Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
Another fantastic read by Thea Harrison. Seriously, why don't I read her stuff more often??
Never thought an owl shifter could be hot, but Sebastian is seriously HOT! Olivia is a great character too. The story flows perfectly with just enough action and not over-doing it. The action has a purpose in the plot and isn't overused as a way to make a book more 'something'. I never once had the urge to skim ahead because not a sentence is wasted. I love the way Thea Harrison can put in just enough sex to keep things spicy but the story doesn't rely on it as filler. The little intimacies between a couple that bring across romance are perfectly portrayed.
Never thought an owl shifter could be hot, but Sebastian is seriously HOT! Olivia is a great character too. The story flows perfectly with just enough action and not over-doing it. The action has a purpose in the plot and isn't overused as a way to make a book more 'something'. I never once had the urge to skim ahead because not a sentence is wasted. I love the way Thea Harrison can put in just enough sex to keep things spicy but the story doesn't rely on it as filler. The little intimacies between a couple that bring across romance are perfectly portrayed.
Original review: 7.8.2013
Magical librarian and eagle owl Wyr really should have made for a better story than this. The "villain" was very predictable and, to some extent, the H/h relationship was too. It all felt a little rushed, especially the magical cure at the end. I liked the other two novellas I've read (Natural Evil and Hunter's Season) much better.
ETA: I did appreciate the "shorter" hero and the fact that Olivia wasn't a knockout beauty or had and super special powers.
Re-read 2.8.2016
Re-read this afternoon and appreciated it much more. Yes, the villain is still very easy to spot, but he's not the main focus of this story; the love story of Olivia and Sebastian is. It was nice to read about a hero who's ready to set aside his wild glory days and learn how to live in one place and be part of a wider community again. I still like that Olivia is mainly a normal woman who grew up with a stable loving family and wants that for herself - a nice change from all the tortured backgrounds and "magical girls" you can find all too easily in PNR/UF.
Magical librarian and eagle owl Wyr really should have made for a better story than this. The "villain" was very predictable and, to some extent, the H/h relationship was too. It all felt a little rushed, especially the magical cure at the end. I liked the other two novellas I've read (Natural Evil and Hunter's Season) much better.
ETA: I did appreciate the "shorter" hero and the fact that Olivia wasn't a knockout beauty or had and super special powers.
Re-read 2.8.2016
Re-read this afternoon and appreciated it much more. Yes, the villain is still very easy to spot, but he's not the main focus of this story; the love story of Olivia and Sebastian is. It was nice to read about a hero who's ready to set aside his wild glory days and learn how to live in one place and be part of a wider community again. I still like that Olivia is mainly a normal woman who grew up with a stable loving family and wants that for herself - a nice change from all the tortured backgrounds and "magical girls" you can find all too easily in PNR/UF.
I enjoyed this story. I loved Olivia, she's a great spunky librarian. I'm always in favor of an awesome librarian. Sebastian's interesting, I enjoyed how stoic he was about the curse and yet still willing to enjoy the chance of finally finding a mate.
This was fun even if the action was rather expected and ultimately pretty uneventful. I enjoyed this story and just wished it was longer as is usual with me for any novella I enjoy.
Merged review:
I enjoyed this story. I loved Olivia, she's a great spunky librarian. I'm always in favor of an awesome librarian. Sebastian's interesting, I enjoyed how stoic he was about the curse and yet still willing to enjoy the chance of finally finding a mate.
This was fun even if the action was rather expected and ultimately pretty uneventful. I enjoyed this story and just wished it was longer as is usual with me for any novella I enjoy.
This was fun even if the action was rather expected and ultimately pretty uneventful. I enjoyed this story and just wished it was longer as is usual with me for any novella I enjoy.
Merged review:
I enjoyed this story. I loved Olivia, she's a great spunky librarian. I'm always in favor of an awesome librarian. Sebastian's interesting, I enjoyed how stoic he was about the curse and yet still willing to enjoy the chance of finally finding a mate.
This was fun even if the action was rather expected and ultimately pretty uneventful. I enjoyed this story and just wished it was longer as is usual with me for any novella I enjoy.
Thea Harrison returns to her fabulous Elder Races series with a novella featuring a human and an ailing owl who might also be her true mate.
