A Wicked Thing audiobook

After reading the author's work and essays over at Feminist Fiction (http://feministfiction.com/), I will be reading her book as fast as you can "gimme" ETA TO ADD REVIEWA Wicked Thing is a reimagining of the fairytale Sleeping Beauty, a variant that as far as I understand, combines the Disney version’s Aurora and Perrault’s version. It opens as Aurora opens her eyes when a prince kisses her lips awakening her from a one hundred year slumber and it closes with a question mark.The in-between is a fantastic, meandering journey in which Aurora gets pulled into a whirlwind of unfair expectations placed on her which include but are not limited to: an entire kingdom that has been waiting for her to wake up to save them all from the bad decisions made by their rulers in the past hundred years; a group of rebels that hope to co-opt her to their side because the dire economic, political and social problems that afflict the kingdom are about to burst into a revolution; the fact that magic is no longer the answer to any of it, even though magic might still be brought back because now she is awaken.Most of the story though takes place inside the head of the heroine, asking the hard questions: who would Aurora be as a person considering she spent her whole life inside a tower, living under the strain of a curse put on her, forever scared, always expected to behave a certain way by her kingdom as well as her parents? What would she feel when she wakes up after one hundred years to find out her parents are dead, everything she has ever known is forever gone? And that for the past hundred years countless strangers have kissed her lips without her consent? What would she think when she wakes up to learn she needs to marry someone she barely knows and who, for all intents and purposes is her “true love” because that’s who all the history books say he is supposed to be? And that if she doesn’t marry him, she will disappoint all the people who depend on her?How would all of this affect an 18-year-old girl?That’s what this story is about and I loved A Wicked Thing wholeheartedly for everything that it is but also for everything that it’s not. Because this is not the tale of a kick-ass “Strong Female Character” who wakes up and takes control and fights evil and wins. And even though I too, love those types of stories, I believe we have all grown used to expect certain things from our heroines and if they don’t meet these expectations, we are too fast in calling them “weak”. The curse of the “Strong Female Character” is that too often only a certain type of “strength” qualifies and those heroines who happen to be quiet, reflective, calm, who happen to not “kick-ass” or for some reason take more time to get to wherever they are going, end up being dismissed as not good enough.The fact is that for most of this book, Aurora does not know what to do, how to behave, what to think. In fact, she never does. And why should she? She never had a chance, a choice, she has always been what other people made her be, and still after all this, she is still expected to conform and perform a certain way. She spends most of this book uncertain, trying not to crumble under such weight, taking tentative steps to autonomy – yes, even if that autonomy is still limited.Bonus points for: a queen that is not an Evil Queen and who, as a woman, has similar impositions placed on her. The opposition between Aurora and the queen is one of equals that choose to take different journeys. This is a tale of resentment too, of that type that can fester and then explode when one least expects. Similarly, Aurora meets three different potential romantic interests, two of them princes, one a commoner. Once one of them is not completely straightforward with her? She writes him off and he never shows up again.It’s not that this is a perfect book, mind you. The politics and social unrest are not developed with the depth these topics deserve; the Evil King is villainous to the point of caricature; and the magical rules of the world are confusing, although I expect the first and last points will continue to be developed in this series.In spite of those, A Wicked Thing really hit all the right notes for me. Read this if you liked Ash by Malinda Lo and Hunting Monsters by S. L. Huang. Read this because we need heroines like this Aurora and more books that interact with premises such as this one in thoughtful ways.I read this book and I kept thinking about Buffy’s Cookie Dough speech at the end of Buffy the Vampire Slayer – remember those words? I’m cookie dough. I’m not done baking. I’m not finished becoming whoever the hell it is I’m gonna turn out to be. I make it through this, and the next thing, and the next thing, and maybe one day, I turn around and realize I’m ready. I’m cookies.That’s A Wicked Thing’s Aurora: cookie dough.

