Book Review: Brave (A Wicked Trilogy #3) by: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Release Date: December 11, 2017
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Source: I received a copy of this book and voluntarily provided a fair and honest review.

"Ivy Morgan hasn't been feeling like herself lately. Not like anyone can blame her. After all, being held captive by a psychotic fae prince hell-bent on permanently opening the gates to the Otherworld is bound to leave some mental scars.

It’s more than that, though. Something dark and insidious is spreading throughout Ivy, more powerful than she could ever imagine... and it’s coming between her and the man she’s fallen deeply in love with, elite Order member Ren Owens.

Ren would do anything to keep Ivy safe. Anything. But when he makes a life altering choice for her, the fallout of his act has far reaching consequences that threaten to tear their lives apart. If Ivy is going to have any hope of surviving this, she must put aside the hurt and betrayal she feels, and work with not only those she loves, but with an enemy she would rather kill than ever trust. War is coming, and it soon becomes clear that what Ivy and Ren thought they knew about the Order, themselves, and even their enemies, has been nothing but a cluster of dangerous, deadly lies. Ivy knows she must be more than just brave to save those she loves--and, ultimately, to save herself.

Because behind ever evil fae Prince, there’s a Queen…"

My Thoughts:

I had really high expectations going into Brave, and this book met every single one of those expectations. I have yet to read a JLA book I didn’t love, but I really think her writing truly shines in her paranormal/fantasy reads. She always balances the romance with the action and fantasy perfectly and keeps the readers engaged and on their toes. Brave delivered some twists and turns along the way that kept me turning pages.

I have to start with Ivy because I absolutely adore Ivy. And what I liked most about Ivy is that she dealt with everything she has been through realistically. She has to take time to process everything and really come to terms with the changes in her life, but because she is Ivy and so so strong she pushes through and comes out stronger on the other side. Ivy is determined and tough and doesn’t back down and I love her compassion and her sass. I love how in the middle of a fight she is still cracking jokes and being sarcastic. Simply put, she is a fun and relatable heroine and I love her.

Of course I also absolutely love Ren. He is probably one of my favorite JLA book boyfriends to date. He is funny and charming and willing to chase Ivy to the ends of the earth. What I love most though is Ivy and Ren’s dynamic together. They aren’t perfect and they have a lot to work through but their chemistry is insane and they work so well together. Both are willing to go to extreme lengths for one another and it is clear they are crazy about each other. They are both so strong, but together they make one another stronger and I love that.

Then we have Tink and Tink is such a scene stealer. He is probably my favorite secondary character in all of JLA’s books (I’m so sorry Deacon I still love you). Tink is just so ridiculous at times and you never know what he is going to do and I just love that about him. I love his love of Amazon Prime and truly relate to that and his pop culture references warm my heart. But I also love that behind his nonsense, he is such a good guy (fae? brownie? whatevs). He wants to fight and he truly loves Ivy. In this one Tink is still his crazy self but we also see another side of him and I loved that.

Along with the great cast of characters, the plot keeps moving. This book is really nonstop and I loved how quick it moved. I also loved that it took me by surprise in places. I mean there was stuff that went down that we kinda had to know was coming but then there was stuff that just completely took me by surprise and I loved that. The action was fantastic and intense. And the action was balanced so well with the romance. This is JLA so of course the swoon was off the charts.

All in all, Brave was an awesome read and this is definitely one of my favorite of all of JLA’s series. I loved her take on the fae and the way she delivered heart stopping action with a swoontastic romance. I know this is a series I will be reading again and again.