Something Wicked

Idle Reputations #1

by Falon Ballard

Macbeth meets Moulin Rouge! as Falon Ballard turns her hand to romantasy in this seductive and hypnotic tale of sex, love and murder . . .

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'Dark, dramatic, and oh, so sexy, this book oozed with delicious tension' Nisha J Tuli

'Something Wicked is intricate, sensual, and filled with all the best elements romantasy has to offer' India Holton

'The worldbuilding is as interesting as the characters, and the romance between Cate and Callum was beautifully drawn. I loved this sexy, angsty, page-turning read, and I can't wait for more!' Sarah Hawley

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There is a new rule in Avon . . .
one that may lead to its downfall.

The country of Avon is in turmoil. The Uprising has overthrown Avon's monarchs, and to qualify to run in the new presidential election, candidates must kill the former ruler of their home province.

Callum, the son of the recently dethroned king, is determined to be in the running - but this means killing his father, and he's not sure he can bring himself to do it.
Lady Caterine, a Gifted courtesan at La Puissance, Avon's premiere sex club, has the magical ability to manipulate the emotions of anyone she's intimate with - soothing their heartbreak, helping them make decisions, even easing their guilt.
If Callum can open up to Cate, he'll be able to put aside his conscience, kill his father, and take his place as the rightful contender from his province.

But Callum has a deep-seated mistrust of the Gifted. And the last thing he expects is to be confronted with an undeniable connection with Cate that neither of them understands, nor wants - a connection that could bring everything crashing down around them.

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'[Something Wicked] is plenty entertaining, the pace is swift, and the eventual romance between the leads is satisfyingly erotic' Publishers Weekly

'Ballard, who's known for her contemporary romances, jumps into the romantasy subgenre with both feet and creates a believable world that's full of betrayal, sex, royals, magic, and shades of Shakespeare. An extremely steamy fantasy filled with romantic and political intrigue' Kirkus

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Romantasy, Fantasy Romance, Adult, Paranormal, Magic

367 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 2, 2025

About the author

Falon Ballard is a Los Angeles native who has been writing stories her whole life. After graduating with a degree in Creative Writing, Falon embarked on an eight-year teaching adventure before opening her own event planning business. When she’s not trolling Etsy for the latest merch from her favorite fandoms, she’s hanging out at Disneyland with a pretzel and beer in hand.

Reviews

[Nilufer Ozmekik · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve been a longtime fan of Falon Ballard’s witty, heartwarming romcoms, so when I heard she was venturing into the romantasy genre, I was genuinely curious—and excited—to see how her signature charm would translate into a world of magic, rebellion, and dark seduction.

Let’s start with the obvious: the cover is absolutely stunning. It instantly pulled me in and set my expectations sky-high. And while the opening chapters promised intrigue and heat, with a high-stakes premise involving political assassinations and magical courtesans, I have to admit… this one didn’t fully land for me.

The Moulin Rouge-meets-Macbeth concept is undeniably bold, and I appreciate the ambition it took to weave those inspirations into a fantasy setting. There are glimmers of originality, especially in the setting of La Puissance and the emotionally-charged dynamic between Callum and Caterine. And of course, the spice is turned all the way up—fans of steamy scenes won’t be disappointed.

But for all the sizzle and style, I struggled to connect with the world itself. The political system, the rebellion, the motivations—none of it felt quite fleshed out enough to ground me in the story. It was as if I’d been dropped into a dramatic play without fully understanding the stage or the stakes. I also found myself wishing for more nuance in the characters’ emotional arcs and a deeper, more believable development of their bond.

That said, I truly admire Ballard’s willingness to take creative risks and step into new storytelling territory. It’s something I’ve seen many of my favorite romance authors do—genre-hopping to explore darker themes and bigger worlds. Even though this one wasn’t quite for me, I know there are plenty of readers who will enjoy the seductive atmosphere, fast-paced drama, and star-crossed intensity of it all.

This book may not have cast the strongest spell on me, but I’m still cheering for Ballard as she explores new realms, and I’ll absolutely be back for whatever romcom magic she conjures up next.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam | G.P. Putnam’s Sons for sharing this digital review copy of Something Wicked with me in exchange for my honest thoughts—I truly appreciate the opportunity!

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[Ricarda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not gonna lie, I requested this book for the sole reason that this is the sexiest cover I've ever seen in my life. I'm not even a romance reader. And I can't believe I'm writing this, but if this book would have been only smut with a little magic and WITHOUT the insufferable political plot, it wouldn't have been half bad. But instead I got a book that just didn't know how to balance sexy times with *checks notes* the uprising of an oppressed group and the overthrowing of a monarchy. Basically everything about the overarching plot fell flat for me, I did not care. And the romance (if you want to call it that) wasn't so good that it could carry the entire book.

