Guest Review: Literace Reviews: Wild and Wicked Things by Francesca May

One of the descriptions of Wild and Wicked Things by Francesca May calls it a retelling of The Great Gatsby. I’d add that it is Gatsby meets Practical Magic meets… something darker. May creates a dark and dangerous post-WWI world in which magic is illegal, but still calls for our main protagonist Annie. Continue reading down below to get my opinions on this new fantasy novel.

Summary

On Crow Island, people whisper, real magic lurks just below the surface. 

Neither real magic nor faux magic interests Annie Mason. Not after it stole her future. She’s only on the island to settle her late father’s estate and, hopefully, reconnect with her long-absent best friend, Beatrice, who fled their dreary lives for a more glamorous one. 

Yet Crow Island is brimming with temptation, and the biggest one may be her enigmatic new neighbor. 

Mysterious and alluring, Emmeline Delacroix is a figure shadowed by rumors of witchcraft. And when Annie witnesses a confrontation between Bea and Emmeline at one of the island’s extravagant parties, she is drawn into a glittering, haunted world. A world where the boundaries of wickedness are tested, and the cost of illicit magic might be death.

Review

(Disclaimer: I received this book from Netgalley. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)

Several aspects of Wild and Wicked Things harken back to The Great Gatsby: Emmeline’s purple light, the large parties, the draw of glamor, etc. The inclusion of the witchcraft elements (in addition to certain events) really brought to light similarities with Practical Magic. Those who practice this illegal magic on Crow Island are more or less ostracised but are sought out when needed. 

I’m not sure that I really fully understood the workings of the magic and the concept of blood debt. The relationship between Annie and Emmeline did not draw me in. It, unfortunately, felt forced, which was such a shame since this was supposed to be a Sapphic novel. I also struggled with several of the characters’ selfish natures. This made many main characters quite unlikeable, which is not something I personally enjoy when reading. 

I enjoyed the concept of a witchy retelling of Gatsby, but I didn’t feel like the plot really drew me in. The setting with the glamor and prohibition of magic was a neat element to this novel, but it could not carry the entire plot. The story was slow at times and I wasn’t interested in the main conflict of her friend, Bea. I was more interested in the main reason she was on Crow Island, which centered on the death of her estranged, likely witchy, father. The end seemed tied up too neatly and quickly for my tastes. 

Overall

This is an interesting premise and I did enjoy the echoes of Gatsby. The letdown was the plot and the either unlikeable or uncompelling characters. Regardless of this, I would definitely recommend others to read it. If any of this feels in your wheelhouse, you may end up liking it more than I did!

Find Wild and Wicked Things on Goodreads, Amazon, Indiebound, Bookshop.org & The Book Depository

Discussion

If you could read a retelling of a classic novel, which would be it be?

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