Wicked: Volume 1 (A Wicked Trilogy)

Wicked is another fantastic fantasy read from writing power-house Jennifer L. Armentrout. I am seriously in awe of her talent. How on Earth does she write so many great books so quickly? She said recently that she's released 30 books in 3 years. I only discovered her a few months back, and I've already read 22 of those 30 and the rest are on my Kindle, along with pre-orders of the books due out this year. I devour everything she reads, and it's becoming a major problem as it's taking over my life. Ha ha. So just to put it out there at the start of this review, I have a major JLA addiction and the woman can barely put a foot wrong in my book. Onto Wicked, I loved it :) Ivy is great, fiesty yet vulnerable, like-able if a bit prickly. My favorite kind of protagonist. Ren is charming as the male lead, though he reminded me a little of Aiden St. Delphi in that he's mature and takes his responsibilities seriously, but has a funny side too. And he's massively caring and protective of Ivy which is aahh,swoon. But Tink is my favorite character from this book. He's hilarious, and the banter between him and Ren at the end is priceless. He's got Ivy's back too, and you know there is more of an agenda there than he's let on. Hopefully we'll find out more when Torn is released in the summer. I love Jennifer's inimitable writing style and this book is up there with the best of her best. Pacing is great, and I was hooked from the start. The plot was predictable in places, but I still really enjoyed it. The whole thing with Val and what Ivy is - totally guessed it, even with the bum steer. Also where were the Elite with this big threat hanging over New Orleans? Surely they would have sent in the cavalry? The other thing that didn't make sense to me was how David and Ren were both suspicious of Val (you could tell) yet they assigned her to room that held the gateway? Again, didn't add up. JLA loves her cliff-hangar endings, and so do I. This was isn't a total killer but I'm still dying for the next book. Ivy is facing a real dilemma and I'm intrigued to see what she does. She can't tell Ren, not that he would turn her in, but she'd involve him in it if she confided in him. Yet she can't run either, as then they will all be hunting her. So she's kind-of damned if she does, and damned if she doesn't. If you're a fan of JLA, or of new adult fantasy in general then you should pick up a copy of this book. You won't be disappointed.

I read Wicked back in December when it was released, but I totally forgot to write any notes to write a review for it so I figured I should probably re-read it (Also, it's an Armentrout book so obviously I'd be re-reading it). Ivy Morgan is a college student by day and a faerie hunter by night. She's part of The Order which is a group that has dedicated their lives to protecting people from the faeries and sending them back where they belong. One night, Ivy stumbles across a faerie she can't kill and realises that something huge is going on. Enter Ren Owens. Ren knows more than he's letting on and Ivy is determined to crack him. Ivy is a kick ass female lead. She's knows how to fight and she doesn't let anyone push her around. She's stubborn and stands her ground. She's also absolutely hilarious and completely loves food, which made her even more awesome. Ren is a very mysterious character. He's hot, snarky, broody and charming. I couldn't help but love him. He's got a lot of secrets and knows more about what's happening than he lets on. So Wicked revolves around the fact that their are Ancient fae's wandering around in New Orleans when they should have been locked back in their own world. Something huge is going on since more than one Ancient has been spotted and hundreds of fae have been making their way towards New Orleans. Ivy is the only one that spots what's going on, but no one believes her - until Ren shows up. And it turns out the fae are going to try to open the hidden doors that keep them locked out from Earth. I adored everything about the story line of Wicked. I loved the setting - New Orleans is perfect for creepy supernatural going on's and reading about Ivy and Ren wandering about in New Orleans made me even more desperate to visit - I'm dying to try some beignets! Tink was probably my favourite character in the book, he was just so hilarious! He had me laughing my ass off most of the time and I don't think the book would have been the same without him. I also really liked Val. She came across as a bit of a flake, but her and Ivy were extremely close. Ivy and Ren had some super hot chemistry. Ivy was determined to fight her attraction to Ren until a very hot scene between them in club showed Ren how Ivy really felt about him, But even then. Ivy still fought her attraction due to a mistake she made when she was younger that led to something horrific happening. But Ivy and Ren were fantastic together. The ending was full of action. The fight scenes were fantastic and I loved seeing Ivy get all bad ass, but then THE BETRAYAL! I never saw that coming and I was completely sidelined by that twist. And then at the very end Ivy discovered something about herself that I'd worked out half the book ago, but w/e, at least I knew I was right and it'll definitely make book two interesting! Overall, Wicked was a fantastic New Adult paranormal read. I love that there's a bit more variety in NA appearing now and I'm hoping for some more paranormal! I'd definitely recommend Wicked if you love some paranormal and don't mind more mature romance.

