In a gaming metaphor, I think this book invested most of its skill points into vibes and slow part of slowbor , and didn’t put nearly enough in compact storytelling or vibrant originality. I found the narrative meandering to the point of repetetiveness, and ideas sketched in a way that add to the vibes but do not create particular interest in characters, and the end result was that it felt like a mashup of two things than its own thing.

I was given a digital review copy of this in exchange for a fair and honest review (Thanks NetGalley). I was drawn to it (once again) by the cover and the cover alone. It reminded me of The Binding which I gave a 4 out of 5 and thoroughly enjoyed, even though it wasn’t a usual read for me. I was hoping to have a similar experience here!

When I got into reading the Author’s Bio on GoodReads it drew me in even more – Self professed Goth Lover, Witchcraft Follower, Animal Lover AND from The Midlands – Sign me up.

Wild & Wicked Things by Francesca MayWild & Wicked Things tells us of a different variation on the world we know around the period of World War I, where magic is reality, outlawed and played a part in the war itself. We meet Annie, who has loved and lost. When her father passes away she travels to Crow Island off the coast of England to pack away his things and settle his estate. It just so happens that her estranged best friend, Beatrice, had also ended up on Crow Island after disappearing without a goodbye to find a new, and more glamorous life. We follow Annie’s story as she discovers temptation on the island in the form of her new neighbour Emmeline Delacroix. When she “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”

This book was described as a 1920s sapphic, witchy The Great Gatsby incorporating witchcraft and magic into WWI-era history. You can see why it drew me in, right?

I’m going to start this review slightly different from in the past and give you my reading updates first:
Day 4 of reading: 37.0% "I feel like I've been reading this forever and the story feels almost at the end. When I checked and saw it was only 37% through, I did sigh slightly. Good so far but feels very drawn out and I'm not sure where else they can go from here."
Day 15 of reading: January 19, 2023 – 95.0% "I am still a bit mystified and confused as to why this has taken so long to tell this story in all honesty. Its not a bad story but feels a bit disjointed and a bit like we ran out of the original plot about 200 pages ago and just keep adding another bit to the plot to get to X pages."

Now. I am reading slower at the moment, however, 15 days to read this on my Kindle just felt… LONG. This was a slog at times. Not bad, just long.

The Positives

The Prose – The writing itself was good. I enjoyed it and it felt full and realised, like the author could see the picture of the scenes they were writing in front of them. I could imagine what the cottages looked like, the village, the people.
Nathan and Isobel – I wanted to call these 2 out. I really enjoyed these characters and, in all honesty, I wanted more. I want a story that tells me about their back story. I started to care less and less about Em and Annie and found myself thinking “But where is Nathan, where is Isobel”

The Negatives

The Other Characters – Mainly Annie, Em (Emmeline Delacroix – What a fantabulously witchy name?!? New Orleans much?) and Bea. They all felt so one dimensional. Annie was indecisive, Em was moody, angry, stressed and abrupt, Bea was selfish and self absorbed. That stuck throughout the story. Even when we were getting the “feelings” behind why certain people, certain actions happened. It never felt genuine, just that it was a plot device to make it all work together and make sense.
The Magic System – We really didn’t learn enough about anything other than Em’s magic. I wanted more – I wanted to understand what all of the others were. The writer gave the magic taste and smells associated with them but no real idea of what they were, how they worked, etc
The Plot – As you can see from my journal comments as I was reading it, the plot just did not work for me. None of the story lines were bad, they were just muddled and felt like it was another plotline, rather than a continuation or a sub plot working in parallel.

Overall I gave this 2* out of 5. It was an ok read with a lot some good things and I would adore the author to go back and explore Nathan, Isabel and the magic more. The idea of witches in the 1920s on this little island and magic being outlawed and impacting non magic people like in the war is just fascinating. I just didn’t get on with the story overall. It felt like there was a word/page count aim and more plots were needed to get to that threshold.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the arc but unfortunately I dnfed at around 45%

the pacing felt slow and I didn't find myself interested in any of the characters

the premise seemed great with it being sapphic and Gatsby inspired but it did not deliver in the way I expected it to

I found this a little slow to get into but that’s the only criticism I have for this, because once I got to the end I wished it would slow down and not end at all. The plot was so good and this is so wellwritten well I just couldn't put the book down once I got into it. The world building was really good too and it made you feel it was so very real at times, I thought that the characters were interesting and relatable. Overall, it’s a thoroughly entertaining and fabulous story , there are references to Gatsby that I enjoyed and I definitely recommend this to everyone

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

World War I has just ended and, Annie, has come to Crow Island to settle her father's estate. Behind every corner of this island is magic and witchcraft, which Annie quickly becomes immersed in due to her enigmatic neighbour.

