Scan barcode
azrah786's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
3.25
[This review can also be found on my BLOG]
**I received a proof copy from Orbit Books in exchange for an honest review**
CW: blood, gore, injury, self harm, murder, death, death of parent, domestic abuse, parental neglect, sexual assault/rape, pregnancy, abortion, alcohol/drug use, panic attacks
--
I’ve got to start by saying that there were parts of this book that I enjoyed but it sadly didn’t blow me away like I expected it to.
Wild and Wicked Things is an historical fantasy novel that centres on a young woman, called Annie who arrives on Crow Island to claim an inheritance left by her late and estranged father. With a rumoured history of dark magic the island itself has a reputation of being the favoured haunt for those who wish to dabble in illicit magical vices – things that Annie wants to very much steer clear of.
However, when she witnesses an altercation between her childhood friend Bea and her mysterious and infamous neighbour, Emmeline Delacroix who is rumoured to be a witch, Annie finds herself unable to resist the pull she feels towards Emmeline and her world.
**I received a proof copy from Orbit Books in exchange for an honest review**
CW: blood, gore, injury, self harm, murder, death, death of parent, domestic abuse, parental neglect, sexual assault/rape, pregnancy, abortion, alcohol/drug use, panic attacks
--
I’ve got to start by saying that there were parts of this book that I enjoyed but it sadly didn’t blow me away like I expected it to.
Wild and Wicked Things is an historical fantasy novel that centres on a young woman, called Annie who arrives on Crow Island to claim an inheritance left by her late and estranged father. With a rumoured history of dark magic the island itself has a reputation of being the favoured haunt for those who wish to dabble in illicit magical vices – things that Annie wants to very much steer clear of.
However, when she witnesses an altercation between her childhood friend Bea and her mysterious and infamous neighbour, Emmeline Delacroix who is rumoured to be a witch, Annie finds herself unable to resist the pull she feels towards Emmeline and her world.
“Magic is…a trickster. It draws you in, makes you think you can control it. You get a taste and then you get careless. You can’t control it any more than you can the tide or the rise of the moon.”
Described as a sapphic Great Gatsby meets Practical Magic I came running for the Gatsby side of things.
May’s writing beautifully pairs together the small and mysterious island atmosphere with all the glitz and glamour of the 20’s. The ambiance from the classic was definitely there but more so in the beginning with how there was a brooding figure throwing parties to attract the attention of a certain someone, and in all honesty Emmeline did have a Jay Gatsby air about her and Annie that of Nick Carraway. However, I wouldn’t class this book as an all-out retelling as it definitely leans more towards witchy territory. Particularly the second half of the story that develops more of a gothic thriller storyline.
I personally haven’t read Practical Magic so can’t comment on the likeness to it but I became enthralled with the magic and witchcraft side of the worldbuilding. The titbits of backstory that showed how magic had originally been so imbedded into people’s lives and their work until its usage in the war made it become prohibited really intrigued me. As did getting a glimpse at the differing powers that the various witches we meet in the story have.
Though I also feel like this wasn’t focused on enough and the progression of the plot was favoured instead of the magic ever properly being explained.
“Just a glance from Emmeline and I wasn’t myself. Or maybe I was more myself than I’d ever been.”
However, I think the main reason I didn’t love this one lies with the characters. I am a reader who loves to get caught up in the characters and their relationships and I’ve got to say the supporting characters and their stories seemed more interesting to me than the primary ones. I mean I liked Annie enough and she did have a pretty remarkable character development but I felt like there wasn’t enough of a balance when it came to how many chapters were split between her perspective and Emmeline’s perspective.
Also I wasn’t entirely convinced with their relationship until right near the very end and this has got a lot to do with the back and forth that was going on between Emmeline, Annie and Bea which was going on for most of the book and I found myself getting bored of it early on. I enjoyed the moments when Emmeline was with Nathan and Isobel a lot more – I loved their little found family unit.
I am glad I managed to push through the slow pacing and dragging middle part of the story though because the last 90 or so pages were in my opinion the best part of the book.
Anyways a lot of these points are very much me things so I think if you enjoy gothic witchy stories that border the horror genre then you should definitely give this one a read.
Final Rating 3.25/5 Stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Alcohol, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Domestic abuse, Self harm, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Death of parent, Rape, Pregnancy, and Abortion
ellenigrace's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Child abuse, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pregnancy, Blood, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and Gun violence
Minor: Abortion and War
ellaandcoffee's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
First of all, a big thank you to Netgalley, Hachette Audio and Redhook for giving me the chance to review Wild and Wicked Things. I love a good audiobook and this one was excellently executed, with great narrators!
Overall I really enjoy Wild and Wicked Things. But it does start off annoyingly slow. I wasn’t hooked until after the first 25%. I wish the magical world would have been explained earlier in the book as it was quite confusing in the beginning. The author kept mentioning the magic as some big and ominous thing but since I as a reader had no clue in the first 25% what that was about, it was just a bit odd.
Once I got past the ‘boring part’, I did in fact love the characters and the story. Wild and Wicked Things is gloomy and dark, sapphic witch story that takes place on a spooky island. Right up my alley! It is also described as a The Great Gatsby retelling but, except for the fancy parties, I found that the comparison stops there. And I was glad about that as I am not a Great Gatsby fan.
Don’t forget to look up the trigger warnings before reading!
