Wild and Wicked Things is a whimsical historic fiction with sapphic representation. We have a cast of characters who slowly become intertwined in each other's lives through magic, debts, and inheritance.

I enjoyed the setting of Crow Island, it felt extravagant but eerie, the perfect setting for witches. I was also a fan of the majority of characters and how they navigated the perception of witches. Francesca May did a fantastic job of having everything anchor to Annie but everyone else continued to have their unique personalities and life stories.

My only complaints are, that I disliked Bea, I found her to be annoying and not helpful in many of the circumstances, partially because she was the one who created most of them. As well as, I often forgot which time period the novel was set in. There were multiple mentions of it being after the war but outside of that, in the manner of speech and wardrobe, I didn't always feel that I was in the 1920s which took away a little bit of the sparkle.

The vibes were immaculate. The writing made me feel like I was within the pages of this book. I loved it.
If you're looking for atmospheric writing + gayness + great gatsby, you need to pick this up.

I have received this ARC from Netgally in exchange for an honest review.

Wild and Wicked Things was so hard to put down. Seriously, I fell in love with the characters pretty quickly. I was also really enjoying the Great Gatsby vibes I was getting too. In it, you will meet Annie Mason. She is new to the mysterious Crow Island due to inheriting her father's estate. While there, she starts to hear whispers about everything that happens within the island. For example, talks of magic and blood debts.

The one thing she didn't expect was to live near a witch or two. Things really change after seeing her bestfriend, Bea, get into a confrontation with her neighbor, Emmeline. Annie is thrown into the magical world where she needs to figure out what's true and what's not. Throw in some dark spells, and other kinds of drama, and you will eventually be hooked.

Now I really liked Annie and Emmeline. Bea, unfortunately, took me a while to get on board with. She just really frustrated me for most of the book. It's like she didn't want to deal with the consequences of her decisions and blamed everyone else when things went bad. Eventually she got better but I really liked everyone else way more.

Other than that, this also dives into some harder to read topics. Like abuse, homophobia, anxiety, and assault to name a few. Each twist, turn, and graphic scene definitely pulled me further into the book. Whether it made me emotional or not, I just wanted more.

In the end, I definitely enjoyed the heck out of this book. I'm so happy that I got the opportunity to jump into this and I can't wait for Francesca's next book.

The reader is immediately immersed in the world of Wild and Wicked Things through May’s beautiful descriptions and complex characters. You’re welcomed into a world where magic is something with teeth, a thing that lies in shadows and blood, but a thing that can create simple joys and beauty, as well. The characters you will walk along side in this book are raw and vivid, dark and kind. There were times when I was confused what certain chapters were portraying (a journal entry versus a flashback or current event), but it did not take away from the story. I will also note that, in my opinion, I believe trigger warnings should be added, however they may have for the printed copy and not ARCs (some themes to note that stood out to me- indications of SA and rape, descriptions of domestic violence).Please do your research before reading, as always.

I cannot recommend this book enough. It’s wonderfully paced, allowing the reader to take in the elements of magic and character development. One of my favorite aspects was the realness of the magic. It wasn’t just spells and wands, it was something that required sacrifice and a true desire to wield it. And lastly, but certainly not of the least importance, the relationship between the two main characters (I won’t say too much)- it was tantalizing and so, very wonderful. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

If you're a fan of dark, witchy, sapphic stories and you're a fan of The Great Gatsby, you'll love this book! The Great Gatsby was one of my favorites from required reading back in high school, so I was so excited about that aspect of this story, but it's better because it has magic! I will always be a fantasy lover at heart. This book really checked all those boxes for me and came across very atmospheric overall. The one downfall for me was that, at times, the pacing of the book can feel slow, but the story is just wonderful!

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. I am reviewing of my own free will and all opinions in my review are my own.

I am a huge fan of magical historical fantasy, so I went into this book with very hopes. Unfortunately, not all of these hopes were met.
Although this book was not necessarily for me, I do understand who it would be for. The romance in this was very slow burn (for my personal tastes) and people who love an achy and long-winded romance are sure to enjoy it. I feel that the overall pacing of the book was also a little bit too "slow-burn" and the action really only picked up in the last third.
I really enjoyed the atmosphere and the writing of this book, but even with two POVs to choose from, I felt disconnected from both central characters. I just didn't care about them as anything more than vehicles for exploring this book's world.
Overall, I would recommend that people give this book a shot if it sounds up their alley, but it isn't one I would add to my favourites shelf.

