Monday, December 8, 2014

Wicked (A Wicked Saga, #1) by Jennifer L Armentrout ~ Review

Source:  Received a paperback ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Things are about to get Wicked in New Orleans.

Twenty-two year old Ivy Morgan isn’t your average college student. She, and others like her, know humans aren’t the only thing trolling the French Quarter for fun… and for food. Her duty to the Order is her life. After all, four years ago, she lost everything at the hands of the creatures she’d sworn to hunt, tearing her world and her heart apart.

Ren Owens is the last person Ivy expected to enter her rigidly controlled life. He’s six feet and three inches of temptation and swoon-inducing charm. With forest-green eyes and a smile that’s surely left a stream of broken hearts in its wake, he has an uncanny, almost unnatural ability to make her yearn for everything he has to offer. But letting him in is as dangerous as hunting the cold-blooded killers stalking the streets. Losing the boy she loved once before had nearly destroyed her, but the sparking tension that grows between them becomes impossible for Ivy to deny. Deep down, she wants… she needs more than what her duty demands of her, what her past has shaped for her.

But as Ivy grows closer to Ren, she realizes she’s not the only one carrying secrets that could shatter the frail bond between them. There’s something he’s not telling her, and one thing is for certain. She’s no longer sure what is more dangerous to her—the ancient beings threatening to take over the town or the man demanding to lay claim to her heart and her soul.









I adore JLA books and the biggest reason is her characters.  I adore Aiden from The Covenant series.  I came to love Seth as he finished that same series and spun-off to his own, Titans series.  Then there's Daemon from the Lux series.  He's in a league of his own.  But if you take all the things I love about each of these guys and combine them into one guy, you would have Ren from Wicked.


He is gorgeous.  He is snarky.  He is straight forward about his attraction to Ivy.  He is so sexy as he's always looking for the opportunity to whisper in Ivy's ear and kiss her neck.  He's mysterious but he's trustworthy.  He's patient with the struggle that Ivy has with a new relationship.  He's persistent and just doesn't give up.  He turns up in unexpected places and times.  He has this incredible vine tat that travels his right arm, over his shoulder and down his back.  And the meaning behind that tat had me loving him more.  His history has some pain but he's used that to make him better.  He lives in the moment and does his job.  


Of course Ren isn't the only character in this book.  Ivy is also strong and snarky.  I adore her too.  The pain in her past has shut down a whole part of her life.  She doesn't really know it but it's true.  She's determined to be more than just an order member.  She does her job but attends college too.  Guarded with who she gets to know, she's let in a couple friends but she resists Ren.  Good luck with that girl.  Did I mention he's persistent?  Yeah, he is.

Some interesting supporting characters make me happy and break my heart.  I adore Val and her fun personality.  She has an interesting sense of style and says it like it is.  I'm so very happy that JLA named her after me.  I also loved Merle.  She's a character too.  JoAnne was a great friend to Ivy.  Oh course, Tink is a trip.  Love him a bunch.  But some lying and choices that I can't understand has at least one of these characters breaking my heart.  I want to know what's up and I can't wait for Torn so I can understand. 

JLA's strong characters are always supported by interesting stories.  Fae have never really appealed to me.  But then JLA had never written about them.  I wondered when she decided to write about aliens and then gargoyles but I adore both series.   Don't expect to see Fae the way you've seen them before.  That's not this author's style.  She writes them as she sees them and that's always a unique blend of known lore and twists that can break your heart.  I did see one coming in this book but I so wanted to be wrong.  The book ends in a whole or many more appropriately under water.  I do trust this author to navigate a way out.  It's the wait that will be hard on me.

I love that there's comic relief and some serious sexy times that keeps this story so fun and yummy.  

Of course, I love the writing.  I just want to read her books straight through.  Nothing gives me pause or has me putting it down.  Usually, it's my life that does that.
This is a New Adult paranormal read.  If you enjoy JLA's other books, then this one is definitely for you.  If you love paranormal, then this is a great choice.  If you love sexy NA, then you should give this one a shot.  I'd recommend this book to anyone over 18 that loves a good book.




The Author...


# 1 NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY Bestselling author Jennifer Armentrout lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing. she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell, Loki.

Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen.

She also writes adult and New Adult romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins. 




https://www.facebook.com/JenniferLArmentrout https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4476934.Jennifer_L_Armentrout?from_search=truehttps://twitter.com/jlarmentrout http://www.jenniferarmentrout.com/

3 comments:

  1. I am deff going to read this one this weekend... i would start today but I don't want work to get in the way lol. I adore fae books and I just know that a JLA fae book is going to knock my socks off. Great review!

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  2. Awesome review. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

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  3. Urgh!! I need to get to this and soon I think! It really sounds fantastic! And JLA can write the crap out of everything she picks! Fab review!

    Naomi @ Nomi’s Paranormal Palace

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