Overall I really enjoy Wild and Wicked Things. But it does start off annoyingly slow. I wasn’t hooked until after the first 25%. I wish the magical world would have been explained earlier in the book as it was quite confusing in the beginning. The author kept mentioning the magic as some big and ominous thing but since I as a reader had no clue in the first 25% what that was about, it was just a bit odd.
Once I got past the ‘boring part’, I did in fact love the characters and the story. Wild and Wicked Things is gloomy and dark, sapphic witch story that takes place on a spooky island. Right up my alley! It is also described as a The Great Gatsby retelling but, except for the fancy parties, I found that the comparison stops there. And I was glad about that as I am not a Great Gatsby fan.
Don’t forget to look up the trigger warnings before reading!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Blood
Moderate: Rape, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Sexual assault
Minor: Death of parent
natashaleighton_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Panic attacks/disorders, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Homophobia, Blood, Emotional abuse, and Murder
Moderate: Misogyny, Abortion, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Drug use, Child abuse, and Sexual assault
A gloriously witchy, Great Gatsby meets Practical Magic gothic sapphic fantasy, blending the glamour and decadence of the Jazz age with Francesca May’s haunting prose to create a dark and atmospherically immersive tale of secrets, scandals, blood magic and romance that’s utterly unputdownable! In the aftermath of WW1, a young woman (Annie) is swept into a glittering world of magic, romance, blood debts and murder after moving to the mysterious Crow Island, where magic is whispered about—in order to collect her inheritance and sell her estranged late father’s estate. But she never expected her enigmatic new neighbour to be a witch. After witnessing a confrontation between her best friend Bea and the infamous Emmeline Delacroix at one of Emmeline’s extravagantly illicit parties, Annie is drawn into a glittering haunted world. A world where magic can buy what money cannot; a world where the consequence of a forbidden blood bargain might be death. I absolutely loved this, in fact I practically devoured it! The world-building was perfectly enchanting and absolutely obsessed with the gothic- like atmosphere of Crow Island with its wild beauty and wickedly dark magical lore. I really enjoyed all the lush details including all those crows which really upped the creepy, gothic witchy vibe that I loved soo much. I also enjoyed the choice of era—at the height of decadence and wealth in an alternate 20th C USA, as it’s loosely based in The Great Gatsby there were a few similarities (the light that Emmeline looks out at mirroring Jay Gatsby as does the shirt scene and the yellow car.) But, the plot is vastly different—and dare I say— superior to F.Scott Fitzgerald’s indictment of Captalism. May instead takes more of a feminist slant, with a magic prohibition in place and a foreboding (all male) council of magic users passing judgement (and occasionally death sentences) upon the island’s female population—especially those who refuse to bow to society’s conventions. I loved how exquisitely complex and full of depth all the characters were but Annie, Emmeline, Nathan and Isobel were my absolute faves. The level of detail in their motivations and backstories was incredible and really made me empathise with all of them, I even emphasised with Bea (Annie’s bestie) who I initially wrote off as just a selfish social climber. Also, the romance between Annie and Emmeline was literal perfection—their chemistry was definitely swoon worthy and the tension was thoroughly addictive. I must also warn that there are graphic scenes involving: murder,drug & alcohol use, self harm, anxiety/panic attacks, homophobia,domestic abuse,neglect & sexual assault. So if any of these are TW it’s probably best to steer clear. Overall, it’s wicked, wild and spellbindingly addictive and fans of decadently lush and magnificently witchy fantasies are going absolutely love this! Also, thanks to Orbit and Netgalley for the e-arc.bookmaddie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I love witch stories, and I forget how much I missed reading them! It's been awhile, and now I am ready for MORE. This is an adventurous, glitzy story of a magic, and one woman coming into her power—both magical and within herself. There is a lot of magic—spells, rituals, blood magic—you name it, this book has it. Set in an alternate 1920s, where magic and other mind-altering substances are banned (hello Prohibition!), we follow a young woman who comes to a magical island after her mysterious father dies. And of course, she gets wrapped up in the magic of the place.
This is a pretty fast-paced story, but while the plot is always moving ahead, there is still enough time to get to know (and love) all the characters in this lovely story. There is great character development in Annie, our leading lady, and in some of the side characters (especially Bea and Emmeline). This story is quite dark and creepy, so be prepared. I was reading on my Kindle, and I often read in the dark at night and I definitely had to turn on a light a few times.
While I loved all of the characters and got immersed up in their world, I did feel that the ending was wrapped up a bit too nicely. There were a few loose ends that were never really figured out. Instead, they were kind of ignored so we could get a happy ending. I wish they had been explored a little more, as they could have left the door open for a more ambiguous ending, which I always love.
Also, it's a sapphic witch story—amazing!! If you're at all into witchy stories, this one is definitely a fun one!
This is a pretty fast-paced story, but while the plot is always moving ahead, there is still enough time to get to know (and love) all the characters in this lovely story. There is great character development in Annie, our leading lady, and in some of the side characters (especially Bea and Emmeline). This story is quite dark and creepy, so be prepared. I was reading on my Kindle, and I often read in the dark at night and I definitely had to turn on a light a few times.
While I loved all of the characters and got immersed up in their world, I did feel that the ending was wrapped up a bit too nicely. There were a few loose ends that were never really figured out. Instead, they were kind of ignored so we could get a happy ending. I wish they had been explored a little more, as they could have left the door open for a more ambiguous ending, which I always love.
Also, it's a sapphic witch story—amazing!! If you're at all into witchy stories, this one is definitely a fun one!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Sexual assault
More...