Looove!This was my favourite retelling in a long time. It felt very true to the Sleeping Beauty story I knew, but the author breathed some fresh life into it. She really made me FEEL for the main character. I felt so bad for her situation!My one disappointment was the ending. Not the ending ending—that part was epic. I just mean where the story left off. Looking back over the whole book, I felt like not much was actually accomplished. At the end, what did Aurora achieve, really? Not much. I wasn't bored or anything while reading, this was just something I thought in hindsight. It sounds like A Wicked Thing will be a series and that there's more to come, but I wish more could have been achieved in this book than just the wedding part. (view spoiler)[Like, I wanted more insight into the rebellion. I felt like one of the characters just dropped out of sight and was left behind in the story. (hide spoiler)]

An advance copy of this novel was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts are my own.This review can also be found at The Starry-Eyed Revue.I'm on a roll with fairy tale retellings lately! This one isn't my favorite -- it's not even based on my favorite tale -- but I loved how this retelling turns the original on its head. The Disney version of Sleeping Beauty would have us believe that the happily ever after begins with the kiss, but A Wicked Thing explores how Aurora might feel at being awakened from a long slumber by a handsome prince and finding her entire world has changed.I think the aspect I appreciated the most in this story was Aurora's characterization. She is not the damsel-in-distress we've been led to believe. Aurora wakes up from a hundred year slumber, unaware of how long she's been asleep or that she's essentially alone in the world. And yet, she refuses to accept that her only choice is to marry the handsome prince who awoke her, even if his family and their subjects all believe that her waking and subsequent marriage to the prince who made it happen is what will save the kingdom.For a story that starts with a kiss, there was a distinct lack of actual romance in the book. There are actually three would-be suitors in the story, but of them all, I preferred the one that Aurora probably found the most vile. I just love a helpful rogue...sue me. Of the other two, one is the sweet but guileless Prince Rodric who awoke her from her slumber and the other is an acquaintance she made in secret outside of the castle. Two of the three presume to use Aurora for their own purposes, though there may be real feelings involved. It's hard to tell so early in the game. The other is simply a good friend and wishes to do whatever is necessary to save the kingdom from its current blight. I liked and despised one and all at least once at some point throughout the story.When I started this novel, I'd seen nothing indicating that this would be a series. That always irks me a bit, to be reading and getting closer and closer to the end of the novel and still see no resolution in sight. But, with this novel, I didn't mind quite as much because of Aurora's considerable growth as a character over the course of the book. She wakes up, and instead of resigning herself to the role set before her, she questions the future of the kingdom at the hands of the current king. Aurora wants her kingdom to return to the magnificence she knew before the curse struck, and she knows that she must trust her heart in order to make it so. She is good at heart, but Aurora must make some hard decisions in order to ensure the safety of her kingdom in the future.A Wicked Thing started off slow. Okay, painfully slow, with Aurora cowing to her kingdom's current rulers at first and walking around for the first third of the book in complete indecision. But I'm glad I forged through that because seeing Aurora break free of that damsel-in-distress façade was worth it. This story is not the uplifting, romantic story from your childhood. It's tragic and sad in equal parts, but Aurora's determination to set things right left me hopeful. And her story is only going to get more interesting now that she's taking charge of her future.GIF it to me straight:

5⭐️The first thing I would say is that this book is not entirely a retelling. It's more of a story that continues after Aurora has slept for 100 years. Not the story where you know how and with whom it ends. That's why I enjoyed this book so much! I don't understand why this book isn't getting higher reviews.When Aurora wakes up to 100 years old, is kissed by a strange boy (rodric) she doesn't think what a nice boy. She thinks more: who are you and where are my parents? When she finds out that she has been sleeping for 100 years and her family is dead, she is heartbroken. I think this response is so realistic from the author. I'd hate to find that out too. The king (the father of the boy who kissed her) rules over the land and does everything as he pleases. The magic in the land is gone but aurora gives people hope again. Everyone expects Rodric and Aurora to get married. But Aurora doesn't want this at all. She just woke up and everything in the world has changed. I'm glad I didn't read all those negative reviews. I enjoyed Aurora's unique story and smooth writing style so much. Aurora is pretty naive in many ways. She has no idea what's going on and she can't leave the caste. There were many quarrels in this book with the rebels and Aurora. The characters in the story were all (other than the king) fun and unique. I really enjoyed it and really think this book deserves more love.Aurora is a careful, brave but also a strong woman in one. Rodric is the prince who is very sweet and wants everyone to be happy. Finnegan ( prince of another place ) is charming, sexy and to me much more fun than Rodric. Tristan (boy of the rebels) is a boy with more problems and for everything he does has reasons of his own. 3 interesting hot guys in a book and no love triangle?!?!?! Every guy fit perfectly in The story. I am very curious how it will continue in book 2 and will definitely read it!

