Unfortunately this was not for me. Thank you for the opportunity to read, but I struggled to enjoy this. I really do not care for instalove tropes, and found the fantasy elements a little lacking. The cover is gorgeous and I'm sure that others will enjoy this book, it just wasn't one that I fell in love with a struggled to push myself to finish.

I've been a longtime fan of Falon Ballard's witty, heartwarming romcoms, so when I heard she was venturing into the romantasy genre, I was genuinely curious-and excited-to see how her signature charm would translate into a world of magic, rebellion, and dark seduction.
Let's start with the obvious: the cover is absolutely stunning. It instantly pulled me in and set my expectations sky-high. And while the opening chapters promised intrigue and heat, with a high-stakes premise involving political assassinations and magical courtesans, I have to admit... this one didn't fully land for me.
The Moulin Rouge-meets-Macbeth concept is undeniably bold, and I appreciate the ambition it took to weave those inspirations into a fantasy setting. There are glimmers of originality, especially in the setting of La Puissance and the emotionally-charged dynamic between Callum and Caterine. And of course, the spice is turned all the way up-fans of steamy scenes won't be disappointed.
But for all the sizzle and style, I struggled to connect with the world itself. The political system, the rebellion, the motivations-none of it felt quite fleshed out enough to ground me in the story. It was as if I'd been dropped into a dramatic play without fully understanding the stage or the stakes. I also found myself wishing for more nuance in the characters' emotional arcs and a deeper, more believable development of their bond.
That said, I truly admire Ballard's willingness to take creative risks and step into new storytelling territory. It's something l've seen many of my favorite romance authors do-genre-hopping to explore darker themes and bigger worlds. Even though this one wasn't quite for me, I know there are plenty of readers who will enjoy the seductive atmosphere, fast-paced drama, and star-crossed intensity of it all.
This book may not have cast the strongest spell on me, but I'm still cheering for Ballard as she explores new realms, and I'll absolutely be back for whatever romcom magic she conjures up next. Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam | G.P. Putnam's Sons for sharing this digital review copy of Something Wicked with me in exchange for my honest thoughts—| truly appreciate the opportunity!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️.5/5

Something Wicked follows Cate or Lady Caterine who is a courtesan with the Gift of altering someone’s emotions once they have come in her presence. She is working at one of the pleasure houses in Stratford City, one of the few places the Gifted can work in the kingdom, when she is tasked with manipulating the prince’s emotions. Prince Callum seeks Lady Catherine’s Gift when he’s tasked with killing his father, the king.

The premise of this story was really intriguing to me. How does one manipulate feelings to make another fell better about killing his father? And although it was unique the story was a little lacking so far for me.

I’m not one for insta-love and so I wasn’t a fan of how quickly Cate and Callum fell into love. I personally would have wanted a little more yearning and tension.

I’m also confused how the rest of the story progressed since the main antagonist kind of disappears at the end.

A few things I did enjoy however was the banter between Cate and Callum and the way some of the information was shared through articles and passages from various people’s journals. The latter was an especially fun way to learn more about the world and the characters. Especially the secrets they are keeping from one another.

Overall an enjoyable fantasy and I’m curious to see how it progresses from here but it wasn’t my favorite.

I have been a fan of her previous romance novels and am so grateful to have read her first romantasy early! The pacing was fast and it started off great! Loved the chemistry between Callum and Cate! Ultimately, the world building was confusing at times , but I had a great time reading it!

Thank you to NetGalley, Fallon Ballard , and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for this arc opportunity!

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Loved this one. Despite some of the mixed reviews, I found the characters compelling and their emotional growth genuine/moving. The romance was heartfelt, and the fantasy elements added just the right amount of wonder and tension to the story. The plot kept me hooked from start to finish, and I was fully invested in the journey. A beautifully written blend of magic, love, and character depth.

Well the synopsis had me at Macbeth meets moulin rouge. This was my first experience reading a book from this author. While I don’t think I’m quite the target audience for this particular story I will very much enjoyed it!
If you like spicy books this is for you. Your literally eyes will be watering from all the spice 🥵
This book was wild and chaotic is the best way and you came for the moulin rouge vibes you won’t be disappointed!

Something Wicked is a romantasy that's Shakespeare meets Moulin Rouge, which should be right up my alley. Overall, I really enjoyed this more for the romance, but I did find the fantasy side a bit more lackluster. If you're interested in high fantasy, you may be disappointed. There are a few parts where I did have to flag and highlight to refer back to, but after a while, things fell into place for me.

This is one of the more spicy books I've read this year, but it makes sense given the overall plot and setting of the book. I'm not a huge fan of instalove, but there is a bit of a reason behind it. I wish there was a little more to MCs to have more depth and development.

It seems like the bones of a really cool world is here, so I will probably give it a chance to see where it goes.

This made my Moulin Rouge loving heart SO happy! I adored this from start to finish. There is SO much chemistry between Cate and Callum - their bond is unmatched. This has the perfect amount of spice and it is truly delicious. The magic, the vivid imagery, the banter, the tension?! 10/10 no notes. This deserves all the hype and I'm actually shocked that it doesn't have a higher average rating. Perfection! Please tell me there will be a book 2?! Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!!

This was a very enjoyable spicy, romantic, fantasy read! It starts off with a bang(literally) and continues on with the intensity and fast-pacing until the end. Very easy to binge! I found myself speeding through this. Our story mainly unfolds through the romantic progression of our MC's. One Gifted, one royal; two opposing sides of a political uprising. We get some fun chemistry-filled instalust that eventually evolves into a deeper relationship. There were many, many intimate scenes involving our MC's. Especially throughout the first half of the book. However, each one felt very unique with the language used and actions that took place. Plus, they all helped with story progression!