Oh. My. Freaking. Fae! There are literally no words to describe the feelings that I have right now about this phenomenal book. As soon as I heard about Wicked I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. New Adult Paranormal... erm YES! Written by the one and only Jennifer Freaking Armentrout. OH MY GAAAAWWWWWDDDD GIVE IT TO ME NOOOOOWWWW! It's not a surprise to anyone that JLA is my one and only soulmate author. Yes that's totally a thing! I will read anything and everything she writes. She could write a freaking TV manual or a telephone directory and I'd one-click the hell out of it. When I opened my post to find an exclusive ARC of Wicked. I screamed, cried, jumped up and down and then squealed some more. Wicked is without a doubt one of the best books I have ever read and possibly the best book I have read this year! I have been head over heels in love with Jennifer L Armentrout's work since her debut back in 2011. I have devoured and loved everything that she has wrote and Wicked is no exception. Right from the very first page I was hooked into this amazing new world. Jennifer's outstandingly perfect writing style sucked me straight in and wouldn't let my attention go until I had devoured it all. Even the very short break I had from this book while walking my dog all I could think about was Wicked and what was going to happen. Jennifer L Armentrout is the queen of all literature seriously. She is the best and we all need to bow down to the Queen. Wicked involved the very awesome creatures of The Fae. I have read many fae series and some I've loved and some I've not so loved but naturally with anything JLA I loved this one. Jennifer's take on the Fae is very different to everything that I have read involving them in the past. We still hear about the basic fae tales so having summer and winter and things like that but she has changed it completely. Add in The Order and The Elite and Wicked is packed full of secrets, surprises and twists that will keep you guessing all the way throughout the book. Ivy is one of the most awesome female leads in a NA series I've ever come across. I find a lot of NA heroine's have had a really traumatic past and they let that bleed into the way they act. Not Ivy. She is totally kick-ass and looks out for herself and I love that about her. She is just what we need in NA books. Enter Ren, the super swoony and beautiful ad badass and HAWT and smexy male lead. I fell head over heels in love with him. I adore him (Not as much as Aiden though, please peeps nobody beats Aiden). He is so wonderfully awesome and I cannot wait to see more of him in Book 2. Wicked was everything I could have imagined and wanted and more. It was absolute perfection wrapped up in a beautifully written and expertly developed world. I loved every single moment of it. Jen kept me guessing right until the very end wondering what could possibly happen next. Wicked is filled with heart melting romance, kick-ass characters and edge-of-the-seat action. I couldn't put it down and the ending, oh my god the ending. It has completely left me stunned, speechless and begging for more. Summer 2015 cannot come fast enough so I can get my hands on Torn, the second installment of the Wicked Trilogy. I need more like right now. Wicked is not one to miss out on. You need to go pre-order this one right now. Utter perfection!

