Review: Wicked (A Wicked Saga #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Series: A Wicked Saga

Pages: 371

Release date: 8^th December 2014

Amazon

Synopsis: (Goodreads)

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. 

Review: 3 ½ out of 5 stars

JLA is an auto-buy author for me and Wicked has been high on my wish-list for a while now and despite enjoying it overall, it wasn’t my favourite JLA book unfortunately.

Twenty-two year old Ivy Morgan is a fiery, snarky, kind-hearted member of the Order, located in New Orleans which is an organisation that protects humans from the Fae and other creatures from the Otherworld; her painful past and her losses has made her reluctant to get close to anyone so her sole focus now is on her studies and hunting the Fae.

Ren Owens (swoon) gives all of JLA’s book boys a run for their money and stole my heart with his charm, appeal and humour; Ivy was reluctant to let him past her closed off barriers but he worked his way slowly into her heart (and mine). He was a sweet love interest and was able to fight alongside Ivy in hunting the Fae but he too has a few secrets he is keeping.

The chemistry between Ivy and Ren was off the charts smexy! He was persistent and at times her stubbornness grated on my nerves, who wouldn’t want 6 foot 3 inches of hotness pursuing them but he eventually wore her down and the sweet, tender smexy moments that followed made it all worth it, you couldn’t help but hope for a HEA for them both.

Each of the side characters were great! Tink was hilarious, his sarcasm had me giggling and I think there’s more to this little Brownie than what we know for some reason, Val was loveable, JoAnn didn’t play a huge part but was great and Merle was interesting, I was intrigued by what had happened to her. The ‘bad’ guy and their betrayal was surprising. I would have liked more page time and information on the Ancients.

As a romance fan, I enjoyed that aspect and the interactions between them but their budding relationship seemed to be the focus and left the plot with holes that needed refining but overall for me it was still entertaining and Wicked was a nice start to the series.

The reason I didn’t rate this book 5 stars was because of its predictability not only with the characters but also the writing and the storyline, I was able to guess a few pretty big reveals early on in the book so the main element of surprise was missing for me, certain aspects were obvious but I am still quite keen to see how the outcome of these revelations will play out. The writing is trademark JLA but I’m finding the sayings are flowing over in each of her series as are the character similarities.

Overall, Wicked wasn’t my favourite JLA read but I still enjoyed it and I’m keen to read Torn.

  

About the author: # 1 New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Jennifer L. Armentrout Lives in West Virginia. 

All the rumors you heard about her state aren’t true. 

Well, mostly. When she's not hard at work writing, she spends her time, reading, working out, watching zombie movies, and pretending to write.

She is the author of the Covenant Series (Spencer Hill Press), the Lux Series (Entangled Teen), Don't Look Back (Disney/Hyperion) and a yet untitled novel (Disney/Hyperion), and new YA paranormal series with Harlequin Teen.

Jennifer also writes New Adult and Adult romance under the pen name J. Lynn. The Gamble Brothers Series (Tempting the Best Man/Tempting the Player) and Wait for You. Under her pen name, she is published with Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.