It didn't start out too bad. Caterine is a famous courtesan at a pleasure club where she provides more than one kind of relief. She has the ability to manipulate the emotions of the people she's intimate with, making her a Gifted – a woman with supernatural powers whose mere existence is strictly regulated by laws. But luckily there is a revolution and the old ways of the monarchy come to an end. Much to the displeasure of Prince Callum who always supported the restricting laws of the Gifted. He really said: women's rights? Nuh-uh. And I was still supposed to root for him, somehow. And the way his country was undergoing the biggest change possible and this book focused on the prince getting sex lessons with a courtesan. Honestly, I have no idea how you would make these two things work together in a book, but Something Wicked surely couldn't handle it. Cate and Callum both have prejudices against the other, but they are both just so hot that they throw their principles out of the window immediately. Their relationship is nothing more than instalust, but the author is trying to sell me a romance. Somehow they are in love after a week of sex lessons, even though they know nothing of each other. Not that there is much to know, really. Both characters have like one single thing in their past that is talked about multiple times, and nothing else. I think the author realized the lack of personality too, because she then threw in something about bonded couples (read as: fated mates) and I guess that's one way to explain the attraction of two people who have nothing in common. The only thing they share is sex, and it's also their only way of communication. Cate's sister is missing? Sex. Callum's father is dead? Sex. I might be exaggerating, but not really. The smut wasn't half bad (minus the use of terms like her "channel" or her "sensitized folds"), and I really think that this could have been a decent book if it focused on the pleasure club that's also offering magical services. It was actually pretty neat how a courtesan's work was simply portrayed as a normal job. I'm just surprised that this book was so politics heavy when that's clearly not the strong suit of the author. Many things were kinda nonsensical (the new ruler has to kill the old ruler, what?) and it was just one big infodump in the beginning. Both POVs are first person, so it felt completely unnatural that the characters randomly started inner monologues about the country's history. It's not the worst thing I've ever read, but there are far too many issues here for me to even remotely call this a good book. It's marked as a series on Goodreads, but I learned my lesson and I will only swoon at the next cover (hopefully) without actually picking up the second book.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for providing a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

[TheConnieFox · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is in the romantic, sci fi and fantasy genre. I absolutely love the cover and that is what ultimately caught my attention! It starts off strong, then slows down a bit. The spice in this book is intense! Whew! I think that Callum and Cate had a strong chemistry! I had a difficult time with the world building in this story, for some reason. This is a fast paced, hard to put down book. I read it in just one sitting. I know that this is the author’s first romantacy novel and I think she did really good with most parts of the book! Be sure to read the content warnings of this book. I will definitely be reading her upcoming books in this series! Overall, I rate this a 3 out of 5 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley, author Falon Ballard and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam | G.P. Putnam's Sons for this digital advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

[jenny reads a lot · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is sexy, alluring, unique, and utterly bingeable!

Something Wicked feels fresh and different in a genre where too often books feel like slightly distorted carbon copies of those that have come before it.

Fallon Ballard took a risk jumping from contemporary romance to romantasy and I think she’s on to something great. This wasn’t a perfect book but it was a great debut to the genre and I’m excited to see what comes next from this author.

What’s to love…
- MMC with red hair AND curls ::::swoon::::
- fast-paced and utterly binge-able
- perfect blend of Macbeth and Moulin Rouge
- interesting magic
- top-tier chemistry between the MCs
- FUN, this was a blast to read
- perfectly hateable villain
- SPICY! A book with this much spice can sometimes feel like they’re banging constantly for no reason and you can’t get a single break. This was NOT that. They are definitely doing lots banging but it’s sprinkled throughout in a way that gives you a bit of a breather between sessions and always feels purposeful.
- sex lessons
- Bi FMC (although we only get one WLW interaction and its no longer discussed BUT still worth mentioning imo)
- I really enjoyed that this book gave an interesting (and positive) take on sex/sex workers with Caterine's magical power. The idea that sex/orgasms can be to used to heal is so powerful and certainly true under the right circumstances.

What not to love…
- World-building, I think this would be a good book for those who don’t mind a superficial world or are new to the genre, but those that want a fully fleshed out world and high political intrigue may find this to be a bit lacking.
- A bit predictable. I usually don’t remark on this, because I am autistic and pattern recognition is one of my strong suits, BUT I think its safe to say that in this case others may find it a bit predictable too. Mostly I found the letters/journal entries at the beginning of chapters to be a bit too obvious.
- Pacing. This was certainly fast-paced and easy to binge but it felt a little too rushed during the climax/falling action. I wanted more.

🌶️- This one is SPICY. The FMC is a courtesan in a smex club, we get scenes right from the start and they continue to be sprinkled throughout. Sorry I don’t have chapter numbers for you this time, the ARC was in PDF format and my kindle was really struggling with syncing and saving bookmarks! Just know it’s SPICYYYYYYY.

Thank you NetGalley and Putnam for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

4.25⭐️| IG | TikTok |

[nikki | ཐི༏ཋྀ​​݁ ₊ ݁ . · Rating 2 out of 5]

Moulin Rouge meets Lady Macbeth is a very intriguing concept, but unfortunately it's just not executed well here.

The world building is pretty flimsy. We're introduced to the idea of the Gifted, individuals who are born with their own unique gifts, but beyond that there isn't really much explanation to them or how that magic system works. There's also the idea of Bonding between someone gifted and someone not, but that's also not fully explained. I also think only women seem to be Gifted, but that's also not really explicitly spelled out from what I remember.

The whole Moulin Rouge x Macbeth, mashup frankly was pretty messy. I thought it was kind of odd that she just straight up used Harold's name from Moulin Rouge as the bordello owner, but also he was such a barely present character for how much of a central point he was, it was very odd. I also don't really understand why anyone would think the owner of a dance hall is the best option to lead a country.

