Book Review: THE WICKED WE HAVE DONE by Sarah Harian

Photo credit: Goodreads

I’d been looking forward to reading The Wicked We Have Done by Sarah Harian since I first heard of this epic-sounding NA novel, and now, having read it, I can say it definitely lived up to my expectations and more. 

As per usual, here’s the Goodreads summary:

“Evalyn Ibarra never expected to be an accused killer and experimental prison test subject. A year ago, she was a normal college student. Now she’s been sentenced to a month in the compass room—an advanced prison obstacle course designed by the government to execute justice. 

If she survives, the world will know she’s innocent. 

Locked up with nine notorious and potentially psychotic criminals, Evalyn must fight the prison and dismantle her past to stay alive. But the system prized for accuracy appears to be killing at random. 

She doesn’t plan on making friends. 

She doesn’t plan on falling in love, either.”

What immediately caught my interest about Wicked was that it’s not a typical Contemporary Romance New Adult novel—not to speak badly of Contemporary Romance NA, (I’ve read some excellent CR NA such as this one and this one) but I, for one, get very excited when I see some variation in the NA market.

Being that I love edge-of-your-seat-type novels, I was pretty psyched about this one—and it definitely didn’t disappoint.

What I loved about Wicked was how it kept me guessing—every page had me wondering what would happen next, and how Evalyn would survive, or if she even would. Not only that, but I found myself sympathizing with some truly dark characters, and even growing attached to them—something that I adore, because it’s a sign of really fantastic character development and building.

What’s even more exciting about this already thrilling book is that it really fits the New Adult category. Evalyn isn’t a typical college student—she’s practically on death row—but she still deals with many of the same struggles, fears and insecurities as other NA-aged characters. Her voice fits the category beautifully, and to me, Wicked serves as unequivocal proof that NA Speculative Fiction can definitely be successful.

I’m giving The Wicked We Have Done 5/5 stars and recommend it to anyone interested in trying out a different side of New Adult, who also loves thrilling, edge-of-your-seat novels.

Have you read Wicked? Also, I’d be happy to take some SpecFic NA recommendations! 

Twitter-sized bites: 

.@Ava_Jae gives 5/5 stars to THE WICKED WE HAVE DONE by @SarahHarian. Have you read this thrilling SpecFic NA? (Click to tweet)  

Interested in reading some excellent NA SpecFic? Try THE WICKED WE HAVE DONE by @SarahHarian. (Click to tweet)