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Wicked Tales & Wild Romances

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Step into a sanctuary of Wicked Tales & Wild Romances, where we explore the most captivating corners of dark fantasy and heart-tugging rom-coms. This is more than just a reading log; it’s a collection of Curated Chronicles for the Modern She-Wolf who isn’t afraid to get lost in the shadows or fall for the monster. ​Whether it’s a slow-burn magic system or a spicy contemporary trope, every story here is chosen to be Wildly Devoured.
  • PREY FOR ME

    PREY FOR ME

    By: Allie Oleander
    Pub Date: 09-22-2026
    Genre: Dark Romance

    Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗
    Heat Level: 🔥🔥🔥🔥(Feral)
    Tropes: Kinks, Primal Play, Touch Her and ☠️, He fell first

    REVIEW

    I absolutely LOVED Prey for Me. Willing Prey was also really good, but this book had that extra oomph with the Evangelical preacher ex-husband/stalker plotline driving the story.

    Caine was so amazing and super hot, with gothic golden retriever vibes, while Margot was such a black cat personality, and for good reason. I read this book awhile back (yes, totally behind on reviews) and I think about it all the time. It’s beyond just the primal play/Cat & Mouse–it’s the suspense of what is happening outside of the immediate relationship and how it affects the character and relationship development.

    Caine is obsessed with Margot in a healthy way, which is in complete contrast to the stalker ex. He is so protective, and that is something Margot absolutely needs, even if she is super wary of it all. He goes to some LENGTHS to do so, but you can’t be mad at any of it. Honestly, it’s positive masculinity verses toxic masculinity and it makes this book so much deeper than just a dark romance. Highly recommend!

    Thanks to NetGalley and Berkeley Publishing for the advanced ebook copy in exchange for a fair and honest review!

    PUBLISHER’S SYNOPSIS

    No deity has ever compelled Caine Underwood to drop to his knees in worship like Margot Walker does. Ever since the Halloween when she played Red Riding Hood to his Big Bad Wolf, he’s been chasing her attention—and betting that he can build a haunt so terrifying she won’t make it through. Now, Margot’s single and Caine’s pulling out all the stops to win their annual wager, and he wants her for his prize.

    Margot understands fear. Six years ago, she unveiled her televangelist ex-husband’s sins, and the situation turned bloody. Now, being hunted and devoured by Caine isn’t terrifying, it’s arousing…but the haunted house director isn’t the only one trying to scare her.

    Taunting threats commanding her to confess, repent, and atone for her sins start arriving, and when Caine discovers a zealot from Margot’s past is stalking her every move, his anger is lethal.

    There’s only one man allowed to haunt Margot…

    Him.

  • THE SWEETEST FIEND

    THE SWEETEST FIEND

    BOOK 1: PLAYING THE PIPER DUOLOGY

    By: Raven Kennedy
    Pub Date: 09-22-26
    Genre: Romantasy

    Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕
    Heat Level: 🔥🔥🔥(Howl)
    Tropes: Enemies to lovers, close proximity, touch her and ☠️, Morally gray MMC

    REVIEW

    I really enjoyed the world building in this book. The “map” and magic system were fresh, and Pied Piper retellings are very uncommon, but if there were more retellings of the tale that were similar to this, I most definitely would not be opposed.

    There are some dark aspects, like the plagues,  that really grabbed me and held me close. It was also very interesting how Core Fae and Fiends functioned, and how society worked out the aftermath of the world splitting.

    And then there’s the Piper. The big, strong, broody Piper. Do we love him? Do we not? Those open door scenes might make hating him hard.

    This is clearly only the first book and the cliff hanger is real. I need to know if we have more info on our FMC’s magic. I need to know where that ending is going. I don’t know how to feel. All I do know is this was a good book and I’m looking forward the next one. A beautiful gift and a delicious curse!

    Thanks to NetGalley and Avon Harper Voyager for the advanced ebook copy in exchange for a fair and honest review!

    PUBLISHER’S SYNOPSIS

    It’s time to pay the Piper.

    Our world cracked open like an egg. Power burst out, and with it, nine monstrous Banes ready to destroy everything. The powerful Core fae finally slayed them all, but each Bane left a Plague to punish us.

    But that’s not the only thing they left behind.

    I’m half Bane, half fae, and wholly hated. Survival means enduring every vicious glare and cursed outbreak. Until one day, a Plague descends upon my city that means certain death.

    Then he comes. The Pied Piper.

    He rids my city of the Plague, but it comes at a cost. One hundred and thirty people are taken as payment. Including me.

