Good book. I thought the main characters were good but different from other historical romance characters, which was refreshing. Good storyline and a fast read.

I liked this cover and thought the book would be really good. I didn’t connect with the storyline though. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Vibes: older woman/younger man, Snow White retelling, Jewish historical romance

Heat Index: 6.5/10.

Sol Weiss is looking to live up to the example (and expectations) set by the half-brother who raised him--and that means marrying the right woman. The right woman is NOT Hannah, with a shady past and a shadier lineage. But after she rescues Sol from an attack, he can't get her out of his head. And the more she tries to stay away, the more he wants her...

If you're looking for something light and fun--though not at all silly--with a good dose of interclass conflict and a rough around the edges heroine, this is for you. It's not often that we see heroines who are a) older than their heroes, which Hannah is and b) the more "dangerous" one (in theory) in the couple. At the same time--though Sol is funny and sweet, he's not a milquetoast. Seriously, how could he be with Hannah if he was?

It's like... a feel-good book, but not without stakes. Which is what I think Felicia Grossman is starting to specialize in. With, of course, a strong focus on the 19th century Jewish community in England, which--how often do you see that in romance, despite it being a huge part of the era.

Quick Takes:

--You often do see heroines who have a bit of an edge, but it's less often that you see them actually do things that make them seem more worldly and, dare I say, competent than the hero. Hannah is introduced here as someone who has a lot of responsibilities, doesn't shy away from her sexuality (but also, you get the sense, has never really had someone truly care about her needs), and isn't above committing crimes.

And then... she saves Sol. It's not that Sol isn't competent--more that he doesn't have as much life experience as Hannah. Which tracks, as he's literally younger than her and also comes from a more sheltered background. But I wouldn't say he's spoiled. He's willing to learn. He's eager to learn, really (in every way... yay, a hero who's less experienced in bed than the heroine!).

Sol is a good dude, but as I said before, he's not a boring dude. He wants to do the right thing, but Hannah quickly becomes his priority. Also, he does crochet at one point, and I did find that delightful.

--To be clear, I am not Jewish, and my understanding of Jewish customs and history is superficial at best. But it's clear that Grossman has done her research regarding the era, and I really appreciate that her characters' identities are woven in to the fabric of their beings. Like, there isn't a Very Special Episode Where We're Reminded That The Characters Are Jewish (which I've seen happen when writers who aren't Jewish write characters that are). It's just always there.

--One thing I really liked as Sol and Hannah's relationship progressed was the way that he clearly started to take care of her. I love an independent heroine who takes care of people (Hannah does not have a kid, phew, but she does have a sister she's trying to set up for a better life) and resists the hero trying to care for her. That's done really well here. Sol is like, mildly outraged that this woman doesn't have people looking out for her, and it's very sweet.

--This is a Snow White retelling! There are nods to elements like the Seven Dwarves. I don't know that I would call this a particularly heavy retelling, and I'm not sure that the retelling element was super necessary? But it was cute.

The Sex:

There are several sex scenes in this one, all of which are good, and they usually revolve around Hannah's pleasure. Sol is not super experienced, but he's READY to jump in, and it's really great. In fact, their entire sexual relationship (which begins before the halfway mark, thank God) begins with him basically going "let me help you RELAX" which. Gold. He's a GOOD boy.

For the fans of a face-sitting scene.... There is a great one in this book wherein she is shocked! Shocked I say! And he basically goes "hold on to the bed frame I'm working here".

Anyway, this is a super fun, fluffy-but-not-TOO-fluffy read that gives you something beyond the typical hero/heroine dynamic (which I still love) along with a solid dose of heat. It's for the girlies (and not-girlies) who just want to go home after a long day's work and have our shoulders massaged, and also perhaps other things too. We love to see it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Forever for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Like the first book in the series, Wake Me Most Wickedly is about one character who is an outcast in the Jewish society, and one who is in better standing with Jewish society but has a tenuous grip on their good reputation (and is on the edge of having a good reputation in the gentile society, as well).
I loved both Hannah and Sol, and their complicated family dynamics, as well as their similar (though VERY different) struggles in terms of where and how they fit in. I didn't really see how it was a Snow White reimagining until about 2/3 of the way in, but then the references were delightful. There were a few moments where the prose kind of slipped a bit and pulled me out of the story, but overall I liked it, and am definitely looking forward to reading more by Felicia Grossman.

Unfortunate this book was definitely not for me and different than what I expected based on the description. Hannah was an interesting character but the rest of the story was kinda boring for me 🤷🏼‍♀️

It was an okay book not for me. Best to read in order for context. Set in regency period and a nice portrayal of the Jewish community during that time. The heroine is older and poorer than the hero and totally not what he wants for a wife. But there's a good connection between them that leads to a hea

I had a hard time connecting with the characters and the story of this book. I am not sure if the description of the book exactly correlates to what the story is actually about. I was expecting a slightly different story from this book that I am not sure that I got. I think that the opening text on the book description should describe that this is the second book in a series.

I've been really enjoying Felicia Grossman's fairy tale flips set in a Jewish community in nineteenth-century London, and this Snow White one was great. She uses the fairy tale elements in clever ways, though I think the "dwarves" in this book didn't necessarily have to be there in the capacity they were. She also does a fantastic job of blending the social history within the story. And I love, love, love the hero Sol--he's so charming and he's all in for Hannah. Definitely going to be one of my favourite heroes of 2024.

