I really wanted to love Something Wicked after the opening chapters: magic, an uprising, political drama, fated mates..... YES PLEASE! But unfortunately I think the story got a little muddled. There were some unexplained plot points and some of the motivations behind the main character's actions were ill defined.

Overall a fun read and I'm glad I read it. Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this advanced reader copy, These opinions are my own,

Really solid entrance into romantasy! Loved the strong FMC and her gift. The sex worker aspect felt respectful and not forced in a fantasy setting. And an MMC who can recognize their own shortcomings? Chefs kiss.

The sister relationship and female friendships were really relatable, keeping the characters feeling grounded.

Looking forward to seeing this book out in the world and getting my hands on the next in the series!

I received a copy of this ebook as an ARC. I enjoyed this a lot. Though the idea of some women having powers and being persecuted for it has been done before, this was an interesting new way to handle it. I'm excited to read the sequel to see how things will shake out, we're lef with a bit of a cliff hanger in this one, not knowing exactly where the antagonist is or what will happen next. I do wish there was some more development of the world and characters. While I was hooked enough to speed through the book in just a few days I was left not really feeling like I knew anything about the characters or why they liked each other beyond the Bond.

The sex scenes were well written, I must not have been paying enough attention to the summary because I was a little surprised by how many there were. Not a bad surprise just unexpected, but given the nature of the FMC it makes sense.

A fun, wild ride of a book! I thought it lived up to its Macbeth meets Moulin Rouge premise well and loved both Cate and Callum as main characters. If you like spicy romantasy, it's definitely worth the read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Something Wicked had me on my toes practically the entire time. Overall, the plot and story line of Cate and Callum kept me intrigued, but there were places where it felt like it slowed down or felt a bit rushed. The world building left something to be desired, but I’m looking forward to seeing how Falon Ballard continues this series!

The book reads super fast and it was hard to put it down. I’m looking forward to reading more of Cate and Callum in the future!

At first, I wasn't sure if this story was for me. But I was surprised as I pushed through and really enjoyed it all. Hoping to see more from this author

Avon is in deep turmoil and the monarchy is about to be overthrown. Callum, the son of the recently dethroned king is determined to run for president but its going to cost him. With the fate of the country at stake Callum turns to Catherine, a gifted courtesan who helps him in ways he’d never expected. Together they discover a darker force building, will they be able to stop then before its too late?

A romantasy book for all the romance girlies. This one has it all. Interesting characters, a brewing conflict, plot twists, magic and heat. If thats not enough it should be an auto buy on the cover alone, it’s gorgeous.

I tend to struggle with romantasy books which is why I prefer listening to them. That said I flew thru this one. The magical elements are easy to understand and Ballard did a great job with the world building. I love her other books so I hope shell write more romance novels in the future but on the other hand I won’t be mad it this turns into a series.

Read this if you like
🖤Romantasy
📖Moulin Rouge & Mackbeth
🔥Spice
✨Complex family dynamics

Something Wicked had such a promising premise. I love Macbeth, Moulin Rouge, sex lessons, and fated mates, so I was excited to dive in. The opening hooked me, and the concept of The Gifted was intriguing. But the world building never quite landed. I often couldn’t tell what era or setting we were supposed to be in, which made it hard to stay immersed. The tension of the sex lessons fizzled fast, as the hero was secretly already a skilled lover (undermining the whole setup), and the heroine never really committed to her manipulation arc. Both characters shifted motivations without convincing build-up, and their Bonded status didn’t justify their choices or the premise. Once the Macbeth-inspired murder plot kicked in, the story unraveled, and the twists felt obvious rather than surprising. I wanted to love it, but it didn’t come together for me.

DNF - received this as an ARC from NetGalley and Putnam. I typically try to push through and give things an honest chance, but after reading reviews that are exactly how I feel, I did not want to continue.

Right away the “magical powers” of the FMC had me eye rolling and I had a feeling this was going to be more spice than plot. Then as the story and “politics” start to be unveiled I found myself asking “What? Why? Who?” More than anything.

I was hopeful for this one with all the Moulin Rouge vibes but none of it really made sense or flowed enough, outside of the spice which I honestly didn’t feel a huge connection to with the main couple.

