Something Wicked by Fallon Ballard

Something Wicked by Fallon Ballard

Series:  Idle Reputations #1

Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons on December 2, 2025

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

Pages:  384

Format:  eBook

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★★★★

🌶🌶🌶/5 spice

From the beloved USA Today bestselling author Falon Ballard comes a seductive romantasy that blends Macbeth and Moulin Rouge! into a hypnotic saga of sex, love, and murder.

The country of Avon is in deep turmoil. The Uprising has overthrown Avon’s monarchial rulers, and a decree has been issued. Candidates for the first presidential election will be selected by the completion of a special task: to kill the former monarch of their home province.

Callum, the son of the recently dethroned king, is determined to be in the running. But to do so, he must come to terms with killing his father, the key to which lies in the hands of Lady Caterine, a Gifted courtesan at La Puissance, Avon’s premiere sex club.

Lady Caterine has always had the magical ability to manipulate the emotions of anyone who experiences an orgasm in her presence. If Callum can only open up to Cate, he will be able to commit the newly fated murder without suffering the guilt and take his place as the rightful candidate 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.

With the fate of the country at stake, Callum and Cate search for ways to bare themselves to each other, and discover a darker force building within La Puissance, one that might ruin the future of Avon for good. To stop Avon from violently falling to ashes, they must sacrifice everything they have . . . even if it requires betraying each other.

A gifted courtesan x a prince who hates her kind + a battle to become the leader of a country

This book truly took me by surprise because I didn’t expect to fall into the world as quickly as I did.

Cate and Callum almost instantly have a bond with each other that they never saw coming on top of turmoil going on in both of their lives.

I loved that they were so drawn to each other and the way they let their guards down. As the story goes on this only grows. At times it did seem to be a little much but overall I really enjoyed their relationship - AND THE SPICE.

The spice seemed real in this book if that makes sense. It wasn’t just two people who immediately know what the other person likes and that was a little refreshing as a avid romance reader.

The plot was excellent as well. I loved this race for who will become the candidate for ruler. There were plenty of twists and turns to keep you reading (a few that were quite obvious as well though). I did wish that I would be caught off guard with a few of them.

I cannot wait to read the next one in the series though. I’m interested in what’s going on with the Gifted and who will rule.

If you are a romantasy lover and don’t mind some spice - definitely give this one a try!