them. She misses her humanity and feels some animosity toward Keenan for turning her into a faery when she attempted to become his Summer Queen. Rika wasn't THE ONE and instead had to take on the chill of the Winter Queen until another girl came along and took her place. Rika didn't want to be around Keenan after she became a regular faery because of the painful memories attached to him, so she made her home in the desert far away from the Faery Court.

Lately she has been observing Jayce, an artistic and handsome young man. When some mischievious faeries cause Jayce to fall during rock climbing, Rika must become visible in order to save him.

As Rika and Jayce get to know each other, they are pursued by other faeries and Jayce is put in danger. It seems that Rika is being manipulated by someone she trusts.

The reader will definitely be anxious to read the next installment in this graphic novel series. Melissa Marr has given us all new characters to fall in love with. Thank you Melissa.

[Krystl Louwagie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a short, quick read that left me feeling basically still confused and like I had just seen a preview for the real story. The art was pretty, but conventional and without a lot of feeling or anything unique. It's based off of a young adult novel series I believe, and those might be better. I feel like when manga or comics are made from a book or movie, they're usually just cheap in comparison to the original and unnecessary. However, I am guilty of having fun with the Artemis Fowl and Ender graphic novels, so I shouldn't really complain about it much (and I do want to read the Anita Blake graphic novels as well).

Anyways, there was a lot of back story here that made it feel confusing-there didn't seem to be much introduction to characters they were just all there, and it made it difficult to keep them all straight, especially what their possible goals or motivations might be. In general, it's a story about very good looking faeries and people. Oh, and the main girl character flirts with, or has history with, about 4 guys in the span of this short, short, manga. If the novels are (it's possible, there is potential there), then these feel like a convoluted, watered down version. I bought it for a dollar at the Dollar Tree, and now I think I'm going to post it on paperbackswap.

[Allyson · Rating 4 out of 5]

i would actualy give this book 3 1/2 stars cause (a)traditionaly mangas start from right to left, so thats considered readding backwards for us, and thats how i read mangas!! thats how they are supposed to be read!!!but beacause its a western influenced book the story is flipped and it really annoys me. the second reason (b) is mostly it was way to short mangas usually have another 30-40 more pages, the lack of keeping japanese culture alive in western influenced books makes me sad =(. anothe reason is (c)things happened a bit to fast and didnt really make sense, so i got a bit confussed (but thats also due to be reading right to left when i turn the page insted of left to right). but besides all that it wassnt bad and left with an interesting ennding. i dont beleive that theres such thing as a bad book, just that people have diffrent interests an likes some people like BIG FONT and others would rather spend money on a book with more words... im one of those people.
All that side it wasnt bad, infact i would say it was more good than bad, and dont forget Milissa Marr didnt draw the pictures!!

[Larissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

It has been a long time since Rika has been human, mortal, but now as a faery Rika has chosen a life away from the cities, and not just because the iron and steel makes her sick. Rika has found a home for herself out in the desert, a sanctuary quite literally in the middle of nowhere. Rika has wanted to escape the politics of the Faerie Courts, but even out here as a solitary faery she can not escape her past.

Jayce lives out in the desert, spending his days unknowingly in Rika's company. While he draws the desert she paints him. Invisible to all but the other fay, Rika has come to love her time with Jayce, even if he doesn't know she exists. But when the desert fay becomes restless and hostile Rika will risk her freedom and her visibility to save him and her heart.

Sanctuary, the first in a three part adaptation into a graphic novel, is drawn expertly and beautifully portraying the depth of Rika's emotions and rapidly changing circumstances. As her quiet life is shattered and unexpectedly invaded, albeit happily, by the artistic and good looking Jayce, Rika will soon have much to worry about. But in the mean time she can find sanctuary in the arms of the one she loves.

[Nightshade · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first of three manga in the Desert Tales series which are an offshoot of Marr’s Wicked Lovely series. Having just read Ink Exchange I was interested to learn a bit more about this universe and the faeries and could not resist a manga version.
The drawings in this manga are slightly simplistic, but this adds to the style rather than detracts from it. I love the way that they are drawn, even if it can get a tad confusing at times as to who is who and what’s happening. This is just a general point about the plot as well. I don’t think that these manga could be easily read as standalone books as there is no world building within them, meaning it would be very confusing for someone coming to Marr’s universe for the first time.
I like Rika’s character and the way that she lives alone in the desert, refusing to belong to any of the faerie courts. I like the fact that she was one of Keenan’s girls who tried to become his queen and failed. Jayce also seems like an interesting person, but their romance happens way too fast and I do not like the way that Sionnach is meddling.
Overall this manga was a fun little read (it only took me about 30 mins to finish).

[Yuko86 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ho appena finito di leggere questo volumetto e devo ammettere di non esserne completamente soddisfatta. Il tratto è molto bello e i personaggi sono molto ben disegnati, su questo nulla da eccepire, ma è la storia a non avermi convinto.

Rika è una ragazza d’inverno che ora si ritrova a vivere nel deserto, lontana da tutto, in pace. Un ragazzo che passa spesso da quelle parti ha colpito la sua attenzione ma lei è un essere fatato e invisibile, non ha alcuna speranza, e poi non vuole fargli del male. Ma una serie di eventi, la porterà proprio in contatto con lui. Chiamiamoli generalmente eventi, anche se in realtà c’è qualcuno che ci mette le zampette. Fa inoltre una comparsata pure Keenan, spocchioso come al solito.

Il volumetto si legge in cinque minuti ma alla fine rimane ben poco: quello che ci viene narrato si può riassumere in pochissime parole, troppo pochi i fatti, e oltretutto talvolta un po’ confusionari. Ci sta che, essendo un volume iniziale, introduttivo, la Marr abbia voluto svelare poco, ma così è davvero troppo poco! Spero in un miglioramento nei prossimi volumi!