Wild and Wicked Things by Francesca May

What can I say?! This book was amazing from the first page. You are immediately transported back to the 1920s and into a world full of intrigued and dark secrets, still healing from a war that tore families apart. Although the world seems similar, there is a huge difference: magic is real and was used during the war to fight.

Desperate to escape the confines of her humdrum life, Annie flees to Crow Island upon request from her estranged father’s will. Arriving on the island, she is pulled into a world where everything she knew, everything she was warned against are flaunted in plain sight. Crow Island has become a playground for the rich who wish to seek thrills that only magic can provide.

Emmeline must fight to stay alive against the ever present curse she bears. Can she do enough to save herself and the people she loves?

I really enjoyed Wild and Wicked Things as it made my magic loving heart skip a beat. Usually with story that are built upon magic you get characters that seem to have no rules placed upon them so they do what they want but in WaWT, the magic is raw and gritty. There are rules which must be followed and limits to each magic user. The magic is grounded in the story with each spell requiring an offer in exchanged. I liked this way of presenting magic as it made it more real, more human.

The story is told from the interweaving views of both Annie and Emmeline, their destinies knitting together through the book. This made the story really interesting as you got the chance to see situations in from duel perspectives, showing how the two main characters are opposites of each other. Interspersed within the story are letters from Annie’s father where he documented his life on the island. With each passage, you gain a better understanding of how life on Crow Island works and how the Inhabitants have gotten away with their magic use for so long.

I would definitely recommend reading Wild and Wicked Things if you love a bit of romance, intrigue and unbridled drama.