The Wicked Awakening of Anne Merchant

**I received this book for free from (BenBella Books) via (NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!! This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.**

*Book Blurb*

Life and death, light and dark, spirit and flesh-on Wormwood Island, the lines are always blurred. For Anne Merchant, who has been thrust back into this eerily secretive world, crossing the line seems inevitable, inescapable, destined.

Now, as Ben finds himself battling for the Big V and Teddy reveals the celestial plan in which Anne is entwined, Anne must choose: embrace her darkly powerful connection to a woman known as Lilith and, in doing so, save the boy she loves...or follow a safer path that is sure to lead to Ben's destruction at the hands of dark leaders. Hoping the ends will justify the means, Anne starts down the slippery slope into the underworld, intent on exploring the dark to find the light. But as the lure of Lilith proves powerfully strong, will Anne save others-only to lose herself?

*My Thoughts*

The V Trilogy by Joanna Wiebe is told in the first person narrative by 16-year old Anne Merchant. Merchant, who has spent the past 2 years in a coma, is sent to Wormwood Island, Maine to attend an exclusive preparatory school (Cania Christy) for the world’s wealthiest teens. Cania Christy is a bit on the unusual side compared to other schools. Here, teens are required to compete for Valedictorian (the Big V) of their graduating class while having a creepy Guardian following them around grading their every movement. To win the coveted Valedictorian spot, which guarantees the winner a way off the island, each student must use various means like Seduction, Backstabbing, and Inquisitiveness to get ahead.

The Wicked Awakening picks up right where The Unseemly Education left off. Anne, even though she found a way to defeat her archnemesis Villicus and escape, is forced to return to the Island by her Guardian Teddy. Anne finds that things have changed while she was gone. The Headmaster has been replaced with Dia Voletto (who takes a keen interest in Anne). His minions, The Seven Shining Sisters (Deadly sins), have taken up teaching positions at the school. Ben and Anne's fathers have both been disciplined for their kids actions, with Anne's father now working for the school.

Anne gets a rude awakening to the fact that there are those who consider her to be a murderer, and ends up with a unwanted roommate. Ben's punishment means that he is now enrolled in Cania, and he has to participate in the Big V competition with less than a year to prepare and his ex as his Guardian. Anne's goal is to do whatever it takes to ensure that Ben survives and wins the competition. Even if it means hearts break, or feelings are hurt. She also must find a way to deal with some really big secrets, revelations about her heritage that will change the way you look and feel about Anne, and the surprising return of her friend Molly Watso. 

There is so much to say about this book, that I worry I might let the cat out of the bag if I go too deep into the story. I'll say that Anne's choices, decisions, and actions are drastic in nature, and I think it will surprise you how the story turns out. For a brief time in this story, Ben and Anne's romance is one again adorable, and you start to hope that they find a way to eventually win against horrible odds. Then the odds are never in their favor. 

The Wicked Awakening ends on a painful cliffhanger, but I'm certainly not going to stop reading this series before Wiebe has a chance to wrap up things up. There are so many questions as to what we can expect next. Will Anne finally accept her choices? Will she remain true to herself, or face the darkside with a gleam in her eye? In the end, I would say Awakening is better than Education because Anne faces all sorts of challenges, and unearths interesting facts about herself, and really puts her own future on the line for those she cares about.

*Recvd 12/02/2014 via NetGalley* Expected publication: January 20th 2015 by BenBella Books

Well, THAT was certainly a surprise!  I liked this book even better than the first one.  It is full of plot twists.  Anne has been brought back to Cania Christy and is thrust into the midst of things.  She will do anything to help Ben, but does he want her help?  This book is definitely darker than the first one and a bit gross and gory in parts, but the plot twists and mystery make the book worth reading.  I look forward to the last book!  I received this book free to review from Netgalley.

I am really loving this series!  The Unseemly Education of Anne Merchant, book one in the V Trilogy, was so unique and captivating.   I was so excited to continue Anne's story in The Wicked Awakening of Anne Merchant.  I was expecting another compelling and intense read, and Wiebe did not disappoint.  The Wicked Awakening of Anne Merchant was even better than its predecessor.

I liked Anne right from the start in book one, and I liked her even more in this installment.  She's strong, loyal and clever.  Her prosperitus thema, or PT---the unique talent each student possesses that guides their behavior in the race for the Big V---is to look closer.  Therefore, Anne takes nothing at face value and is quite tenacious about always trying to get to the truth.  I admired that about Anne, as well as the fact that she doesn't scare easily.

Anne is a gifted artist, and there was an extra emphasis on her art in this book.  I enjoyed her creative process, especially with regards to how she paints the portrait of the school's headmaster.  I was impressed at the way Wiebe gave that particular painting had such an important role in the plot. 

The premise of this series is so unique.  I'm not going to tell you what it is, because it'll spoil book one for you, if you haven't read it yet.  But suffice it to say, it's imaginative and really fun to read a story this different from others in the genre.

Wiebe's pacing was perfect.  The book moved quickly, but not so fast that I felt like I was racing to keep up.  I had a very difficult time putting this story down once I started reading.  It was good from beginning to end, with no slow spots.    

The Wicked Awakening of Anne Merchant is a compelling read.  The slight cliffhanger ending left me aching for book three---and I cannot wait to see how Wiebe concludes this exciting series!

I'm liking this series (although no one else at my libraries seems to be reading it!). This was a good follow up to the first book. It added new elements to the story without taking it in a completely different direction like other series sometimes do. Definitely will be reading the final book.

I surprisingly enjoyed this! Will be purchasing in the future to support the author :)

Thank you. Review posted on goodreads and Amazon. This was a fantastic sequel for the series. I really loved it.