The Wondrous and The Wicked by Page Morgan: Review

Synopsis:

For fans of Lauren Kate's Fallen series comes the exciting conclusion to the trilogy that includes The Beautiful and the Cursed and The Lovely and the Lost. The Waverly sisters must save themselves before all is lost.

Since the Waverlys arrived in Paris, the streets have grown more fearsome by the day. As Ingrid learns to master her lectrux gift, she must watch Axia's power grow strong enough to extend beyond her Underneath hive. By all indications, the fallen angel's Harvest is near-and the timing couldn't be worse.

Targeted by vengeful gargoyles, Gabby has been exiled to London for her own protection. Meanwhile, the gargoyle castes are in disarray, divided between those who want Luc to lead them and those who resent him and his fondness for humans. The Alliance is crumbling from the inside as well, its members turning against one another, and possibly against the Waverlys, too.

Axia has promised that the world will burn. And now, unable to trust the Alliance, separated from Luc, Gabby, and her twin, Grayson, Ingrid is left to face the demon uprising alone.

***

"Vengeance is a flame that stays lit, Gabby, even if it's only the bluest of embers. One breath of air is all it takes.

The Wondrous and The Wicked exceeds my expectations, but not in the way you think. Sure, it's quite enjoyable in general. But by "exceeds my expectations", I didn't actually have a lot of them in the first place. If you read my previous reviews about The Beautiful and The Cursed and The Lovely and The Lost, you will understand my implications.Still, there's no denying that it's pretty good.

Axia is much bolder in this book. Of course, it's the final battle after all. But Axia is not scary in the brief appearances she made throughout the previous two books. In this book, she is quite an atrocious villain. You can imagine her being wicked and beautiful and evil at the same time, which is quite paradoxical. She has made a good bad guy in this book, and she's threatening. However, she's still a sort-of mild villain. Cunning, but nowhere as menacing as some others. She did add some fuel to the tension building up throughout the book, so she's okay.

Throughout the trilogy, there's a side plot of the Alliance being not as good and noble as it seems. And there are multiple warring factions. The battles between them are much more intense. I don't know whether that's because I skimmed through both The Beautiful and The Cursed and The Lovely and The Lost, or other factors. Either way, I find myself hating on Vincent, more so than I do on Axia. Axia is the big bad, but Vincent is like a pesky fly that can kill you and annoy you to death at the same time. He was quite well-written, and he could be a potential problem. Unfortunately, it seems like Vincent is no more problematic than, well, a fly. He could be a wild card, but he was not portrayed that way. I was a little disappointed. I guess I was opting for all-hell-breaks-loose while reading this book. 

These are no big deals, and I thoroughly enjoy other parts of the book except one. That part contains spoilers of this book. So if you are sensitive, please don't highlight the following paragraph with your pointers and read it.

In one of the final scenes, when Axia was defeated by the net, I was shocked that she was just trapped. Sure, she was shivering from the electrocution that Ingrid inflicted on her, and she was bound by the net filled with angel blood. And then... nothing. The plot immediately jumped to the aftermath. Was she dead? Still alive? Punished by Irindi or whoever else from the heaven? Remained trapped in that net for the rest of her life? No answer is given. It is all up to your imagination. That was kind of anticlimactic, especially when Ingrid faints at the end of the battle. Come on, loose ends might be interesting, but this is really unnecessary. 

Okay, other than that plot hole, I think this is quite a satisfying conclusion, despite the fact that I don't really like the first two books that much. One thing is certain though. The gargoyles are amazing, and I want more stories of these mythical creatures.

Rating: 7.5/10

The Lovely and The Lost (ARC): Review

Synopsis:

Ingrid and Gabby survived the Underneath. They saved their brother, Grayson, from a future of dark servitude and exposed a plot to undermine the Alliance. But danger still lurks in the streets of Paris, and the Dispossessed, perched on the city's bridges and rooftops, might not be able to save their human wards this time.

***

The Lovely and The Lost is slightly better than the first book. There are a lot of improvements from the first book and I appreciate it. At some point I really enjoy the story. Though there are still flaws, and I might not be the biggest fan of this book, I'm pretty certain that it's perfectly enjoyable to a lot of people. 