Lady M enters the picture with zero background, which is also never really explained either. One second Harold is bemoaning the financial ruin of the dance hall, and then next thing you know, he just suddenly has a girlfriend? wife? Who is suddenly now just paying for it all. She's also a pretty flat, one dimensional villain, which is really unexciting these days in fantasy.

The love story between Caterine and Callum is instalust without much depth, which was disappointing. I also feel like this is a case of an author not having fleshed out characters with interesting flaws that have me intrigued and really falling in love with them. It was just overall very meh, Callum has like five minutes of resistance to her before he goes back on his promise to himself to not… Allow himself to be vulnerable to her power lol.

I'm kind of at a loss about the world building. Why do the royals seem to just be able to run around without bodyguards / random people wandering their home? security? Why would any random person who kills the monarch get to take over? What time period is this supposed to be in/fashioned after?

Overall, this is definitely been one of my more disappointing reads this year. I think this could do with a lot more work on the worldbuilding and characters, and if she's trying to lean into romantic with the romance leading, there could definitely be more work on building that relationship in more effective ways.

an honest arc review ♡

[*ೃnaziba ˘͈ᵕ˘͈ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had higher expectations for this story. I mean look at the cover…. We were robbed. The writing felt weak to me, too slow at times and rushed in others. It feels like the writing would be more suited to a YA audience, even though there is a LOT of spice in this story (4/5 very steamy, but not as intense as dark romance territory) DEFINITELY NOT YA 🙅🏽‍♀️. The world building was very weak, and it felt like it had too many plot holes. It took me 4 months to get through this.

I also didn’t like how the voices of the mmc (Callum) and the fmc (Cate) had almost NO distinction. They sound like the same person, and callum’s internal voice sounds like he was written by a woman (derogatory). Maybe because he does have sub energy but still ***in my opinion*** he shouldn’t feel feminine, I just think he could have just been written better.

The story follows cate, a high class courtesan in a crumbling kingdom, who is tasked with distracting the prince of Scota, Callum. He feels very aloof to me, doesn’t know what he wants and doesn’t stand on business. He hates the “gifted”, along with the rest of the kingdom (tangent: why would they be called gifted if they were hated on — the connotations are not making any sense to me, like gifted sounds like a good thing to me — yeah I’d step on your ass too with my powers since everyone wants to be a hater). Anyway, the three allied kingdoms are falling and becoming ruled through a presidential system now—how or why, we need not know apparently. And the way to win this presidential election, you must kill the sitting king to be able to “take his place”. Make it make sense. His family is pushing him to stand up, but he can’t do it, which is understandable. SO TO MAKE HIM FEEL BETTER, his sister Dom (I hate the name choice here, sorrynotsorry) refers him to Cate, who is gifted powers that allow her to make people feel better by blocking/manipulating emotions after sex. What a gift! Out of all the possible gifts! Much more happens, but that’s the gist of how the story starts off. They felt a little too rushed in their romance though, even though there were some creative elements about it, the plot thickens but is otherwise super straightforward. Ballard also sets up a second book, but I don’t think I’ll be picking it up because of how little I connected to this one.

Overall the writing fell really flat in my eyes. Maybe it was the concept of “moulin rouge mixed in with Macbeth” that imprinted on me, but reading this felt like a bad production of a play on stage, rather than the usual full length feature film that plays in my mind in 4k HD when I read a good book.

Thank you to netgalley for letting me read this, though I probably won’t be reading the subsequent books.

2/5

Update 10/26/25- I just watched the Moulin Rouge musical irl with my visual elements of theatre class and WOW it was so visually spectacular, I can understand why so many people can compare this story to that one. The premise is very similar, and this book is all I could think of while watching Satine descend from the top of the stage.

[kitkat (semi-hiatus ♡︎) · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars rounded down
pub date: december 2, 2025

i’m having such conflicting feelings with this one.

the world building in this book was one of the primary issues that i had. the plot line was hard to follow, and i never felt a connection to any of the characters. there is a hint of a political plot, but it wasn’t executed well enough in my opinion. the last third of the book is when it definitely picks up, which is why this one redeemed itself a bit. i do think that there is a lot of information and action in the last 100 pages, and it honestly overwhelmed me.

i do realize that this book is about a courtesan, but there was just too much focus on the “sex lessons” for me. the first half of the book is just a lot of spice, as well as these lessons, which i didn’t enjoy as much. sometimes there are scenes with the MCs where i felt no chemistry between them other than physical attraction.

however, that being said, i appreciate the way that this book is told from the courtesan’s POV, which is less common in books. i feel like a lot of the time, they are portrayed as the enemies, or just viewed as “lesser” in general, so that was definitely an upside to this book.

- preread -
i won’t lie, i’m really excited for this one 😈😈😈

>> thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc!!

[Sylvie {Semi-Hiatus} · Rating 3 out of 5]

*Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an E-Arc in exchange for an honest review!*

A romantasy by one of my favourite romance authors???
Have we all seen this cover!!!???? *faints*
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3.5 stars!

Something Wicked was an interesting and refreshing shift from Falon Ballard’s usual style. As someone whose absolute favorite books are her contemporary romances, I was really curious to see her take on a new genre—and it was genuinely fun to watch her stretch into something different. While the story didn’t capture me quite as deeply as her rom-coms, it still had her trademark charm, engaging characters, and a playful energy that kept me turning the pages.

