omg this was a heavy one. I knew the triggering content it had so that didn't take me by surprise or anything but it was still hard to read sometimes so it's definitely not for everyone. It would've been a 5 star if it weren't for the pacing I think, there was a lot of inner monologue that went on for pages sometimes or filler moments that didn't add to the plot, characters or their relationships and just made the book longer.
Apart from that though the chracter dynamics were so good, I feel like we got to look at the main chracters in a lot of depth and that showed through their interactions too. I really liked Gean Choo and Po lam which made me feel for them so much throughout the book. I've read In the Dream House, it absolutely broke my heart, and I can see the similarities in Gean Choo's relationship with Verity as well.
I'll definitely be reading from this author again, this was my first book from them and I love the way they write so excited to see what will come in the future!

Also, something I had forgotten to mention was that I think there is a word missing on the page that would be loc 1697 (28%). Gean Choo says to Po Lam "I've just been clumsy. I'll be more careful in future, I promise." Maybe it's supposed to say 'in future' instead of 'in the future' but just in case that it was a mistake!

warning: reading TW&W will make you feel like downing glasses of bitter wine, yet you're all too unable to stop. long after 'the end' (or 'the ends'), its sharp aftertaste will haunt you.

as a Singaporean sapphic reader, i devoured this book the moment i got the book. LYT's latest release proves that her lesbian novels should be more known in the LGBTQ+ romance market. the choice to set the story in 1920s Singapore immediately drew me in, along with its added thrilling supernatural premise.

i think TW&W's depiction of vampires was at its finest and most gripping, never hesitating with their monstrousness, nor skimping on their cruelty. as part of my Asian Readathon, this was an impressive addition and i'd recommend this to anybody looking for a unique perspective on paranormal lore with a queer twist.

4.5 stars.

The Wicked and the Willing was a solid, dark FF paranormal romance story. And when I say dark, I mean it, so this will not be a book for everyone, since it comes with plenty of warnings. The story and characters captured my interest right from the start and held it until the end. The only reason it took me so long to get through this book was lack of reading time and tiredness this past week, and is no reflection on the book itself. I particularly enjoyed the fact that the author gave us a 'choose your own ending' option as the story concluded. I read both, and each was compelling in its own way. I believe a third take is even available as a short story if you sign up to the author's newsletter. I had good fun reading this book and would definitely read more from this author in the future.

i was immediately excited for this one when i read the blurb! the writing style was quite enjoyable as well. the characters were easy to follow and i was invested in the romance. i really appreciated the amount of content warnings listed in the beginning. it always makes me happy to see them placed before the book rather than having to locate an external source.

I was really excited to get to read this and it ended up being a really great dark vamp horror romance. All of the characters were well developed and I enjoyed reading them. They were so well developed that it was kind of a disappointment when the part of the storyline between Gean Choo and Po Lam felt underdeveloped to me. Nothing much actually happened between them so their storyline felt both slow burn and insta-love at the same time somehow. Which was a little sad because each individual character was great and the book was great so I know their storyline could have been better, or done away with entirely. The reason you read the book, in my opinion at least, was for the storyline between Verity and Gean Choo which was the bulk of the story anyway. I also feel it was a missed opportunity to have something between Po Lam and Verity there were points closer to the beginning that I feel were hinting to it, but the book never actually went there. There was a choose your own adventure style ending where you picked who to save and based on who you picked the book ends drastically different. I’ve never seen this done before in a book so I thought this was a really cool creative idea! It made the reading experience interactive, I loved it. I read both endings and I liked them both, but I think Po Lam could have been this huge opportunity to be the the light to Verity’s dark that just didn’t quite do that for me. Overall a really great read with a couple missed opportunities.

*a copy of this book was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Thanks to the Lianyu Tan and Shattered Scepter Press for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, where to start. I usually go into ARCs of books I've never heard of with really low expections because so many of them have been misses, but I'm always searching for that one that's everything I want. I think I found it! I would say that this is part dark romance (as the romantic relationships drive a lot of the plot), part 'slow descent into madness' gothic horror, and for me this was a winning combo. Just be careful to check content warnings because there are a lot, and the romantic relationships in this book are not at all fluffy and happy (the main 'romance' tackled is abusive). The mixture of genres, and the multiple POVs (this story has three) kept me so invested in the story as it doesn't go where you think it will at all!

This is also the first book I've ever read with an interactive 'choose your ending' style conclusion - there are two endings to choose from (three if you include the free novella you get if you sign up to the author's mailing list). I read all three, of course, and while I think it's a really unique idea and provides more content for readers to enjoy, I found it slightly unfulfilling due to not really feeling invested in a canon ending - if that makes any sense?

Generally though, I loved this. F/F relationships, exploration of non-binary gender in colonial Singapore, gore and body horror, a gothic setting that isn't the UK or US (FINALLY!), and really well-developed characters. The writing was also wonderful; vivid, brutal yet captivating.

