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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.

  • Anger Bang

    By Avery Flynn. 

    5*s. Best enjoyed when you want a super funny and spicy contemporary romantic romp. 

    Publisher’s Synopsis:

    “Sometimes you just need to bang it out…

    Shy paleontologist Thea Pope just wants to get through her sister’s ’80s-themed monstrosity of a TV reality-show wedding so she can get to her summer field work. The only problem? Her sister has turned into the ultimate bridezilla – as in pink parasols, organza hats, forcing people to shave and dye their hair levels of over-the-top, it’s-my-day antics – all while on location in a place literally called hell that reeks of sulfur and lost hopes. 

    The only thing that can make it worse is when her sister declares that she never even wanted Thea in the wedding at all but that the producers insisted. Ouch doesn’t begin to express how much it hurts that her own sister didn’t even want her to be at her wedding. 

    There’s only one thing Thea can do after her sister finally pushes her too far – she picks the one man at the wedding her sister cannot stand – the groom’s brother, Kade St. James – and has sex with him. 

    Is it petty revenge that she’ll be rubbing in her sister’s face from now until eternity? Absolutely. Still, it seems like a great idea at the time, and really what could go wrong? 
    Pretty much everything it turns out.”

    Review:

    I’ve been on a massive contemporary romance kick lately. I love smart, shy, thick MCs and dashingly dark, grumpy, bearded heroes that go from strangers to friends with benefits to fierce I-can’t-be-away-from-you-for-long love. It’s an itch that Anger Bang was definitely able to scratch. The cover is also super cute and the secret behind the be-tutu’d TRex covered in confetti is revealed early in the book. It was an intensely creative choice that I LOVED when I read it.

    Should I also mention that Anger Bang  was ridiculously hilarious? There you go. I said it! I’ve read a few ‘reality show’ romances where the people involved really don’t want to be a part of it or just do because they want vengeance for some reason and end up falling in love with someone they never would have but is so perfect for them that nothing else matters. There’s just something about finding a bigger purpose in the middle of a shit show that really does something for me. 

    Along with the hilarity of the circumstances, I can’t say enough about the spice. We’re talking ghost pepper levels of heat tumbling through the pages. Flynn can find her way around a visceral, spicey scene, let me tell you. That two people could collide this way and that Kade could find beauty in Thea’s perceived messiness is one of the biggest turn-ons for we academically inclined ladies. It touched something in my core and let in some heat in my chest cavity. 

    The romance was sweet, the various conflicts amongst the characters (all well laid out) were somewhat short but very well written and heart breaking in those moments. The redemption arcs were like double rainbows all the way across the sky and I sincerely enjoyed reading—sorry, devouring—this page turner. 

    The one problem I did have is the blurb for the next book, Walk of Shame, that was thrown in at the end, because damnit I was caught in those first two chapters and I have to wait a little while for my preorder to hit my Kindle. It was honestly just rude. I’m super excited to read the next book!

  • The Little Red Wolf

    By Amélie Fléchais, pub date 10/17/23

    5*s. Best enjoyed when you are in the mood for a dark fairy tale and a visual feast.

    Publisher’s Synopsis

    “An enchanting retelling of the Charles Perrault classic tale Little Red Riding Hood. 

    Once upon a time there was a little red wolf who lived in a treehouse in a thick and mysterious forest. The young wolf sets out on a journey to bring his grandmother a rabbit when he is charmed by a nice little girl who offers to help him. But nice is not the same as good.

    Lose yourself in the dark forests of Amélie Fléchais’ spectacular artwork in The Little Red Wolf, a gorgeously illustrated tale that turns the classic story of Little Red Riding Hood on its head.”

    Review:

    Little Red Hood is undoubtedly one of the most eerily beautiful graphic novels I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. It was an absolute visual feast with a dark an misunderstood fairy tale at the very core that played on the themes of cruelty, grief, trust, love, and misplaced blame that can quickly turn to extremely misplaced hatred and unearned violence. 

