Reviews

The Wicked and the Willing by Lianyu Tan

mseil24's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

jinxei's review

5.0

1927 in colonial Singapore, Gean Choo takes a new position as a lady's companion to Verity Edevane, a role that strays from the standard role and into horror as she finds herself as not just a companion to a wealthy woman, but her play thing and personal meal to keep her bloodlust in check. Despite knowing where her loyalties must lie if she wishes to keep her position in Ambrosia Hall, her life becomes complicated as she feels herself drawn to Po Lam, Verity's majordomo. She knows that she cannot have both, but who will she choose?

Did you ever read one of those Choose Your Own Adventure Goosebumps books and think to yourself "man, I wish I could decide the ending of other books?" Have you ever found yourself unhappy with who the protagonist chooses when the love triangle finally comes to an end?

Welcome to The Wicked and the Willing, a dark sapphic love triangle romance with beautiful writing, graphic gory horror, and a choose your own ending.

Dark romance is easily one of my favorite genres, and I KNOW I am not supposed to be starry eyed over the murderer who thinks herself different because she's not as horrible as other vampires, but can you really resist?

But unlike typical dark romances where the villain/morally grey might redeem themselves and the darkness gives way for redemption, Verity keeps ahold of her darkness and drags you deeper into the carnage and brutality of who she is. I absolutely adored Po Lam and it is not hard to see why one would want to pick her ending as opposed to the literal monster.

I, obviously, read both because I'm not just team pick your own ending, but also why choose?

There are extensive content tags on the author's website that detail each warning, a brief summary, and what chapter. Additionally, there is not just the two endings included with the book but another third ending called Save Yourself available on the website.

megtropolitan's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

Heed the trigger warnings at the start of the book!!!!! They are not KIDDING with that horror genre marker.

I did not heed and thought I could handle it and I suppose I did since I kept reading. Maybe I am just a big baby? I mostly kept reading for my beloved Po Lam, GET BEHIND ME! It was also very well written. I would not have had to take a break after the three most graphic scenes if it wasn't. Loved the multiple points of view as well, especially the juxtaposition of Verity's POV compared to Po Lam and Gean Choo.

dis_asteroid's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

thatgirlearlreads's review

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I think all these characters were interesting, but I didn't find any of them to be a good match for each other. 

The setting and environment made me feel like I was there in 1920s Singapore. I didn't mind the personalities of each of the ladies but I questioned the compatibility of each of them. I wish Po Lam had had more scenes with Gean Choo to explore their relationship more. 

I enjoyed the choose your own ending and although, I have a preference, neither called to me as a super satisfactory ending and only one seemed to be actually canon. 

bxtsu's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

3.75

bookishdamzel's review

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

This is an 18+ Dark F/F Romance!!!

I had a hard time getting into this one, although I liked all the characters. The book seemed to drag on a bit too far for me. Obviously, there's dark content since it is a dark romance & I'd recommend checking out Lianyu Tan's website for the full list of content warnings. 

I enjoyed the setting, the vampire/vampire coven element, dark atmosphere, and the fact you get to choose your own ending depending on who you wanted Gean Choo to be with in the end. There's also a bonus "Choose Yourself" ending too, although I haven't read it. 

vrrrmm's review

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-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? It's complicated

3.5

This was entirely too slow and I found the characters to be boring. I did like the choose between to paths though. 

meowreos's review

just couldn't give a shit anymore bro. perhaps another time!

ariph's review

challenging dark mysterious 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

4.5