The plot was hard to follow, especially when I didn’t have any attachments to any characters. The world building was a bit weak too, pretty sad!

I really enjoyed the romance and chemistry between the Cate and Callum. I wish there was a little more world building involved. It seemed a little fast paced at points. I appreciated having the journal entries between chapters and dual pov. I am interested to seeing where the story goes from here.

Something Wicked is a fun and engaging dive into fantasy, mixing romance, magic, and a bit of political drama. . If you’re into romantic fantasy with some intrigue, this one’s worth checking out

The cover of this novel is simply gorgeous and I hope that artist gets all their roses. Truly stunning.

The novel has interesting concepts, but as a whole everything fell flat. The plot seemed to be more of a mean to tie sex scenes together, but even those got a bit repetitive and stale. It reads as an interesting first draft, but there were too many plot holes to really get invested.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

This one was a bit of a mixed bag for me. While there are several strong points, there were also a few drawbacks that ultimately led me to deduct some stars.

Pros:
• The writing is sharp and engaging.
• Both the male and female main characters are compelling and well-developed.
• The crossover concept is intriguing. Though it’s marketed as a blend of Moulin Rouge and Lady Macbeth, it felt more like a mix of Moulin Rouge and The Hunger Games, with a touch of Macbeth woven in.

Cons:
• The world-building is lacking. We’re dropped into a universe with “Gifted” individuals, but there’s little to no explanation or depth around this aspect.
• The political setup is confusing and underdeveloped. An uprising leads to monarchs agreeing to step down—and even be killed—by presidential candidates for a new regime? It felt implausible and needed much more context to make sense.
• Lady M, the antagonist, comes off as one-dimensional. She’s positioned as a threat to the FMC and her sister, yet everyone else inexplicably adores her, while only the FMC sees through her facade.

In the end, while the concept is promising, the execution would benefit from deeper development—particularly in the world-building and character motivations. On the surface, it’s an entertaining read, but a story this ambitious needs more substance to truly shine. With some refinement, this could have been a standout novel.

I feel bad... but this is a DNF for me. I tried to get into this a number of times but it just didn't really grip me.

That being said, the small bits I did read were very well written. I liked the dialogue and I liked Cate but Callum was kind of boring and the pacing was a bit too slow for me. But again, the writing itself was good and the political drama had a lot of intrigue. Based on that I'll give this 3 stars

Thank you NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A solid romance fantasy! Very classic cheesy trope of “royal falls in love with lower class, looked down upon gal and must save the realms”. Nothing really surprised me with this book, no crazy cliff hangers or twists. Great romance content!! 🌶️🌶️🌶️/5

I so wanted to love this book. As a huge fan of Macbeth and revolutions, the concept of this book is was drew me to it: magic, intrigue, murder, but my interest went downhill fast. While the spice was decently written, the insta love was not believable and made further so by the wildly under developed “bonded” idea. While I liked Cate and Callum, the plot was surface level and found me not rooting for them. I think this was also in large part to the overuse of the miscommunication trope. There were so many will they? Won’t they? Moments in terms of being together but it just spoke to the immaturity and lacking development of who they were in this book. Again, I wish I would have loved it and am sad I didn’t.

Thank you to NetGalley & Penguin Random House for the ARC.

I love love loved this book. I can’t wait to devour the whole series if we ever get one. I will be rereading it as soon as it is released in December. My only complaint was some of the plot twists were exceedingly predictable. But it’s still a fun read!

4.5 stars 🌟 This was such a fun and steamy romantasy! I loved the writing style and the Moulin Rouge/Macbeth vibes — it gave the story a unique flair. Cate and Callum had sizzling chemistry, and while their connection felt a bit instant, I still found myself rooting for them. The world-building was interesting, though I would’ve loved a bit more depth in the background details and character development. Overall, I really enjoyed this. I’m excited to see where the next book in the series takes these characters! Definitely recommend for readers who enjoy novels with elements like:

❤️ Fantasy
❤️Romance
❤️Magic
❤️Paranormal
❤️Historical

The cover of this book is gorgeous! Absolutely beautiful. However, the contents of the book didn't really "wow" me. Cate and Callum are two people who lead very different lives until they are fated to meet after Cate was hired to give "lessons" to Callum.

In this book, there is a way to become the next ruler and that is to kill the current ruler, etc. This thing seems really odd to me and I didn't pick up on the "why" it wad done that way.

Cate and Callum had very instant love and while thats not the worst thing, it definitely hurt in this one because it went from lessons to being full on in love and having to fight to save a kingdom together. I wish there was more tension, yearning, begging. Something to show why their connection was so strong aside from them being bonded.

