⭐⭐ "Something Wicked" had such a cool, dark concept – Macbeth meets Moulin Rouge?! Sign me up! The idea of a presidential election decided by killing the former monarch was definitely unique, and La Puissance sounded like a fascinating, decadent setting. However, the execution fell a bit flat for me. The connection between Callum and Cate felt rushed and didn't quite convince me, and the plot points sometimes felt more like a series of events rather than a cohesive story. While the premise had a lot of potential for a seductive and thrilling romantasy, it didn't fully deliver for me. I wanted more depth in the characters and a tighter, more compelling plot.

This one had such great ideas but didn’t seem to really follow through with the execution. The world building, magic system, and really the romance even felt flat and that seemed to be the main point of the book. I’m not really a fan of insta-love in books so this was a big turnoff for me. I had a hard time keeping up with the countries and provinces all thrown about in the beginning and I’m still pretty confused with the way this world operates politically. It was such a big part of the plot but really didn’t get explained well. Overall, it was just a fantasy world stacked on a mediocre, predictable romance story.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

3.5 stars ⭐

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an ARC!

I'm torn on how to rate this book. I was initially intrigued by the synopsis being Moulin Rouge meets Macbeth; and I can honestly say that when the author writes, she's very descriptive within any specific scene and creates excellent imagery for the reading. The world building however, was certainly lacking and felt clunky. I found myself wanting more, to better understand the characters and their frame of minds. I'm unsure if I will continue this series.

Callum, the son of the recently dethroned king, is determined to be in the running. But to do so, he must come to terms with killing his father, the key to which lies in the hands of Lady Caterine, a Gifted courtesan at La Puissance, Avon’s premiere sex club.

Thank you NetGalley for the e-ARC!

Something Wicked  is told through the dual perspectives of Caterine and Callum. Caterine and her sister Andra are courtesans at La Puissance, a highly popular club in Avon. They also happen to be Gifted, which are people born with varying, unique abilities. Caterine's path crosses with Callum, prince of the Scotan province, who is preparing to ascend the throne after his father.

A significant portion of the story revolves around Cate and Callum's intense sexual relationship. Cate's Gifted ability is the power to manipulate emotions - but only through orgasm, which plays a role in their relationship. Their relationship felt very "insta love" to me and progressed at such a quickened pace that I struggled to feel a true connection between them. That sense of underdeveloped connection extended beyond the main couple; while several side characters held varying degrees of importance to the plot, I didn’t feel a strong bond or established relationships between them either.

The last quarter of the book picked up the pace and set the stage for the sequel well, introducing stakes and new mysteries to unfold. However, I still found myself wanting more from the worldbuilding. The setting felt oddly modern yet not, and I didn’t get a clear enough sense of the political landscape to fully engage with the stakes or character motivations.

I believe readers that enjoyed "Bride" by Ali Hazelwood or the romantic dynamics in Sarah Hawley's books may find something to like here.

Incredibly individual within the genre! I’ve never read a romantasy quite like this, and I mean that as the highest compliment— there’s a noticeable lack of overused tropes and character archetypes that I appreciated. I really connected with and enjoyed Cate as our female main character, and her devotion to Andra and her found family was truly touching and such a good representation of sisterhood. I think where this went a little sideways for me was the development of Cate and Callum’s relationship and the pacing of the storyline more generally speaking. Ultimately, while I can appreciate the immediacy of attraction in fantasy books, their connection lacked tension and moved too quickly for me to feel fully invested in watching them come together. The action is packed into the last 20% or so of the novel, and because of that, the stakes felt a bit too low— especially because what DOES happen in those final chapters was really gripping. I would have loved to see more of that energy earlier in the novel. I was so intrigued by the breadth of talents within the Gifted women; the magic system is quite unique and I am eager to see Ballard expand on that in a sequel to this should there be one! I have many questions about them and how the laws against them came to be, or even how they exist given the rules in place within the world. I think this has oodles of potential and with a few tweaks to pacing, character relationship development, & detail in the lore of the world, this could be a new favorite series for me. 3.25 stars rounded to 3. Thank you Falon Ballard, Penguin Group Putnam, and NetGalley for this advanced copy!