    I could practically feel my pupils dilate when I first started reading. The illustrations lean heavily on a darker version of cottage core that perfectly sets the scene for this twisted tale. How quickly an honest mistake can turn into a disastrous and deadly situation. 

    I truly loved the experience of reading this book. Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. 

  • Curves for Days

    By Laura Moher. Pub Date 8/22/2023

    4*s. Best enjoyed when you need a cozy sassy/grumpy romance.

    Publisher’s Synopsis:

    “Sexy Southern romance with a charming plus-size heroine and a gruff, grumpy hero.

    Rose Barnes feels best when she’s invisible—so when she wins the lottery and is suddenly thrust into the spotlight where everyone wants something, hiding out in a small town in North Carolina makes perfect sense.

    Rose has got curves for days—and to Angus, the big, burly, bearded contractor working on her new house, she’s just plum perfect. Rose is surprised to learn that Angus has a sense of humor and a soft heart beneath that gruff exterior. Angus can’t help noticing that wacky Rose is smart, funny, and has a sexy underwear stash that leads him to some very unprofessional fantasies.

    As their unlikely friendship becomes love, Angus becomes determined to help Rose overcome what he believes are financial troubles. But with Angus’s need to always give more than he receives, Rose’s multi-million secrets could mean the end of a beautiful relationship.“

    REVIEW:

    First of all, I had the hardest time putting this down while it was the current read in my Kindle. I read a chapter. Then another. Then another. Before I knew it, I was 60% of the way through this and it was definitely past my bedtime. 

    Angus and Rose’s relationship was a slow burn. They did not like one another at first. Then they became great friends…then something far more. It was told over months of time, two people with hard pasts learning to open up and trust someone else to the best of what they could. The heat was mostly great, but it was the absolute care of compassion that they developed that really made this book what it was. 

    I love thick girl contemporary. It’s a recent love of mine and I find it super entertaining and understandable, as I’ve been those characters. Thickness hasn’t always had its day, but it’s coming into its own as society loosens its grip on women’s soft bodies. It is a major turn on to read a book that explores us beyond just what we look like and our acceptance of ourselves, and this had that in spades. Rose experienced so much in her time that wasn’t necessarily driven by her size, but by someone using it against her after they had violated her. It explored that deep distrust when someone has been left alone and hurt like this character was. To be able to escape and find family in a place so far away from where you’ve spent your life is something incredibly special, and I love that arc for Rose. 

    Angus accepting his own worth and allowing someone to give him care was also fantastic. To see him come alive throughout the story as Rose gives him a soft place to explore his feelings again and allow himself to love not only someone else but also the person inside was beautiful. For them to grow like this together? 

    I really enjoyed this novel. I won’t lie, it was a little slow in some parts and I had to read ahead just to get to the conflict –I know, a cardinal sin! I loved how it was handled. It was a very realistic scenario between two people, and the resolution was very sweet, exciting, and left me feeling light hearted and gooey (it’s a romance…if that’s a spoiler, you’re probably new to the genre). 

    I definitely recommend to anyone wanting a cozy romance where the plot doesn’t get too heavy and you like slow burn enemies to friends to something more romance.

    Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for this honest review. 

  • There’s No Way I’d Die First

    by Lisa Springer, Pub Date 9/5/23

    3*s. Best enjoyed with a fork and knife with which to eat the rich.

    Publisher’s Synopsis:

    “A spine-tingling contemporary horror novel that follows a scary-movie buff as she hosts an elaborate Halloween bash but soon finds the festivities upended when she and her guests are forced to test their survival skills in a deadly game, from debut author Lisa Springer.

    Seventeen-year-old Noelle Layne knows horror. Every trope, every warning sign, every survival tactic. She even leads a successful movie club dedicated to the genre. Who better to throw the ultimate, most exclusive Halloween party on all of Long Island?

    With some of the top influencers in her school on the guest list, including gorgeous singer-songwriter Archer Mitchell, her popularity is bound to spike. She could really use the social boost for an upcoming brand expansion. Nothing is going to ruin this party.

