{"id":26931,"date":"2017-10-30T05:46:18","date_gmt":"2017-10-30T09:46:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=26931"},"modified":"2017-10-30T05:46:18","modified_gmt":"2017-10-30T09:46:18","slug":"review-wicked-the-wicked-saga-1-by-jennifer-l-armentrout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=26931","title":{"rendered":"Review: Wicked (The Wicked Saga, #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout"},"content":{"rendered":"

Buy: Amazon<\/a>\u00a0| Paperback<\/a> | <\/strong>Audio<\/strong><\/a><\/h4>\n
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\r\n <\/div><\/div><\/b><\/p>\n
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Review<\/b><\/h4>\n

4 stars<\/b><\/p>\n

I really enjoyed this book. An intriguing and romantic urban fantasy, it has that special touch of sarcasm and humour that is all JLA that I absolutely love, and that give this book a special edge to make it a really great read.<\/p>\n

Ivy is a 22 year old living in New Orleans. By day she appears to be a normal, if somewhat shy and quiet, college student, but by night she works for the Order, a secret organisation whose job is the hunt the fae \u2013 creatures who seem just like everybody else but who prey and \u2018feed\u2019 on unsuspecting humans. She has grown up with the danger of the Order as a part of her life, and the fae have been responsible for the death of her parents as a child, and then her adoptive parents and her first love only four years previously, and since then she has lived her life in a state of grief, struggling to move forward.<\/p>\n

We lived with death and we knew it waited for each and every one of us. We were taught not to fear the inevitable, but again, what we were never taught was how to live on when those around us left. <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And then one day, Ren Owens appears. A member of the Order from out of state, he is in town to help with the never-ending hunt for fae and, Ivy soon learns, the increased threat of a dangerous and mythical \u2018Ancient\u2019 who she has already encountered. Ren is tall, cocky and gorgeous, and his infinite charm soon awakens feelings in Ivy that she\u2019s not felt for years. She tries to avoid him, but when they are partnered to work together, the fireworks begin.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you hitting on me?\u201d Shocked, I shook my head. \u201cAre you for real?\u201d
\n\u201cMy momma probably thinks I’m real.\u201d
\nI ignored that. \u201cWhile I have a stake at your throat?\u201d
\n\u201cYou’re also sitting on me, and sweetness, if you slide about an inch or so down, things are going to get real awkward.\u201d
\nHoly shit.
\n\u201cOr fun,” he added, and his lips did that slow curl again, like he savored the whole process of smiling. \u201cI told you I found that move you made to be fucking hot. But I don’t think you’re going to be down for that.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I love Ren. In the grand tradition of JLA\u2019s paranormal heroes (Daemon, Seth, Roth), his over confidence and quick wit make him absolutely irresistible, and he makes it clear to Ivy in no uncertain terms that he wants her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn’t need your permission,” I spat back.
\nRen smirked. “Honey, I know what you need and you’re going to get it.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The romance is quick-moving, but as Ren points out \u2013 their life is dangerous and they need to live each moment to its fullest. Hence his determined pursuit of Ivy, a whole lot of fun and dirty flirting, snark, banter, and a whole lot of hotness. Their relationship builds really nicely, with a nice amount of emotion, and I loved watching them as they fall hard and find something special together..<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease. Don’t let me go.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But Ivy soon comes to learn that Ren\u2019s presence in town is more than just for hunting fae. His secrets will shake Ivy\u2019s world and reveal a danger that she never expected. And as Order members continue to fall and the door between worlds is under threat, a devastating betrayal will change everything.<\/p>\n

This is a really fun read. The big \u2018reveals\u2019 are predictable, and not the big twists they are probably meant to be, but the story follows a formula that JLA does really well and I enjoyed the way it all played out. It\u2019s the characters and their dynamics that lift this book from \u2018average\u2019 to \u2018really good\u2019, and the little hidden gems that keep this author on my auto-read list.<\/p>\n

Which leads me to Tink the brownie, because OMG he is freaking awesome! An absolute scene stealer, he had me laughing out loud so many times. Just picturing the little dude with Braveheart paint on his face and brandishing a frying pan still makes me giggle, and then, of course, there\u2019s moments like these\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s talk about sex.\u201d
\n\u201cNo.\u201d Rolling my eyes, I walked away.
\n\u201cSex is good!\u201d
\n\u201cShut up, Tink.\u201d
\n\u201cSex is fun!\u201d he continued to shout.
\nI shook my head. \u201cThe only thing you\u2019re having sex with is inanimate objects, so what do you know?\u201d
\nHe ignored me. \u201cSex is best when it\u2019s one on one!\u201d
\nStopping in the hall, I turned to where he was doing a pelvic thrust. \u201cIsn’t that a George Michael song?\u201d \u201cMaybe. but he was wrong. I like to think sex is best when it’s like three on three or something. Seems more adventurous.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

Grabbing a scarf off the chair, I threw it at him. He caught it, clutching it to his chest as he flew into the air.
\n\u201cYou gave Tink a scarf. Tink is free!\u201d He flew out into the hallway like a little cracked-out fairy, screeching, \u201cTink is freeeeee!\u201d
\nRen looked at me. \u201cWhat the actual fuck?\u201d
\nI sighed. \u201cHe’s obsessed with Harry Potter. I’m sorry.\u201d
\nTink darted back into the room, holding the scarf to his bare chest. \u201cThere is no reason to apologize when it comes to Harry Potter.\u201d
\n\u201cYou do remember what happened to Dobby, right?\u201d I said.
\n\u201cShit.\u201d Tink\u2019s eyes widened and he dropped the scarf.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It all ends on a nasty cliffhanger and given the timeframe between book releases, I have to say that I\u2019m happy I waited until now (when book #3 is imminent) to read this one. It\u2019s a strong start for what is sure to be a thrilling and fun trilogy, and I\u2019m excited to continue on.<\/p>\n

4 stars.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Wicked Saga<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"\"\u00a0\u00a0\"\"\u00a0\u00a0\"\"\u00a0 \"\"\u00a0\u00a0\"\" \u00a0\"\"<\/p>\n

Wicked (#1)<\/strong>
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy: Amazon<\/a>\u00a0 | \u00a0Paperback<\/a>\u00a0 | \u00a0Audio<\/a><\/p>\n

Torn (#2)
\n<\/strong>Review<\/a>
\nBuy: Amazon<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Audio<\/a><\/p>\n

Brave (#3)
\n<\/strong>Review<\/a>
\nBuy: Amazon<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback\u00a0<\/a> |\u00a0 Audio<\/a><\/p>\n

The Prince (A Wicked Novella) (#3.5)<\/strong>
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n

The King (A Wicked Novella) (#3.6)<\/strong>
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n

The Queen (A Wicked Novella) (#3.7)<\/strong>
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

For more great reads, check out our Jennifer L. Armentrout Author Spotlight<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Buy: Amazon\u00a0| Paperback | Audio Review 4 stars I really enjoyed this book. An intriguing and romantic urban fantasy, it has that special touch of sarcasm and humour that is all JLA that I absolutely […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9210,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","yasr_overall_rating":4,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"Product","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,10,9,29],"tags":[43,48,732],"class_list":["post-26931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-adult","category-paranormal","category-romance","category-steamy","tag-jennifer-l-armentrout","tag-review","tag-wicked"],"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":false,"span_bottom":false},"number_of_votes":0,"sum_votes":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Wicked.jpg?fit=150%2C230&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7gaNL-70n","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=26931"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26931\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9210"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=26931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=26931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=26931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}