𝐼𝑛 𝑾𝒊𝒍𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑾𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝑤𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝐴𝑛𝑛𝑖𝑒 𝑀𝑎𝑠𝑜𝑛, 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑘 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑜𝑘𝑖𝑙𝑦 𝑎𝑡𝑚𝑜𝑠𝑝ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑐 𝐶𝑟𝑜𝑤 𝐼𝑠𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑓𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑜 𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑢𝑝 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑔𝑒𝑟 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑙 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑒. 𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑠𝑤𝑒𝑝𝑡 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑎 ℎ𝑎𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑙𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑡 𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑖𝑐, 𝑏𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑑𝑒𝑏𝑡𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑒𝑥𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑒𝑠 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑑 𝑏𝑦 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑒𝑛𝑖𝑔𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝑛𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑏𝑜𝑟, 𝐸𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝐷𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑖𝑥. 𝐴 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑙𝑑 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑖𝑐 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑏𝑢𝑦 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑦 𝑐𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑜𝑡; 𝑎 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑙𝑑 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑎 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑏𝑖𝑑𝑑𝑒𝑛 𝑏𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑏𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑚𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑏𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ.

𝐸𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑔𝑢𝑒𝑠 𝐴𝑛𝑛𝑖𝑒, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝐴𝑛𝑛𝑖𝑒 𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑜𝑓 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑡𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑠 𝑎 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝐸𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐵𝑒𝑎 (𝐴𝑛𝑛𝑖𝑒'𝑠 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑏𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑓𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑑, 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑒𝑠𝑐𝑎𝑝𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑓𝑎𝑣𝑜𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑖𝑠𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑟) 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑠𝑤𝑒𝑝𝑡 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑎 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑝𝑖𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑡 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑠, 𝑏𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑑𝑒𝑏𝑡𝑠, 𝑠𝑐𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑙, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑟𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒.

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑡𝑦𝑙𝑒 𝑎𝑙𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝐴𝑛𝑛𝑖𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐸𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒’𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒, 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑎𝑛 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑦 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎 𝑐𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑤ℎ𝑜 - 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑒 𝑎 𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑙𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑛𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ - ℎ𝑎𝑑 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑒𝑛𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑝𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑘𝑒𝑒𝑝 𝑚𝑒 𝑖𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦.

𝑂𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑙, 𝐼 𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑛𝑦𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑒𝑛𝑗𝑜𝑦𝑠 𝑎 𝑤𝑖𝑡𝑐ℎ𝑦 𝑛𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑙 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑓𝑢𝑙 𝑤𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔!

I was very interested in this book from the description (Gothic witches and sapphic love!) but it fell flat for me. The writing itself is good, but both the plot and the characters were too slow to catch my attention, and my interest waned within several chapters. I would recommend trying it if you are okay with a very slow burn, however, as it gets better. For me, however, it was too late.

Wild and Wicked Things is a book about magic, enthralling new relationships, and an island filled with dark secrets. I liked the atmosphere of the island and the magic in this book. I also enjoyed the characters and the relationships between them. I think I will find myself turning to this book in the fall when I want a spooky magical read.

Wild and Wicked Things was a very great book. The writing was dark and lush, with such a strong established atmosphere it was so easy to get drawn in from the first chapter. The characters were well developed and each pov had something different to offer. Sapphic witches are always a hit for me, and the different relationships each woman had with each other felt real and complex. The middle portion of the book felt a bit slow, but it didn't take away from the whole experience. I'd absolutely recommend this to anyone in the mood for something dark, dreamy, and magical.

Overwhelmingly, the prose in this book is lovely! It sings on the page and was delicious to read. The aesthetic is divine: sapphic swinging Gatsby witches! Moonlit nights, wild parties, adventure and mystery. It gets a little dark and creepy toward the end; I’ll be peering into shadowy corners of my room for a while. The characters were believably flawed and seemed realistic. I wasn’t head-over-heels with either of the mains, but I really liked a few of the supporting characters.
The story was slow to get started and it spent a lot of time in the main character’s head. Generally the plot was interesting enough to keep going, feeding us the story bit by bit. It picked up toward the end. I was a little confused and frustrated that the main plot problem was solved in a way I thought we’d already been told wasn’t possible. Perhaps I misinterpreted but it left me kind of unsatisfied.
I also think this story would be better loved by someone who likes the idea of a fated connection between characters. I’m not a fan of soulmates, even if they’re called something else. No impact on my rating, but it’s not my cup of tea; flagging it as some readers love it!
Recommended for patient readers who crave a dark and witchy sapphic story with pretty prose. Check the content warnings before diving in. 3.5 stars

Welcome to a world where magic is an open secret. Annie travels to her estranged father’s home on a remote island to fulfill his final wishes. As she attempts to reconnect with a childhood friend, Annie finds herself caught up in the dark magic of the island. At the center of it all lies the alluring Emmeline, a witch who throws wild parties full of booze and magic. This is a dark fantasy that will have your heart racing from fear and desire.