I loved the style of this book, Francesca May is a very atmospheric writer and manages to capture the gothic feel. However, the whole of this book is mere description of everything going on and it takes five chapters to get to where you need to go. I feel like it definitely could have been a lot shorter. The characters aren't very well developed, and many seem like floater characters that really have no business being involved in the main story.

However, if you love historical fiction and sapphic characters then definitely give it a read, however, I did not enjoy this book. It was very difficult to read and had a slow burn the entire way through.

I liked the how the book was written, the flow of words was just very relaxing and easy to follow.

I wasn't really that much of a fan of the main character Annie, I'm now about 35% into the book and I'm not gonna continue. It started loaded with characters that had a loose string connecting to Annie but they also shaped her alot. Moving to a new place brings her together with other people that immediately define and shape her. Theres not much about herself that i care to find out. The only thing that kept me interested so far is her discovering her own sexuality since shes falling for her neighbour Emmeline. Whom also remains more shaped by immediate people around her instead of feeling like a whole character.

I enjoyed the concept of the book and the overall story, but it did felt like it was dragging a bit toward the middle and I was really struggling going through the book. The pacing was a bit off at time, and there is a few times where I expected the book to finish but was nowhere close the end of it.
Overall an interresting book with good character and an interresting setting.

Very interesting read, I loved the characters and the plot, It had me guessing what would happen next. A great read.

Gatsby meets magical surrealism, meets historical fiction...

Annie Mason arrives at Crow Island just after the end of WWI to settle her late father’s estate, where she finds dark magic and a strong connection to her neighbour Emmeline.

We alternate between Annie and Emmeline’s stories, with some other perspectives along the way. This is well written but slightly slow for my taste until much nearer the end.

If you're looking for a slow burn, sapphic historical fantasy read this might be the one for you!

I was offered this book as an ARC via NetGalley and found it to be an easy read that almost felt like a cross between The Great Gatsby (one of the main characters moves next door to a bit of a party house for starters) and the film Practical Magic. Personally, I found some of the metaphors to be a tad confused or mixed in the context of the story. For example, when describing a witch who has an affinity with water, it would have made more sense to me to use an aqueous metaphor rather than sunshine but then I am just being picky here. There is also a line "...somebody had lit incense so that the room had a smudged, smoky taste to it" which made me wonder whether there was a typo as I am not sure I know what a "smudged taste" means and a little later May says "My eyes were slow to focus through the incense-smudged world..." which sits a little neater as a description. Again these things are just personal taste.

A stunning sapphic story about
- witches
- the power of magic
- finding yourself
- found family
- love and loss

I liked the parallels drawn of magic being like alcohol during the 1920s prohibited.
This book had a gorgeous whimsical feeling which I adored.

This book has left me feeling a little stumped, because on one hand, the writing was phenomenal and I found it really hard to put it down. May has created such a delicious, decedent Gatsby-inspired setting full of blood magic and witchcraft, and the Island itself felt like its own character. It was the actual characters that were my problem.

They were less The Great Gatsby and more The Great Gaslight. The entire book was each of them having an issue, whilst writing off everyone else’s issues as ‘don’t be silly, you’re just stressed and imagining things.’ The Delacroix witches were by far the best part, and I wished we had more from their POVs and scenes that included the three of them together. I would definitely read a full prequel book of their backstory.

Annie’s POV took up most of the book which was honestly just frustrating. She has so many internal monologues about finding herself and accepting her power, and how her confidence has grown, but none of this is reflected in her actions. She stays consistently bland and meek throughout.

My main issue is with Bea. Her actions were diabolical and inexcusable, and it is hardly acknowledged. I don’t expect every book character I read about to be perfect and to never do bad things, but the way we are meant to care about her problems and root for her baffles me. She doesn’t deserve any of it. Even at the very end, she admits she would make the same choices again. This left me feeling so frustrated and unsatisfied that it kind of spoiled the entire reading experience for me.

3.5 stars overall. Thank you to Little Brown Book Group UK and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC. All opinions are my own.

