Wicked by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Wicked by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Series: A Wicked Saga #1
Publisher: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Publication Date: December 8th 2014
Source: Bought

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 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.