Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - Wild and Wicked Things

Meh. I think this one could have been a lot shorter, and a lot more exciting. It didn't feel unique, and definitely didn't feel atmospheric enough for the time period, or vibes it promised. The characters were not really well developed, or likeable (especially Bea), and some of the plot felt like it came straight from a certain movie about witches, (not naming it because, spoilers). I just didn't love this one like I had hoped to...

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marcostorin's review

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adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.5

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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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minervacerridwen's review

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dark mysterious medium-paced

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

1.5

To be honest, I doubt I would have finished the read if I hadn't started it for a book club. The concept really appealed to me when I read the short summary, but from the very start, the first-person pov switching between two characters made it hard for me to connect to either of them. I also didn't find these characters very likeable or interesting, and in the beginning of the book the question of what Annie’s father had been hiding was dragged out for a long time. I think the intention was to build a sense of mystery, but the problem was

that it was very easy to figure out what his big secret would be in this context, and I was simply waiting to be proven right.

Then there was a “love at first sight” situation, which at the best of times is difficult for me as an aro ace reader to relate to, but after that point, I didn’t really have the feeling that the reader was made to fall in love with the characters along with them. All we knew was that Emmeline looked great in her “man’s suits”, but none of the characters really seemed to be good people. They were constantly ready to blame everything and everyone else, rather than taking responsibility for their own actions. And many of the bad decisions didn’t feel like there was a good reason for them in-story—they only furthered the plot.

The best part of the story, to me, were the flashbacks. The story of the younger versions of the characters rebelling against their "saviour" was empowering, even if they're going through horrible things, and made me wish the book had focused on that particular tale instead. However, I’m also quite confused by Emmeline’s arc in these flashbacks. A large point is made of her suits and the fact she feels more comfortable in them, and in the fact that a (debatably) “less feminine” name felt better for her, but in the end all this seems to serve is

the reveal that the Lilith in the flashbacks is really her.

The gender journey I expected for her never comes.

The worldbuilding, the magic system, the queer representation: there was so much potential in all these concepts, but it never quite hit the spot for me.

I want to give a special shoutout to the artist who created the cover, as that one is a piece of art in itself. Absolutely gorgeous!

List of content warnings under the following spoiler cut:

CW self-harm, manipulation, sexual abuse, unvoluntary sex work, alcohol, death, murder, domestic abuse, violence, blood, psychological torture, body fluids, necromancy, mentions of abortion, mentions of using children’s blood for magical purposes.

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booksthatburn's review against another edition

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A bunch of little things were making me uncomfortable, but the way the blood magic was used is the big one that made me stop. If the book engages with the way the blood magic is being used as something partly like a drug and explicitly as self harm then I'm not ready right now to read that book. If it doesn't end up engaging with those early themes then it's not a story I want to read at all. Either way, I'm stopping.

I like the way it uses three narrators for the audiobook, I'd happily listen to more of their work (singly or together).

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rtaire's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

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