I was unsure going into this book as I'm not a fan of the Great Gatsby. I loved the atmosphere and the writing style, it was a lovely read in that regards. But the plot and the pace just weren't right for me and I didn't engage terribly well with the book overall.

3.5 stars

I get the <i> Great Gatsby</i> ish vibe but the whole magic is dull. The premise is good though. Having Annie's and Emmeline's POVs is good but it doesn't get along till the end for me. Like they do have their own perspective and one of them should get along with their own plot, and vice versa, instead of getting it merged at the end.

Wild and Wicked Things is a good read though.

A very interesting book, I enjoyed the story and felt how much love the author put into her characters.

It's an atmospheric book, setting the scenery of Crow Island very well. Some characters are very easy to read and like, others are difficult to assess and it adds huge value to the story that you never fully trust some of them.

It did feel very slow at times, the middle of the book dragging a little. Overall an interesting, well written read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read and review this book.

Wild and Wicked Things is a standalone historic fantasy novel full of magic, mystery and heart. This is my first book by Francesca May. Her writing style is exceptional and feels like your reading something special. Told from various POV, this story features strong women that anyone could relate to. While there is romance elements, I wouldn't describe this a romance novel. The relationships between the characters are intriguing and you find yourself invested in them quickly and wanting to see them overcome the odds. The romance is female-female so if that's not your thing, look elsewhere but you will miss out on a fantastic story. The book reminded me a little of Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book.

— 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 —

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: Wild and Wicked Things
𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬: N/A
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫(𝐬): Francesca May
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Historical Fantasy LGBT Romance
𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝: 29th March 2022
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 4/5

TW: domestic abuse, baby loss

This is literally Great Gatsby with sapphic witches.

Annie arrives at Crow Island to sort through her recently deceased fathers possessions and is swept up by her neighbour in a life of glamour, blood magic and murder.

I also got Spells For Forgetting and Weyward vibes from this; the small historical town and a main character who has unfulfilled potential.

The pace started off slow, it felt like there was a lot of descriptions for not a lot that was happening and I was hoping that the wild and wicked novel I had been promised would soon rear its beautiful head. But that’s just me being an impatient reader and this book soon delivered.

This book was gruesome, full of blood magic and thundering energy. Secrets and spirits were out in force whilst a murder of crows spectated.

I thought that the magic system was really intriguing and simultaneously wish it was explored more whilst enjoying the shadowed mystery of its workings. I also enjoyed the characters, even the Daisy Buchanan of the novel, Bea. The romance between Annie and Emmeline was more sharp teeth than soft touch which wasn’t my favourite, but with a title such as Wild and Wicked Things, I didn’t really expect anything less.

🧚🏻‍♀️

DNF @25%

I really wanted to enjoy this book, however since I didn't actually like when I read the Great Gatsby, I knew that there would be a chance I wouldn't enjoy this, I wanted to read it to see if I would like a retelling of it.

I felt like there was no plot or much character development in the first part of this book, which is where I got up to, there may have been some later on, but honestly I didn't have the patience to find out. It was difficult for me to orient myself in the setting of the book and I found myself bored at the lack of action, felt like there was a lot of feelings with the characters that was repeated throughout almost every chapter.

3.5/5

Thank you so much for accepting me to read this book!

I really did enjoy reading this for the most part - but I do have to say that it felt a little meandering, the magic was there but I felt like we didnt get to see the full scope or understand the "system".

A little unsure about a few other things like the ending. Most of all - I felt like the gothic island vibes and the crows werent really explored and the setting, which was cool, was kind of left alone.

The ending was also a bit underwhelming for all the stress. ALSOOO I felt like the fathers side of things werent really explored enough. On the whole - it was a long book and not a great deal happened and yet I feel as though it needed more pages to feel real. The romance also felt a little flat - like we were told they were attracted to one another but we saw no flirting or .... really any lead up in my opinion.

All of this I'm saying but I did still enjoy the book - the writing was beautiful. I would for sure read more from this author in the future.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK, Orbit for providing me this arc in exchange for an honest review.*

This book reminded the song by Taylor Swift "American Dynasty". The world building was excellent. Some of the characters were a little undeveloped but overall is a really good book. I wish it wasn't a standalone though because the magic system was excellent. It really reminded me The Great Gatsby and usually I prefer more original stories. But other than that it was a really wonderful read.