I am a Dark Court girl. What could be better than a novella set entirely in and around the Dark Court, especially one that takes us all the way back to my favorite book in the series, revisiting events right at the close of Ink Exchange?

Now that I've exposed my inherent bias, let me address the actual novella: I think it's a great bridge as we wait for the final book, Darkest Mercy. Not only do you get a substantial novella (10 chapters), but you get a substantial cut of Darkest Mercy itself. I think there are as many as three chapters plus the prologue included. What could be better for $1.99? I read Darkest Mercy roughly six months ago, and it's been absolute torture knowing how the series ends but not being able to talk about it at all. The fact that Marr released a glimpse a little early was a nice release of pressure for me. Whew! Now I can talk a little and not be a spoiler.

As far as Old Habits, I thought it was a very balanced look into how Irial changed from the old Dark King of Ink Exchange into a character who could be so devoted to Leslie and Niall. It also helped me differentiate between what could appear as selfishishness, but what in reality was devotion to his Court. I liked seeing Niall develop into a ruler- the true King of Nightmares, as Marr puts it. What a lovely turn of phrase.

Leslie was conspicuously absent from this slim volume. Since she's the star of Stopping Time, this didn't bother me too much. Old Habits did help me figure out if there were any romantic entanglements betwen Iri and Niall. I've always wondered exactly what the deal is between the two of them, and, I suppose, factoring in Leslie, I have to say the three of them. Old Habits explores their relationship just as it begins to get back on solid ground. They aren't quite sure what to do with each other- they need each other, love each other, even, but do they trust each other? Or even like each other? Maybe not so much. So Old Habts is as much about taking those first excruciating steps towards putting the past behind them as it is about filling in the details of a very interesting point in the Wicked Lovely story arc. A worthy read!