Wonderfully written prequel to Bad Men, Wicked Women, where the characters were so complex and amazingly flawed. that you couldn't help but connect to them on a more cellular level. For anyone who reads this before reading Bad Men, Wicked Women, there will be no drop off to how things flow with the characters, both in their pasts and present.

A tale of attraction and the pain that it can lead to. Before We Were Wicked has colorful characters and a soap-like quality. The story is fun yet Eric Jerome Dickey explores African and African-American relationships and the stereotyping, racism, and cultural differences that can plague them.   

Warning book ends on a cliffhanger....

Eric doesn’t disappoint! Very engaging love his classic feel! Reminded me why I feel in love with his writing in the first place!

Eric Jerome Dickey always brings the heat and a unique story that will keep the reader engaged from beginning to end. I highly recommend Before We Were Wicked, and follow it immediately with the sequel.

I really loved the real life relationship drama and the realness of a young college kid trying to pay his way through school in life without racking up debt because that's super relatable. I didn't like the added a child to an already problematic relationship. I know this happens inr eal life but I just didn't feel like it was a good situation in this area. I loved the sex scenes! I'm a huge fan of smut

A little disappointed in this book. What I thought would be a good representation of a black man staying and raising his child quickly turned into a continuation of the idea that black women that choose to be with black men end up unsatisfied and wanting more because black men cannot provide for them.

I am a HUGE Dickey fan and this books just further reminds me why. I like that Dickey creates relatable Black characters and lives for them. Ken Swift is an enforcer but he also goes to college. He is a good example of being born and raised Black in America. Jimi Lee,his wife, is opposite of him. She's a spoiled Ethiopian college student who was raised in the rich white area, Diamond Bar. Her parents have high standards for her future but she doesn't live up to them. She becomes pregnant by Ken but he marries her and raises their daughter, Margaux with her. Jimi Lee quickly becomes unlikable because she pities herself about the life she should have had insyead if appreciating the one she has. Ken does his best by working more to afford more of the lifestyle Jimi Lee is used to.  Nothing satifies her for long and she starts cheating on Ken. She also blackmails him with the name of a man he killed. This book was classic Dickey: educated Black folks in a messy situation. I loved it!

I was not a fan of Before We Were Wicked. I'm more into his older books and it seems that he has steered away from that writing style, which is completely understandable. It is necessary for an authors growth at some point in their career. I felt disappointed that I wasn't able to get into the book.

I could not relate with the characters. I wasn't rooting for either Ken Swift or Jimi Lee. Jimi Lee was such an unlikable character. Their relationship was terrible, the amount of blackmail and strife that she put Ken through, I'm surprised that he didn't just take her out. But he was so in love with her, that he allowed himself to be treated like crap over a situation they were both in. 

The current writing style was a little annoying, with the extremely long sex scenes and conversations that went on for pages and pages. This book may be best for the extreme Eric Jerome Dickey fan.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton Books for the opportunity to read this title.

Good summer read. Real and raw. 

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

Before We Were Wicked by Eric Jerome Dickey
Publisher - Dutton Books
Pages - 341

This story centers around a lust-filled night that turned into a toxic relationship between Ken and Jimi Lee. 


Ken is twenty-one and living a not so legal life, to pay his way through college. One night out and he meets the women who will upset his world.  Jimi Lee is spoiled and selfish. The two began a relationship that shows you explosive sex does not a relationship make. It also highlights the cultural differences between Black Americans or African Americans and those who are not.  

I can't say that I connected to either of the characters. I'm not sure if it was lack of character development or the fact that the background, dialog, and actions just made one of them so unbelievable horrid that I could not see past the evil. The strong dislike I had toward Jimi could be attributed to the writer's talent because he definitely elicited a strong reaction from me with this character.  The cultural differences serve as a third character in this story, which was a solid one. If you throw these things with a lack of communication and pregnancy, you have the makings of a relationship that was over before it began. 

The plot was strong. The characters were interesting and somewhat developed. Overall, this was an okay read, but not close to my favorite EJD novel.

I received this review in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley

Ken Swift is a young college kid, just trying to pay his way through school and life without having enormous debt. His job isn't exactly on the legal side, but it helps him to survive and once he's done with school, this job will be done too. When he is working one night at Club Fetish, reminding the owner that he still owes for his thriving club, he meets Jimi Lee. Jimi Lee is a beautiful Ethiopian woman who he can't keep his eyes off of. She feels the connection too and before long they are at his apartment dancing in other ways. Even though Ken is forbidden fruit in the eyes of Jimi's strick Ethiopian family, she can't stay away from him and soon enough, she'll be joined to him forever. 