And I have to say: the cover is absolutely beautiful. It’s the kind of design that immediately draws you in and perfectly matches the book’s vibe. Overall, a solid and enjoyable read—just not quite at the level of the Falon Ballard books that I adore, but I'm looking very much forward to the next book!

[Devin The Book Dragon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Something Wicked had such a cool setup—Moulin Rouge meets Macbeth? Yes, please. The first few chapters totally delivered on the seductive, mysterious, Moulin Rouge-style vibe, especially with the setting of La Puissance and Lady Caterine’s magical abilities. It felt lush and a little dangerous, which I loved.

But as the story went on, the tone shifted into full-blown Macbeth territory—dark, political, and pretty grim. That would’ve been fine if the transition felt smoother, but the pacing was all over the place. Some parts dragged, while others (especially big emotional or plot moments) felt rushed.

The romance between Callum and Cate also didn’t fully work for me. It leaned hard into insta-love territory, and while there was definitely chemistry, I wish their relationship had been given more time to develop naturally.

That said, the concept was original, and I appreciated that Ballard took risks blending genres like this. It just didn’t quite hit the mark for me. Still worth checking out if you're into romantasy with a darker twist.


AND I just got approved for the ARC via Netgalley. CRYING IN DIAMONDS
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Excuse me? This is inspired by Moulin Rouge? YES BITCHHHHHH GIVE ME THIS NOW.

[Lina · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 / 5 Stars
I really wanted to love this. It had a super fun and unique concept but I was left with too many questions to feel satisfied after reading this. In “Something Wicked,” Cate is a Gifted courtesan who can manipulate emotions when people orgasm. Her twin sister, Andra, can see visions of the future. Gifted people have been subjugated for centuries but finally the Uprising has overthrown the monarchs, creating a path towards equality. Callum Reid, the former prince of Scota, has never liked the Gifted, blaming one for the death of his mother. But he may need Cate’s help now that it has been decided that candidates for the first presidential election will be selected by killing the former monarch of their home province (aka Callum has to kill his dad). Cate could help lessen his guilt about the murder, only if he can trust her and open up to her. As Callum and Cate circle each other and the inevitable, they discover that there are darker forces at work in the election and in the new government.

You will probably like this book if you like:
❤️ Romantic fantasy with political intrigue and an socioeconomic uprising
❤️ Elements of Moulin Rouge and Macbeth
❤️ Magic based on being gifted
❤️ Courtesan FMC x Royal MMC
❤️ Sex lessons
❤️ A ton of spice
❤️ Insta-lust and insta-love with a magical explanation

The concept of magic that is gifted to you is so interesting and so easy to understand and yet I feel like I have basic unanswered questions. Is everyone born with it? Is it Maybelline? Is it passed down genetically or can you get it some other way? Can you steal someone’s gift? What is the range of gifts? We saw so many different types of Gifted but is there someone out there who can control the weather or someone who can fly? How many Gifted are there? Why have they been oppressed for two centuries? Was it one event that led to the laws or was it a series of things? There was some basic worldbuilding that really could have helped create a richer world.

Insta-love is not my favorite trope, even if there is a (literal) magical explanation because it doesn’t leave much time to build a relationship. They are in love after a week and we just have to buy into it because they say so. Cate says that Callum is kind and compassionate and would make a fair ruler, but baby boy was prejudiced against the Gifted for most of his life and we’re just supposed to believe he had changed? Because he visited the orphanage where she grew up and listened to the lady who ran it and said he’d try to help? There is just not enough show over tell for me to 1) believe he has changed and 2) believe in their love. And the magical explanation was not great because the only other couple we read about who had the same type of insta-love were deeply toxic that I did NOT want that for Cate and Callum.

Also, Callum’s naivete made me laugh at times. He was genuinely surprised that anyone else would try to kill his dad to become the nominee. Like no, Callum, it is about to be The Purge: Daddy Edition in your house. You think only you would want to be the candidate?

Don’t ask me about the Moulin Rouge and Macbeth of it all. Your girl has only seen Moulin Rouge once (though I feel like I should rewatch it now) and while I have read Macbeth and seen it performed a few times, I still had to refresh myself on the plot before I started this book. Maybe others see it, so correct me if I am wrong, but I thought the Macbeth of it all was super loose. There were some phrases that were clearly Shakespearean English, you get visions of the future that drive people to do bad stuff, and we got a Lady Macbeth character, but I don’t remember Lady Macbeth being a super villain. I remember her being tragic and complicated while our Lady M seemed cruel for cruel sake. So to me, you really had to squint and turn your head to the side to see the connection.

I did enjoy was that sex work was portrayed in a positive light. Cate uses her powers to heal people so heck yea to orgasms being healing. The spice was mostly fun though at times Cate and Callum had sex instead of talking to each other and one time, I was like “whose body part is where and how is that anatomically possible?” but overall it was fun. And the journal entries at the end of the chapters were a fun way to reveal information.

If you read fantasy books and get overwhelmed with all of the magical elements and magical talk, then this might be a perfect book for you. If you want something spicy, then this might be perfect for you. If you want two characters that are destined for each other, then you might love this.

Overall, I once again got sucked in by a pretty cover. Will I learn from my mistakes? Absolutely not.