    I don’t know what he’s going to do to us, but I know I have to get home. My family’s lives depend on it. But the Piper won’t let me go, and something wicked stirs between us. The sweet scent in my veins beckons him, while the seductive lure of his magic sinks under my skin.

    I have to escape before it’s too late. Because if I don’t, it’s not just my heart at risk…

    But the entire world.

  • HER

    HER

    By: DV Fischer
    NOW AVAILABLE
    Genre: Dark Romance

    Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌗
    Heat Level: 🔥🔥🔥🔥(feral)
    Tropes: Plus Size FMC, Forbidden Romance

    REVIEW

    HER is the dark curvy fem romance that you’ve been wanting–just be warned. Pay attention to the trigger warnings because this one is DARK DARK.

    The Charlie and Nix aren’t necessarily likeable, but they are readable and the spice is good. Again, this is super, super dark, and choices by the FMC (Charlie) are VERY questionable. What the MMC (Nix) does for a living is 90% immoral (sex work itself is morally debatable, but coercive control and human trafikking are absolutely immoral)–but that is Dark Romance. Some parts of this are really troubling. There is what basically amounts to a snuff ring, which is definitely disturbing subject matter. MMC doesn’t 100% work for that side of the business, but it exists and I ended up being really sad through most of the book because human trafficking is a real thing and it’s hard to root for someone who appears to work FOR the SOBs committing these atrocities rather than actively against them. However, you hold on to hope that the surface level is not the only level and you do not leave disappointed on that front.

    I’m not a stranger to this type of thriller, though. Ultimately, you WANT to see these people go down for their crimes. In this case, you also get the benefit here where someone goes down in other ways.

    If you can handle the dark subject matter, it’s worth the read.

    Thanks to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the free ebook copy in exchange for a fair and honest review!

    PUBLISHER’S SYNOPSIS

    I have a badge, a chip on my shoulder, and everything to prove.

    Fresh out of the academy and already fighting for respect I shouldn’t have to earn, I’m not the kind of woman who waits for permission. When a case surfaces that no one wants—the kind that lives in shadow and trades in lives—I volunteer. I’m prepared for the danger. I’m prepared to become someone I’m not.

    What I’m not prepared for is him.

    He has no business being a complication. But the closer I get, the more the lines blur between the mission and the obsession, between who I’m pretending to be and who I’m becoming.

    Some lines, once crossed, don’t uncross. And some men have a way of making you forget what you came for.

  • AND THEN THERE WERE NONE, VOL 1

    AND THEN THERE WERE NONE, VOL 1

    Written By: Agatha Christie
    Illustrated By: Aya Nikaido
    Pub Date: 9/15/26
    Genre: Mystery Graphic Novel

    Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌗
    Art:🎨🎨🎨🎨

    REVIEW

    This manga rendition of an Agatha Christie classic was absolutely gorgeously done. I have not had the pleasure of reading the novel, but I am very excited to get my hands on the next one to see what happens. The art really drives the suspense home and having visual references helps drive the story forward.

    Thanks to NetGalley and VIZ Media for the advanced ebook copy in exchange for a fair and honest review!

    PUBLISHER’S SYNOPSIS

    Ten people are sent an invitation to a secluded island by someone none of them seem to remember knowing. Isolated from the world, they soon realize that this is no ordinary excursion. They are all trapped. And no one is coming to their rescue!

    As the guests arrive at the island enclave, they discover that there is no obvious link between them and that nobody is quite sure who lured them there. They resolve to enjoy themselves regardless of their missing host’s whereabouts. But when past crimes are brought to light, it soon becomes clear that their host’s intentions are not benevolent.

  • CURSED EVER AFTER

    CURSED EVER AFTER

    By: Andy C Naranjo
    Pub Date: 6/30/26
    Genre: Romantasy

    Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕
    Heat Level: 🔥(Tame)
    Tropes: Found Family, Cursebreaker, He Falls First, Forbidden Romance

    REVIEW

    Cursed Ever After is one of those epic fantasy romances where the adventure truly comes first and the romance is secondary. It reminded me a lot of Ella Enchanted, but for an older audience, with more blood and darker themes but still with a romp through a world of fantasy where the mission is to get the Prince to the kingdom of…um…yeah, that place that no one can seem to remember the name of. It’s on the tip of my tongue…

    You meet many important and very well fleshed out tertiary characters that make the world feel alive and give it a very strong vibe that you’ve heard this sotey told before, but it’s very clearly and obviously 100% original. Not to mention the numerous and varried landscapes and tropes that the MCs encounter along the way. And there’s also a cat, which is just an ordinary cat. Just a normal, everyday cat.

