This book will catch you right away and take you on a beautiful ride. The author writes in a way that paints a picture for readers, bringing the characters to life. I cannot wait until the next book in the series comes out.

I love stories with magic and witchy vibes so this was right up my alley. I enjoyed the writing, loved the detail and characters but sometimes found the changing POVs mid chapter a little jarring.

Dark, atmospheric, and filled with breathtaking prose and witchy goodness, SOMETHING WICKED is a fantasy title you won't want to miss. Great for fans of SERPENT AND DOVE, it's full of magic, mysticism, and a steamy, forbidden romance. What more could you every want?

I absolutely loved this book, it was so witchy and fantastical and amazing. This would be a great book to read in the month of October but seeing as it was such a great book, I recommend reading it anytime of the year.

This book follows Theodora (but call her Theo) after her parents are killed in a house fire and she moves to Salem to live with her aunt that she didn't know existed. Reeling from her parent's death, recovering from a car accident, and trying to mend her broken heart, Theo starts at a new school and hopes to learn more about her aunt. Then strange things start happening to Theo and only her Aunt Elizabeth can help her understand her newfound powers.

I'm a sucker for books about witches, that has always been a guilty pleasure for me and a topic I love reading about. One thing I loved most about this book in particular was all of the references to the old Salem Witch Trials and the fact that the author actually names people from those days that existed during those times. Not many witchy books include the real names of the people that were accused of witch craft back in the late 1600s and I'm happy that this one did.

I loved the character of Theo the best and how she developed throughout the story. She went through so much between losing her parents, her boyfriend, and having to move to a new city but yet she stays humble and caring. Hazel and her together were one of my favorite best friend duos in books and those two together made me laugh multiple times.

Now let's talk about the romance, the forbidden romance, that was definitely steamy. Trystan and Theo together were like two old souls finding each other. The fact that they were kept apart killed me and I wanted more of those two.

One last small thing I really enjoyed was the small references to other books written throughout. That's another guilty pleasure of mine is when an author mentions certain books or characters in their books, like a book within a book, I love it.

I am now dying in anticipation for the next book in this series as this book left off on a total cliffhanger with someone's life barely floating, literally.

*Thank you so much to the author and NetGalley for the complimentary copy for my honest review*

So unfortunately this book didn’t do it for me. I understand it is a YA book and meant for a younger audience so I know that I’m not exactly the intended reader... but this was full of cliche tropes. I don’t mind a good trope at all, but when it’s something like “I’m not like other girls” I get annoyed. I, like many other readers, don’t want to see girl-on-girl hate in books anymore. It’s a tired trick to make drama and all it does is spread harmful rhetoric. I also felt that the parents death in the beginning was just an excuse to send Theo to Salem as she really didn’t seem to care about their death (especially once she meets Trystan) and I feel like instead of killing her parents, why not just move everyone to Salem? Like it was convenient but could have been avoided entirely and would have cleaned up the story a bit and made the character more likeable. The final thing I’ll mention that really just disappointed me was how obvious the foreshadowing was. It was basically just saying what was going to happen, there was no subtlety. Nothing was a surprise really. The concept is fun enough, but it was poorly executed.

I would like to thank the author and the Netgalley website for allowing me to read this book which is the first in the series: "Something Wicked".

I was immediately attracted by the beautiful cover of this book where you can see the pretty Theo in profile with the same logo as on the book of shadows in the Charmed series.

It all begins when we learn that Theo, on his seventeenth birthday, broke up with his boyfriend and had a car accident. It's on this birthday that it all started when she came home from school dance to find her house on fire with her parents in it.

After that she moved to live with her aunt in Salem, Massachusetts. There she discovered that her aunt was a witch and so was she. She is going to have to learn to master her magic because witch hunters might start chasing or even killing them, because they think that since more than three hundred years of absence magic is no longer of this world. How is she going to deal with her new school, her new magic powers and this famous Trystan who is a witch hunter? As for Trystan, it's not the only problem in the city, there's something coming back that the witches thought had been well buried for a long time. The past of Salem is coming back to haunt Theo and the witches. And the true story of the Salem witch trial may be back in the news again.

I immediately hooked on the story that was so captivating, addictive, full of suspense and twists and turns with very endearing characters. It makes me want to reread the book in paperback and the sequel afterwards.

Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this book and ended up DNF’ing at about the halfway point. I was initially really excited about this book, but I just started to lose interest and decided to stop and maybe circle back at another time. I think this book has a really interesting premise, but I just did not connect with the main characters and the foreshadowing was completely not subtle at all. The entire plot seemed like a series of more and more dramatic events. I also was not feeling the romance in this book. I’m not a huge fan of insta-love to begin with but the relationship had way to many red flags for me.
The magic system was also a little different than I was picturing. I guess I thought that since it was set in Salem that there would be real witchcraft rather than just causing the occasional thunderstorm or fire…
I’m hoping that I was just in a mood and when/if I loop back it’ll grab me and I’ll really enjoy it. I do feel like there will be an audience for this one and that people will love it, but sadly it’s just not for me right now.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book received through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A very enjoyable read! A new series about witchcraft with a main character dealing with heartbreak, loss and a startling discovery about herself. Add in some mystery, a fair bit of forbidden romance and a few interesting characters.

This was absolutely brilliant

Something Wicked follows Theo who moves to Salem after the death of her parents. In Salem she discovers that she is a witch and learns about her heritage while falling in love with sexy broody witch hunter Trystan.

The books is pretty fast paced, it dives straight in to the swing of things and it’s action from the first page. Which is also what it takes to get hooked. I read this in 2 sittings but only because something came up and I couldn’t do it in one. It’s well written and very clearly well researched which is always a plus. I also loved the way magic was portrayed. It wasn’t some huge obstacle to overcome, but simply a matter of connecting with what was already inside you. I think one of the reasons I enjoyed this so much is I didn’t have to read the whole ‘she’s trying to learn and failing and then FINALLY succeeds right before the end’ trope. Instead she was told what she needed and she basically just did it. It was very refreshing.

Honestly the only thing stopping me from rating it 5 stars is that there are a few grammatical errors that are difficult to overlook.

This books ended on a cliffhanger and I’m sitting and waiting for book which I would be ALL OVER!

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for providing me with a copy to review.

This one wasn't for me. I read the first 30% or so but skimmed the rest. The story was okay but the characters were boring, the main character was a big cliche - prettier than all the other girls reads Poe, speaks fluent French and quotes Shakespeare - one big yawn. She had no personality and felt two dimensional and uninteresting. The dialogue wars stilted and felt flat and unrealistic. The whole thing felt a little amateurish compared to the quality of YA witch themed fantasy available.

This was a decent read and I will read the sequel. However, the ending was a little strange. I feel like it just suddenly ended. It didn't feel like a good cliffhanger. It just stopped. I really enjoyed Trystan as a character though, and Grace made me just as angry as she was probably intended to.

I cannot believe this is Nicole Rubino’s first book because Rubino knocks it out of the park in Something Wicked (9781711028552, 2019) the first book in the “Something Wicked” series.

It has a love quadragle - is that even a word? (laugh) It has bad guys upon bad guys and it all makes sense for them to be bad guys. Then Rubino puts them all in the best place to practice witchcraft: Salem, Massachusetts. I have been there and it made me want to twitch a wand or twinkle my nose.

Wicked has heartache, friendship, betrayal, fight scenes, magic, and family. Rubino takes care with her characters to not make them a one-sided caricature. Some mysteries, we figure out right away because of course we have read these tropes before. Others I did not see coming which was fun and I will be honest the ones I saw coming were fun too.

Theo kind of reminds me of Sabrina from Netflix’s version of Sabrina, The Teenage Witch and I love that show. There is not anything I do not like about this book or series so far other than I cannot find when the next book is due out! (laugh)

I received an ARC of this book and I am writing a review without prejudice and voluntarily.

DNF at 30%.

I liked the idea of this, but the execution just didn’t do it for me. The writing felt a bit childish at times and the whole “not-like-the-other-girls” thing the main character had going on was unbearable. I just couldn’t get through the whole book.

If you are looking for a good witch story this one might be up your alley. Thank you NetGalley for providing me this book to read. The story has such a dramatic plot with a car accident, losing her parents, learning new secrets that shes a witch and their being magic. So if you like fantasy this book is a good choice for you when it comes to fantasies, witchery, magic. you name it.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review

This book was ok. It kept my interest and was a fast read, but it just fell a little flat for me.

I received an eARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Netgalley and the author.

