Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - Wild and Wicked Things

I have been excited about reading this book for a long time and I am delighted that it didnt let me down at all !!! It was dark and bloody and very witchy !!! Ik Wild and Wicked Things is often described as a retelling of The Great Gatsby with a witchy twist, which idk enough about to compare it to having never read the book myself, but it was certainly a wild ride and has made me interested to read The Great Gatsby !!! I rlly rlly enjoyed this book, as stressful as it often was in places, and how everything seemed to constantly escalate and every "solution" just became a further problem. The magic system was extremely intriguing, especially the use of blood magic, and how every magic had a different scent and taste. I was very curious about Nathan's abilities and how hard that must have made the world for him. I also found the concept of the Debt and Giving very interesting too.

I enjoyed the switching perspectives and appreciared the fact that both Emmeline and Annie had very distinct voices that made it clear who we were following even without the chapter indicators. I liked watching Annie grow into her magic, become stronger willed and more morally questionable.

I hated Bea with a passion, she was extremely selfish and the cause of so many of the problems and yet she wasnt willing to claim responsibility for any of it. She was constantly blaming everyone else for her problems and the way she acted. I did feel a little kinder towards her at the end, but I will stand by the fact that everything is Bea's fault.

I also found learning about the history of Cross House and what Cilla did to the orphans and how it shaped them to be both interesting and horrifying, and I am so glad that we got to see Emmeline put an end to that.

And my favourite character died, which is just the standard really, so am I surprised?? No, but I had hoped for better for them, especially after all the signs of them dying were there, but I had hoped that the cards were wrong.

Wild and Wicked Things is a bloody tale of magic, murder and intrigue, and I enjoyed it thoroughly !!!

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scam_lark's review

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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raven9949's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Nothing terribly new. I struggled to get through this one a little, I was so glad I was done…. I spent more than half the book waiting impatiently for the characters to get a clue and see the obvious things…. I’d be more shocked about the big antagonist reveal if it had actually mattered… which it really didn’t. He might as well have been the faceless unknown “evil” ultimately… he didn’t really do much for the story.

I spent more than 65% of the book hoping Bea would just bite it…. She’s manipulative and self absorbed and I’ve spent want too much of my time dealing with those types in real life to handle them in my fiction too. I don’t particularly enjoy the useless lesbian fumbles after, and swallows every spoonful of poison from the pretty straight girl because maybe she might love her back one day trope… I need my MCs to get some boundaries and self respect and to boot Bea out the door…. And that took way too long to happen. I mean the pacing was a complete nightmare the the tone of it was just darker than dark and not really for any reason other than to be really dramatic made it feel like a gothic telenova.

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thereisnotry54's review

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I enjoyed some of the over-the-top romance, but it was very confusing. There were interludes from other perspectives which did tie in nicely eventually. The style of book changed to get a lot more intense.

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kodi_rae's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Definitely, as many reviews state, a witchy, sapphic slow burn that will remind you a lot of The Great Gatsby (But also Practical Magic, in my opinion. Did anyone else get that vibe?). Even though the pacing was slow, I was still left wishing for some things (and characters behaviors/motives) to be flushed out more and some questions left unanswered. Maybe that’s the point or maybe it’s a sign of future, related books. At any rate, a really enjoyable, dark and sexy read.

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azrah786's review against another edition

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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
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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

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