I’ve long been a lover of this series and have read most everything that has been set in this unique world that’s full of strong humans and alpha Wyr. I’ve mostly enjoyed the full length selections but have had trouble in the past with the novellas and not being able to become invested in the characters and short story lines. The Wicked was the complete opposite and I really got attached to Sebastian and Olivia in a short amount of time!
Head of his security company, Sebastian is slowly going blind because of a curse flung at him on his last case. He’s searched for a cure to no avail and has decided he’ll use what time he has left to continue working. The vampire sorceress, Carling, has hired him and his team to provide security for the group moving her personal library off the island she has been banned from. Working with that group is Olivia, a human with ties to the Wyr community and Sebastian is immediately drawn to the feisty female.
Restless with her life Olivia decided to join on in an attempt to shake up her world a bit and hopefully use the experience as a stepping stone in her career. The owl Wyr Sebastian intrigues her and she finds herself wanting to be near him constantly. On an island where not everyone is what they seem Olivia and Sebastian find contentment in each other’s arms. Even as death rears its ugly head and puts Olivia in the cross hairs.
The Wicked is a short addition to this series but no less important. These should be read in order to better understand the inner workings of this society and the background that has brought Sebastian and Olivia together in this moment. There are appearances from past characters including my favorite, a certain Djinn from book 3, Oracle’s Moon. Sebastian and Olivia, though the courtship is short, have a wonderful relationship based on mutual respect for one another…and of course a hot physical relationship.
I always enjoy Harrison’s shifters because they are often things I haven’t read before. I’ve never read about an owl and I appreciated the variety Harrison gave me and how Sebastian’s personality mimicked the animal he houses. He’s aloof but very sharp regardless of the curse now affecting him so profoundly. Even when he’s stricken with headaches that cause his vision to waver, he’s always thinking, always plotting ways to beat it. When Olivia appears in his life he’s intrigued enough to realize her as his mate and not fight it. I liked how he just dealt with it. No struggle. Just acceptance. Even though Olivia is human she understands the workings of a Wyr in a mating and she’s more then happy to allow the transition between Sebastian and herself. I found her to be a great heroine. Smart, determined and driven. I really liked this one and really look forward to the next installment, whether that be a novella or full length!
I give The Wicked by Thea Harrison 4 stars!
I’ve long been a lover of this series and have read most everything that has been set in this unique world that’s full of strong humans and alpha Wyr. I’ve mostly enjoyed the full length selections but have had trouble in the past with the novellas and not being able to become invested in the characters and short story lines. The Wicked was the complete opposite and I really got attached to Sebastian and Olivia in a short amount of time!
Head of his security company, Sebastian is slowly going blind because of a curse flung at him on his last case. He’s searched for a cure to no avail and has decided he’ll use what time he has left to continue working. The vampire sorceress, Carling, has hired him and his team to provide security for the group moving her personal library off the island she has been banned from. Working with that group is Olivia, a human with ties to the Wyr community and Sebastian is immediately drawn to the feisty female.
Restless with her life Olivia decided to join on in an attempt to shake up her world a bit and hopefully use the experience as a stepping stone in her career. The owl Wyr Sebastian intrigues her and she finds herself wanting to be near him constantly. On an island where not everyone is what they seem Olivia and Sebastian find contentment in each other’s arms. Even as death rears its ugly head and puts Olivia in the cross hairs.
The Wicked is a short addition to this series but no less important. These should be read in order to better understand the inner workings of this society and the background that has brought Sebastian and Olivia together in this moment. There are appearances from past characters including my favorite, a certain Djinn from book 3, Oracle’s Moon. Sebastian and Olivia, though the courtship is short, have a wonderful relationship based on mutual respect for one another…and of course a hot physical relationship.
I always enjoy Harrison’s shifters because they are often things I haven’t read before. I’ve never read about an owl and I appreciated the variety Harrison gave me and how Sebastian’s personality mimicked the animal he houses. He’s aloof but very sharp regardless of the curse now affecting him so profoundly. Even when he’s stricken with headaches that cause his vision to waver, he’s always thinking, always plotting ways to beat it. When Olivia appears in his life he’s intrigued enough to realize her as his mate and not fight it. I liked how he just dealt with it. No struggle. Just acceptance. Even though Olivia is human she understands the workings of a Wyr in a mating and she’s more then happy to allow the transition between Sebastian and herself. I found her to be a great heroine. Smart, determined and driven. I really liked this one and really look forward to the next installment, whether that be a novella or full length!
I give The Wicked by Thea Harrison 4 stars!