Ok this book took me some time to get into it but once I did I loved it. The deceit and the drama. The gifted vs the non. I hope there are more books in the series bc I don't think we heard the last of lady M. And I need to learn more about lady Caterine's gift and what Adara Saw

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

'Something Wicked' is the first book in the new Idle Reputations series. The cover immediately grabbed my attention when I saw it, and then when I read the premise of the novel I knew this was a story I had to read. Set in a fantasy world, where some women come into powers and are Gifted, thus reducing their freedoms in a minority that has tight restrictions against it. It's in this world we find twin sisters Andra and Cate, courtesans at La Puissant, who use both their bodies and their Gifts to earn a living in a world that is stacked against them. Set during the ending of a period of revolution in their country, Cate and Andra have to fight against their diminished status as Gifted, the political endeavors of those around them, and a new mistress to their brothel who seems to have ulterior motives for her generosity. Throw in a prince who has to murder his own father if he wants to be able to run for the head of government of his new country, add some toe-curling spice, and you have a combination that made for a Romantasy novel that I read in two sittings.

One of the main reasons that this book didn't get a higher rating from me was some of the world building and plot points were a little clunky for me. I read that this is Falon Ballard's first romantasy genre novel, so I feel that these are things that will probably smooth out in later books. I liked the use of using excerpts of journals at the ends of chapters for foreshadowing and to give us more pieces of information, but at times they were a bit confusing. The timeline also gets slightly confusing with the journal excerpts - some are far past journal entries, and some like from Grecia are more 'current day' so I had to keep trying to arrange a timeline in my head. If there were dates perhaps at the beginning of the diary entries, it could serve the dual purpose of creating a separation between the current day story and these entries, and it could help readers see where these entries occur during the story. I also couldn't quite figure out who Diana was supposed to be to Harry and Grecia. Maybe this was done on purpose as it's something we're supposed to find out about in a later novel, but I spent a lot of time being pulled away from the novel during mentions of her because I couldn't figure out her connection. These are not things that are terrible, but for me personally they took away from me being able to smoothly read the novel.

Regardless of the little things, Something Wicked was an enjoyable romantasy read with a solid 4.5/5 chili pepper rating for spice. The main character Cate's Gift was unique and I enjoyed the twist and sexual tension that it added to the story between Cate and Callum. The book does not end on a cliff hanger, but we don't see resolution of some of the major plot points - and I like that. I look forward to seeing what happens in the future of this series.

Thank you to NetGalley, and Penguin/G.P. Putnam and Sons for allowing me to read an eARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and G. P. Putnam’s Sons for an advanced copy!

I am not super familiar with either Macbeth or Moulin Rouge, so I can’t speak much to how this book compares to it’s inspirations.

Cate is a sex worker who can manipulate the emotions of others when they orgasm. Callum is the son of a king who has been recently dethroned in a rebellion, and to assume the role of king, he has to kill his father. The rebellion was frequently referenced at the beginning of the book, but world building and context was really lacking. When Callum’s sister drags him to the place Cate works, things are very instalust between the two of them. Callum’s sister sets them up by paying Cate an exorbitant amount of money to teach him sex lessons, but apparently he’s the best sex she’s ever had? I’m still not really sure what the motivation here was. Things move very quickly, and their relationship is fully developed in a couple days. The plot of who would assume the throne was pretty quickly hammered out in the back third of the book.

While the premise intrigued me, all aspects of the book felt underdeveloped, the world, the plot, the main and side characters, the romance. There was not much rhyme or reason to who has magic and how it works. On the romantasy spectrum, this is definitely heavier on the romance side, and was very instalust.

This book has really great potential to be good but the end result left us with underdeveloped characters, world building with holes, no real surprises, and an ending that didn't quite fit. I think the world could have been really great! I loved the magic system of the Gifted and then Bonded relationships.

Wickedly Good & Full of Questions
Release date: 12/2/25
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🌶️🌶️/5
Just finished Something Wicked by Fallon Ballard and wow—I was not prepared for how much I’d fall into this world. This book had me flipping pages, asking questions, and emotionally spiraling (in the best way).

The dystopian setting was rich and eerie, with regulation on the Gifted that clearly stems from fear… but fear of what exactly? They hint at a catalyst, but I wanted more of that backstory. Especially with how unique Cat’s gift is—channeling emotion through climax? Absolutely wild and something I’ve never seen done this way.