I did not love this one as much as I was expecting to. I found the characters to be not that enjoyable and the plot was extremely predictable. Still there were small moments and components that made me like it more.

Thank-you to NetGalley, Putnam books, and the author for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Something Wicked has all of the Moulin Rouge vibes one would want in a book! Cate is a Gifted courtesan who lives and works with other Gifted courtesans, each with their own special abilities, while Callum is next in line for the throne in their province of Scota. An Uprising has been building in momentum and they cross paths as they try to navigate changes and challenges to their personal lives.

This book had all of the spiciness that one would expect when talking about courtesans!🔥🔥🔥🔥 One of the things I appreciated most was how the level of spice, tension, and intimacy built as the book progressed. I also loved the unique world building and spin on a fantasy courtesan novel. I was roped in from the start! If you are into romantasy with some yummy spice, this book is definitely for you!!! 🥰🥰🥰💚💚💚✨✨✨🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

You cannot help but root for Cate and Callum and both have reasons to be wary of the other. I appreciated Cate's loyalty to blood relations and to her found family. Callum's vision for the world was one I'd hope for if I were set in this world. I always appreciate a decent pacing for developing feelings, and while it was still short in the time span of the book, there was continued hesitancy as their feelings deepened and I always love that!

This book didn't quite hit 5 stars for me for a couple of reasons. At times, it felt like the plot could have delved deeper to provide even more context. And maybe that will happen in later installments, as this is the first book in s series, but I was definitely left with some wanting. I would also add that I felt like the ending was *slightly* rushed. I wasn't expecting part of it so early in the story, but again, I'm willing to wait for future installments to see where it goes.

On an editorial note (and hopefully this is something still being worked on), but there were a lot of hyphens in words that should not be hyphenated. There was also a spacing issue with the pictures that were put in the book with most of the pictures coming in between the text at the end of each chapter. Again-I don't know if this is just the version I got, but hoping to see that cleared up by the time I receive my ordered copy in December. 😊

This book was not for me. The cover? STUNNING. The premise? Ensnaring. The execution? Meh. I wanted so badly to like this book and kept reading out of desperation that it would get better. One of my pet peeves in writing is being told what to think instead of being shown. Don't tell me what I should be experiencing, show me, make me feel it with action, not words.

From the very beginning, I had a hard time connecting with the characters. There was never enough information or emotion to feel like I understood who Cate was at her core, and her and Callum don't even meet until almost halfway through the book. The world building and magic system left me with more questions than answers, which was incredibly frustrating. That being said, if you just want to read some well written smut, this is the book for you. The scenes are plentiful and...intense. I think I would've liked this book more if my expectations had been different. Take out the political intrigue and just tell me this is about the spice and I probably would've rated this a lot higher.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the free ARC.

Honestly, I was so excited for this book when I saw that it was a Moulin Rouge x Lady Macbeth retelling… But man, did it fall short for me. I love Fallon Ballard’s romcoms and was so ready for the banter and slow burn to translate into her first foray into romantasy, however, there is some work that needs to be done in this world.

What works for this book? The cover is stunning. I mean, whoever the artist is deserves a raise, it’s that good. Part of the reason you want to pick up this novel is because the cover hooks you in.

What isn’t working for this book? The magic system, the world building, and the character development.

The magic system sounded promising. The gifted individuals all having wildly different gifts keeps it interesting, however, we have no idea how it works… If gifted people aren’t able to have children by law, why are non-gifted parents having so many gifted children? What are the rules and history of this system? We never get the answers on how it works, it ends up as a free for all, where you are just on the journey of who has gifts and who doesn’t for the entire novel. Couple that with a really weak step mother-type villain? I was not engaged in this part of the story.

The world building is non-existent. I wanted to picture the world, the atmosphere, and everything that came with it. But in all fairness, I have no idea what this world looks like. I don’t know what time period we are really in. I leaned into the Moulin Rouge time period concept, however, that was never fully stated. The monarchy and the uprising don’t really make sense. We are coming into this story when the uprising is basically over, so they are trying to layout a new government. But it’s shoddy and rushed, so it’s not believable and you have no idea what got the characters to where we are today. We enter the story to, the Uprising won and the monarchy is accepting their fate of death… So whoever can rule next can win? Honestly, I’m not sure. But this part of the novel really bothered me. Couple that with the King just wandering around with no protection, knowing whoever is allowed to rule next has to kill him… It didn’t make sense? He might as well have stood in front of a firing squad.