The book started off slow and quickly picked up speed as events started to spiral out of control. Honestly, I couldn’t put it down for the final few chapters. I do not want to say more for fear of giving a spoiler. Let’s just say things became really intense very quickly and I was there for every moment of it.

I LOVED this book! The premise of it was unique and exciting, I can't wait to get my hands on a physical copy of this book. Highly recommend.

While this was unfortunately too much of a slow burn for me, there was some very lovely writing. I know Gatsby retellings have a very interested audience. so I will still absolutely recommend this novel to those looking for a book of this type.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy!

I believe this book has an audience that will love it to death and in that world it will be very happy but for me there was just enough of some unnamable element missing to keep this from being a memorable read for me.

I can't even realistically offer this as an alternate to Gatsby in my Classroom Library due to the interesting plot choices (though I do have plenty of readers that reach for the more mature things in life and will be fine) but it is certainly a Sapphic witchy Gatsby retelling with a big atmosphere, lovely writing, and enough fun nods to the original that readers will find enjoyable if they can get past the slow pacing and characters.

Its not that the pace is just slow. Its jerky, like trying to drive a vehicle with a clutch for the first time. You gain a bit of distance and then abruptly stop, then you lurch forward, crawl a bit further and repeat. While I liked the trickled in background of characters, that was the most mood breaking thing and I feel like it may have been better spaced or parts left out entirely. They way they were placed made them feel like their aim was less to clue us in on characters we already knew and more to provide reasoning for things we'd already seen that didn't need any extra explanation?

Its not that the characters are bad. They aren't. Its just that our leads are the least interesting of the group. We have a super powered witch with storm powers we know absolutely nothing about and a boy who can tell all your secrets when he touches you and we focus on the *checks notes* One Dimensional Fish Out Of Water and Troubled Oldest Child Tropes. This is not to say those aren't done well and I did like these ladies together. Its just that their development crawled like the plot and it sometimes felt like we were having the same moments over and over.

Like I said at the beginning, there is going to be a perfect audience for this book and I hope there is! It is written beautifully, contains interesting lore, and I personally believe its strongest point is the last quarter where it becomes a lot more Practical Magic and hits its stride more purposefully. I may reread a final copy of this later in the year to see if a second look sits better but I am certainly glad I picked this up.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an early copy of this book.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wild and Wicked Things follows Annie Mason, who visits Crow Island to settle her late father's estate and potentially connect with her childhood friend, Bea. But when her mysterious neighbor, Emmeline, and Bea have a startling confrontation that Annie witnesses, she is drawn into a dark, dazzling, magical world.

I picked up this book because it was billed as a dark, witchy, Gatsby-inspired sapphic read, and it definitely delivered on all those fronts. The atmosphere of the book was particularly engaging, and I can just imagine reading it on a crisp evening in late October. The writing was also gorgeous.

My greatest struggles with the book were pacing and information. It took me awhile to get through the book, simply because everything felt so slow. It also took ages for me to actually feel like I knew what was going on -- who was who, how they related to each other, how the magic system functioned, etc. -- and even now I feel like I only marginally got what actually occurred from start to finish.

Overall, I do think I wanted to like this book more than I did, which is kind of disappointing. However, it was still a beautiful read, and I hope to revisit it in the future to see if maybe it's an easier or more engaging experience on a reread.

**Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with this eARC in exchange of an honest review**

First of all, I want you to look at this cover, isnt it gorgeous? And the vibes it gives are Gatsby-esque and magic and mysteries. I was alllll for it.✨

We follow Annie Mason, in the aftermath of WW1, where she goes on Crows Island to settle her late father’s estate and hopefully reconnect with her best friend Beatrice who now lives on this island surrounded by glamour and riches. Crows Island is a very tempting place, filled with magic and crows. Annie’s neighbor, Emmeline, throw the best and most alluring parties and there are rumours that she might be a witch herself. Annie is quickly swept into this new world when she witnessed a confrontation between her best friend and Emmeline.