Thank you PENGUIN GROUP Putnam | G.P. Putnam's Sons and NetGalley for providing this eARC! All opinions are my own.
Publication Date: December 2, 2025
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Pre-Read Thoughts: Has picking a book based on a hot people on a cover led be astray? Yes. 100% of the time but I refuse to learn from my mistakes. 😂

[Ari · Rating 3 out of 5]

Something Wicked
by Falon Ballard
⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3 stars)

This one is a little tricky to rate, because the concept? Absolutely wild. Political intrigue, magical courtesans, an election decided by patricide—sign me up, right? The setup promised a dark, decadent ride, and while parts of it delivered, other parts left me kind of shrugging.

Let’s start with the good: the world-building. Avon’s mix of rebellion, politics, and sex-club scheming is unique, and Lady Caterine’s Gift is fascinating. The way her power works—manipulating emotions through intimacy—could’ve made for an incredibly layered exploration of trust, consent, and control. Same with Callum, torn between loyalty, ambition, and disgust at what’s expected of him. Those ideas are all there, and when the book leans into them, it’s interesting.

But here’s the problem: I kept wanting more. More grit, more politics, more depth to the Gifted system. The stakes are literally life and death, yet the pacing often felt slow, like the story was circling instead of driving forward. And while Callum and Cate had chemistry, it didn’t fully ignite for me—their dynamic stayed stuck somewhere between “should I trust you?” and “I’m already in love with you” without the gradual burn I was craving.

The romance angle was fine but didn’t sweep me away, and the darker undercurrents (that “something wicked” brewing in La Puissance) never got quite as sinister as I hoped. I wanted more shadows, more scheming, more bite. Instead, I got a story that was solid but not memorable.

So, 3 stars from me. Not a bad book at all—there are flashes of brilliance, and I think plenty of readers will find the mix of sexy fantasy and political drama addictive. For me, it just didn’t go dark or deep enough. It entertained me, but it didn’t stick the landing.

Thank you Netgalley, Putnam and the author for the ARC, all opinions are my own.

[kiki’s delivery witch ౨ৎ · Rating 3 out of 5]

find more reviews on my blog

This book is a wild, messy ride that I both enjoyed and side-eyed in equal measure. First off, the spice? Oh, honey, it’s a five-alarm fire. The chemistry between Cate and Callum had me fanning myself like a Victorian lady with the vapors—those steamy scenes were the glue holding this chaotic little gem together. I mean, when they weren’t plotting regicide or batting lashes at each other, they were tangled up in sheets.

But—and it’s a big but—the world-building? Yikes, it’s flimsier than my resolve to skip dessert. The nobility and monarchy are just... cool with losing their titles to this “Uprising” that’s hyped up but suspiciously MIA the entire book. I kept waiting for these rebels to storm the castle, but nope—they’re offstage, sending chill letters like, “Sure, let the princey run for president, just win the vote, k?” What even is this vibe? And the government needed for this experiment? Nonexistent. No one’s rebuilding a nation here; it’s all “kill the king, strip the titles, someone’s president now, yay!” Lady M’s scheming to be president just so she can pass laws to crown herself queen was peak drama—loved her unhinged energy—but it only highlighted how little sense the politics made.

Plot-wise, it’s mostly sex and longing glances until the villain showdown, where things get wonky fast. Callum, who spent a week with Cate to hype himself up for patricide of a dad he actually loves, just shrugs and lets this Lady M go because Cate’s like, “This isn’t you, babe.” Cue my eye-roll—dude, wasn’t that the whole plan? Two seconds later, Lady M tries to shank him and bolts. Oh, and poor Dom, the princess? Murdered by Lady M and her Gifted goon squad, and it’s treated like a footnote. I gasped, then pouted—give my girl a proper send-off, Falon!

So, three stars: swoony, snarky fun with behemoth a side of “huh?” It’s a glittery hot mess I couldn’t put down, but I need more than bedroom acrobatics and a shrug of a revolution next time.

[°❀⋆.monica ೃ࿔*:･ · Rating 2 out of 5]

rtc

[Iqra · Rating 3 out of 5]

It started off rlly good and then lost me at the halfway mark. The characters were fine and the fmc’s powers especially were rlly interesting but it wasn’t enough to save me from the boring plot twists. There wasn’t anything truly shocking to make a lasting impression.

ೃ⁀➷ Thank you NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for the ARC! ♥︎

[cali (Fae & Alchemy SPOILERS)]

Macbeth AND Moulin Rouge… yeah, you’re going home with me

[megan ◡̈]

soft dnf bc i just dont care atm

[Anna Makowska · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unfortunately, the low ratings on this one don't lie. I really think the author should stick to contemporary romance, because the only good part were the sex scenes, meanwhile the whole fantasy aspect falls apart like a house of cards.

Starting with the good, this novel is very sex-positive, considering the fact a big portion of it takes place in a brothel and a big portion of the cast including the fmc Cate are sex workers. We do see her at work, albeit it's pretty brief, and we do see her deal with the mmc Callum in detail. Cate is confident, seductive, knows her body well and isn't afraid to use it. The sex scenes were varied and interesting, and I can say I always enjoy a fmc who is confident, because romance has way too many blushing virgins abound - and Cate is the opposite of that.

But that's about where the good parts end.