Finishing out with the character development, if you like instalove, you will like this novel. Instalust? I don’t. I don’t believe the characters draw to each other and there wasn’t enough yearning or build up. Now granted, I knew that was possible given the premise of the book and what Cate’s gift is, but I wanted more. It just felt like sex lessons without the chemistry. However, if you are here for the spicy? Ballard delivers. This is a VERY spicy novel. The one other thing I didn’t understand were the random diary entries dropped in the chapters with no context. I found a few of them super jarring and had no idea we had changed to a diary entry. I am unsure if this is because the proof copy hasn’t fully been edited in that regard, but some of them were very abrupt.

Ending on the positives, if you want a fun, not too in depth romantasy where you can suspend questions about world building and keeping up with the intricacies there… this is a good starter novel for that. If you want a ton of spice without a ton of fantasy, this is also for you. If you want a beautiful cover for your bookshelf? Say less. And if you want a different take on a courtesan being the main POV in a book where they are not degraded and looked down on… also, a book for you. I wanted to love it. I just didn’t. It fell too flat for me. However, I will continue to keep an eye out for Ballard’s releases and I always commend an author for trying something new… Especially an entirely new genre.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to review this ARC for my honest opinion.

Thank you to Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book's opening and closing chapters could have been deleted, I'll start with that. I think I went into this expecting a different plot, and so I was ultimately let down.

*spoilers*

I should have known from the synopsis that this was going to be on the strange side for books I have read, but this takes the cake. She works in a brothel, which is fine, but her first encounter with YOUR HIGHNESS was instant love. I think if sparks and fireworks went off in the background of this scene, I wouldn't have been surprised. Also, the plot seemed to be very surface-level to me, not much depth, and even the characters felt a little bland to me. Every time we saw Dom, I got excited since she was the only one with any type of personality! But she's dead... RIP.

Other than that, we didn't get much detail on the physical world and the people either, which I was disappointed about too. I also think the actual romance between Cal and Cate was boring. Their dialogue was dry and bland, and lustful. I think when they told each other 'I Love You', I laughed for a solid 5 minutes because I couldn't believe all of the events within the last (3 or 4? days) that led to saying this.

Overall, I wouldn't recommend this to someone with the way it was sent in the ARC. I would change the first chapter with Cate to the first chapter with Cal, and I would move up the spicy ending scene so it ends a bit more impactful. Overall 2.3/5 stars!

I tried to start this book on a few occasions and just couldn’t get into it. The romantic plot did not grab me
Enough to compel me to keep reading. However this book is good for people who love silly romances, moulin rouge, bi representation FMC, and royals. Fallon did a wonderful job w this book, it just wasn’t my cup of tea.

Moulin Rouge meets Macbeth??? Ms. Ballard, I fear this is exactly my niche.

What a steamy, sexy, WILD ride. I fell in love with Cate from the first page, and while Callum took a bit longer, I grew to love him too. (Even fantastical bigotry isn’t cute, despite having a basis for it. I’m glad he’s working to unlearn it and fight for equal places at the table.) The villain was expertly crafted, and the Uprising’s scheming delightfully nuanced. The world of Avon is a vibrant one, from La Puissance to the castle, and I can’t wait to discover more of it.

Moulin Rouge meets Macbeth? Yes please. I loved everything about this spicy romance aside from one slight hiccup with the MMC that was more of a smack to the face in the beginning regardless of him changing his tune. I also love a build up of tension before the romance and this felt insta love BUT so many readers will still love that in this case.

📖 Entrancing Concept, Mixed Execution: I love Romantasy but not this one ⭐⭐⭐

As someone who adores everything Falon Ballard writes, I was beyond excited to dive into *Something Wicked*. The promise of a romantasy with echoes of *Macbethand *Moulin Rouge!certainly piqued my interest, but I don't think this subgenre is really a good fit for her writing style - it just felt off.

