Wickedly They Come

The Wickedly Series, Book 1

By: Cathrina Constantine

Narrated by: Andrea Emmes

Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

A destined prophecy: "The White Warrior will be one with Lucifer and God will weep."

Haunting visions and supernatural talents are the norm for the 16-year-old warrior, Jordan, and her mother Seeley. Together with their formidable angels they find themselves in peril when a wicked sorcerer is determined to fulfill the prophecy to his lord, Lucifer.

After an ominous vision of spirits inhabiting teenagers in a local school, Jordan enrolls in the social culture of teendom at Elma High to combat soulless demons. She encounters Mark, a mysterious new classmate, who is hell bent on keeping her unscathed from the forces of evil.

The battle between Heaven and Hell is escalating - and Earth is their battleground.

©2016 Sarah Davis Brandon (P)2016 Sarah Davis Brandon

Not up to par with Supernatural

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBoom dot com.

Audible has this in the religious section, which I feel is misplaced. This is more fantasy. The story was fast paced, but I felt the cast was a little too large. From the beginning it was difficult for me to adapt to everyone. I was hoping we'd see the main character transition to the powerful warrior, but I felt it wasn't quite up to my expectations. The narration was great, though.

Awesome

This book was great. A mix of religion and as* kicking action. Fun and full of surprises unlikely allies and Angels who come back from the "dead". Great book overall.

I received this book free in return for a unbiased review.

Teen story

Decent story. Not my usual genre/age. Enough action to keep my attention. Interesting storyline. The narrator did a nice job. I received a free copy of this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

It will only work for teenage girls

Any additional comments?

I have received a copy of this book in audio format from the narrator in exchange for an honest review.

Jack belonged to the Black Order, but changed sides after falling in love with Seeley and having Jordan, their daughter. The members of the Black order could not take this and killed Jack, promising to hunt Jordan too, to consecrate her to the Order. Jordan has been homeschooled for several years until she turns sixteen, when Seeley decides to send her to high school. There, Marcus, her guardian angel will take care of her and defend her against the dangerous people from the Black Order.

What I liked from this book was how the characters were constructed. Jordan and Seeley were very well depicted and their relationship felt real. The rest of characters were plain, and I was especially annoyed by Ronan and her girl friends. I guess their behavior is normal in sixteen year old bullies, especially among the girls, but the group dynamic would make the book to work only among teenage girls. Other YA books could be enjoyed by other age groups, but I don't think this one would. Not with me at least.

I had troubles to get into the story, but I think it was due to several things. First, I did not completely understand the motivations of the Black Order to get Jordan. Okay, her father was a traitor, but that does not seem to be to me enough motive. Is Jordan special in any way? We will probably know more about that in future books, but in this one it is not very clear. I just expected something bigger to be gained or lost. Second, Marcus was appearing and disappearing all the time without explanation, and it was like it just served Constantine to make things complicated to Jordan at certain point, kind of deus ex machine.

And third. Okay, this is personal and will probably be different for other people. I am an atheist, and I find the fact of talking about god as a real thing (even in a fantasy book) a bit disturbing, or more like something that makes me roll my eyes again and again. Also, the need of Jordan to check with the priest and be assisted all the time by a guardian angel is a bit... childish. I do not want to be disrespectful to believers, but I think we should all try to fend for ourselves, and a character in a book should inspire the reader, and that is, taking the reigns of her life and troubles, to gain responsibility, and fight, without expecting somebody to save her skin.

I missed some moments about their daily life not related to the hunt, like Jordan in class. It is like they spend the whole book running from the Black Order, which is true, but I think it would have helped to set a frame for the story.

At some point we hear the name of 'Ronan' instead of 'Jordan' (6:14:58) and I had to go back to double check it. I guess the editor missed this.

Andrea Emmes' narration helped to bring the characters to life, and she made it a very enjoyable listen. I had troubles at times though, to discern between Jordan and her mother, which made difficult to follow a couple of conversations. For the rest, the narration made the book better.

All in all, it was an okay book. It will mainly work for teenage girls, I think, and the religious aspects may not sit well with everybody.

Three starts for the book, four stars for the narration.

great story

this story is an awesome, unnerving and riveting YA paranormal thriller. An amazing read with an eerie and suspenseful ending

Great Story

If you could sum up Wickedly They Come in three words, what would they be?

Fun, Exciting and Action-packed

What was one of the most memorable moments of Wickedly They Come?

The battle where everything comes to a head

What does Andrea Emmes bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

She really embodied the characters that she read. I would listen to her again.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I couldn't stop listening. It was an amazing story and the author is just simply great!

Any additional comments?

Wow! This book really grabs you from the beginning. The way Jack comes into the story all the way to the very end. I love how the author hints as there being more to this story even though we get an ending that is very explosive. This was my first book from this author and I am happy to say it won't be my last. This is a story that has many characters in it but you never lose track of what is going on. There is a little bit for everyone. I was rooting hard for Jordan and Seeley. Not only a definite book to read but enjoy immensely.

Action packed book!

What did you love best about Wickedly They Come?

I loved the action that this book provided and the emotional content of what was happening between mother and daughter and the eternal fight for Jordan's soul.

Which character – as performed by Andrea Emmes – was your favorite?

Jordan, as the main character. Emmes really knows how to embody a teenager. Having raised one myself, it was pretty spot on but with the added layers of pain, vengeance and rush in without thinking that kids face today when dealing with loss or other tragedies.

Any additional comments?

The author did a really great job of laying out the story with multiple characters and story points that were brought together quite nicely and the narrator did an excellent job of pulling it all together and bringing an extra layer of emotion and performance. Highly recommend this book.

I couldn't listen to this story

Any additional comments?

This story went against my beliefs and I wasn't able to listen to it. So to be fair to the author and narrator I rated it 5 star. I hope that those other listeners are able to enjoy this book. This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBoom

Story was OK.

This was a good read and I enjoyed it.... I just can't put my finger on exactly why I didn't love it! This deals with Jordan and her mother, Seely, and the fallout, for them, from when Jordan's dad changed his allegiance from The Black Order! The Black Order don't take this lightly and try to do everything in their dark powers to make Jordan one of them. But Jordan, along with her mum and their guardian angels, fight back.

Even though this was an extremely fast paced and intense read, I found it lacking in something. I'm not sure what, but I know that I never really absorbed the story as much as I could have. I found it hard to like Jordan at times and found it hard to believe some of the things she did! Ex, she went to someones house, by herself, even though she knew this person to be evil! Of course, things happen after, but I just could believe that she would have done that! She seemed a little too savvy to do something so stupid.

Same with the rest of the characters. I never really liked any of them and didn't care too much about them. I felt like there was something missing here too! Maybe it was just me, but the overall feeling of the book was just Meh! I liked it, just didn't love it.

Now, the narration is a different story. Andrea Emmes reads extremely well. She has a variety of tones and cadences and knows how to draw a reader in. I loved her portrayal of Jordan and thought she really brought the story to life. it's just a pity I couldn't connect with it!

*I received a free coy of this but voluntarily reviewed it. This in no way affected nor influenced my thoughts.*

Swept away

Loved the story. It swept me away. Especially from midway on. It was a tad wordy in some parts. The descriptions of the fights were brilliant. I especially loved that the narrator was very distinct with the voices so it was easy to tell who was speaking.