    Except…maybe the low budget It clown she hired for a stirring round of tag. He axes one of her classmates. From the looks of his devilish grin and bag full of killer tricks, he’s just getting started.

    A murderous clown is out for blood, but Noelle has been waiting her entire life to prove that she’s a Final Girl.”

    Review:

    This was a good YA Horror, I will give you that, but probably not for all the reasons that most people would think. I thought the story was great and the horror was fun. Fun? What a strange way to talk about a book where a serial killer dressed like Pennywise from Wish picked off teenagers one by one.

    It was honestly the characters. I found most of them minimally likeable. Even the main character at times, but it was because she barely seemed to actually care about the people she called friends, and honestly, it seemed like it was mutual. It was kind of hard to root for a bunch of shallow, morally gray people with little character dealing with their rich kid struggles. It was just difficult to really understand them. There were definitely moments when I was like “oh good, the killer is there. I have no feelings either way, let’s see how this plays out.”

    Again, the MC I could understand at times. There are absolutely societal expectations that her family reached above and racism is absolutely a horrible thing that completely in all echilons of society. However, there were times when it seemed less like she was in a fight for her life and more like she was in a fight she had always wanted to be in just so she could prove that she was able to do something, even though all her supposed friends are dying in truly horrific ways around her. 

    Trust me when I say, the author truly had some twisted visions for how one would end the lives of some somewhat insufferable people. The writing was great and maybe the above was kind of the point? If so, I give the author major props for this well written book that felt like I was hate watching a reality TV show. I’m not sure if that was goal here, but if it was I can’t help but give some shiny stars for the effort. It was a weird thing for me to enjoy but God help me, I did. 

    Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Children’s for the advanced copy in exchange for this review. 

  • Never Whistle at Night

    An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology

    By Various, Edited by Shane Hawk & Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.

    Pub Date 9/19/2023d

    5*s. Best Enjoyed right now. It’s on sale today and it’s spooky season and you need this kind of visceral storytelling immediately.

    Publisher’s Synopsis:

    “Many Indigenous people believe that one should never whistle at night. This belief takes many forms: for instance, Native Hawaiians believe it summons the Hukai’po, the spirits of ancient warriors, and Native Mexicans say it calls Lechuza, a witch that can transform into an owl. But what all these legends hold in common is the certainty that whistling at night can cause evil spirits to appear—and even follow you home.

    These wholly original and shiver-inducing tales introduce readers to ghosts, curses, hauntings, monstrous creatures, complex family legacies, desperate deeds, and chilling acts of revenge. Introduced and contextualized by bestselling author Stephen Graham Jones, these stories are a celebration of Indigenous peoples’ survival and imagination, and a glorious reveling in all the things an ill-advised whistle might summon“

    REVIEW:

    Let me preface this review by first saying I love to learn about cultures I may or may not share. I appreciate folklore from around the world and have found that through stories, you can learn so much about the deep seated cultural beliefs of your fellow humans or your ancestors through the exploration of what they have found exciting, brave, adventuresome, and worth staking ones’ life on in addition to what scares someone, or how someone seeks revenge and the cause of it. This was a very interesting prospectus on the people of the Americas, whose land was taken and settled and what myths, legends, and beings still exist here beyond our sight and will continue to exist long after our bones are forgotten and tangled in the roots of the very soil that still belongs to them.

    I first found out about this book in my ‘suggested reads’ through Amazon. When I found out it was an ARC I was desperate to get my hands on it. I was approved and that was the the beginning of a truly wild adventure into some of the most viscerally engaging horror stories I’ve ever read. It was a true bonus that they were all told from Indigenous voices. Not only do I continue to think about these stories weeks later, but the level of unsettling most of them gave me still gives me such pause and a depth of learning that continues to roll around in my subconscious like some sea serpent, surfacing on occasion into my conscious thought. 

    One of the major benefits of reading these as an anthology is that you get to visit different heads and learn new fears you either had never been exposed to or fears you absolutely share with the author. Every one gave me a different kind of chill or a dark feeling or something new to really dwell on. Some had stories that caused me to rethink my perspective entirely and deepen my own understanding of cultural pitfalls that I myself do not experience. 