While this book wasn't my favorite, it was still a fun read!

“Kissing him feels like coming home and exploring the world, new adventures and old comforts.” ♥️🗡️ I was hooked from the beginning! I loved the dual POV, the angst, the fantasy, the spice, the family… all the things. I could see a second book come from this - I need more! Thank you to NetGalley for this advanced copy. Falon, I’m obsessed with Cate and Cal - thank you for these character!

I was excited to see Ballard make the jump from contemporary to romantasy.. I also love Moulin Rouge and Macbeth, so this was a fun book to search for allusions to both works. The beginning was a little slow to start, but once we see Cate and Callum interact (chapter 7 I believe), the storytelling took off! Looking forward to the continuation of this series.

Once this ARC hit my kindle I was so excited to start it. However it did not hit the mark. As with any fantasy book that I have read in the past the first few pages either takes me a while to get into the world building/ plot or I am able to get into it from the beginning. In my opinion I don’t think this read was executed properly because I had a difficult time following the plot line, the world building and connecting to the characters. It was also a bit of insta love which is one of my least favorite aspects to include in books. I so badly wanted to enjoy this one since it is part of a series but unfortunately it is a no for me. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Putman | GP Putnam's Sons for sharing this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The premise and cover EAT. Moulin Rouge vibes with a courtesan who uses her skills to heal people, all set against a backdrop of a political uprising? Count me in.

Unfortunately I fear the cover and premise set my expectations a little too high. The first half was heavy on the "sex lessons," which, while fitting for a courtesan's story (and who doesn't love a good smutty romance?) felt a little too Porn For Plot for my current tastes.

I was hoping for more depth in the world-building in the fantasy regard and more genuine character connections on the romance end, but everything felt a bit surface level. The characters didn't really click for me beyond physical attraction, and the political intrigue was briefly mentioned then forgotten.

The last 1/3 of the book was like the author tried to cram all the excitement into the final chapters, which was a bit overwhelming. The writing also felt a bit forced and immature, which made it hard to read at times.

On the plus side, I really appreciated that the story was told from the courtesan's perspective-- a really unique and interesting perspective for a fantasy romance! We love a sex positive author & characters. <3

Overall, it had potential, but it didn't quite hit the mark for me. 2/5 stars.

2.5 ⭐️ rounded up

The blurb for this book hooked me, but I found the premise kind of strange once I actually started reading it. All of the discussion about Gifts while the FMC can't really even use hers (and let's be real, its main purpose is to make the smut necessary) seemed moot. There was also a lot of insta-love and abrupt plot development (like the killing period?) that could've used a little more development to make this flow a bit. Lastly, every time we switched to Cate's POV, she spoke in stilted, monosyllabic sentences that made the writing seem a bit amateur to me. I liked Callum's POV for the first 60%, but then his narration fell the same way. Overall, I did really like the world building and thought the setting was interesting, but the premise was thin and the pacing was way too fast.

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review 💄

I really enjoyed this. It feels fresh and unique compared to other romances and romantasies out there.

This was competently written and the blurb and premise of the story compelling, but I did found the characterizations shallow, and despite an interesting premise, the story felt cliche and did not pull me in. I did not like that there was more telling than showing. I am sorry to say that I stopped reading about half way through and DNF. I am not familiar with this author or other of her books so I cannot say how this ranks against her other works. I might try to make myself finish reading it and will update my review later if so.

Thanks to PENGUIN GROUP Putnam | G.P. Putnam's Sons and Falon Ballard for this ARC.

Despite it's Moulin Rouge aesthetics, Something Wicked lacks the punch and pizzazz to turn the old story it tells new again.

With its attention on the on-the-nose rebellion the Uprising and a class of superpowered women known as Gifted, it doesn't spend nearly as much time on what most readers are going to be there for.

I just wish it didn't feel so cliché. That's my largest gripe. I feel like I've read this before and I'll read this again but there is nothing to differentiate it from all the other drops in the bucket.

*Something Wicked* is a bold and sensuous political fantasy that weaves rebellion, magic, and forbidden desire into a darkly compelling narrative. Falon Ballard’s inventive world-building brings Avon to life—a country teetering on the edge of chaos where power is won through brutal rites and shadowy intrigues. The dynamic between Callum, burdened by loyalty and ambition, and Lady Caterine, whose intoxicating magic blurs the line between control and vulnerability, crackles with tension and unexpected tenderness. The novel explores themes of trust, betrayal, and sacrifice with emotional depth amid the simmering political stakes. Though the story’s intensity sometimes challenges the pacing, it ultimately delivers a gripping, provocative journey that lingers long after the last page.