    If you enjoy fantasy and will they won’t they wholesome vibes and want to go on a fun adventure, this will absolutely fill that craving.

    Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Publishing for the advanced ebook copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

    PUBLISHER’S SYNOPSIS

    Love is not for cursed girls. Risa is better off without it.

    Risa Porto is a Bad Thing who was born on a Bad Day and is cursed with Bad Luck. After years of taking the blame for every calamity, mishap, and minor inconvenience that befalls the townspeople of Barrow, Risa longs for an escape. And on her seventeenth birthday, her wish is granted.

    Sort of.

    Risa owes a (very annoying) witch a favor, and it comes in the form of a quest: She must escort Prince Javi—the youngest, handsomest, and least significant of the kingdom’s princes—through the dark (and deadly) Bosque to his wedding. This measly errand quickly spirals into a struggle with greedy assassins, a murderous cult, a vicious tyrant, and Risa’s own curse.

    Most unfortunate of all . . .

    Risa is not immune to Javi’s charms, and the more time she spends with the prince, the more she feels the highly irritating urge to kiss him. Flirtations aside, as Risa and Javi continue their trek, they find themselves working with a mysterious figure, who has a secret all her own. If Risa is to uphold her bargain with the witch, she’ll need a lot more than luck to untangle the web of lies threatening the kingdom. Is Risa willing to pay the price of happily ever after? What if the only person she’s meant to save is herself?

  • CHAOTIC ORBITS

    CHAOTIC ORBITS

    By: Beth Revis
    Pub Date: 8/4/2026
    Genre: Romantic Scifi Space Heist

    Rating (Story): 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌖
    Heat Level: 🔥🔥(Tame)
    Tropes: Space heist, romantasy, cat and mouse

    REVIEW

    I had the opportunity to read all three books before the compendium came out and I absolutely loved all of them. However, I saw there was a new story at the end of this and I absolutely had to check it out. I am hoping this is going where I suspect it is going and I am so psyched!

    Seriously, this is such an excellent book series.  I can’t say enough about it. ❤️

    Thanks to NetGalley and DAW for the advanced ebook copy in exchange for a fair and honest review!

    PUBLISHER’S SYNOPSIS

    Ada Lamarr has a very good reason for being the first at the wreckage of an intergalactic ship. If Rian White, leader of the government ship sent to examine the remains, can’t tell truth from lie when it comes to her excuses, well, that’s his problem. And Ada has absolutely no issue whatsoever being his problem—in fact, when Rian’s in the picture, she’s determined to do the wrong thing. Whether looting an “off limits” shipwreck, stealing something from a high-security museum at an intergalactic gala, or pulling off the heist of the millennia at a trillionaire’s home base, Ada always has a plan.

    Even when Rian corners her.

    In this collection of all three of the original Chaotic Orbits novellas, readers can follow Ada’s elaborate cat-and-mouse schemes and the will-they-won’t-they temptation of a romance with Rian. Featuring a new, exclusive short story told from Rian’s point of view, fans will love this epic spacemance from the reigning queen of romantic science fiction!

  • ONLY ONE FOR THE ORC

    ONLY ONE FOR THE ORC

    By: Isabelle Taylor
    Pub Date: 08-25-2026
    Genre: Supernatural/Fantasy Romance

    Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕
    Heat Level: 🔥 🔥 🔥 (Howl)
    Tropes: She Doesn’t Like Him, He Falls First, Fated Mates, Friends with Benefits

    REVIEW

    I really love visiting Claw Haven, and I’ve really been curious about Vi and Nick’s story. I wasn’t disappointed. It was full of humor, chivalry, misunderstandings, and enough spice to make a curry.

    I loved how Nick navigated his fated mate love for Vi even with how much she disliked him at first. He presented himself so confidently, but there was an awkwardness born from not thinking he was good enough. Unbeknownst to either, I think Vi had the same issues. It’s why she would rather be as useful as possible than let anyone see her. Until Nick.

    I loved how thier ultimate care for one another to be better versions of themselves and how their relationship grew on the same trajectory as their personal growth. Plus, they were SO into one another. So spicy. ❤️ Still our same knotty Claw Haven.

    Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin for the advanced ebook copy in exchange for a fair and honest review!

    PUBLISHER’S SYNOPSIS

    In Claw Haven, Alaska, monsters are real—but fated mates? Bookseller Vi Harper doesn’t believe, and it’s up to one smitten orc to prove otherwise in this sweet and spicy romance.