The premise is full of intrigue and promise—witches and witch hunters situated in Salem. In ‘Something Wicked’ we follow Theo, a girl who seemingly received bad luck for her seventeenth birthday (bad break-up? Check. Car crash? Check.). After a series of unfortunate events and tragedy, Theo moves to Salem with her aunt.

I was immediately hooked on the premise. I liked the setting of modern-day Salem and the opening scene. I also love stories where someone discovers their powers and true origins. However, despite the that, I found the plot a bit mediocre and predictable at some points with an amalgamation of YA tropes. Furthermore, I felt the foreshadowing to be a little heavy-handed. Whilst there is plenty of drama and action, it was a quick and easy read.

Unfortunately, this book is riddled with common tropes I’m not so fond of (such as girl on girl hate, not like other girls™, etc.) and therefore affected my reading experience. This book wasn’t for me. I feel like this book would be suitable for younger teens, pre-teens, or people who don’t mind such tropes or are new to fantasy. If you’re looking for a quick and easy read and into witches and forbidden romance, this may be for you.

I really liked this book and will keep an eye out for the sequel. I liked how the writing flowed and how the characters were so relatable. It has teenage characters which can be difficult to read because they are often written with so much drama and angst. With this one there seems to be the normal amount that adults might have so it wasn't off putting. There are twists and turns that keep you guessing and it doesn't take Theo the whole book to figure out she can't trust many. Like I said I will look for the sequel.

This book had an intriguing premise with the Salem Witch Trials and present witchy aspects. I enjoyed the lead character, Theo, and her fairly normal reactions to the twists and turns in her life. I didn’t care for the instalove story and completely evil ex. The foreshadowing was little heavy-handed and transparent. Overall, I’m disappointed.
ARC provided by the publisher via net galley in exchange for an honest review

I loved this book, the story, the characters. It reminded me of an episode of the tv-show Charmed and I love this show. So if you are a fan of Charmed and like that sort of story, this is the book you want to read. Highly recommended and I can't wait for the next book.

DNFing at 35%

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc of this book.

I was really excited about this one, as I love reading about witches in both fiction and non fiction. It's been a while since ibwas really excited about a witch based fiction books so when I saw this on netgalley I couldn't wait to read it! Unfortunately I don't think this book is for me.

It started with a series of dramatic events, predictable teen drama that I saw coming a mile off, and an 'I'm not like the other girls' vibe that rubbed me the wrong way, but I know it's really common in YA, so I ignored it and carried on. I'm not in my teens anymore, so there's a lot I let slide in YA as I'm aware that i'm not the target audience. The main character seems to constantly try to prove that she's better and more interesting than every other girl around her, including a whole 'I read Poe' section. This unfortunately carried on, with the 'pretty girls are all horrible cheerleaders' getting a bit too much, and I hate girl vs girl constant competition for male affection, but that's not what really put me off the book.

The whole plot is a series of continuously more and more dramatic events which barely seem to register on Theo's radar. Her parents die, and a lot of horrible things happen to her but she's just totally fine and flirting with a guy within a week of her parents dying in a fire?! She's suddenly got this insanely powerful magic, and is going to learn to control it really easily? Everyone lives in a perfect house, everything is branded, and that's always mentioned. The magic system is also really not what I was expecting. Considering the book is set in Salem I was expecting it to be influenced by real witchcraft, or at least to seem a bit less causing thunderstorms and ominous fires which is what it feels like so far. There's a lot of stuff which seems like foreshadowing but is a bit more 'this is going to happen' than subtle hints and from that I can tell the book is heading in a direction I'm not a fan of.

Also everyone keeps referring to other people with their entire name, even in their own heads or to their children, which was just really distracting to read, and kept pulling me out of the story completely. A lot of the language and descriptive elements in this book read in a really jarring manner, and broke the immersion completely. I get it was trying to put in exposition or but it felt clunky and info dumpy.

This is being given 2 stars as I didn't finish it and maybe it got better? I guess if you knew nothing about magic, witchcraft or maybe if you're in your early teens, this book could be really good, and enjoyable. But I didn't like how much it pitted Theo against almost every female character, it made me really uncomfortable because I would love to see better representation of female interaction. You don't have to hate girls in order to be quirky, cool or get the guy. This review sounds meaner than I wanted to, but it contained a lot of tropes I feel strongly about, and that make me sad. This book will definitely have it's audience and people who will love it, but sadly that isn't me.