I mentioned the improvements. The first and the most obvious one is Gabby. There's no denying that her character is developed properly. She's no longer the whining little girl and too naive for her own good. She's getting stronger and she's willing to risk herself to save those she loves. I can't say she's my favorite character because Ingrid (oh, and Vander) are still my favorite characters in this series. But I certainly can say I grow to respect her character.

Another significant development is probably the darker side of the Alliance and the gargoyles. Sure, I know that the Alliance and the gargoyles aren't all good guys from the very start of The Beautiful and The Cursed. But this is different. This is like a darker DARKER side of these two things. It's not unexpected, according to my logical side, because for some reason I feel that something like that will come. But it still doesn't extinguish my excitement for this because this fascinates me, as much as it terrifies me (and irritates me. Don't ask me why. My emotions can be messy). 

I also mentioned flaws. Though there are far less than in the first book. Like the fact that some part (though a much smaller part) is still uneventful and bores me a lot. And then there are some scenes that infuriates me and makes me angry. But other than that I'd say the book is still very enjoyable, especially the ending because it's like an opening to something unknown even though it's not exactly a cliffhanger ending.

I have a feeling that if there's a third book (which I'm pretty sure there is, because the book can't end that way without explaining much, much more), it will get better. I hope that I'm right, because The Lovely and The Lost makes me pretty hopeful. 

Rating: 7/10

The Beautiful and The Cursed: Review

Synopsis:

After a bizarre accident, Ingrid Waverly is forced to leave London with her mother and younger sister, Gabby, trading a world full of fancy dresses and society events for the unfamiliar city of Paris.

In Paris there are no grand balls or glittering parties, and, disturbingly, the house Ingrid’s twin brother, Grayson, found for them isn’t a house at all. It’s an abandoned abbey, its roof lined with stone gargoyles that could almost be mistaken for living, breathing creatures.

And Grayson has gone missing.

No one seems to know of his whereabouts but Luc, a devastatingly handsome servant at their new home.

Ingrid is sure her twin isn’t dead—she can feel it deep in her soul—but she knows he’s in grave danger. It will be up to her and Gabby to navigate the twisted path to Grayson, a path that will lead Ingrid on a discovery of dark secrets and otherworldly truths. And she’ll learn that once they are uncovered, they can never again be buried.

***

The Beautiful and The Cursed is basically about gargoyles. And demons. And the Angelic Order. And the surprisingly not-so-human human ward. Ingrid Waverly is that not-so-human human girl the Dispossessed are protecting without her knowing at first. When she's trying to find her missing brother, she stumbled upon the world the Dispossessed are carefully protecting against human eyes, and the truth that no one ever expects. 

I guess I can say The Beautiful and The Cursed is interesting enough for me to actually develop a curiosity about The Lovely and The Lost, because of the gargoyle subject (which is my newly found interesting subject) and the fact that Ingrid is... well, very different. But there are certainly some things that I don't really like or care about. And there are quite a number of them.

First off, I don't care about Gabby's story. Not at all. I don't understand her presence in the book at all, which then makes her story very annoying to me. I thought this was supposed to be Ingrid's story, and when I stumbled upon Gabby's point of view the second time, I was like "what the hell is she doing here?" So I guess she's playing a big part of the whole story? But NO, from what I've read, she's not important enough to be a big part of Ingrid's story. It's more like she has a separate story of her own. I don't care about her story! I want more of Ingrid's story and there are not enough of them in the book! What is wrong with the prioritizing? 

Gabby herself is very annoying as well. She acts like she's fearless and she wants to be a part of whatever warrior world. But in fact she's kind of a cowering little girl who just wouldn't stop yammering at times. That's a big part of the reasons why I don't like her story. With her being such an immature little girl with no sense at all, I don't want to read about her. I seriously hope I won't see too much of her in the sequel, because that will be seriously annoying.

I seem to complain a lot about Gabby. And in fact this is the reason why I just gave The Beautiful and The Cursed a 3.5 out of 5. But other than that the book is actually interesting enough. Yeah, you actually have my attention when it comes to gargoyles, because I recently found it quite awesome and intriguing. And it's set in Paris, which is a city full of darkness at the start of the 20th century. Ingrid is a nice enough girl for me to actually try to like her, and I guess with her uniqueness, I will want to read more about her in The Lovely and The Lost. So yeah, if you don't mind Gabby's story ruining everything, I suggest you give this book a try. 

Rating: 6.5/10