I didn’t realize that sex was going to be a big part of this book because I went into this blind. Unfortunately I did not finish it due to that, but that is my own fault. The writing was good but with the main character working at a sex parlor was off putting for me. I’m sure others would enjoy this though!

This book was a difficult read and I DNF'd it about 40% of the way (life is just too short). The story itself sounded so fantastic from the description, however the writing was monotonous and dragged the plot so much that it was hard to stay awake.

The characters felt very one-dimensional and monotone, which was a huge letdown as, once, again, the description really drew me in and characters are usually what keeps me reading, however these characters just did not do it for me.

With monotone characters, monotonous writing, and a slow plot that felt like crawling along on hot asphalt, it was just not a good read for me personally.

I liked this book, especially the main characters. They carried the story for me. That said, the second half felt a bit rushed. The beginning was great, but later on, things started moving too fast and didn’t give enough time for everything to properly develop. Still, would recommend overall.

Falon Ballard’s Something Wicked is a bold and seductive entry into the romantasy genre, blending the intrigue of Shakespeare’s Macbeth with the opulence of Moulin Rouge! 

Set in the politically unstable nation of Avon, the story follows Callum, the son of a dethroned king, who must assassinate his father to qualify for the country’s first presidential election. His path crosses with Lady Caterine, a courtesan at La Puissance—a premier sex club—who possesses the magical ability to manipulate emotions during intimate encounters. Their alliance, fraught with mistrust and undeniable attraction, becomes central to the nation’s fate.   

Ballard’s world-building is immersive, with La Puissance serving as a vivid backdrop for the unfolding drama. The novel’s strength lies in its complex characters and the tension-filled relationship between Cate and Callum. While some plot elements may feel familiar, the unique setting and emotional depth offer a fresh take on classic themes.  

Something Wicked is the first installment in the Idle Reputations series, promising more intrigue and passion in future volumes. 

For readers seeking a steamy, politically charged fantasy with strong character dynamics, Something Wicked delivers a compelling experience.

Moulin Rougue meets Lady MacBeth, and a gorgeous cover is what initially drew me into wanting to read this story. I felt like the concept was bold, had potential to be a steamy masterpiece.

I felt like I was a little underwhelmed by this story. The spice was great, but ended up becoming monotonous to me and not serving to progress the plot, like I’d hoped it would based on the description.

I also felt a little confused by the political aspect of the story and thought the system was flimsy at best and underdeveloped at worst. It honestly made no sense and made the plot almost too… obvious?

Overall the banter and wit behind the writing was great and I believe I’d love this author in any other genre. But for me. i needed more in order to really hold a candle to the romantasy genre.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this!

This story is well written and, for me, a fun read overall. The magic system is pretty neat (gifted people, kind of like X men mutants!) and the cover is to DIE for - I would put it on my wall as art. A solid 3 star read, which is on the neutral side of positive for me.

A few critiques from my end: the first being the writing style. It does feel younger, like New Adult - not quite YA but not quite Adult. The second is that I was not expecting the Moulin Rouge inspiration to be less inspiration and more following a decent amount of the general plotline as well as character names. It reads like a fan fiction alternative novel for it and Macbeth so I do feel a little disappointed that those things overshadowed some of the unique spins the author did put on the story.

All in all, a good time and I'd read this author again!

This was such a fun and stunningly sex positive fantasy with so many twists and turns in the story. I absolutely adored Cate and Cal’s love story and the concept of gifteds and bonds. The mystery of Lady M and what she’s doing with her gifted army was so intriguing and i wish there had been more exploration of it. Hopefully this will continue as a series we will get to see Cate and Andra’s sister and more of the uprising.

Something Wicked was absolutely fantastic and sexy! The author wrote a story that was so well written I found myself flying through the pages, unable to put the book down, pondering what would happen next. My favorite piece of this entire story was how believable the characters were.

The writing is clear and clean, and very immersive. The book hums along at a good clip, but the pacing makes sure we're given time to breathe between plot-intensifying moments. The story was absolutely engaging and the work that went into the settings was noticeable and superb. I felt absolutely transported and I'm so incredibly glad I was able to read an arc of this story.

3.5 stars

Magic, revolution, and murder. Cate has a magical talent to affect people’s emotions and Callum is reluctantly in need of her services to hold onto his political status. Crazy family dynamics, class struggles, and an intense connection bring the drama.