A cute, short read. I really liked Olivia and Sebastian together. They got their HEA even though it was very quick. He really deserved her and she knew just what he needed always. It was nice seeing Grace and Khalil again! I do miss them!
4 stars - It was really good
Olivia is a librarian who focuses on rare magical books. She has just been hired as part of a team to help manage the safe transportation of vampire sorceress Carling Severan’s books from an island in the Other Lands. What she doesn’t expect is to fall quickly for the head of security for the expedition, Sebastian Hale.
This was an enjoyable novella (like all the previous ones have been). In previous books, we learned about Carlings library and that she was fighting with Julian, the king of the vampires, to retrieve it from her house in the Other Lands. It was nice to actually see a conclusion to this confrontation and get to know more about how a collection like this would be moved, especially since I am an archivist and love reading about magical libraries.
Olivia is a witch who works at a magical library to safeguard their magical books, which just sounds like a fascinating job. She was smart, snarky, and just a great character. Sebastian is a security specialist who has his own successful company. During a recent job he was cursed by a shrunken head and is now searching for ways to break it. But in the meantime he is trying to distract himself with this job, and with the beautiful Olivia.
These two have instant chemistry and hit it off really quick. They don’t waste time and quickly realize that Sebastian is close to mating with her. I really liked Olivia and Sebastian as a couple. I really liked that while Sebastian is cursed, they just focused on enjoying their time and not obsessing over what might happen. Yes it does come up a few times but its not the main focus of their relationship.
Overall, this was an enjoyable novella and I love getting to learn more about the different types of professions in this world. Also, this was just another great couple and I wonder if they will pop up again.
TW: death; knife violence;
Maybe more of a 3.5, but hey the main character is a librarian. Not many get picked to pack and move a vampires book collection. Plus, there is the bonus that the head of security is really hot.
4.5 Stars
Overall Rating ★★★★★
Plot ★★★★★
Humor ★★★
Characters & Character Development ★★★★★
Narration ★★★★★
Olivia & Sebastian - This was a really great story. It was more intense than some of the other short stories of this series. The short stories really bring more depth to the whole story line. I wasn't expecting some of the intensity that this story had.
It was nice to see some moments in the beginning and end involving Khalil and Grace. It was also great the way the author was able to incorporate so much into this novella.
Overall Rating ★★★★★
Plot ★★★★★
Humor ★★★
Characters & Character Development ★★★★★
Narration ★★★★★
Olivia & Sebastian - This was a really great story. It was more intense than some of the other short stories of this series. The short stories really bring more depth to the whole story line. I wasn't expecting some of the intensity that this story had.
It was nice to see some moments in the beginning and end involving Khalil and Grace. It was also great the way the author was able to incorporate so much into this novella.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
My Review:
What a exciting and thrilling story and I couldn't get enough of this book. I absolutely loved this book here and it was packed with romance and adventure and some suspense trickled in and what a impactful ending. The Wicked is a story of a hero who is broody and tortured but is also suffering from a curse. He acts like a bodyguard for a troop of explorers to discover a new hidden library archive in the jungle. The woman he is attracted to, is one of the top librarians who has her own sense of magic and some vampirical abilities.
This romance was endearing and sweet! Even though there was some antagonistic tension between them in the very beginning, very quickly they connect to each other. I just loved their romance quiet moments together. And the road trip adventure in the jungle was such fun to read! I loved them finding a secret hidden library and artifacts. For those that love a good adventure romance, I highly recommend this one here.
Overall this novella was a hit and I had such a fun time with it and was a quick read that kept me on my toes!
What a exciting and thrilling story and I couldn't get enough of this book. I absolutely loved this book here and it was packed with romance and adventure and some suspense trickled in and what a impactful ending. The Wicked is a story of a hero who is broody and tortured but is also suffering from a curse. He acts like a bodyguard for a troop of explorers to discover a new hidden library archive in the jungle. The woman he is attracted to, is one of the top librarians who has her own sense of magic and some vampirical abilities.
This romance was endearing and sweet! Even though there was some antagonistic tension between them in the very beginning, very quickly they connect to each other. I just loved their romance quiet moments together. And the road trip adventure in the jungle was such fun to read! I loved them finding a secret hidden library and artifacts. For those that love a good adventure romance, I highly recommend this one here.
Overall this novella was a hit and I had such a fun time with it and was a quick read that kept me on my toes!