SOMETHING WICKED - Falon Ballard

In the country of Avon, Callum, the son of the recently deposed ruler, is determined to become the country's next leader. But to do so, he must kill his ailing father. Callum is an unusual aristocrat as he's got both a conscience and strong morals. He wants to do right by the country.

Callum's sister knows that Callum needs support and, well, some balls. She approaches Lady Caterine - an in-demand, highly skilled courtesan at Avon's premiere sex club - and pays for Caterine (Cate) to take on Callum as her only client and to help boost his confidence.

This should be easy, but Lady Caterine is Gifted (her gift: she has the ability to manipulate the emotions of anyone who experiences an orgasm in her presence) and Callum has a deep-seated distrust of the Gifted. Cate decides that her mission should not only include what she's being paid for, but to also to turn Callum's mind on what the Gifted have to offer and not to fear the Gifts. After all, he is a man of conscience. 

What neither of them expects is to fall in love with one another and what that might mean for his candidacy to become the country's next ruler.

I went into this book for two reasons: first, I admit it, was because of the cover.  there was something cleverly both old-fashioned and quite modern about this artwork. And who doesn't love a book with skulls on the cover? And secondly, from the description, the sense of fantasy and paranormal with the idea of the 'Gifts' and in some fantasy country (can it get more 'fantasy' than 'Avon'?). And while I expected a fair-to-good amount of romance, I did NOT expect this to take the erotic turn that it took.

I read and review everything, including erotica, and I can say with some certainty that the sex scenes (more than one - she IS a courtesan after all) in this book could very easily be lifted straight out of any triple X-rated erotica story. It is detailed and very, very explicit. More than once I double checked that this was a legitimately published book and not a self-published book because I'm surprised at what was allowed. Not, I will admit though, disappointed. Just surprised.

I liked the characters and the build-up of the relationship. There was some nice growth here with both leading characters not expecting anything more from their business relationship. Cate's seeing an opportunity to help the next leader to understand what it means to be Gifted felt right on target.

The story does go on just a little too long and I really did not need the final 'obstacle' to reaching the conclusion. I don't want to give it away, but it felt heavy-handed and way too 'trope-y' in a story that was otherwise quite enjoyable. Seriously - if you cut 50-80 pages this would probably have been so much better.

It's really fun when a book breaks and exceeds expectations. I chose to read it because I hoped to enjoy it, but I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did, especially when it's considered a romance or romantasy (terms that wouldn't be high on my reading list).  I felt invested here. I liked the characters, which was actually kind of refreshing. I enjoyed most of the story and I liked the world-building. Who knew I'd like a 'romantasy'?!  

I see that this is listed a volume #1 in a series, but I really appreciated that this didn't end with some sort of cliffhanger. It actually makes me want to read the next volume more because it's based on the strength of character and world-building, and not because the story didn't have an ending.

Looking for a good book? Something Wicked by Falon Ballard is a romantic fantasy that falls on the hard side of 'erotic' but it's got a strong pair of leading characters and some solid world-building and is definitely worth reading.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars

* * * * * *

Something Wicked

author: Falon Ballard

series: Idle Reputations #1

publisher: G. P. Putnam's Sons

ISBN: 9780593854679

hardcover, 384 pages

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