Also can I just say, I am OBSESSED with this cover!

If you're the kind of reader who usually needs a book to be decently well-known before picking it up, please just trust the number of high ratings and great reviews, and give this a go!

This is a dark and sexy lesbian vampire novel. It probably requires lots of content warnings but the fact that everyone in it was so flawed and real made it a fantastic read. Sexy, smutty, savage, secretive, this book is one that I couldn't put down and I read it in an evening. A young woman in late 1920s Singapore becomes a maid to an eccentric widowed white woman, but "eccentric" is a word that can hide many other unutterable things. One of the things that I really liked about this book is that I didn't particularly love any of the main characters, they're very real and very flawed and at the end of the book I had no clue what I was actually hoping would happen.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC of "The Wicked and the Willing" by Lianyu Tan. This is an Adult Vampire Dark Romance so please do your research before deciding to read this book!

This book was very dark, which was to be expected. There was multiple different parts to this story and even though it was set in 1927 to 1928, it felt modern and comfortable to read.
The dual ending was also spectacular. Not many authors do this anymore and the fact that Tan did this was amazing. Both endings were significantly different and it was beautiful to read.

Thank you, Shattered Scepter Press, for allowing me to read The Wicked and the Willing early!

I've been interested in reading this novel since its cover reveal with LGBTQ Reads. I don't why the cover changed since then, but that has small importance, just my curious mind at work. I loved this novel. It was so dark and erotic. I needed a cold shower after.

I've recently started to get into horror, especially queer horror and I knew that vampire gothic horror would speak to me, someone who always reblog about the inherent homoeroticism of vampires.

This book is <b>dark</b>, not only because most of the plot takes place at night but also because there were no less than three pages asking me to check the trigger warnings. The book delved into an abusive and toxic but alluring relationship without sugar-coating the mindset of Gean Choo who is trapped inside this mansion and relationship.

I have never read anything like it, especially with lesbians and especially with a lesbian love triangle that let me choose my own ending. I have never read anything that caters so perfectly to my taste, fully delving into vampire themes. If you've ever said "I want a vampire novel where [insert erotic thing linked to vampirism] this is it. And yes it's toxic but it's hypnotising all the same.

<i>Gean Choo </i> is young but also less naive than your usual human trapped in a vampire manor. She reads Dracula and Carmilla and she keeps questioning her surroundings. She's a survivor and she wants so much. She wants to be loved, to be the only one for someone. The reader is lured into seeing a weak character where there's strength and resilience.

<i>Po Lam </i> is the butch majordomo devoted to Mrs Edevane or so it seems. She's willing to do her dirty work and overlook her monstrosity until it starts to threaten the people she cares about. She's Gean Choo (and the reader)'s reality check. She's your friend who tells you "girl get out that relationship is toxic) but is also in love with you. Her butchness is sucj an integral part of her character and we love to see it. Also butch who binds! and the binder stays on during sex!

<i>Verity Edevane </i> is the monster. The British vampire who went to colonial Singapore where her crimes would be easier to hide. She's presented as the most humane of her kind, restricting her appetite but she's never above killing to feed. She's the perfect depiction of the rich white lesbian who is afraid to be trapped in a marriage but feeds on local prostitutes. Oh yes she's hot and dotes on Gean Choo (her "Pearl", oh that book has something to say about colonialism)


Yes this is steamy and dark and unhealthy and everything vampire fiction should be. It's a long book and yet you can't put it down. The tension keeps building up, everything coming together, the climax building step by step until the book stops you and put the gun in your hand. Literally.

And yes I've read both endings but my first choice was the Po Lam ending

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book. Reader, I sit here struggling to find the words to express how much I loved this book. Dark, frightening, and deeply erotic, I devoured this story in just two days. I was absolutely enraptured by the characters and the dark romance, and loved having the opportunity to choose my own ending - though I did in fact end up reading both! The prose was gorgeous and lush, and I often found myself breathless, heart pounding during heated scenes between Gean Choo and Verity. Please, be sure to check the content warnings before delving into this to ensure you're comfortable with the subject matter. I will read literally everything this author writes until the end of time.

Dark, thrilling and gruesome.

Lianyu Tan's "The Wicked and the Willing" takes place in the 1920s Singapore, which offers an interesting take on the vampire story, along with a sapphic love triangle between three complex and flawed characters.

Gean Choo needs a job and when a rich Englishwoman is looking for a new maidservant, she sees an opportunity to leave her old life behind. Unbeknownst to her, the job comes with strings attached in the shape of a seductive vampire. As Gean Choo struggles with her feelings for Mrs. Edevane, she soon finds comfort in the stoic Po Lam...