Now the bad parts:

The romance is insta-love with some form of mating bonds at first sight? Really? They're humans. Not fae, aliens, shifters, omegaverse... and it's not explained why or how. They just see each other and immediately feel "mine!"

For how much the premise emphasizes Cate's magical ability to manipulate someone's emotions after an orgasm, she barely uses it in the book. I think we've seen her use it 3 times and it's not very impactful to the plot.

Callum starts as a total bigot who just hates Gifted (i.e. the witches of this story, because they're all women, somehow) because one of them didn't heal his mother when she was dying. I'm already iffy about "reform a bigot" plots, but more importantly, everyone is telling Callum how he'd make a perfect president and I'm like... really? We have a whole rebellion to overthrow monarchy and give the Gifted equal rights and "the perfect leader" is a prince who hates Gifted?

The author really tried to write him as a sympathetic, emotionally torn guy, but that doesn't really work when your moral dilemma revolves around denying people human rights. Can we really invent a better backstory for enemies to lovers or "I can fix him" plots than a guy being a fascist?

Overall, the whole plot seems very far-fetched, bordering on nonsensical. The author tried to shoehorn MacBeth retelling into this by making the condition of becoming the next leader killing the current king, but that makes little sense in a story where a rebellion overthrew the monarchy. It would make much more sense for the rebellion to simply choose who they want as their next leader instead of this farce. We also learn very little about the rebellion, except that it aims to restore rights of the Gifted, who are all women, but the leaders of this rebellion are somehow all men, but then we hear how Gifted are a danger to public safety? Why weren't they leading the rebellion then? Also unsure why certain characters kept convincing Callum to vie for becoming the presidential candidate instead of grabbing the position for themselves (I mean his secret rebel uncle). The whole plot seemed contrived just to force Callum into Cate's arms.

And in the end, when Alex tells Cate to marry Callum so it looks better for politics she freaks out, which makes zero sense, except to tick an obligatory romance trope box.

The writing style is shoddy. From the cliche opening where a character describes herself looking into the mirror, through anatomically confusing sex scenes (there was one where mmc was described as kneeling on the bed and then what followed would only make sense if it was 69 or he had some extra long rubber arms, so it was confusing how they were positioned) and cringe phrasing like "Callum's hard, hot length covering me" (ch.21) meaning his body lay on hers, but often "length" means erection so it creates a giant penis image in my mind, and finishing on one of my most hated phrases, that is "her sex" to denote female genitals. For a novel that's plentifully explicit, there's no need to avoid standard terms for bodyparts.

Finally, the author killed off my favourite side character, Callum's sister, Dominique, who seemed queer-coded, and that cemented my decision to lower my intended rating from 3.5 to 3 because seriously throwaway queer characters and "bury your gays" shouldn't be a thing in this century.

Who is this book for? Maybe for the readers who want to "shut their brain off and roll with the vibes" and read a romantasy with a high amount of spice, but then... there's plenty of erotica where you don't have to trawl through a far-fetched, contrived plot to get to the spice, so I don't know.

I feel this whole story was a dumpster fire you somehow can't stop looking at. It nearly reached the level of "so bad it's good", but not close enough.

Thank you Netgalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for the ARC.

[Kayla_Wilson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

The cover and the concept of Moulin Rouge meets Macbeth caught my attention. But it just didn’t work for me. The spice was great but everything else about the story was not.

[Meg Anderson ♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before we begin, can we please take a moment for this cover….*takes moment*

OKAY.

At the heart of this story is Lady Caterine or Cate. She is a courtesan whose magical gift allows her to bend emotions at the most intimate of moments. (Yep..you would be correct) She’s witty, fiery and fiercely protective of the people she loves….EVEN IF that means hiding her own heart behind carefully built walls.

Now enters Callum, the disgraced heir to Avon’s throne, and a man carrying an impossible decision if he wants to step into power. He’s brooding (and we love a brooding leading man) and totally duty bound, BUT under the steel, he’s far more vulnerable than anyone realizes. *swoons*

What begins as a dangerous arrangement between them (basically, he needs Cate’s magic to numb his guilt and she needs him to prove she’s more than just of her gifts) slowly becomes something much riskier than either planned…drum roll please…real love. *gasps* I know, I know. I didn’t see that coming either. ;)

Falon has managed to write a story that is both enchanting and deeply emotional, layering politics with romance and just a touch of dark magic.

Something Wicked is witty, wicked (obviously) and wildly romantic. It’s the kind of book that keeps you turning pages long past bedtime hoping Cate and Callum can fight for each other and the world they both want to save.

Something Wicked releases December 2nd and you should totally grab a copy!

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for an arc of this book. All opinions are my own.

[Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Falon Ballard really is the girl who took a risk and put herself out there creatively with this one, and you know what? I love this side of her. I salute both her imagination and her audacity.

I’m a fan of Falon Ballard’s contemporary romances, and I have and will continue to try anything she writes. But Something Wicked? This is a bold deviation from anything she’s done before, and I honestly don’t remember the last time I was SO EXCITED by the concept of a novel. A Moulin Rouge x Macbeth mash up is a stroke of absolute brilliance. I can’t think of two stories I would rather see combined in a romantasy. It should have been my favorite book of the year.