Callum starts out deeply prejudiced, completely in the dark about the Gifted, and his dynamic with Cat is intense from the jump. Their relationship moves quickly, but those faux sex lessons? A fun, light twist that gave me a breather between all the angst. I also really appreciated the sweet moments between Callum and his son—it gave him more dimension.

But I still have so many questions:
— Who is the woman with Harold?
— Is she tied to Andra somehow?
— Is Lady M a Gifted manipulating everything behind the scenes?
— And how did she go full psycho?
— What’s a Bonded—fated mate vibes, or something deeper?
— Diana Brahan… who even is she?
— And the journal entries from Harold and his wife? Intriguing but left me wanting so much more.

Despite all the lingering mysteries, I really enjoyed this. It was emotional, steamy, and fresh—a totally different vibe than I expected. If you love dystopian romance with a paranormal twist and a heavy dose of emotional chaos, Something Wicked is your next read.
Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for this ARC! ✨

2.5 Stars, rounded up to 3

This is a fantasy romance / romantasy book with dual POV intended for a mature audience.

Here’s some of the highlights you can expect:

-Gorgeous cover art – it’s really what caught my attention the most to choose to read this
-Magic / Gifted powered individuals
-Fantasy set world after the end of an Uprising
-Two lovers choosing each other under impossible odds
-The beginning of a series but still has its own self contained story to keep you both satisfied and left wanting more
-Tropes: </spoiler> Love/Lust at First Sight, Fated Mates </spoiler>

About our protagonists:

Cate is a Gifted courtesan with a heart of gold to match her golden eyes and hair. She has a Gift to manipulate emotions but she only uses it to help her clients in need.

Cal is an entitled prince having to come to terms with committing an impossible act that will wreck him emotionally. Cate is the only one who can help him ease the tension he feels in more ways than one.

Overall:

This was my first Falon Ballard read. I did enjoy the way the story swept me away in a fast-faced way. I found myself losing track of time while I kept reading chapter after chapter. I would recommend it to those who enjoy some solid mature / spicy romance with a fantasy setting and minor political plot.

This book’s biggest strength was in its romance storyline. Something I would have loved to see developed a lot more was pretty much everything else. We get a fantasy magic system but it isn’t explored or explained in any tangible way, the rules seemed to change for each person throughout the story and it never quite made sense. If you’re expecting a high fantasy, this might not be the story for you. But if you’re okay with being swept up and just moving along magical inconsistencies, you will have a lot of fun. For me, I just wanted a little more depth to the side characters, the world building, and the magic rules. Another thing that I found a bit jarring was that there never felt like any real tension to the story, specifically in the last third of the book. Without spoiling anything there were what should have felt like big moments that just felt lacking in emotional impact once the characters caught up to what was already spelled out.

Overall, I am still interested in reading the next book in this series as I think there’s promise in this story and world the author has provided us.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me an eARC for this review! :)

3.5

This was a pretty interesting read, very unique magic system/ magic for our FMC. I loved all the different gifts we got to see, i wish we got more of that.

This is an insta love connection book, which I personally enjoy, so I didn’t mind how the main characters fell in love.

I wish we got more from the ending, it felt anticlimactic.. in the grand scheme of things, did we stop any greater evil?

It was a good book, but not life changing.

Romance scenes definitely were well written. Callum and Cate had insanely good chemistry. You could tell that they had a good connection both emotional and physical. Some of the writing trying to orient the reader towards the world had me rereading it to gain full clarification but I think this can be necessary for some genres so I didn’t mind. Especially with this being a fantasy book. Very good mix of romance and magic, worth the read!

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a fun concept with some rough parts. It was a nice light read.

I will say that the romance scenes definitely delivered :) Callum and Cate’s chemistry is intense, and I was drawn into their emotional (and physical) connection right away. That said, I did find myself getting a little lost in the story at times. The world-building is ambitious, and with all the political intrigue and magical dynamics, I occasionally had to reread to stay grounded.
Still, it’s a unique and sexy twist on the fantasy genre, with some genuinely high-stakes emotional moments. If you like your romance with a heavy dose of rebellion and magic, this one’s worth picking up.

Received an arc from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review. This book was hot and sexy. Of course I picture a young Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman when it has moulin rouges vibes. The world building and magic was interesting and I wasn't completely lost. The romance was the main focus though.