Thank you to NetGalley & Dutton Books for the opportunity to read and review this book. 

This is Book 2 in the Ken Swift series by Eric Jerome Dickey, but it's a prequel to Book 1, so I think it's fine to read this one before. It's been a while since I've read an EJD book, but I was looking forward to this one. I will soon be reading the first book because I'm very curious to know what is going to happen next. 

I learned a lot about Ethiopian culture in this book and talking with those in my community, I can see that what I read is accurate. I also learned about colorism within the black community. This is something I wasn't expecting. I was taught to love all people regardless of the color of their skin. 

There were several times in this book where I wanted to jump in and smack Jimi Lee. She was really an evil woman. While Ken's job wasn't the most upstanding, he himself was a very good man and in my opinion he didn't deserve to be treated the way he was treated by Jimi Lee. 

I look forward to reading book 1 and any other books in this series.

I loved the 90’s feel of this book., also the gangster vibe!! This book is well written. Easy to read and this is a prequel to bad men wicked women but your fine if you just read this alone.  I enjoyed learning some of the Ethiopian culture but I did not like how jimi treated Ken and how he just took it especially since he’s so hard core but hey, guess love and lust makes us crazy.

For fans of Eric Jerome Dickey his latest novel, Before we were wicked is everything you love about him and more. Although I haven't read Dickey in over a decade, I was pleasantly surprised. 

Before we were wicked, Dickey reminds us what we love most about his writing and the characters he develops. Ken Swift is a man trying to carve out his piece of the American dream, and like many men, before him, he’s using what he has to make a better life for himself, by being an enforcer and using the money to put himself through school. 

Jimi Lee, on the other hand, comes from a well off Ethiopian family who has her under strict lock and key and have placed huge expectations on her. 

One night their worlds collide and their chemistry is undeniable. Jimi Lee is looking for someone real, unlike the man she’s currently dating who is boring and predictable. While Ken Swift is attracted to her sheer beauty and her heritage.  

They begin a relationship from what began as a one night stand and their world collides when Jimi Lee gets pregnant. 

Filled with passion and intrigue, I truly enjoyed this poignant read.

I did not read Eric’s first book “Bad Men and Wicked Women”, but that totally didn’t mean a thing as this was the prequel to that book. What a drama-filled book this is! I think it does a great job at portraying the political and emotional standpoints of these two characters and what they’ve gone through in their life. It’s raw and genuine. A lot of people need this culture shock in their lives. At the same time, I think Jimi was portrayed a little more dramatic than she needed to be. She went through a lot in her life, but her behavior was a little uncalled for in my opinion. Again, hard to judge a person through all of that, but she was just a tad unlikable. Otherwise, a solid read. Thank you Dutton for gifting me a copy in exchange for my honest review.

One moment can alter the course of your life. Ken Swift is out hurting people for cash to pay his way through college when he lays eyes on Jimi Lee. He playfully claims to be her boyfriend on the first chance meeting but the intention is a one-night stand. He has college to finish and Jimi Lee is heading for Harvard after a gap year in native land. Neither have time for a committed relationship. But their sexual chemistry is too strong. When Jimi Lee becomes pregnant, their different worlds become forever entwined leading to a cultural clash, passion, infidelity and raw emotion.

This is what a prequel looks like! Before We Were Wicked is a full introduction to Ken Swift. No guesswork; this character is fleshed out well. It begins in the 90s when pagers were a means of communication and internet chat rooms were a thing. It flows right into the first page of Bad Men and Wicked Women which was released exactly one year ago.

Eric Jerome Dickey is known for writing expertly from a woman's point of view. But this prequel is a reminder that the author can write just as well in a male's voice. In fact, it gave me insight into a man's inner thoughts while in a relationship. For that alone, Before We Were Wicked is worth reading.

Bookhearts, you have exactly one week to gather your coins. Reserve a weekend to read this star-crossed love lust novel because you will not put it down.

Happy Early Pub Day, Eric Jerome Dickey! Before We Were Wicked will be available Tuesday, April 16. You're welcome for the love and turkey bacon. 😉

LiteraryMarie

DNF at 40%

*Thank you to Dutton Books and NetGalley for providing me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!*
To be quite honest, I had such a rough time sticking to this book. Half of the time I was too busy facepalming on every page that I did read to take it seriously. The writing was some of the worst I have ever seen and had an almost juvenile approach to the story overall. I honestly thought that I was reading a middle schooler's writing assignment that they decided to scribble down at the last minute the night before the due date. There were many times where the flow of thought in a paragraph was not consistent at all and was very all over the place. There was also a tendency for the author to be caught up in writing an entire conversation between two characters without specifying who is talking for an entire page and lots of rambles consisting of details that served no purpose in supporting the story or situation at all. As for the characters, they were completely flat and one-dimensional. Jimi Lee had so much potential but the way she was written made her sound like she wanted to throw away all of her accomplishments just for a guy she had a one night stand with. Ken Swift on the other hand was the epitome of everything you want to avoid in a guy, up to the point where he literally doesn't pay any attention to a word Jimi Lee said when he first met her, objectify women to the extreme, and acted like a hormonal teenage boy interacting with a girl for the first time. If executed better, this story could have been way more interesting, but unfortunately the writing style made it fall short.

