Review: Wild And Wicked Things by Francesca May

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Title: Wild And Wicked Things

Author: Francesca May

Publisher: Redhook Books

Published: March 29, 2022

Pages: 432

Format: Netgalley e-arc, provided by Orbit.

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Goodreads Blurb

“In the aftermath of World War I, a naive woman is swept into a glittering world filled with dark magic, romance, and murder in this lush and decadent debut.

On Crow Island, people whisper, real magic lurks just below the surface. 

Neither real magic nor faux magic interests Annie Mason. Not after it stole her future. She’s only on the island to settle her late father’s estate and, hopefully, reconnect with her long-absent best friend, Beatrice, who fled their dreary lives for a more glamorous one. 

Yet Crow Island is brimming with temptation, and the biggest one may be her enigmatic new neighbor. 

Mysterious and alluring, Emmeline Delacroix is a figure shadowed by rumors of witchcraft. And when Annie witnesses a confrontation between Bea and Emmeline at one of the island’s extravagant parties, she is drawn into a glittering, haunted world. A world where the boundaries of wickedness are tested, and the cost of illicit magic might be death.”

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My Review

I didn’t know this was a Great Gatsby vibed/retelling. I was more interested in the witchy vibes. I do think that she got the mix of vibes down really well. Sadly, I was a bit disappointed in this one.

I loved the aspect of a witch finding out about her heritage and reconnecting with her best friend? I just didn’t really get that here. Annie goes to Crow Island but she finds a lot more than she bargained for. There is something going on and she gets thrust in the middle. Now, there’s a lot of history with Annie and Beatrice and I really wish she would have explored that. We get little tidbits here and there but it didn’t really do anything for me. I just didn’t really love their relationship or understand it. It could be because Bea annoyed me to no end. I did not like her character at all and it could be why I didn’t get their relationship.

I think the worst part of this book for me is that it is very slow. I had such a hard tie getting into this book that it took me over a week to finish. I was really close to DNF’ing this book several times. I kept with it and when I hit 60% I got sucked into the story. The plot takes so long to progress and I’m not sure if it was trying to give off a mystery vibe but it was too slow. Once things finally pick up it was very interesting. I couldn’t put it down because I had to know what would happen next. It was also a bit on the creepy side so don’t read this at night! haha.

Isabella and Nathan were my favorite things about this book. They were very strong supporting characters and loved when they were present. I was also a bit sad about the romance because I don’t feel like it got there. It was a slow burn but kind of not. I know, confusing. It wasn’t believable because they barely knew each other but in love with each other. We definitely needed more development there. There are times that they talk about the magical connection but I need so much more than that in a romance. It was a bit confusing and I don’t know that we really get clarity on that.

Overall, I’m sad that this was disappointing. I know a lot of people are really excited about it and have enjoyed it. I’m so bummed that I’m not one of those people. I do think it will be enjoyable for many but just know that there are a lot of triggering subjects (murder & others that are spoiler-y) so look those up before jumping in.

Thank you Orbit & Netgalley for providing me with a copy for review! Receiving a copy for free has not influenced my opinions 🙂