I've read this author before and I have really enjoyed her work and these books were no exceptions. Although a little spicier than I had anticipated, the dynamic between Ivy and Ren was amazing. I've actually been to the majority of the places that were talked about in the book, which is based in New Orleans, so it was awesome being able to conjure up the images of each place in my mind as i went through the books.
Book #1 was Wicked. I was drawn almost immediately into the book and the world in which the author created. You found out right off the bat that Ivy was a strong female character and she had some baggage that she carried around with her and that weighed heavily on her. Ren's character was a little abrasive at the beginning of the book. I wasn't sure how I felt about him until about half way through the book. I thought he was kind of obnoxious and his attention towards Ivy at first was a little much. But as the book went on and the attraction between them grew he became sweet and less obnoxious. Or maybe he was still obnoxious and her attitude, having changed toward him, made me feel as if it was less.
I do have to say that plot-wise, I had figured a few things out by the middle of the book. These next few sentences will contain spoilers so if you have not read the book and do not want to have the book ruined for you please stop reading. I figured out who the member of the Order was that was feeding information to the Fae. Her friend Val was too flippant and was asking questions that I felt were way too obvious to just be a passing interest. I also had a sneaking suspicion that Ivy was the halfling even after Ren had assured her that she wasn't. Well, honestly, I thought either she was the halfling or that Val was the halfling. Val being the halfling could have made things move a little too fast though, because all she would have needed to do then was hook up with the Prince and get preggo and the world would have ended, but having Ivy be the halfling makes things more interesting I think because #1 her parents were supposedly deeply in love and that's why she was ruled out. #2 Ren has already had to watch one of his best friends die because it was found out that he was a halfling, so Ren's reaction when he finds out (and I'm assuming he does because Ivy has become super honest with him throughout the book thus far) is going to be very interesting.
Book #2 was Torn. So, in this book you see a bit of a change in Ivy. She goes from the bad ass fighter chick to almost timid when it comes to the Fae. She's having a major identity crisis in this book which is not helped by the coming of some of Ren's coworkers from the Elite and also not helped when Ren runs away from her when she tells him. The only person who really seems to stick with her is her housemate Tink, the brownie.
A few things that surprised me and some that didn't. The fact that Merle, the old crazy woman who is introduced in book number one, knows more about the Fae and who they really are is something that did not really surprise me. I had a feeling that she was going to become an important font of information. Another thing that didn't surprise me was Ivy ending up with the Prince. I figured that she would get kidnapped or something and have to stay with him in some capacity. What I didn't expect was the fact that she ended up with the Prince early on in the book. It wasn't until she traded herself for Ren that I was like, "oh, this is happening now." I was also expecting the Prince to somehow win out in the end. The way she reacted to him when he became Ren and fooled her made me think that maybe he was going to end up getting what he wanted.
Her identity crisis is going to make the third book really interesting, I think. Especially considering she was so abused by the Prince in many ways. But being surrounded by Fae who don't feed off humans and who understand her fight to stay away from the Prince will hopefully help. While I didn't hate this book I am hoping to see a comeback of the strong, kick-ass Ivy that was in the first book.
Book #3 was Brave This book was not the comeback I was hoping for. I expected the PTSD behavior from Ivy during the first part of the book. I was expecting Ren would be able to pull her out of it too, but he wasn't able to do so as quickly as I would have liked, I guess. I was really hoping for the old Ivy that we got in the first book a little more. She makes an appearance at the end (I mean, almost at the very end), but her bad ass self is why I picked up the first book to begin with. She was crazy in the first book and I guess I didn't really care for her character development.
A few things surprised me about this book. The first being Tink. He was always a favorite of mine, but he shows a side in this book that makes me love him even more. He has, up to this point, shown his fun and humorous side and maybe a little loyalty, but you don't really get how bad ass he is until this book. he does a few things to fight for Ivy and show how much he cares about her that make you melt into an ooey gooey puddle. The other thing that surprised me was the appearance of another Prince. So, the Prince that kidnaps Ivy in book 2 is the Winter Prince. The Prince that comes to help Ivy and her friends is the Summer Prince. But then surprise number three is that the Winter Prince isn't really the Winter Prince (gasp)! He is actually the older brother and King of the Summer Faeries! He's been kidnaped and controlled by the evil Queen Morgana the whole time.
While i didn't enjoy Ivy's character development, the other side characters did keep this book interesting for me. I also have to say that I like how open ended Armentrout left this book. Maybe someday in the future she will release a new series to tell us what happens next.
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