1. Conceptual Allure: A Tempting Premise 🏰
The idea of a seductive mix of political intrigue, dark magic, and romance in turmoil made for an enticing premise. Courtesans, forbidden murders, and a kingdom in chaos—this combination held tremendous potential, yet somehow the execution didn’t entirely interest me at all.

2. A Challenge in World-Building: Lost in Avon 🌍
The fantastical world of Avon could have truly shone with more depth and definition. Unfortunately, I found myself struggling to fully immerse in the intricacies of its politics and society. It left me wanting more context to ground the unfolding drama.

3. Romance and Intrigue: A Balancing Act 🎭
While Lady Caterine and Callum’s dynamic was intriguing, the “insta-love” element felt a tad rushed, detracting from the potential richness of their relationship. I tend to appreciate a slow-burn connection, and the rapid emotional intensity here felt somewhat unearned.

4. Spice and Substance: Weighing the Balance 🔥
The novel’s spicy scenes were engaging, but they sometimes overshadowed the plot progression. The story seemed to hinge heavily on physical attraction, which might have benefited from deeper character exploration beyond chemistry.

5. Glimmers of Potential: Looking Ahead 🌟
Despite the challenges, Ballard’s talent for creating compelling narratives and candid characters remains apparent. Perhaps with more room for development, this storyline could flourish into a captivating series, blending the right amount of drama, suspense, and allure.

Final Thoughts
While *Something Wickedmay not have reached the heights of Ballard’s other works for me, it’s clear the passion and creativity behind the story were immense. For fans of romantasy with a unique flair, this book still offers an intriguing read. Ultimately, my love for Falon Ballard's writing style and innovative ideas keeps me optimistic about her future ventures in any genre she chooses. 📚

I will still read anything Falon Ballard writes but just not romantasy or urban fantasy

Not gonna lie—the cover totally pulled me in 😍 It’s so eye-catchingly beautiful, I had to know what was inside. Luckily, the story delivered too. I went in without knowing much, and it turned out to be a dark, romantic story full of political drama, magic, and tension.

The first book in the Idle Reputation series. The plot centers around Callum, son of a dethroned king, who’s trying to win a presidential election in a country transitioning from monarchy to democracy. The catch? He might have to kill his own father to do it. Enter Caterine, a gifted courtesan who can manipulate emotions. Their alliance quickly turns into something deeper—and more dangerous—as they uncover dark forces at work.

I really liked the setup and the dynamic between the leads. Some parts dragged a bit, but the mix of politics, magic, and romance kept me in. The world feels fresh without being too complicated.

Tropes:
* 💔 Enemies to lovers
* 🔥 Forbidden romance
* 👑 Political drama
* 💫 Magical powers
* 😏 Slow burn

This book has a lot going on in a good way. The world is rich without being overwhelming, and the magic system is intriguing. I loved the morally gray vibes, and the chemistry between Callum and Caterine was really well done—tense and slow-burning but not over-the-top. The pacing was a bit uneven in places, but the story always pulled me back in.

"Something Wicked" by Falon Ballard instantly caught my attention. The cover is GORGEOUS. However, while the story starts strong and has intense romantic chemistry between Callum and Cate, the worldbuilding was a bit confusing. It’s a fast-paced, spicy read that I finished in one sitting. For a debut romantasy, the author did well overall and I’m looking forward to the next book.

This fell so flat for me, which I am so sad to say! I love all of Fallon's romance books, and this new venture just felt so blah. The new world in the book was barely a blimp in the story and none of the characters were hashed out strongly. I will always give her books a shot, and maybe others will like this!

When their country is in a state of unrest, Cate and Callum must team up to kill Callum's father so he can be in the running to lead their people out of a state of unrest. How will they do this? By utilizing Cate's ability to emotionally manipulate those she is intimate with.

While this book is definitely unique in its plot, it felt extremely unserious to me and the absurdity of Cate's powers really took me out of the story. I wanted to like this book a lot more than I did, and I definitely think it will find its audience - that audience was just not me sadly.

This is my first Falon Ballard book and I had a lot of fun! It was spicy and all around just a good time.