Photo credits: Jeremy Bishop
Edited by Vaishali
Title: ‘Torn'
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout Series: (Wicked Trilogy #2) Genre: Urban Fantasy, New Adult, Fae, Paranormal romance Publisher: Jennifer L. Armentrout Year of Publication: 2016 Version: Paperback ISBN: 9780986447990
NOTE: For those who have yet to read the first book in the 'Wicked' trilogy, this review will contain spoilers!
Review
‘Every ounce of my being was dedicated to keeping my head above water, but with every passing minute, I drowned a little more.’
Ivy is in trouble. Terrible trouble. Staggering from the discovery of her own identity, Ivy does everything she can to hide her true heritage as the hunted halfling, for her own safety, the safety of the world and for Ren, the man who has won her love, but he is the same man whose duty it is to kill what Ivy is if he were to ever find out the biggest secret she has kept thus far…and it might just break this new bond they have forged. Though pondering the notion of ripping herself away from new-fangled love and her eternal duty, Ivy’s selfishness and desire for idealism forces her to stay, and she can’t leave, won’t leave, not when she has found what she wants.
‘This whole entire time I’d been petrified that he’d die on me like everyone else had. Never once had it crossed my mind that I’d lose him because I would have to walk away.’
Now that the ominous, heartless fae Prince, Drake, has entered this realm and he knows what Ivy is, he is resolute in his endeavour to open all gates into this world and organise this realm to fit into the palm of his hand. He has his forbidding and pitiless eyes set on Ivy, using trickery, treachery and awful means of manipulation to toy with Ivy in the ways of the cruel fae, enforcing control and taking Ivy’s away, waiting for the day when she will be his to impregnate, and set the apocalypse into motion.
“Once we figure out what’s happening, we’ll fight back. And yes, the fae have abilities we don’t, but we have a reason to fight no matter what.”
“And what reason is that?” “We value freedom above anything else.”
From the woes of a disgraceful friendship to the loyalties of a true one, Ivy is put through the ringer of ever-changing, and sharp-hitting emotion. She is a hardwired tangle of fragile and compulsive feelings, compounded by internal conflict and grabbed by the reins of overriding sentiments. Still recovering from a near death experience, and coping with the cutting infidelity of her best friend, hunting, and running, Ivy’s life only manifests further impediment with impossible secrets, disturbing tension, and hidden histories.
‘Repeating those words over and over, I slowly stitched myself back together, because I had to – because I wasn’t going to wake up and find myself safe. There were gaps in the stitches, gaping holes, but it was the best I could do. The only chance I had to get out of here with my life and sanity was by following my earlier plan while keeping it together. That was the only thing I could control now.'
The Icy coldness of the fae is spreading, merging and afflicting the mortal realm, and the fae are ready, and have been preparing for longer than the humans know. With a frenetic secret eating away at Ivy’s discipline and duty she realises that fantasy was always just a palliative consolation to soothe and curtain the irreversible when reality was always there, fracturing the façade of her wishes. And reality is here, forcing Ivy to bear its unfair strikes, and brave though she is… she is Torn. Fighting against her healthier - or not so healthier - judgment, Ivy can’t bring herself to solicit the wisest course of action, not when she doesn’t want to run anymore, and how can she walk away from the man who taught her to walk onward again?
“You’re Ivy Morgan.” He was breathing rapidly. “You’re this beautiful, wild, and brave woman. You’re incredibly loyal, and I don’t deserve your love, but I’ll take it. I’ll keep it close to me and I’ll never regret a damn second of doing so.”
I value themes such as friendship and loyalties, bonds, and ties that bind and ties that break, and I would have liked to see more female esteem as there was a fair amount of female hostility and antagonism in this book, but saying that there was also reason for that unfriendliness. Tink however, is a strong favourite of the Wicked trilogy , he is a lovably peculiar, a comical, choice friend, and though he is more than infuriatingly exasperating to Ren and Ivy, I absolutely love what he brings to the threesome, and the dimension he alone spins this book into! I love him! He offers flippancy and reprieve from Ivy’s troublesome dilemmas with his unsolicited advice, and often proves himself as more than he appears when Ivy suffers. He is a great representation of friendship when it really counts, even though this larger than life brownie has secrets up his own sleeve.
‘And those tears came from the dark, cold place inside me that his words, those three beautiful words, had begun to thaw and shine light upon.’
From questionable Order members, faces from Ren’s past, missing persons, and more death at the hands of the fae, Ivy’s identity plays havoc on her, and with secret forces other than the order managing the evil fae, Ivy and Ren are subjected to some of the worst the fae can offer, with only sacrifice saving each other from true detriment.
‘The hate building inside me burned brighter than a thousand suns, but even with that rage, I always, always, felt cold. With each passing day, it was like I was filling up on the inside with ice and shadows.'
Reaching into the disparity of friendship, the shades of deceit, the disputation of nuanced relationships and unconditional love, ‘Torn’ is incredibly eventful, if not for the substance of Ivy’s mind, then the action in the world outside of her. Torn feelings, Torn hearts and Torn duties, Ivy’s torment is ongoing, and Ren’s indecision is equivocal, and though Ivy has somewhat shouldered her past to this day, she doesn’t even know the truth of it.
‘I was a little torn, frayed around the edges, and it was going to be a long, bumpy road to being a hundred percent okay. And nothing was going to stop and wait for me to get there.'
I gave this book 4 stars -
Warning: Scenes of death, torture, captivity, attempted rape and forced intimacy.
My Rating System:
RSS Feed
★ - 1 star: I did not like the book ★★ - 2 stars: The book was okay ★★★ - 3 stars: It was a good, solid read ★★★★ - 4 stars: A great book ★★★★★ - 5: A phenomenal read
____________________________________
Related posts:
● 'Wicked' by Jennifer L. Armentrout
● 'Brave' by Jennifer L. Armentrout ____________________________________ CategoriesAll Leave a comment and lets talk about 'Torn'
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
VaishaliBorn in the UK Archives
February 2024
Categories
All
2019 Reading Challenge
Vaishali • [Vicarious Living] has
read 15 books toward
her goal of
30 books.
hide
2020 Reading Challenge
Vaishali • [Vicarious Living] has
read 1 book toward
her goal of
20 books.
hide
2021 Reading Challenge
Vaishali • [V.L. Book Reviews] has
read 1 book toward
her goal of
10 books.
hide
2022 Reading Challenge
Vaishali • [V.L. Book Reviews] has
read 0 books toward
her goal of
5 books.
hide
2023 Reading Challenge
Vaishali • [V.L. Book Reviews] has
read 0 books toward
her goal of
5 books.
hide
DisclaimerAll images of book covers on this site belong to the authors and publishers of the books.
|