    Regardless of how you want to approach this book, you should. 

    This book is a must read for everyone and you can bet I’m going to be buying a copy of this to keep on my shelf. The cover is just a preview of the unsettling feelings you will get reading these stories.

    I’ve heard some of the folklore growing up in Northern, MN, but not the depth here. It’s always enraptured me, the various spirits that I always believed still existed around me in the woods and lakes of the wild North, and the ways that one would prevent falling prey to them. I walked into this with a healthy respect, and I hope you do, too.

    I’ve been followed by books I’ve finished in the past, but I haven’t been haunted like this one haunts me. I don’t reread books usually, but there are definitely some stories here that I plan to reread, if only to get them out of my head like a song turned earworm you play on a loop to dislodge. Wish me luck.

    Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for the advanced copy and to all of the authors who contributed. 

  • Bombshell

    Hell’s Belles #1, Sarah MacLean.

    4*s, Best enjoyed if you like your Victorian romance with some spice and a kick–literally.

    Publisher’s Synopsis:

    “After years of living as London’s brightest scandal, Lady Sesily Talbot has embraced the reputation and the freedom that comes with the title. No one looks twice when she lures a gentleman into the dark gardens beyond a Mayfair ballroom…and no one realizes those trysts are not what they seem.

    No one, that is, but Caleb Calhoun, who has spent years trying not to notice his best friend’s beautiful, brash, brilliant sister. If you ask him, he’s been a saint about it, considering the way she looks at him…and the way she talks to him…and the way she’d felt in his arms during their one ill-advised kiss. 

    Except someone has to keep Sesily from tumbling into trouble during her dangerous late-night escapades, and maybe close proximity is exactly what Caleb needs to get this infuriating, outrageous woman out of his system. But now Caleb is the one in trouble, because he’s fast realizing that Sesily isn’t for forgetting…she’s forever. And forever isn’t something he can risk.“

    Review:

    This took me way longer to read than I want to admit. I’m a mood reader, so if I’m not in a certain mood, the vibes of a book may throw me off a little until I “feel” it. Again, I’m a little ashamed, because I am a big fan of Sara Maclean and this book was really great. 

    I loved the dynamic between the MCs was a delight. There were plenty of buried secrets to be unearthed for both characters, a couple I honestly did not see coming. 

    I loved how strong Sesily was and how much she cared about Caleb. I also loved her convictions and desires to be seen as more than just a beautifully scandalous woman, but also someone’s everything. Not to mention her very active work righting society’s wrongs in secret ways. That’s one thing I’ve absolutely loved while reading books like this. Usually it’s the men who are the spies or disrupters of society for the sake of justice, but this one it’s a group of badass women who want to make life easier for all women and children at all levels of society. 

    Caleb clearly loved his friends and family. It was a struggle to understand his spartan ways, physically, emotionally, and etc. When you learn why, it all makes sense. I loved how often he was magnetically dragged into Sesily’s late evening adventures, and how very much he cared for her when he let her see it. But it was also great to see a female MC turn around and fight for her desired partner. 

    This was a refreshing historical romance read and I’m very excited to finish reading the second installment in the Hell’s Belles series. 

    Thank you to Avon Harper Voyager and Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for this review!

  • All the Lovely Bad Ones: Graphic Novel

    Based on the novel by Mary Downing Hahn. Pub Date 8/15/23

    4*s. Best enjoyed when you need a ghost story with an innocent, triumph-over-evil feeling.

    Publisher’s Synopsis:

    “Travis and his sister, Corey, can’t resist a good trick. When they learn that their grandmother’s quiet Vermont inn, where they’re spending the summer, has a history of ghost sightings, they decide to do a little “haunting” of their own. Before long, their supernatural pranks have tourists flocking to the inn, and business booms.