Mrs. Verity Edevane has a taste for young women and when her new maidservant shows up, she simply can't help herself. As her feelings for Gean Choo grows, it becomes harder to be around her without giving in to temptation. Especially when the political intrigues of her fellow vampires suddenly puts her at the center of attention...

Po Lam is trying to find a reason to leave Mrs. Edevane and her deadly eating habits behind, but with the arrival of Gean Choo, her conviction begins to falter. She realises she's the only one who can protect Gean Choo from the dangerous Mrs. Edevane, even if means putting herself at risk...


"The Wicked and the Willing" was definitely the dark fantasy and gothic horror story I didn't know I needed until I was already reading it. It made me feel, it made me laugh, but most of all, it made me want to keep reading. Lianyu Tan's writing has a certain beauty to it, even when describing some of the book's most disturbing and violent scenes. The book also gives you the possibility to choose between two different endings, (and a third bonus ending for newsletter subscribers), which means you get to decide how the story ends.


Lastly, I highly recommend you check out the author's list of content warnings before picking up this book, since it handles a lot of heavy and mature topics:

https://lianyutan.com/content-warnings/#wicked

The Good
– A+ writing
– A+ tension & atmosphere
– Good characterization
– Love triangle with MULTIPLE CHOICE ENDING
– Well-researched
– Exactly as advertised

The Bad
– Gean Choo is a bit naive sometime
– Last bit of action seems sudden

Friends, foes, neighbours: can I interest you in a Dark Romance set in 1927 Singapore, with a vampire, a love triangle, and some great writing?

So. If you’re like me, you probably have some strong feelings about love triangles. Love triangles give me anxiety. But you know what The Wicked and the Willing has? Choose your ending! Enjoy the story without the stress!

"But Mrs. Edevane was such a confusion of fragility and strength, of mercy and severity. Was that eccentricity? Or was there something more sinister at play?"

Tan builds DELICIOUS tension, especially in the first half as Gean Choo meets her new employer, “widow” Verity Edevane–beautiful, seemingly fragile, cruel–and their increasingly strange and enticing encounters grow. Gean Choo struggles with self-loathing and a desire to be needed, and the way Verity simultaneously dotes on her and demands of her plays right into Gean Choo’s vulnerabilities.

"Later, when examining her memories, Gean Choo could almost believe she’d imagined the mem’s forceful touch, some distorted figment of stress and fear leading her astray. But she wore the bruises where Mrs. Edevane’s fingers had pressed into her hip— five small ovals, like the paw print of some unknowable beast."

In time, she also grows closer with Po Lam. On paper, Po Lam runs the household; in reality, she helps find and dispose of Verity’s meals, typically run-down prostitutes. Po Lam hates what she does, but the position pays well, and she has 3 younger sisters to support. Po Lam is stoic, capable, and desperate to protect Gean Choo. (I NEED to mention there’s a wound-tending scene between Gean Choo and Po Lam, because it’s my favourite trope and it made me super happy.)

"She’d woken in the middle of the night, arms around Po Lam, heart filled with this strange, foreign longing. Perhaps she’d imagined it, dreamed it. The feeling evaporated when she woke, insubstantial as incense."

It's an intense and engaging story, and Tan does an excellent job tightening the tension as Gean Choo's relationship with Verity becomes more fraught, and as Po Lam grows more desperate and frustrated with Gean Choo's unwillingness to see past Verity's neediness to her lack of humanity.

"She wasn’t entirely an idiot. It couldn’t last, could it? Mrs. Edevane was a vampire, she was rich, she was white. The gulf between them could not loom larger. Sooner or later, one of her own kind would sweep her off her feet , and that would be the end of that. But, oh, until then, she would do everything in her power to make this last, to burn it bright."

The Wicked and the Willing is written in third person, past tense, in alternating points of view between Gean Choo, the protagonist, and both love interests, Po Lam and Verity. Tan’s writing is near perfect. It both readable and full of lovely, apt descriptions. She portrays key personality aspects and motivations, and reveals the past trauma of the three women with a delicate touch. She knows 100% when to show and when to tell. I've thrown some quotes in this review, because there were sooo many passages I loved. It's also very steamy, and Tan does an excellent job writing these scenes, including everything from the mechanics to tone and atmosphere.

"Everything was too much. Mrs. Edevane loomed over her, still in her tuxedo, the bowtie undone, lost somewhere during the frenzy. Shadows clung to her. She was all teeth and vicious smile. Dazzling. Triumphant."

I do have some criticisms. One Gean Choo is painfully gullible at times. This can be hard to read. Second, the switch to the climax felt a bit sudden. It felt like there was more tension to wring out, more room for things to get dire, especially when a particularly unpleasant vampire is trying to bully Verity into marrying him. But, I would rather read a book I wanted more from than one full of extraneous content (AKA one of the biggest writing sins: full of useless crap.)