First read: February 2015Second read: February 2016 - and still SO so good ♥4.5 starsHere's a thing I almost forgot: how much I love Sleeping Beauty. In fact, as I read A Wicked Thing, which fits with the tone and story of the Disney movie, I realized it was probably my favorite Disney movie when I was little. My favorite Disney princess for sure. A Wicked Thing is an absolutely stunning debut that just about left me breathless.A Wicked Thing is like an alternate ending to Sleeping Beauty. In this case, Aurora wakes up 100 years later, to a kiss from a guy she's never seen before, and she has to come to terms with how much of the world has changed while she was asleep. Her family is dead, her country has had so many different kings on the throne since, and there is a near-constant state of civil unrest. Her myth grew as she slept, and now she's regarded as the savior who will bring magic back to the land and end all the people's suffering. No pressure... right?This story is so realistic, it had me in its grasp from the first page. Though written in third person, you really get such a clear view of Aurora's personality. I honestly adored the writing. Those looking for action, magic, and thrilling plot may need to temper their expectations - this is very much a character-driven novel. Fine with me, because compelling, realistic characters are my jam. I was captivated by Aurora's voice. She's not exactly fragile princess, but she wakes up to a world she knows nothing about. She carefully and quietly observes how everything has changed and how all manner of parties are trying to manipulate her for their own benefit. She's not quick to take action, but as the story goes on, she grows and begins to stand up for what she thinks is right. I'm betting in the sequel we'll see her grow even stronger, which just makes me have so much respect for her.With a good fairy tale comes a dose of romance - but A Wicked Thing does it quite a bit differently. I would say there's 3 different love interests, but don't let that scare you off, because they're not exactly in direct competition with each other and the story actually isn't at all that romance-heavy. It kind of just comes with the territory of Aurora's own fairy tale. Rodric, the current prince, woke her up with his kiss, so naturally they are expected to marry and live happily ever after. But... just because that's what the story says doesn't mean there are feelings there to back it up. Sure, Rodrick is cute in his awkward and clumsy ways, but there's hardly any passion there. Then there's a city boy, Tristan, who she meets when she sneaks out of the castle. He coaxes out her sense of adventure and subtly reveals the ways in which the people are suffering. A plot twist makes that kind of complicated, but then there's also FINNEGANNNNNNNNNNN. Finnegan is a prince from another country and for the moment he definitely gets my vote because he is all banter and Aurora just doesn't like him very much. (The key to my heart xD)BUT. Romance is not the point of this story, and despite a subtle tug here or there, Aurora stands her ground. She's figuring out her place in this world and what exactly her duty is to this country, continent, and to her heart. It's an unconventional romance and it can go anywhere it wants - but I'm fine with that because it's more about Aurora's growth. I'm on her team.The story is a tiny bit slow, but it definitely picked up at the end and WOW. There were some jaw dropping moments. Some character deaths that I did not expect. The courtly politics turned darker and more corrupt. Magic got involved. Aurora finally took some action. And then it was over. In any other case I might be disappointed because plot-wise this book didn't get very far, but I am SO in love with this world and these characters that I honestly don't care. I'm betting the action will pick up in book 2, which I am now desperate to have in my hands. Summing Up: A Wicked Thing is a stunning debut that will linger on in my mind for months. Indeed, when I finished reading, I felt compelled to gush about it on Twitter immediately. Then I pre-ordered a copy of the book. I felt like dancing. I don't know why, this book just made me so happy! Aurora is a wonderful character that I just can't get enough of. I can't wait to have more magic (and dragons!!) and hopefully some of those shippy feels that were definitely starting to blossom here. What a delightful start to a beautiful series! GIF it to me straight! Recommended To: Fans of Sleeping Beauty, character-driven novels, and/or the character growth in the Shatter Me series.*An electronic review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the contents of the review.

*I listened to the audiobook*When I asked on Instagram how people experienced this book, I received “weird” and “different” as a response. It made me a little nervous and worried, because the reviews on Goodreads aren’t splendid either. But I already bought it on Audible, so I had to give it a chance. First of all, saying this is a retelling is wrong. It’s just continues the story of The Sleeping Beauty we all know so well (with the slight change that it starts where she’s kissed). I think that’s why people end up being disappointed. They expect to know what will happen. So, NO, this is not a retelling, but more like… a continuation or a re-imagination. The storyline had his ups and downs, but it was definitely way better than I expected! I liked the storyline a lot and yes, it was “different” like people said, but it was a good different. It has some romance, friendship, betrayals and deaths. And the characters are very interesting! Aurora is confused about how to proceed with her life (100% understandable if you wake up after 100 years), but she’s very brave too. Rodrick is a blushing sweetheart, Finnegan was more interesting that I could have imagined and Tristan is complicated and irresistible at the same time. Trust me, although there are not only one, or two, but THREE interesting hot guys, there’s no love triangle (or square?) going on. Every guy fit perfectly in the story.This first book in the Wicked Thing series is a very promising start and I cannot wait to find more about the characters and how everyone will react after that big ending. I also feel like there will be an epic sci-fy twist with the magic and the dragons (!!). February can’t come any faster! I hope you all won't look too much at those 1 or 2 start reviews and still will give this book a chance. It might surprise you and make you love it more that you can ever expect!