    But Travis and Corey soon find out that theirs aren’t the only ghosts at Fox Hill Inn. Their thoughtless games have awakened something dangerous, something that should have stayed asleep. Can these siblings lay to rest the restless spirits they’ve disturbed?“

    Review:

    This really was such an awesome story. The illustrations were colorful and the story was eerie yet still cute in some way. I hadn’t read this book prior to now so this was my first exposure to it. I loved how the spirits were depicted and also how much growth the kids and adults both experienced throughout.

    I think this is the perfect kid’s graphic novel for spooky season and I highly recommend it!

    Thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins Children’s for the advanced copy in exchange for a fair review.

  • Hide: The Graphic Novel

    By Kiersten White, adapted by Scott Peterson

    Illustrated by Veronica & Andy Fish, Pub date 9/12/23

    4*s. Best enjoyed when you need a technicolor nightmare scape.

    Publisher’s Synopsis:

    “What would you do for $50,000? For Mack, the prize money would be life changing. She knows her time at the women’s shelter is already up. And she’s good at hiding. At least this time, her life doesn’t depend on it–or so she thinks.

    The challenge is simple. All fourteen competitors must spend seven days hiding in an abandoned amusement park from dawn to dusk. There’s only one rule: Don’t get caught.

    But as the people around her begin disappearing one by one, Mack realizes this competition is more dangerous than she’d imagined, and that together might be the only way to survive.”

    Review:

    This graphic novel was adapted from White’s book Hide. Although I had heard pretty good things and had it on my TBR, when I saw this graphic novel of the book I jumped at the chance to read it.

    The illustrations in the book are delightful with a classic gritty comic book vibe and some seriously vivd colors that render the story in a neon colored hell scape.

    The story itself is very good. It’s obviously not a regular game of hide and seek, but when people end up murdered by something and strange occult-y books and renderings are found throughout the abandoned amusement park that makes up the setting, it’s very clear that something more than just a weird child’s game with a huge prize at the end.

    The overall lore was well thought out, the plot and pace was great for a graphic novel, and there was very little left to question at the end. Often with books turned graphic, there’s something lost in translation in the story. Although I didn’t read the original, I felt very satisfied with where this book went and the loose ends were minimal if not nil by the end.

    Thanks to Netgalley, White, and Ten Speed Press for the advanced copy in exchange for this honest review!

  • The Forest Grimm

    by Kathryn Purdie. Pub Date 9/19/23

    4.5*s. Best enjoyed when you want a dark fantasy with a slightly flawed heroine and a very mysterious narrative.

    Publisher’s Synopsis:

    “”Tell me again, Grandmère, the story of how I die.”

    The Midnight Forest. The Fanged Creature. Two fortune-telling cards that spell an untimely death for 17-year-old Clara. Despite the ever-present warning from her fortune-teller grandmother, Clara embarks on a dangerous journey into the deadly Forest Grimm to procure a magical book—Sortes Fortunae, the Book of Fortunes—with the power to reverse the curse on her village and save her mother.

    Years ago, when the villagers whispered their deepest desires to the book, its pages revealed how to obtain them. All was well until someone used the book for an evil purpose—to kill another person. Afterward, the branches of the Forest Grimm snatched the book away, the well water in Grimm’s Hollow turned rancid, and the crops died from disease. The villagers tried to make amends with the forest, but every time someone crossed its border, they never returned.

    Now, left with no alternative, Clara and her close friend, Axel—who is fated never to be with her—have set their minds to defying fate and daring to accomplish what no one else has been able to before. But the forest—alive with dark, deadly twists on some of our most well-known fairy tales—has a mind of its own.“

    Review:

    First of all, super excited that this will be a duology. The epilogue left me wanting more, and I’m glad that Purdie is planning to give that to us. 

    I wouldn’t say that The Forest Grimm is necessarily a fairytale retelling, it’s more of a dark original version mash up. It has all of the same ingredients that a normal fairytale would have. It has magic, conflict, an evil force that is wreaking havoc, a rescue of sorts, and love (chivalric, familial, or romantic—this has all three). If mainstream fairytales were a birthday cake, this one is far more of a black forest. A deep decadent chocolate with tart bursts of cherry. If you find that mouth watering, sink your teeth into this one. 

