Review: Torn by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Torn

Jennifer L. Armentrout

(A Wicked Trilogy #2)

Publication Date: July 19, 2016

Paperback, 360 pages

Genres: New Adult, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy

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Torn between duty and survival, nothing can be the same.

Everything Ivy Morgan thought she knew has been turned on its head. After being betrayed and then nearly killed by the Prince of the Fae, she’s left bruised and devastated—and with an earth-shattering secret that she must keep at all costs. And if the Order finds out her secret, they’ll kill her.

Then there’s Ren Owens, the sexy, tattooed Elite member of the Order who has been sharing Ivy’s bed and claiming her heart. Their chemistry is smoking hot, but Ivy knows that Ren has always valued his duty to the Order above all else—he could never touch her if he knew the truth. That is, if he let her live at all. Yet how can she live with herself if she lies to him?

But as the Fae Prince begins to close in, intent on permanently opening the gates to the Otherworld, Ivy is running out of options. If she doesn’t figure out who she can trust—and fast—it’s not only her heart that will be torn apart, but civilization itself.

My Review

I put off reading this book for so very long, and I truly don’t know why. JLA knows how to write urban fantasy, whether new adult or young adult. The worlds she creates are always unique, and the romances are always fascinating. Also, this review contains MINOR SPOILERS, so read at your own risk.

For this series in particular, I read the first book when it was released, but the sequels got lost in the kerfuffle of all the book releases. I can’t believe I forgot how much I adored Ren, Tink, and Ivy, though. They’re such a fun bunch. However, in this addition to the trilogy, things are a little more serious. The Fae Prince is on the loose, and Ivy has secrets to uncover.

Unfortunately, this book wasn’t my favorite of the trilogy. Torn had that trope of the female protagonist being captured, which has become a “thing” for YA and semi-new adult books like Sarah J. Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses and Throne of Glass as well as Victoria Aveyard’s Red Queen series. It’s just kind of slow and sloggy during those scenes, when you’d rather have some action, or, in my case, more Ivy + Ren scenes.

JLA did a great job of creating a world where you aren’t sure which side is good and which is bad, and you can definitely feel Ivy’s pain when it comes to figuring out what the heck is going on. And even though this middle book wasn’t my favorite in the trilogy, it was still the one I devoured the fastest. I just had to know what was going to happen next.

All in all, JLA does it once again. She’s given us a paranormal series that has it all: good romance, a conflicted heroine, tiny creatures, and attractive bad guys. A definite must-read if any of those things interest you.

*Note: I purchased a copy of this book myself. This in no way affected my opinion/review.