"Before We Were Wicked" is a prequel novel to "Bad Men and Wicked Women." The plot is based on Jimi Lee, a 19-year-old Ethiopian girl, and  Ken Swift, a 22-year-old enforcement man for gangster San Bernardino. Swift is an African American. California native. Dickey does a magnificent job of  exploring relationships and divorce. . 

Swift and Lee's relationship begins after a night at Club Fetish. Lee  had come to the club with another date, when Swift butted in. They slept together the first night of the relationship, and a torrid affair began from that point forward. Their lust began turning to hatred because of family problems, cultural differences, and unrealistic expectations.

I despised Jimi Lee and how she treated Ken throughout the novel. Her parents made her feel, from an early age, that she was superior to African Americans. Lee and her family were as bad as some bigot. She clung to stereotypes about the African American community, and told Ken that her family wouldn't approve of him, because of his race. She (and other Ethiopians) believed they are Caucasoid. Supposedly, Ethiopians received this status of "white" because their country defeated the Italians in a war. Lee and other Ethiopians, however, are darker hued, and would be treated like other Blacks in America.  She did not see her commonality with Ken, instead she believed he was beneath her.  He was a "fling" while she prepared to go to Ethiopia for six months then to Harvard University.

She was embarrassed to be seen in public with Ken around other Ethiopians and her parents due to the pecking order. Jimi Lee always let Ken know he wasn't good enough for her. Who could survive in a poisonous relationship like that? They nearly break up, but things don't go as planned, and the relationship last longer than either of them anticipated.

I liked learning about Ethiopian culture and the serious discussions of race and class in the novel.  I was unhappy with his overuse of sex scenes. I'm not saying they were bad, it just got to be too many. They were titillating at first, then became boring, because there were so many. I've read his other novels in the past, and loved them. I just wished there was some balance with these scenes, because it slowed down the plot's execution. . 

I liked Ken and felt sorry for him. He stayed in that relationship and put up with way more than he should have. He was a good man, and Jimi Lee treated him like crap.  She constantly berated him and complained incessantly.  She was greedy and betrayed Ken constantly. Although she loved him, her parents' opinion of him mattered more. 

Jimi Lee wanted to be with a man she didn't love, so she could maintain control of her personal power.  I ended up hating her as the book progressed. I wasn't sure why he put up with her madness constantly. I realized she suffered abuse at the hands of her father, but it didn't excuse for how she treated Ken.

What I have gathered about this story is that it is told by the main character Ken's point of view. I couldn't really connect with him or with Jimi the way that I would have liked however it was a tad bit better than the first book. I have never really read any Eric Jerome Dickey's work other than the first book of this series and I couldn't even get into it; however with this second book I still have yet to know what this book is about really but I could tell that it was in the main characters point of view if that makes any sense at all. This was an eArc from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review and honestly I totally wanted to get into this book/series but I just couldn't find myself to get into it or connect with any of the characters but the story line does have possible potential in my eyes.

<b>2 Stars
Review by Alysia
Late Night Reviewer
Up All Night w/ Books Blog</b>

<b>Before We Were Wicked</b> by Eric Jerome Dickey was a different type of book than I'm used to reading. The girls at work raved about his work and I thought I would give him a try. It was difficult for me to read. I never was able to really get into it. 

The main characters were Jimi Lee and Ken Swift. It was a one night stand that turned into a secret affair, turned into pregnancy and a lot of angry emotions toward one another. Yet, they wouldn't divorce. They would argue and fight and end up in the bedroom. 

I didn't enjoy how conniving Jimi Lee was toward Ken Swift. They both got into the mess but she blamed him and would use everything against him. She would lie to everyone about him and was embarrassed about his bloodlines. She made sure everyone knew it too.

The story is written in Ken's POV . 

When reading this book I didn't realize it was a sequel. I may have had a different opinion if I would have read it. 

**ARC received in exchange for an honest review.***

I absolutely loved this book! 
I now need to go back and read the other. So much awesome! I love when you get more story.