4 SterneHat mir richtig gut gefallen. Es ist ein bisschen wie bei Selection, dass die Gesamtstorie schon ein bisschen kitschig und prinzessinenmäßig ist und das muss man mögen, aber dann ist es echt toll. Besonders toll fand ich, dass Aurora anfangs noch recht schwach wirkt, sich aber toll weiterentwickelt und sich nicht als Prinzesschen abstempeln lässt, sondern versucht, die Dinge selbst in die Hand zu nehmen.

We all know the story of Sleeping Beauty...the beautiful princess who was cursed by a sorceress to prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and then fall asleep until the kiss of a handsome prince wakes her many years later. Well, this is the story of Aurora after the kiss wakes her from 100 years of sleeping... her family is long dead, the world outside her castle is completely changed from what she remembers, and all the subjects of the kingdom expects for her waking to fix all the problems that exist in the realm. Not only that, the kingdom her family once ruled with kindness and fairness is now being ruled by a cruel king.I have noticed from reading other reviews of this book that many people didn't like how Aurora seems to follow everyone else's lead even when she feels it's the wrong thing to do. She doesn't exactly show herself as someone who has a backbone- at least not on the outside. She chooses to not speak up at times it may help and then realizes that the moment for speaking up has passed on and it's too late to change anything even if she did speak now. I feel that her personality being like this makes the story more realistic. I mean seriously, who would wake up being a total badass after sleeping for a hundred years in what is essentially a completely different world, after being locked away from visitors and people for the first 18 years of her life? That would make no sense. I feel like her being a bit timid and quiet comes from her being brought up to act like a proper princess and the shock of waking up to find everthing she has ever known is basically gone. As the story progresses, though, I think her personality blossoms and the Aurora that is on the inside starts coming out for all to see. The author did a great job of making this transition feel real and natural.I went into reading this with no expectations. I always enjoy fairytale retelling so I wasn't surprised to find myself swept up in this story too. I was able to read this in just a few hours...it was interesting, fun, and had plenty of adventure and mystery to go around. I had no idea how the story was going to end or what decisions Aurora was going to make to get herself out of a completely impossible situation- I really feel like this is what made the book an exciting one to read. If books like this interest you, I would highly recommend reading this one.

We all know the fairy tale Sleeping Beauty, but what if Aurora woke up from her long sleep to find that things in her kingdom have gone downhill and she actually isn't very happy. That's what happens in this Sleeping Beauty retelling that puts a twist on the classic fairy tale. Aurora, who was woken up by Prince Rodric's kiss, should have been overwhelmed with joy to meet her true love. But that's not the case. She isn't instantly in love with Prince Rodric and on top of it, her kingdom is in a state of discontent. The current king and queen are basically using Prince Rodric and Aurora for their purposes and Aurora comes to find that the current king is horrible. The citizens of the kingdom are upset and rebellions are on the rise, but the king and queen hope that Aurora's awakening and longed for return will bring peace to the kingdom. The queen wants her to look pretty and keep her ideas to herself; after all, she is going to be marrying Prince Rodric shortly, but Aurora wants more. She doesn't want to be someone's pawn and she finds ways to escape the castle at night and in turn, meets some interesting people that question her loyalty to the current ruling family. A Wicked Thing by Rhiannon Thomas is a captivating retelling of a classic fairy tale and an entertaining debut.Read the rest of my review here:http://www.confessionsofabookaddict.c...