The story for this book was pure Armentrout, it was gripping, fast paced and kept you interested and engaged at every turn. The reason for the 3 stars (which I hated given BTW as I'm a huge fan of the author) was I couldn't help but feel like she was "phoning it in", it just felt slightly lazy with all the name dropping and quotes she had borrowed from films, shows and books to provide the laughs for her. I just felt like she was going through the motions and not investing herself completely which is just not like her usual writing style. Despite this, the main and secondary characters were great, with fantastic chemistry and banter and I did really quite enjoy the book. I will now read the second book in the series (Torn) in the hope that Jennifer was just having an off day and will be back to her usual awesome self

This was one of the first books I read by Jen, and due to many reasons, I never continued the series. So I decided to start again and I was not disappointed. Wicked is the first in a trilogy and we are introduced to Ivy, who, despite her arguments, is a kick ass real-life version of Merida. She is a girl not to be messed with! I loved her character from the start. She is strong, brave and beautiful. She has a great sense of humour, but has a wall up and is scared to let people in - with good reason. Jen has written a great MC and she is relatable, despite being a supernatural/paranormal story. Ivy's background, and her reasons for having the wall are something that readers can relate to. Ren is the main male character and although he can be very annoying at times, he is a great asset to the story and he helps Ivy bring down her walls. Besides Ren, we are introduced to the little brownie character Tink, who is adorable in so many ways and has you laughing throughout the book. The ending was intense and I found myself needing to know what happens. It was definitely not an ending that I expected and I am looking forward to reading the next book, Torn, and find out what the hell happens next.

So what i liked about this was Tink. he was a funny little addition and worked well throught this series of books. He was in fact a best character. Ivy found him all broken and almost dead and she patched him up rather than kill him, as she would have been expected to do by the Order. Ivy was scatty, well her hair was and in fact there wasnt anythng amazing about her in personality that attracted me as a reader and her hair and way she looked also wasnt something that drew me but she was the girl in this series. I grew to like her more and I did like Ren. Often times the men are created as super good sexually aware and understanding exactly what women want and need... Not heard a lot of women backing that up in reality so maybe men need to read these books more than women.. suggested tongue in cheek but I really do think they could do with reading Jennifers books... could certainly learn a lot. The story was good and I guessed quite a bit of it early on but that didnt take the pleasure away from it as i still enjoyed it a lot. I won't go through the plot but the first book was more setting the scene and thats okay. things happened but more how Ivy felt, as she didnt feel included as she was a orphan and her adopted parents were also killed so she was alone and had to become fast, smart and pushy to survive. I could see why she was like she was and it was understandable. Good book

Summer of 2015 for book 2?!? How can I survive until then without answers?! I haven't read a paranormal book in a long time, but having previously read (and loved) some of Jennifer's other books I decided to give Wicked a go and I don't regret it at all! Ivy is such a relatable character and Ren, he's just the perfect guy. Their connection felt so real and although they hadn't known each other for too long, if didn't feel rushed at all. I often find with paranormal books that they are so complicated to follow as if the author has tried to cram in as much information as possible (which is probably why I've stayed away from them recently!) and in no way was this book simple but there was just the right amount of information for me to not get confused! Also such a great balance between the action type stuff and the romance. SPOILER ALERT (not really but kind of?) The secondary characters were good too and the ending, well I had an inkling in the back of my mind and unfortunately I was right!! I can't wait to see how the news changes Ivy and her relationship with the order but mostly her relationship with Ren! I could probably write on and on about this book but I'll finish up here. If you are in doubt about whether to read Wicked-don't be!!

Jennifer Armenrout yet again does it again!! I pre-ordered this book months ago,I love this authors work so much. Being a huge fan of Jennifer's YA paranormal and fantasy books and a huge fan of New Adult fiction i was so excited when I heard she was writing a paranormal/fantasy new adult series. This book did not disappoint. I love Ivy she is a brilliant character, Funny, witty and strong. It is easy to relate to Ivy. Ren is awesome, Hot funny arrogant but in a loveable way. Is easy to see how he melts down ivy's defences. I LOVE LOVE TINK he is like the new Doby hahaha. I dont want to say too much about this book without giving spoilers but I will say Fae books are not my usual thing, its the genre I tend to stay clear of as I am always disappointed and never enjoy them or can't finish them. But this book I Love and I cant wait for the next in the series. (less)