Thanks to NetGalley and Forever for the ARC.

This one was a miss for me. I just couldn't connect to the characters. I am sure that it was find the perfect readers for this book though!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an arc of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

No one out there is doing it like Felicia Grossman! Utterly unparalleled in every way, she writes with deft and care that you can feel on every page. Wake Me Most Wickedly is such a great read!

Steamy and romantic, a fun gender-swapped retelling of Snow White. Grossman does a fabulous job of showing Jewish life in Victorian London. A bit slow-moving at times, and I grew frustrated with the characters. Hannah is convinced she must stay away from Sol, but does nothing of the sort, and Sol spends a lot of time thinking about convincing Hannah to be with him but not doing much different. Nonetheless it was a fun read and I can’t stop recommending this series.

Grossman's previous entry in her Once Upon the East End series, Marry Me By Midnight, was a compulsively readable triumph, filled with heart and heat. And the cultural richness of how it depicted Jewish culture in Victorian London only added to the superb story she told.

So I was surprised by how little I enjoyed the second installment, Wake Me Most Wickedly. There's still the three ingredients--heart, heat, and a rich appreciation for Jewish culture-- so I have a feeling many fans will still be happy. But for me, this fell completely flat. Sol and Hannah are good characters in their own right, but I never believed in their romance; the chemistry didn't ever click for me and I found most of their interactions after the first 1/3 of the book tedious to read through. The pacing also felt very uneven, which didn't help the "click" for the characters. I like high-heat books, but when *I* feel like the bedroom scenes are tedious....

I'm not sure what happened with this one. Given my strong positive feelings for the first book, I'd be willing to give another Grossman romance a shot, when she publishes a third book in this series. Still. This just wasn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the ebook ARC. All opinions are mine alone.

I read around 25% of this historical romance and thought that the writing and characters were really well done. I just found it really confusing without having read the first in the series. There was a lot of references to characters, situations and business practices that I just did not understand. Since I enjoyed the writing, I may go back and try the first to see if that helps the overall reading experience.

Outlier from a norm of commonplace historical romance.
This story was unique as it explore a different aspect of culture, class, and life.

I love that the heroine was older than the hero. That Hannah was strong, independent, and smart. I love that the hero was a tad silly - a facade perhaps, but he was a bit kinder and an idealistic.

The ending was perfect. It was kind of Sol to not retaliate against his brother. It was sad the situation between them but it was the way that Hannah and Sol could be together.

This story was grittier.
A good historical romance.

What an amazing cover! The book was a little difficult for me to get into, as I didn’t read the first book in the series. It can work as a standalone, but I feel like the beginning of the book relies heavily on interpersonal relationships and background that were established in the first book.

I loved this book!! It was fabulous and well done. The characters were on point and I thought the plot was well developed. I would recommend this book to others.

This was unlike any historical romance I've read before because it's set in the Jewish community in Regency-era London. While you don't have know the different between Sephardic and Ashkenazi because to story explains the factions in the community early on, knowing them definitely makes this one more interesting. I noticed one reviewer expressed frustration that they didn't know some of the words used here. Having simply grown up in an area where people spoke Yiddish, I didn't have any issues. I thought the amount of Yiddish was just right in that it reiterated the setting without feeling over the top (thought 60+ instances of "oy" might be a few too many!).

On to the story - this was a class mismatch story with a female main character, Hannah, who is trying to earn enough to support her and her younger sister and prepare that sister for a successful foray into being matched with a suitable husband. Hannah's parents were pawnbrokers who were punished for fencing stolen goods, what all pawnbrokers of the day did to a certain extent. Hannah runs the shop and takes on side jobs brokering information and sometimes being an accessory for thieves. Meanwhile, the male main character, Solomon, is working two jobs to please his brother, who wants to marry a non-Jewish aristocrat. He just needs money and a great reputation to be accepted.

There are so moments early on, when Hannah and Solomon are just meeting and getting to know each other when you have to suspend your disbelief. I think time jumps could have been used to more effectively get them together. Them crossing paths after services made sense. Other meetings seemed implausible in light of the different statuses they had in the community. Regardless, once they get together, they were an interesting couple. There's one moment when Hannah forgets to tell Solomon some very, very important information that doesn't make sense...his life has been threatened several times and her silence leads to more trouble.

I enjoyed this because it was so different from other Regency romances. This story stands alone, though it's part of a series.

This story just wasn’t for me. I had trouble connecting to the characters and didn’t really care where their story went. It wasn’t bad, it was just okay.

I encourage everyone to see it for themselves tho.

Thank you NetGalley and Forever Publishing for the ARC.

Loved the history and the sense of the time period and family/community conflicts. But romance was unsatisfying. MMC was particularly thinly sketched.

Every Felicia Grossman romance is a must read for me, and Wake Me Most Wickedly did not disappoint. I had high expectations, particularly after Marry Me at Midnight—the first book in her Once Upon the East End series—and I was delighted to return to Grossman's imagining of the East End in this book. While I'm not a huge fan of fairytales and this is a retelling of Snow White, I found that the fairytale aspect wasn't too overt and it didn't detract from the plot for me. Hannah and Sol, the two main characters, are a delight—perhaps my favorite main characters in any of Grossman's books—and it was so fun to delve into the seedier parts of the East End. I loved it and can't wait for the next one!

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for providing an e-ARC in return for an honest review.