Review - Wild and Wicked Things by Francesca May

 

 

Title: Wild and Wicked Things

Author: Francesca May

Pages: 466

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Release Date: 29th March 2022

 

Blurb from Goodreads:

 In the aftermath of the First World War, a young woman gets swept into a glittering world filled with illicit magic, romance, blood debts and murder in this lush and decadent debut novel.

On Crow Island, people whispered, real magic lurked just below the surface. But Annie Mason never expected her enigmatic new neighbour to be a witch.

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My Review:

*I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK*

When Annie's estranged father dies, she finds herself travelling to the notorious Crow Island to sort through his things.

On the mainland, magic is prohibited after the events of the First World War. However, on Crow Island, the use of magic is less controlled and Annie soon discovers that her new neighbour is a witch.

As Annie spends time on the island, she is reunited with her best friend from home, Bea, who now lives there. Annie also discovers more about her father, and is drawn to her bewitching neighbour Emmeline.

As Annie is sucked into the world of magic, she discovers that it can be as dangerous as it is seductive.

The pitch for this book intrigued me - The Great Gatsby with witches - but, unfortunately, it didn't live up to my hopes.

Annie was an OK protagonist. I liked her, and I felt sorry for her at times, but didn't feel that I fully connected with her.

Bea and Emmeline were mixed characters for me - there were times when I liked them and times when I didn't.

My favourite characters were probably Nathan and Isobel, whose relationship I liked.

The setting of the island and being just after World War I was interesting. As Crow Island was a separate entity from the mainland, there didn't seem to be any after-effects from the war, such as rationing, and I wasn't sure how realistic that was - surely there would have been some foods they couldn't get? - but given that this book has magic and witches, it's not exactly realistic.

There was some world-building, which was interesting, but it did seem a little vague and was a little confusing.

The plot was mixed - while it did go in a direction that I wasn't expecting, I was never gripped, and didn't feel immersed or invested in what was happening.

I am disappointed that I didn't enjoy this more.

Overall, this was a mixed read.