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie TalesQuick & Dirty: An excellent twist on the classic tale of Sleeping Beauty.Opening Sentences: She woke up with a kiss. Not a birds-singing, heart-stopping, world-ending sort of kiss. A light spot of pressure on her lips.The Review:A Wicked Thing is an unusual retelling of Sleeping Beauty and as you will soon come to know I have a weakness for retellings of classics and fairy tales. Sleeping Beauty is probably one of my least favourite fairy-tales; a girl cursed by an evil witch to sleep until she is woken by the kiss of her one true love. I always thought it was silly, why curse her to fall asleep out of all things? Plus, it gives the guy all the power, whilst the girl is just there to look pretty.Thankfully, in A Wicked Thing we get to see the story from Princess Aurora’s perspective. I loved how the story began when Rodric’s kiss wakes her and she’s bewildered about him daring to kiss her whilst she was asleep and then freaking out because of the many other princes who have kissed her of the years to break the curse.I never really thought about how she must have felt, waking up 100 years later with her family dead and being pretty much forced into a marriage with a guy who she doesn’t care for but is expected to be in love with. Rodric is sweet and kind but Aurora doesn’t know what she wants and the story is really her trying to figure out who she really is.Rodric. She kept her eyes closed, her face lost in the breeze. He seemed nice. A bit hapless, a bit unsure, but nice. Yet he was a stranger, a strange, ungainly boy who claimed her as his own, and she did not know what to do. She had nothing else, no one else, and the threat of lineliness tore at her stomach until she almost swayed from sickness at the thought. She could not leave. But she could not stay here, with his presence so near, his awkward eyes seeking out salvation in her own.We can tell Aurora is feisty and rebellious but she is also soft at heart and craves her freedom. She wants to be able to make her own decisions, rather than being manipulated or blackmailed. More importantly, she feels suffocated by all the pressure since the entire kingdom believes that now she’s returned everything will change for the better.My only concern with this book was Aurora’s character. It’s understandable that she’s going through a tough time but she doesn’t seem to want to do anything about it until the last possible moment. If she’s locked in her room most of her life, you’d think she would have thought of practicing her magic a bit sooner? She started off with a lot of spirit but then she became all timid and quiet, which was annoying; no wonder they don’t pay attention to her opinions.The queen’s laugh was like shattering glass. “I was living it before you were. Lost all your family? Far from home? I know what it is like, Aurora, so do not try the poor soul act with me. Life is hard. We do not get what we want. We do not get to be who we want. And we have to deal with it. You think intentions are good enough for these people? You think anyone in this world cares what you meant to do?”Tristan, the cocky waiter from the inn introduced the romance to the story and I predicted Aurora would run away with him, there was a lot of chemistry but he’s more complicated than he appears and the idiot tricked the princess, screwing up any chance he had. That was disappointing but I’m sure we’ll see more of Tristan in the next book.Prince Finnegan is manipulative and very clever and although he too wants to use Aurora for his own needs, mainly for power and his country, at least he doesn’t lie about it. Plus, he helps her out loads towards the end, showing her truths she would otherwise be blind to so I’m guessing there will be romance between the two in the next book.In conclusion, I enjoyed the first book in this series and its definitely changed my view on this fairy tale. I look forward to reading more in this series, which I imagine will contain a lot of dangerous adventures.Notable Scene:“You are exactly like me. That is your curse, you see. Not true love, not sleeping the years away. Those were all just threads to bring you here, to this moment. If you fail to help these people, they will destroy you. And if you show them how powerful you really are…they will destroy you for that too. Your curse is that you cannot help but choose me. The only questions if how much you burn along the way.”FTC Advisory: HarperTeen provided me with a copy of A Wicked Thing. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.

Why oh why is this the first in a series? I was grooving along with A WICKED THING when it just ended with the vaguest of resolutions. Aurora (that is, Sleeping Beauty) had a wonderful amount of character development, but that was about it.A WICKED THING takes the Sleeping Beauty tale and focuses on what happens after. Aurora wakes up a little over a hundred years after she went to sleep. Everyone she knows is dead, and she's being forced to marry the prince who woke her up to help prop up an unpopular regime (since she's the destined queen to bring magic back to the land). Aurora thinks he's a nice enough boy, but she chafes at the restrictions placed upon her and thinks the prophecy is bunk, even if she wanted magic back (given that her personal experiences with it are sleeping for one hundred years).Aurora is an oddly passive heroine, as many characters point out. She talks a big game, but takes a long time to take any action. Now, I partially believe it is because she is so disoriented, but debut author Rhiannon Thomas does little to actually show Aurora being a woman out of time. Aurora mentions the fashions being different (many times) and technology advancing (once). She appears to have no difficulty to communicating; slang hasn't moved on? Have the social expectations of women changed? Just what technology is different? I couldn't pin down any specifics, which made it little more than a somewhat sad window dressing.A WICKED THING skips straight over the love triangle to the love rectangle. I did like that one of the relationships lives and dies a natural death. Sometimes you do fall fast for someone and then end up breaking up for reasons. I do wish the prince were more developed, since there are hints that the destined true love is real. At the same time, I did quite enjoy A WICKED THING. Some of it is my passion for fairy-tale retellings, I know. But I sympathized with Aurora's inability to do anything because she doesn't have good options, nor the resources to evaluate her options and decide which is least bad. All of them will end up with at least some people dying, which is a tough position to be in. I think Thomas has Aurora's voice down pat, and I hope the other aspects of the story rise to meet that standard in the sequel.