I loved that this book had a Moulin Rouge inspired setting! I could definitely envision it when the characters were at La Puissance. I do wish we had more general world building and on-page plot progression with the political uprising. As of now, this book series leans more towards romance with a fantasy inspired setting.

To me, this book almost read as a prequel novella, leading the characters and reader into the right place in the story so that the full plot can take off. Based on the ending(which was surprisingly calm after the intense final 20%), I have high hopes that the political schemers are just getting started and we will get more story progression throughout the series and following couplings! If the description intrigues you, I would definitely check this book out.

3.5/5 but rounded up. ARC provided for an honest review.

The description “Moulin Rouge meets Macbeth” and the gorgeous cover art were what enticed me to read Something Wicked, and it didn’t disappoint! This is a fantasy, romance, action, thriller which makes it a bit hard for me to describe — however, if fantasy is not your favorite genre, I wouldn’t be deterred, this one is more magical-Middle Ages than Game of Thrones with some minor witchcraft and no creatures. The love story was great, the best part being that it was throughout the book — no slow burn here, they jumped right in!

If you’re intrigued by the description and cover, give Something Wicked a try — if anything, it’s incredibly unique and a quick read, and I recommend it to romance lovers!

A spicy romantasy that felt like Bridgerton + magic and some how it just worked wonderfully.

The scenes ARE spicy! I was hooked from beginning to end.



And of course you can’t go wrong with a HEA.
3.5/5

Well, at least the cover was pretty. The world building was confusing, the characters lacked the depth necessary for me to be invested, and the political plot/side plot felt like an afterthought. The spice and sex lessons felt very mediocre because there was no depth to the character’s relationships or even their motivations. There wasn’t really any chemistry between Cate and Callum at all, just insta-love/insta-lust. The fantasy elements felt like a side thought and weren’t well incorporated into the world-building. I know this is the first book in a series, but I probably won’t be continuing to read.

“Something Wicked” was so perfectly titled - the novel is so wickedly steamy, so wickedly staged and so wickedly suspenseful. This is Romantasy like I haven’t seen before - it is a unique story set in against a harsh reality. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters of our heroine, Cate, who has a truly unusual gift, and Callum the son of the King, who is about to be killed. The ending was very satisfying along with leaving me with a few questions that make me salivate for the next in the series. Thank you to @NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC. The opinions are all my own.

I tend to like going into books as blind as possible. I’ll read enough of the description to decide if it will jam, then add to my TBR mostly to be forgotten. So when I started Something Wicked I couldn’t remember what I was getting into. But one chapter in, it had its hooks in me and did not let go.

This book was like a regency, dystopian, fantasy ‘Pretty Woman’ (Julie Roberts version, obviously). The magic system and politics are pretty basic and not super flushed out, but her gift? Healing emotions post orgasm? The absolute coolest.

I wouldn’t recommend this to high fantasy girlie, but I was throughly entertained the whole way through!

Thank you Net Galley for the opportunity to read ARC, this is my honest review

I’m sure that there is an audience for this book, but unfortunately, it was not me. For starters, I found the writing and sentence structure too juvenile for an adult book. It was all tell, and no show. I also found the world-building rather flimsy. The letters and journal excerpts did help to expand the world, but not as much as was needed. Everything was so rushed too. I didn’t believe the romance, and didn’t find myself invested in any of the characters. Most of them had no personality or were completely cartoonish, especially the villain. I didn’t mind Caterine, but Callum was so prejudiced and privileged that any conversation about politics with him was insufferable. This book moves fast, and again I could see some people finding it gripping, but it lacked the necessary substance for me. Gorgeous cover though!

So, this very open-door romance is a total f*ck-fest. Let's get that out of the way. When you're reading a book where the FMC's mysterious super power is regulating other people's emotions by having sex with them... you know what you're in for.

The plot is pretty preposterous: FMC can help people with sex; MMC needs help getting up the gumption to kill his dad, the old king, in order to become the new king. If you like fantasy worlds plus a boatload of banging, this one's for you.

dnf!! after the two characters got together, it got SO boring!!! i could not handle the politics happening with the takeover

This is really my fault for requesting this book in the first place but it was just not for me. I actually love this author but it felt like too much of a departure for me. It honestly reminded me of the style of the Prince of Sin books in general vibe. I’m all for a romance but sometimes… there is a thing as too much sex. And that is how I felt about this book. Would definitely read more by this author but just not this vibe.

I’m afraid I might be too much of a prude for this plot-line. Shying away from spicy scenes is not in my nature, but I discovered that I don’t like my FMC having on page relations with multiple people (who aren’t the main love interest). To be fair, I don’t want to see that from my MMC either. Sex complaints aside, the world was hastily built, and felt fragile. The line between realistic and unbelievable was seemingly crossed at random. The pacing felt very off, and the time it took for the story to begin felt excessive. The story should be so cool, but coming in at 281 arc pages-there isn’t a ton of development time.

As a side note: this is one of the most eye-catching covers I’ve seen. Really beautiful, dramatic artwork. 10/10. Would hang on my wall.

I DNF'ed this book. I have read Falon Ballard's contemporary romances and enjoyed them, so I wanted to give this book a try. I am not into fantasy but because this was an author I enjoyed I felt like I would enjoy it. Wrong. I was bored and also did not like the premise. The main character is a woman with a special gift and she uses that gift as a sex worker where men pay her (or don't if they can't afford it) and she helps them during sex with her special powers. It gave me the ick.