I enjoyed the dynamics of the main characters and am looking forward to book two to see where the story takes them.

Thank you Falon Ballard and G.P. Putnam's Sons for providing this ARC via NetGalley. Comments and opinions above are my own.

#SomethingWicked #NetGalley

First, thank you so much to Netgalley and Putnam for providing me with this eARC!

I have been in such a bad fantasy slump lately and this is exactly what I needed to pull me out of it. The overall premise and aesthetic of this book were so good and it delivered in many ways for me.

The world building was simple enough that it was easily understood. It wasn’t overly complex or riddled with fantastical jargon that made it hard to follow. A society where the majority of oppressed people are villainized women (ones that all have some sort of magical ability that deems them as a ‘Gifted’). Ouch. That one hit a little too close to home, but it also really helped me connect with the main female and her friends. It was a driving factor that had me rooting for them through the whole story because the women should get to win in at least one world. Given how the book ends, I can’t exactly say they do win, but we will see how the series continues.

In that regard, I feel as if the book was incredibly rushed toward the last chapters. The beginning does a beautiful job of setting up these intriguing plot elements here and there, but it felt like it all happened all at once. Normally this wouldn’t bother me in a standalone fantasy, but seeing as this appears to be the first of a series, so many parts of this could have been stretched out more to add a bigger mystery and emotional impact to the story. It felt as if most of the conflict that was introduced was immediately resolved before the last 90%. It didn’t quite pack the punch I was hoping it would after how it was set up at the start.

The romance was pretty decent. Cate and Callum’s chemistry was amazing. Their spicy scenes were written perfectly and I was stunned by how much I enjoyed it. The mouth on that man! He may be a gentleman, but not when it comes to his woman and that I loved it!!

However, their romance also felt so very rushed. They go from meeting to in love within the span of a week. Without spoiling anything, there is a deeper reason for their quick and intense connection, but we don’t know enough about it to understand the WHY. They just kind of accept that their connection is what it is and fall in love without really knowing one another. Same as before, I wish this had been dragged out a little more. Developed further with more angst so we could truly see why they loved one another rather than “I forgive whatever the other person ever does because of this ‘connection’”. I’m hoping this is expanded on in future books.

Overall, this book was such a good step back into fantasy for me. The author has an amazing prose and it sucked me in from the first sentence and kept me on my seat till the end. I’m looking forward to seeing what they do with the rest of this series.

Something Wicked was the perfect mix of Moulin Rouge and Macbeth. The angst, romance, and politics were all combined into the beautiful first book in the Idle Reputations series.

I do wish we got to see more of Callum’s political side, as I’m still hesitant about him in that regard, but that could just be because Cate shines through so much brighter than he does.

Thank you for the opportunity of an eARC, and I am leaving this review willingly.

Unfortunately, Something Wicked didn’t really work for me. I struggled to get into the story, mainly because the romance felt rushed and unrealistic. The characters fall in love at first glance across a crowded room, and the MMC’s immediate thought of “Mine” upon seeing the FMC didn’t feel believable or earned.

I usually love a good instant connection when it’s done well, but here it lacked the development and emotional depth that makes that kind of chemistry convincing. Without time to build any real foundation between the characters, it was hard for me to feel invested in their relationship or the story overall.

While the premise had potential, I needed more buildup and authenticity in the romance to really connect with it.

I genuinely don’t have a lot of strong thoughts about Something Wicked. It feels extremely… fine. There’s nothing that sticks out to me, though the beginning is decently intriguing. But there’s also nothing that I hated.

Something Wicked is a book that on the surface seems to have a lot of strong and heavy themes, but fails to really hit the mark with the expectations. It reads very contemporary and silly compared to what was actually happening. Everything felt very shallow and underdeveloped.

The spice was there and definitely good and different enough each time but I don’t think it could have saved what little chemistry I could (or couldn’t) see between Cate & Callum.

This cover is beyond gorgeous though!

Thank you to Netgalley and G.P. Putnam’s Sons for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

Severely lacking in all areas. Everything felt very rushed, to the point where there was no emotional connection to the characters. The promise was there and the story had so much potential, but it just wasn’t executed well. I am disappointed because I was very excited to read this story, especially with the gorgeous cover.