A Wicked Thing is a very interesting twist to what happens after Princess Aurora is awaken with a kiss. Let’s just say this is not the HEA you might be expecting.One hundred years have pasted and everything and everyone Aurora knew is now long dead…all except the one person she would wish dead. The fabled “true love” is a complete stranger who she is suppose to marry. The new royal family is a dictator ship grasping for control…well honestly everyone is trying to gain control of the new commodity known as the “Princess”. Aurora finds herself between a rock and a hard place, becoming a political pawn in a war for ultimate control. She truly doesn’t know who she can trust.Aurora is pursued by Tristan, a boy she meets at a pub, Prince Rodric, the one who woke her up from her sleep with a kiss and Prince Finnegan, another prince from a land with dragons. This was an interesting read with a good base but it fell short in the characters relatability. I guess you could say I was intrigued but not riveted to the story. I was drawn mostly to Prince Finnegan but he really had a minor role to the other characters… And even though I found Finnegan the most interesting, I didn’t see any true connections between him and Aurora. In the end, I give A Wicked Thing 3.5 Stars.I received this ARC copy of A Wicked Thing from Harper Teen in exchange for a honest review. This book is set for publication February 24, 2015.Written by: Rhiannon ThomasHardcover: 352 pagesPublisher: HarperTeen Publication Date: February 24, 2015Rating: 3.5 StarsISBN-10: 0062303538ISBN-13: 978-0062303530Genre: Fantasy | FairytaleFind this book on: Amazon | Barnes & NobleReviewed for: http://tometender.blogspot.com

I received a free copy from the publishers via Edelweiss for review purposes.One of my favourite fairytales as a kid was Sleeping Beauty, so as you can imagine, I was beyond excited to read A Wicked Thing, where Sleeping Beauty wakes up to the kiss of a handsome prince but doesn't quite fall in love or have the happily ever after you might expect. If the premise wasn't enough to draw me into this beautiful book, the absolutely gorgeous cover made it a done deal for me. I had my issues with A Wicked Thing, certainly, but it was still a highly enjoyable read. The pacing was slow, sometimes crawling at a snail's pace, and sometimes it felt like nothing really happened. The world building lacked a certain depth that left you a little disappointed. Yet I loved the characters. I loved Aurora who was intelligent, witty, kind but strong-willed and dreamed of bigger things -- of not being trapped in a life where she has to marry the Prince, where her future is being set out as a strategy in a dangerous political game (yet her indecisiveness and inactiveness irritated me). I enjoyed Rodric as a character...his shyness, his kindness and easy smile but he left little impact on me. I also enjoyed the flirtatious, charming Finnegan even if he was very much a pretentious jerk, I very much enjoyed the character interaction between Finnegan and Aurora and I am hopeful of more snark between the two in the coming sequels. I did, however, feel that certain characters who I very much enjoyed (Tristan) almost completely disappeared and it deeply saddened me. Overall, I really did enjoy A Wicked Thing and loved how it gave us something different. The characters were by far what made this book the most enjoyable, but the political intrigue and Thomas' elegant writing also made A Wicked Thing highly recommendable.

Fairytales are a magical thing. Curling up with a retelling that takes one far away, to where fantasy is reality, that is a magical thing.A WICKED THING promised something different. It isn’t a retelling exactly, but it does tell quite a tale involving Sleeping Beauty. Moreover, it’s the story of what happens when Aurora awakes.True love? Toss that out the window, because this is something much, much different.Debut author Rhiannon Thomas weaves a tale with the classical elements we know all too well and more. Her prose is lyrical without swaying too much into purple, and the fantasy, old-time vibe I’ve come to love is vividly present. Read my full review here