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Wicked (A Wicked Trilogy Book 1)
Jennifer L. Armentrout
4.4
The Summer King
by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Published Apr 7, 2026
About this book
Caden is the most feared being in the mortal world, a prince of the Fae defined by his cold, lethal reputation and a singular, burning need for vengeance. Haunted by a past he cannot escape, he is a man driven to the brink, requiring an unlikely ally to achieve his goals. Brighton Jussier, raised within the rigid indoctrination of the Order, knows exactly what Caden is capable of and wants nothing to do with him.
However, when circumstances force them into an uneasy alliance, the lines between enemy and protector begin to blur. As Brighton uncovers the man beneath Caden’s icy exterior, a dangerous, forbidden attraction ignites between them. This volatile dynamic shifts irrevocably when Brighton receives the Summer’s Kiss, a transformation that strips away her humanity and binds her fate to the Fae world.
With a malevolent force rising to drag Caden back into his darkest nature, the pair must navigate a landscape of shifting loyalties and ancient magic. As the barrier between worlds shatters, they are thrust into a battle for survival where the cost of saving mankind may be the very connection they can no longer deny.
Available Formats
Kindle: $0.00 Kindle: $8.99
What readers are saying
Jess - Reader of BooksA forever favorite
"I read this book - at the time a set of three novellas - back in 2021. I rated it 5 stars and shelved it under favorites. The moment I started this reread I immediately knew: I’m going to rate it 5 stars and shelved it under favorites. JLA has written some of my favorite spinoffs. She was the one who made me fall in love with them. And I never forgot Caden and his sunshine. Never. This felt like coming home and yet, it was as if I’d never left. A slow burn masterpiece, with lots of shades of gray and beautiful rays of sunshine coming through. This one is for all the urban romantasy lovers, for all the enemies to lovers girlies, for all who found out there’s power in loving again. 10/10. Can't recommend this enough. ["
April 7, 2026 Verified Purchase
Shell's StoriesA super bingeable paranormal romance
"The Summer King combines all three Blue Box novellas into one book, which is what I've been waiting for for so very long! I love matching series sets, so it's super exciting that this bindup is releasing right when the Wicked series is also getting a cover redesign. And with gorgeous sprayed edges! Heck yes! As for the actual book, I've been putting off reading these novellas for quite some time. For no particular reason other than once I finished them, I would officially be that much much closer to being caught up on all the JLA books. It'll be terrible to not have any more backlog JLA to keep me going. Her Wicked and Harbinger series got me out of a year-long reading slump in 2020. The Summer King itself is such a fun time, and it brought me right back to my urban fantasy/paranormal reading days with the modern setting and overarching plot of hunting evil fairies. Brighton, the main POV character, is a strong fmc with a knack for disguises and a desire for revenge, and Caden is the perfect JLA-brand of swoonworthy mmc who tries to keep Brighton alive. Oh, and we can't forget Tink. He's back! I definitely missed Tink, the online-shopping-addict and shrinkable brownie. It was great to see Ivy and Ren too. And Dixon the cat is adorable, of course. But every character in this world is so entertaining. Either because they're badass, funny, or, like I said, swoonworthy. I feel like Brighton was a relatable character in the story. She's much more chill than Ivy. Or at least, that's how it was at first. Brighton steps up big time, but I could definitely see more of my shy, introverted self in Brighton than Ivy. She's relatable. Between her character development and the crazy plot of the second novella, I was hooked. No spoilers, but things start happening in The King. The romantic tension in the first novella, The Prince, is A+ too, it just takes a few chapters to really set things up. JLA does know how to write romantic tension, though. And even for a novella series, I felt it was good pacing. Although I loved most of this bindup, I will say there were a couple of things that I wasn't quite sure about. The first being that the ending didn't quite resolve the original issue that was introduced in the first novella. Also, it's mentioned that Caden can find Brighton because of spoilery reasons, but that ability doesn't seem to work in book two and I don't think it was explained why. Or I missed it, which could very well be the case. This just supports my crackpot theory that there'll be more books in this world one day soon. Right, JLA? ;) Overall, though, it's a JLA book. I'm in it for a good, quick, fun time, and that's exactly what I got. All of JLA's books minus those in her Blood and Ash world are super bingeable. And the only reason her B&A series isn't quite as bingeable is because it's in a fantasy world with new rules and creatures and sometimes that takes more time to process. (I would totally binge the entire series if I could reread it again for the first time, though.) Basically, if you're interested in evil versus good fairies, royal fae men, sassy brownies (the fae, not the dessert), and an fmc who steps up, you'll love The Summer King. It's 100% for fans of TV shows like Charmed, The Vampire Diaries, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Supernatural. with appeal to romantasy readers searching for lighter versions of books like the Crescent City or The Mortal Instruments series. 4 stars *Note: I received an eARC of this book to review from the publisher. This in no way affected my opinion/review. ["
April 7, 2026 Verified Purchase
Christy Brakebill HeltonAmazing!!
"I had no idea this was being released! I accidentally came across it! Such a great surprise! Yet again, Jennifer wrote a phenomenal story! I cannot wait until the next one! ["
April 22, 2026 Verified Purchase
CDELINEIt was good
"This was a 3 books in 1, book. It was a cute read, I liked it. The first one built it up nicely. The second one was dark. The 3d one felt a little rushed…It wrapped it up but I felt I was missing something. The Caden pov at the very end was nice. Kind of made me think it would be fun to see the entire trilogy from his pov. ["
May 20, 2026 Verified Purchase