I really thought I was going to love this book! The cover is STUNNING and I’m obsessed with both Moulin Rouge and Shakespeare. But I just couldn’t get into this one. I felt like the first part dragged on far too much, making the Ending feel rushed. The main “conflict” between the two main characters was resolved within like a chapter, and even though it includes some fantasy elements, I didn’t like the insta-lust or the world-building. I did really enjoy that it was a dual POV because that added a lot of richness to the story, but some of the letters between chapters felt really random and confusing to me. Most things were wrapped up except for what I thought was the biggest twist, so that was also disappointing

In a plot full of schemes and romance, Something Wicked delivers an interesting premise that keeps you reading but ultimately doesn’t hit its mark. The entire atmosphere of this novel was initially intriguing and the lore around the Gifted, Cate’s gift, a conflicted prince, and the political uprising taking place are all the right pieces for an interesting fantasy romance.

I had a difficult time connecting to both Cate and Callum as characters, but mostly Callum. I found myself enjoying Cate’s POV chapters more, she felt the most whole out of the two. Right away, you know who she is as a person and she's a likable character to follow. Callum I had a hard time placing. He felt flat, and maybe if we had more time with him and his relationships, it would have been easier to care for him and care for what happens to him throughout this novel. That’s all to say, I think the novel has a really strong beginning in placing its characters where they are and how their life are going, it’s only the further you get into it that it feels more jumbled. While the spicier scenes were written very well, I think some of them took away from emotional scenes that needed to feel their weight, or scenes that could have furthered the main characters’ relationships to others in the story. Because this is given so much space in the book, the other relationships fall flat, then as the reader, I have little reason to care what happens. There is insta-love and insta-lust and in this plot, it makes sense, but even then I did not feel like the love part was believable. I’m not sure if this was a pacing issue or still a character issue.

Some of the world-building felt clunky and I rarely had a full grasp of the world in which these characters lived, though I very much wanted to know. It felt its strongest in the beginning and middle, but I was missing something still. The idea of the letters at the end of some chapters is cool, but it also takes away some of the mystery and reveals that are within this book.

This premise truly is unique and captivating, it has all of the right pieces in it and it’s still an entertaining read, but with more refinement, perhaps the next book in this series can take it up a notch.

Thank you to Netgalley/Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC!!!

I want to give this 3.5 stars because I did enjoy it but I didn’t LOVE it. Cate is someone I can identify with she’s staunchly loyal, protective and puts her family first. She is slow to trust but fell hard when Cal showed up. Cate has been through a lot in her life so she puts up barriers to avoid her big feelings and getting hurt. Callum is equal parts tender and powerful. He grew up privileged and with a chip on his shoulder but is not closed off from hearing others’ opinions. He goes through an incredible amount of loss during this book but wants to keep that grief with him as a penance. Interesting characters and a lot left unfinished, which sets this series up nicely. Spice was solid and story was decent. I’d recommend to the romantasy lovers but would be good for someone just starting out in the genre because the “magic” wielding wasn’t that prominent. I could have used a bit more from the gifted characters, but suspect that will come with more books.

I can never go wrong with a Fallon Ballard I’m obsessed with her reading and the way this book had me feeling was just great!!!

I didn’t expect to love Something Wicked as much as I did, or to find it as fresh in execution as it turned out to be. A Moulin Rouge-inspired romantasy blended with Macbeth sounds like a lot, but somehow Falon Ballard makes it work completely. It’s seductive, dark, and emotionally sharp in all the right ways.

I loved the world of La Puissance—the political tension, the magic system tied to pleasure and power, and the constant feeling that everything could fall apart at any second. Cate and Callum have real chemistry, and the push and pull between them kept me hooked from the start.

The steamy romance was a perfect match for the high-stakes, high-emotion atmosphere of the story, and it made the slower, more vulnerable moments between the characters land even harder. I’m already hoping Falon Ballard writes more in this world.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

This book, blending Macbeth and Moulin Rouge with the intense allure of a romantasy, grabs you by the soul and never lets go. The connection between Callum and Cate is undeniable yet dangerous, weaving layers of tension that will keep you eagerly turning pages. The romance strikes all the right emotional chords, drawing you in with steamy moments and heart-wrenching twists. The power struggle is irresistible, adding a level of depth that’s impossible to ignore. Overall, it’s a dark, thrilling ride through love, politics, and sacrifice; one that will leave you breathless and craving more. The wait for the next book is going to be brutal, but absolutely worth it.