The synopsis of this book was promising, I was there for the vibes and the magic and the witchcraft. ✨ The pacing was slow and before, I think, the first half, I was not really hooked. The writing is beautiful though and I really loved the ambiance, but unfortunately it was not enough to make me like this book.

I think this book felt short for me because of the characters. I couldn’t relate to any of them and I couldn’t love any of them. The more the story progresses the more I was disturbed by Annie’s character. I found Bea to be incredibly selfish at time, Emmeline to be a bit boring, she didn’t have this big darkness inside her that is said over and over. To be honest, Annie terrified me more at some point, with all her actions and thoughts. The characters that I loved where actually Nate and Isabel… the side characters.😥

I would recommend this book for people who loves
- An ambiance like The Great Gatsby 💫
- Sapphic romance 💕
- Dark magic 🔮

❗️Trigger Warning: Domestic violence, child abuse, violence, murder, blood, self-mutilation, death, gun, blood horror. I would recommend looking them up in case I forgot some.

This book is 100% true in being pitched as “The Great Gatsby but make it sapphic and with magic,” and for that I am eternally grateful.

Wild and Wicked Things follows Annie Mason, a girl from the mainland who has just arrived to Crow Island to sort out the estate of a father she never knew. Annie has never been away from home— a small town where everybody knows each other, and where her best friend, Bea, fled from over a year ago, abandoning Annie, running right to Crow Island. A place where magic hides below the surface, just out of reach, and witches are real. One example includes, according to rumors, Annie’s neighbor on the island, Emmeline. Known for her over-the-top, glamorous, Gatsby-esque parties where magic flows freely, Annie is warned that Emmeline is bad news. But when Annie witnesses a confrontation between Bea and Emmeline at one of these parties, Annie gets drawn into this beautiful, haunted world of magic, darkness, murder, and romance.

Wild and Wicked Things is a stunning fantasy debut, so well crafted, plotted, and written that I often felt like I was inside the book, standing alongside the characters. The strongest part of the novel, for me, was the setting. I could picture Crow Island— not only because it was a somewhat recreation of West Egg in The Great Gatsby, but because the writing was so descriptive that I could smell the air, feel the sun, hear the waves against the beach. The writing does a wonderful job at creating atmosphere, especially during the party scenes or when magic is being used. The novel also does well at establishing and placing the story within the world of the 1920s, although an alternative version of the 1920s where magic is being prohibited over alcohol. I’m super biased, since I love The Great Gatsby more than almost any other novel, but this magical, sapphic version felt like reading something Gatsby-like again for the first time, and I love, love, loved that feeling.

Overall, if you like the Great Gatsby, think magic could make it better, and wanted Gatsby to end up with Nick, this is definitely the book for you. If you like books about witchcraft, romance, and dark magic, this is also definitely the book for you. It was a great fantasy debut from Francesca May, and I would highly recommend it.

RELEASE DAY!! Oh MAN this was a doozy. Set around WWI reminiscent of The Great Gatsby with *strong* characters and a wonderful story line. I was completely enraptured from start to finish and I have done nothing but recommend this book to all of my friends from the moment I finished it. You know it's a great story when you audibly sigh turning the last page. Please give me more, Francesca!!!

Final Rating: 3.5/5

This is a Gatsby-inspired witchy story, and it definitely fits that vibe! The writing is beautiful, and the characters are complex. If you’re at all familiar with The Great Gatsby, you’ll see a lot of nods to the original story within this story.

This is a very character driven story, following Annie and Emmeline as the two main POV’s. Annie visits Crow Island to sort out her father’s belongings after he passes away, and is almost instantly drawn to Emmeline, the witch next door. Emmeline has a pretty dark and tragic backstory which means that she has a pretty hard time getting close to anyone and letting anyone help her.

I found the characters interesting, although they did frustrate me with the choices they made and I wasn’t always a fan of them. There is also a lot of LGBTQ+ rep within this book, including lesbian main characters and a bisexual side characters.

It took me a lot longer than I would’ve liked to have realized that this is an alternate history where WWI was a magical war, although it wasn’t really clear what exactly that war was, it was kind of hinted at what that war was and how it impacted the world. I also wanted a little bit more about Annie’s father and what exactly he was involved in.

The pacing of this was also very slow, although at times there was a lot going on and the atmosphere made it a fun read. Definitely an interesting book, and since I liked the writing I’ll definitely check out whatever Francesca May writes next!