I liked Something Wicked. Falon Ballard NAILED the Moulin Rouge vibes, and the scenes at La Puissance were my favorite. I loved the found family and homey feeling of the club. I also liked that it’s a very accessible fantasy; it’s easy to read, and the political history and world building are pretty straightforward and clear. I never felt bogged down or confused by backstory. I thought the use of journal entries and letters between chapters was a cool way to share information and give other characters’ points of view - and I loved how they created a bit of dramatic irony.

However, to my absolute shock and dismay, I didn’t wind up LOVING Something Wicked. I’m having a really difficult time putting my finger on what specific sparkle it was that was missing for me, but I think it had something to do with the characters. I enjoyed both Cate and Callum as the leads, and I think they both wound up being pretty likable. The concept of Cate’s gift is absolutely WILD, and I liked the originality of that plot line and how it was handled. However, despite liking them, I didn’t feel attached to them. I guess they felt a bit bland (a truly insane thing to say about a book this spicy, let me tell you). Furthermore, I wish just about every side character had been a little more fleshed out. I’m sure they will be in the next one.

All that being said, I think it is FANTASTIC news that this book is going to have a sequel! I have endless faith in the potential of this world, and I can’t wait to explore it a little more deeply.

Thank you so much to Falon Ballard, Putnam Books, and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of Something Wicked in exchange for an honest review!

[Larareads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating 3.25 ⭐️

I liked it... but I'm also so confused.

[Lexie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just want to say off the bat I’m really struggling with this one. I’ve read many of Falon’s books and I’ve always really enjoyed them. But this one was off the walls bonkers even for me.

So originally I was pitched as this is a Romantasy version of Moulin Rouge. Which immediately sold me because who doesn’t love Nicole Kidman & Ewan McGregor. So I was excited to see a reimagining version with Romantasy elements. However, instead of magic we got a complex political system nightmare.

To top it off the world building was all over the place. Making the story and characters extremely hard to follow and relate too. Most of the book was also painstaking slow. I mean for crying out loud we got “sex lessons” for 75% of the book. And then the last 25% off the book it’s like remember we oh crap we have to get back to the plot. So everything felt rushed and resolved way too quickly. And I say resolved lightly because there are so many unanswered questions and instead of elaborating we are just given “the end”. Like wait what?!?!!

Regretfully, this book just wasn’t for me. Like I see what I think Falon was trying to do but the execution just wasn’t it. Now even though I didn’t love this one I still love Falon’s books. So even though I can’t recommend this one. I’d still recommend her others like Change of Heart and Right on Cue.

Lastly big thank you to NetGalley & G P. Putnam's Sons for allowing me to read and review this book!

[meg *ੈ✩‧₊˚ (semi ia) · Rating 2 out of 5]

thank you netgalley and the publishers for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

i was loving the cover and the synopsis of this sounded really good, at least partially around my alley with what i have read lately and i was hoping to love this, but sadly i just did not. the potential was there but it just didn't come together.

first, i just never formed any connections with the fmc or mmc, both just seemed very bland to me and i dont know. i like to feel and i didnt get that with these two.

the beginning itself felt very repetitive, especially cause i felt like cat's pov in the first half, i think she literally mentioned not getting their rights overnight like 50 times and that alone drove me crazy.
also the world building just wasn't there and sometimes, i don't mind that, but i literally felt like i was reading book 2 cause so much felt left out between the world building, the Gifted themselves in general, whatever bonding was that they mentioned a bit but never explained, and like anything to do with Harry and Lady M... like i don't know if the plot was missing some kinks or what...

then cat's and cal's meeting for the first, felt very... insta love but like obsessed based by looks and i dont know, i just didnt like it all the way to the end, it just didnt sit right with me.

[Cecilia · Rating 2 out of 5]

dawg this was so bad the racist mc aside what do u Mean there was a “this isn’t you” moment

[Signy Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

First of all, thank you to NetGalley and Putnam for this eARC!! I was intrigued by this book almost immediately when it was announced & loved the cover and premise.

Okay, for most of the book I kind of felt like that one gif of the guy with all the question marks around him.

I kind of suspected this would be the case because of the premise. Our FMC Cate has the ability to manipulate people's emotions if they orgasm in front of her, and our MMC needs her help because he has to kill his dad to become president and feels understandably shitty about that. So, I knew going into this book that I would have to suspend my belief... a lot. But it was a bit too much for me. I think as a lot of other reviewers said, the premise is really unique and intriguing, but I just wanted more from it. More world development, more fleshed out characters, wayyyy more questions answered (for all the sex that is being had I don't remember birth control being brought up??), and more romantic chemistry.

I didn’t need extreme world building but I needed more so that the plot would at least make sense. In the same sense, I needed the characters to act a bit more rationally, for their motivations to be clear, and for them to have some real emotional conflict connected to the choices they made. I found myself questioning why a bit too often, ever for a book with a bit of an unusual plot.

This read like a contemporary romance, which makes sense given the authors other works, but to make a romantasy work you need elements different than that of a rom com because it’s set in a completely different world. In a contemporary romance, you don’t have to ask how someone gets from point a to point b or why they made such a choice because you can make assumptions based on your own experiences; in a fantasy novel, you need to explore these choices just a bit more. Additionally, and this is kinda a final nail in the coffin, the romance fell really flat for me and does take center stage.