    Vi Harper is good at many things. Fixing problems for everyone in Claw Haven, for one. Keeping Sweethelm Bookstore running smoothly, for another. Above all, Vi is great at pretending she’s got her life figured out. The truth is, she’s a hot mess inside—especially when cocky, gorgeous orc Nick Wicker goads her in his infuriating way.

    Nick has found his mate. That’s the good news. The bad: he’s already blown it. Every time Nick speaks to soft-spoken, overworked bookseller Vi, she seems to hate him even more. What’s a lovestruck orc to do but stress-bake and look for some way to redeem himself? Even it means joining the book club.

    Then a batch of apology brownies sparks one passionate night together and suddenly, sensible Vi is doing something completely out of character: offering her one-time enemy a friends-with-benefits arrangement. It’s more than Nick dreamed. Phenomenal. And it won’t be enough. Not until he’s found a way to show her that sometimes, fate gets it exactly right…

  • I PUNCHED AN ALIEN AND NOW WE’RE IN COUPLES THERAPY

    I PUNCHED AN ALIEN AND NOW WE’RE IN COUPLES THERAPY

    By Kimberley Lemming. Pub Date 8/18/26

    Genre: SciFi RomCom

    Verdict: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌖

    Spice Level: 🔥🔥🔥 (Howl)

    Tropes: Enemies to Lovers, Mated, Forced Proximity

    PUBLISHER’S SYNOPSIS

    It’s not in Blair’s nature to just give up. Not when she’s beamed up to a spaceship and then dropped on an alien planet. Not even when she’s in the middle of a forest fire surrounded by dinosaurs. And definitely not when she’s captured by an arrogant alien king. If King Osid thinks he can break her, he’s in for a shock. Blair lives by one motto: If you stay ready, you never have to get ready.

    But absolutely nothing could have prepared her for finding out that she’s that arrogant King Osid’s mate.

    Despite recent hiccups, the alien researchers are determined to get their breeding program back on track. With that in mind, Blair and Osid are bundled off to the research center for what they’re told is couples counseling. As they face a series of increasingly dangerous challenges, it soon becomes clear the research aliens may have confused an episode of The Bachelor with Survivor. Bonding over their common enemy, and shall we say…encouraged by love darts, Blair and Osid let down their walls (and take off their clothes). When they discover that there are—somehow—even more secret plans in the works, another hilarious, steamy, over-the-top adventure is in store.

    REVIEW

    I cannot recommend this series enough. Book two is packed full of adventure, spice, and hilarity. Our two morally gray MCs are going through couples therapy that feels more like some kind of wild ass video game than anything that could possibly be constructive. Perhaps it would work with two people having some minor disagreements, but Blair and Osid have LITERALLY 👏TRIED 👏 TO👏 KILL 👏 EACH 👏 OTHER👏!!

    But the line between love and hate is thin, right? It might be thin, but it is NOT nonexistent.

    I loved reading from their perspective and getting the story from another angle. They are volatile people on their own, but together? EXPLOSIVE. Plus, so much happens in the book that sets us up for at least one more book, though I suspect at least two more. And all I haVe to say is that I AM READY FOR IT, LEMMING!!! BRING IT ON!

    Thanks to NetGalley and Berkeley Publishing for the advanced ebook copy in exchange for a fair and honest review!!

  • THE IRON HEX

    THE IRON HEX

    By Victoria S Walsh
    Pub Date: 8/4/26
    Genre: Romantasy

    Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌖
    Heat Level: 🔥🔥🔥(Howl)
    Tropes: Touch Her and ☠️,  Curvy FMC, Witchy, Second Chances, Unreliable Narrator

    REVIEW

    It’s refreshing to have a thick, beautiful queen  as the FMC of a Romantasy. I loved the world building and the multiple POVs. The story was fantastic and I can still see the world in my head. It’s just enough to build a beautiful picture, but not so much that it bogs you down in unnecessary details that won’t come up again. I’m not a fan of world building for its own sake.

    I loved and hate the characters (respectively) and the twists were wild. You have a low level witch in a world where most witches were wiped out by the Iron Watch rebellion. She has no memories prior to the last three years and you learn first from Eira, whose world seems so small in the beginning, and then you have other characters who fill in the blanks around her. Hugo is also an interesting character. Definitely morally grey. His relationship with Eira is also interesting but also LAYERED and SPICY. Not to mention Sir Rhona’s perspective, a lady knight deeply entrenched in the politics of the Iron Guard who slowly learns the secrets of this kingdom in upheaval.

    It was a good book. I’m excited for the next one, especially with that twist that was at the end–very intrigued as to where this is going!

    Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade for the advanced ebook copy in exchange for a fair and honest review!

    PUBLISHER’S SYNOPSIS

    Eira Eckhart has spent years building a quiet life in a small town at the edge of a recently overthrown kingdom. Her memory is fractured, her past a blur—but with her shop, her loyal rabbit familiar, and practicing only the potions magic still legal under the watchful eye of the Iron Empire, she’s managed to remain unnoticed by the empire’s witch hunters.

    Until Hugo Venton walks through her door.

    Brash, clever, and infuriatingly handsome, Hugo is searching for something…and seems to know more about Eira than she knows about herself. But when a terrifying encounter with an unnatural, deadly new breed of soldier puts a price on her head, she has no choice but to join Hugo on his quest.

    Their hunt for a missing princess pulls Eira across the continent—and deeper into a past she can’t recall. As buried memories, mysteries in the Iron Empire’s capital, forgotten feelings, and the truth behind her identity begin to surface, Eira realizes the forbidden magic simmering in her veins might be the very thing that could save them from the Iron Empire’s forces as they draw ever closer…if she can remember how to control it in time.

  • DEVOUR ME

    DEVOUR ME

    Devour Me Book 1

    By: Emily Rath
    Pub Date: 8/4/2026
    Genre: Paranormal/Supernatural Romance, Contemporary

    Rating (Story):🌕🌕🌕🌕🌖
    Heat Level: 🔥🔥🔥🔥(feral)
    Tropes: Shadow Daddy, Touch her and ☠️, Grumpy v Sunshine

    REVIEW

    It’s been awhile since I’ve read a hidden world fantasy that felt so real and full let alone one this deliciously sexy.

    Dainn has been stuck in servitude to a truly evil witch for centuries, bringing her souls and destroying her enemies. He hates it. He hates her. But he’s stuck. Until one night when he is on one of his missions and is stopped in the middle of feeding from a delicious Jasper Prescott, by a young woman with a soul made of color and light. One who has absolutely no clue what she just did or what she just interrupted, and Dainn is OBSESSED.

    Jasper almost died, saved by his niece’s friend and his seasonal employee. She’s non-medical, so how the hell did this tempting young woman stop a wraith mid-feed? And why does he feel so tied to her? The last thing he needs is a distraction while he is trying to stop a noisy archeologist from digging up the graves of his covenant ancestors.

    Birdie has no idea what she’s up against, but part of her really wants to be up against Jasper. This summer internship woth the local historical society was supposed to be the saving grace of her grad school scholarship, and the part tome apothecary job was a means to an end. But now, she’s being introduced to a whole different world, one she finds herself wanting to save, with people–witch and wraith alike–that she has come to care for.

    This was such a spicy and amazing contemporary why choose romance that has an excellent plot and cast of characters. It was also very, very hot. I absolutely loved this book and I am patiently awaiting the next.

    Thanks to NetGalley and Avon Harper Voyager for the advanced ebook copy in exchange for a fair and honest review!!

    PUBLISHER’S SYNOPSIS
    Dáinn the Devourer has spent the last two hundred years of his undead life reluctantly bonded to a dark witch, doing her dirtiest work. Devouring corrupt souls may not be satisfying for a wraith, but it keeps him fed. Sent on a job to Burr Island, Dáinn is forced to devour the soul of a rival witch.

    But Jasper Prescott is no corrupt magical misfit. He’s powerful and beautiful, with a soul worth savoring. Dáinn is eagerly devouring the witch when he’s abruptly stopped. By a human no less. With one word, Birdie Rhodes does what no being has ever done: she takes his breath away. Now the witch, the wraith, and the human are set on a path that could lead to their destiny…or their ruin.

    Desperate for his freedom, Dáinn makes a deal with Jasper: kill my mistress, and I’ll let you keep living. But Jasper wants more than just to live. He has a coven to protect. Their secrets are being threatened by magical forces on and off the island. Bound together in this strange new deal, Jasper fights his growing attraction to the wraith, who is far more human than he appears. And Dáinn fights the urge to devour the delectable witch whole.

    The only one who can save them is Birdie Rhodes, hapless historian and sometimes shop girl. Birdie only came to Burr Island for summer work. She has no idea magic is even real. She certainly has no idea she’s now the only thing standing between her witch boss and the hungry wraith aching to devour them both.

    As magical forces of darkness loom at Burr Island’s shores, Jasper and Dáinn are both determined to keep Birdie close in Devour Me, book one in a dark, spicy paranormal romance trilogy.