(Thank you to Shattered Scepter Press and Netgalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review!)

Story—★★★★☆ (3.50 Stars)
Characters—★★★★☆
Writing Style—★★★★★ (4.25 Stars)
Themes and Representation—★★★★☆
Enjoyment—★★★★☆ (3.75 Stars)
Overall—★★★★★ (4.25 Stars)

Recommended For...
Readers interested in a dark lesbian romance; readers interested in a lesbian love triangle; readers interested in dark vampire romances.

“[Gean Choo] couldn’t blame it all on Mrs Edevane. She’d provoked her…. Would she expect sympathy from a tiger?”
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Okay, so this book was dark and twisted and I enjoyed it so very much. Gean Choo, our MC, succumbs to a relationship with the alluring and dangerous Verity Edevane, a vampire exiled from London, now living in colonized Singapore. This is very much a horror novel, with some romantic aspects, but a lot of them are twisted in with sexual abuse, domestic abuse, and the power imbalance of the colonizer and colonized - and while the relationship stays on a razor’s edge, Tan NEVER lets you forget the poison keeping this relationship together.
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There is also one very, very good scene, where it is revealed that the anglisized name that Verity has been calling Gean Choo (Pearl), was also the name that her English school teacher called her when said school teacher began sexually abusing her at 12 years old. The connection of the trauma, alongside colonizers unconsciously claiming ownership over names and bodies? Absolutely horrifying, but so freaking good.
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Readers also have a chance to choose their own ending - a horror or a HEA ending. So you can close out the story however you wish. Personally I enjoyed the HEA ending more, but the horror ending was also wonderfully devastating. If you like dark, lesfic horror - I definitely recommend picking up The Wicked and the Willing!
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CW: a breakdown of content warnings are on the authors website - and it was so helpful!
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Hisses & Kisses 🐍
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*I received an eARC from Shattered Scepter Press & NetGalley in exchange for my honest review*

SAPPHIC! VAMPIRES! 1920S SINGAPORE! If that doesn't make you want to read this book then I'm sorry, but you have no taste. No, but you should read this book if you like any of the mentioned things, plus gothic horror and villains who do NOT get redemption arcs.

This book starts off nice enough, with a girl who got a good job with an eccentric boss/mistress who may or may not turn out to be a vampire. Things are fine and dandy, but there are strange happenings going on in the background.

Gradually, the story gets darker and darker and then steps into straight up unhinged territory. I love it. With that said, do check out the content warnings before starting, since some scenes may be disturbing.

I don't remember the last time I read a book that had a "choose your own" ending, which is one of the many many things that drew me to this book. And you do get to choose.

Usually with love triangles I have a favourite and the main character chooses the wrong person just about every time, so for me to have a choice and to be able to pick who I like better is just so wonderful.

I read both endings and I like one of them more than the other. One is a happier ending, the other one bittersweet. There's also a secret third ending if you sign up for the author's newsletter and I was actually expecting something like that, and I'm intrigued to see it.

Also, can we talk about that cover??? Because wow. It represents the book perfectly.

Please read The Wicked and the Willing friends, you won't regret it.

*Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review*

This was a gorgeous book! I was blown away by the prose and the overall presence. The characters were all created with care and I adored Gean Choo. Highly recommend checking the trigger warnings, but also highly recommend this book. I will check out the rest of the author's work!

NetGalley ARC Educator 550974

I was intrigued by the description and cover of the book. It won't be everyone's cup of tea but it will keep you on your toes and guessing what's next. The descriptions tantalize your emotions. The ending(s) will leave you gasping.

Thank you Net galley for sending me an arc of the wicked and the willing in exchange for a honest review!


I just finished this book and I'm currently crying while writing it's review.



This was everything it promised to be and even more. The writing was beautiful and the characters were all extremely flawed and realistic. Even though I had issues connecting to the protagonist in some cases and found the dynamics between the vampires to lack some detail we needed I simply are unable to rate this anything lower than four stars, due to how invested I felt reading it.

It was sensual,full of gore, depressing and I couldn't help but fall in love and simultaneously be annoyed with most characters. Overall a beautiful book, however do note that this is extremely violent, so make sure to read all the tws included in the first pages to make sure you're comfortable to continue!

A dastardly dive into a darkly woven world. Three lust-laden women find themselves obsessively daydreaming about one another as they traipse about an elegant mansion with different roles to uphold. A wild ride from start to finish. I found myself rooting for the exact wrong type of creature. To say the very least, this book is quite scandalous.

The story opens in Singapore in 1927-28. MC Verity, is a 200 year old Vampire! The setting is brilliant. The author builds a world and characters with ease and you can visualise this within you mind.
This book isn't my usual genre but I found myself invested. Gean Choo could be a little frustrating at times but stick with it.