I think the part that really bothered me though is that in this world, the only people with magic (the Gifted) are an extremely oppressed class… and they are all women… who have no reproductive rights and need to be sponsored by a man to work!! I don’t even know if this is ever explicitly stated that only women can be gifted (and if it was it was so minor I missed it) but in our current political climate this story has sooo much potential here. I don’t know why this issue is not explored more? That is what I would have liked to see more of. It felt very weird and tone deaf to read a story where there are very real political mirrors… that are just never really addressed beyond oppression = bad.

This series has SOOO much promise and really is such a fun premise; I hope it gets one more round of editing to flesh out some of the world and characters though prior to getting published :)

[Lis ~Cheese Fairy~ · Rating 2 out of 5]

⋆⁺₊⋆ 2, I wish I had the foresight to see this coming, stars ⋆⁺₊⋆

I try not to kink shame, but damn this wasn’t for me. Sex work, is what my sister and I refer to as ‘doing the lords work.’ It isn’t for us, but a job is a job, and in this economy 🤷🏻‍♀️. I would like to think of myself as a sexually-open-minded-person, but I’m afraid I might be too much of a prude for this plot-line. I discovered that I don’t like my FMC having on page relations with multiple people (who aren’t the main love interest). To be fair, I don’t want to see that from my MMC either (I’m an equal don’t-fuck-other-people-in-my-romance-novels opportunist). Smut between our MC’s was a treat. I just wish the scenes had been exclusive to the two of them. The club setting also felt kinda…pimpish? Once Lady M arrived, my stomach began to turn. While I advocate for consensual sex work, anything under duress does not agree with me.

My wimpy-sex-scene-fiend-self aside, the world was hastily built, and felt fragile. The line between realistic and unbelievable was seemingly crossed at random. The pacing felt very off, and the time it took for the story to begin felt excessive (about 80 pages). The story should be so cool, but coming in at 281 arc pages-there isn’t a ton of development time. Our main couple did not wow me, but I didn’t hate them either; indifference is probably the best word for how I felt. I did find the actual writing pleasant, and I'm curious about Fallon's other books.

As a side note: this is one of the most eye-catching covers I’ve seen. Really beautiful, dramatic artwork. 10/10. Would hang on my wall.

Thank you NetGalley and Putnam for the ARC!

[⋆｡°·☁︎ sydney ⋆｡°·☁︎ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This should have been amazing. Up until about sixty percent it was!
When I started reading this, I was shocked that it didn't have higher reviews. In the beginning of this book, there were STRONG moulin rouge vibes, and i was SAT.
But as the book went on, the uniqueness started to fade and it began to read like a very basic first draft. I felt like we lost all of the complexity and intelligence of the plot, and Something Wicked became more like Something Middle Grade. It makes me sad because there was so much potential 😭😭😭

p.s thank you netgalley <3

[Kaitlin Baird · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam | G.P. Putnam's Sons for the eARC.

I have read most of Falon's backlog (which is why I was excited to read this), but this was unfortunately disappointing.

I appreciate the big swing here, but this romantasy fell short for me. The world building was not fully fleshed out and thus, the plot suffered.

The Moulin Rouge vibes were definitely there, so if you prefer vibes over plot, this book is for you.

The set up and the beginning held a lot of promise. This has a unique and interesting subject, but the lack of proper world building and logic based characters and actions, caused the rest of the story to begin a slow descent into becoming just out of reach.

These might be some of the most dimwitted MCs I have ever read. Let's go head first into this dangerous situation with absolutely no idea what we are walking into and zero backup plan and just hope for the best? That was the vibe of these MCs. If the MMC ever had a bright idea, it would have been beginner's luck. The sheer irrational movements of these characters made it really hard to get into the plot and just care at all.

If you can turn off your brain and not look too much into things, this will be a good book for you. Don't come for many answers or explanations, just stay for the vibes. This just didn't work for me unfortunately.

[Mylissa B · Rating 4 out of 5]

For how this book was advertised, Falon Ballard did an incredible job bringing to life and world torn apart by war and a power struggle in this erotic novel about the air & the s*x worker who can help him harness the tools to complete his task. This is spicy, adrenaline filled and full of so much tension you could cut it with a knife. Be prepared for an open door, more than moderately spicy novel (🔥🔥🔥🔥/5).

Now for my taste as a reader this didn't do it for me. I felt like it was more focused on the love story and less on the world building or character building. But that's ok and I did really enjoy the audiobook with dual narration 😍

[Alecia (aleciareadsitall) · Rating 3 out of 5]

As an Uprising rebellion comes to an end, a courtesan and a prince find their lives intertwined. The battle for a new leader is a dangerous one, and as the courtesan and prince fall deeper in love, the stakes are higher.

Listen, this one had me in the first half. I was completely hooked. The Moulin Rouge references were so much freaking fun. The Shakespeare references were minimal, but still had me. I loved Cate and Callum and their first meetings. The heat was there and the electricity was there. The spice was really spicy and these two were so good together.

Unfortunately, I didn’t feel like my love for this one continued in the second half. The love didn’t build at all, it was just insta-lovey. There were a lot of predictable reveals and some world building elements that seemingly came out of nowhere. I ended with a lot of questions, because there were a lot of romantasy tropes that didn’t really make sense with this particular book that were revealed.

Despite my misgivings, I still had a good time with this one. I think I’ll probably read the next book in the series. If you’re looking for a good time, mostly vibes romantasy, this one is for you.