    Fate and magic are woven deeply into the village of Grimm’s Hallow, a cursed place that was once full of light and magic…until someone took advantage of that magic to kill. Now, the forest surrounding Grimm’s Hallow has pulled back the roots of its magic that once nourished it, sometimes stealing villagers in the night and killing or maiming those who try to enter it to find the Lost. Every few months, there is a lottery that determines the next person who may try to enter the forest to save the lost villagers and find the magic book that was once used as a weapon, and reverse the curse. 

    Clara’s mother was the first to be Lost three years before. Her grandmother, a seer, has already foreseen Clara’s early death in her cards. She’s prepared to die if it means she can get into the forest and trade her life for her mother’s. When she tries to cheat at the next lottery and her friend, Axel, is chosen instead, Clara is determined to go with him into the forest. But the forest is forbidding and foreboding, and Clara only finds a way into it through happenstance. Axel and Clara steal into the forest to find both Clara’s mother and Axel’s Lost fiancée, Ella. When they are joined by Clara’s best friend and Ella’s sister, Henni, the three travel deeper into the vicious woods protected only thinly by a loophole in the forest’s magic in the shape of a red rampion flower. 

    As they travel through, they find that the very forest moves in the night when they are asleep, and the Lost have become much more than just Lost—the magic has had a very profound affect over their bodies and minds, dangerous shadows of who they once were. They have been twisted into dark versions of the fairytales that we as the audience know well (Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, Cinderella, Hansel & Gretel, a bit of Little Red Riding Hood), becoming people and creatures that make you look sideways at some of the Disney movies or fairytale books we grew up with. 

    What’s more, there are secrets amongst the group that will have a profound effect on the outcome of their journey. The heavy hint here is romance, but whether that romance will manifest or is doomed from the beginning is yet to seen—to you, because you haven’t read it. But also to me, because I can see this story completely changing with a second book on the way. 

    Overall, I thought this book was a fantastic dark survival fantasy, which I’m all about. Have you even READ my reviews before? If not, hint: survival thrillers/fantasy are my jam. I can’t wait to see what Purdie has in store for us in the second book. I’ll need a special edition of this one on my shelf. 

    Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Kathryn Purdie for the advanced copy in exchange for this early and honest review. 

  • Court of Claws

    By Briar Boleyn. Book 2.

    4.5 Stars

    Publisher’s Synopsis:

    “Bound to a man she hates more than she ever thought possible…

    Everything Morgan Pendragon knows and loves is gone as she wakes in the dangerous court of the Siabra. The man she was falling in love with is dead, and in his place is a man she barely knows. Surrounded by liars and knives in the dark, all Morgan wants to do is run the other way but Kairos Draven is determined to keep her by his side.

    As Morgan and Draven’s lives become even more irrevocably entwined, little do they know the sins of the past are coming for them both…”

    REVIEW:

    I was super excited to read this as I loved the first book in the series. This one had a ton of court intrigue, though it didn’t feel as gritty. It was very reminiscent of ACOMAF in that we get to see where Draven comes from and meet his crew. We also learn his deep, dark secrets and get some hints as to Morgan’s past as well. I loved reading about the trials that Draven had to go through as well, and Morgan’s first experiences with this new fae reality into which she has been thrown. 

    This was also a tad spicier than the first, which is always a plus, but it’s definitely a book you should not pick up unless you have read Queen of Roses beforehand.

    I did feel that the “oh, he’s not who I thought he was–stabstabstab” went on a little longer than it needed to. I get it, Morgan is far from the people she loves, was unable to safe at least one of her best friends, and her entire kingdom is at war. Plus, yes, of course—the man she trusted with her life and vice versa isn’t exactly who she thought he was on the outside. It’s a difficult situation, so the timing is understandable from a realism perspective, but it felt like it was getting in the way of the plot pacing at points. This was by no means a serious indictment and is only me being picky. 

    I truly loved the side characters and the new aspects of the story and I will be so excited to explore them when the third book comes out later this fall!

    Thanks to Netgalley, the author, and Starwater press for the advanced copy in exchange for this review.