Wicked Beasts
What You Can Expect
Gothic Beauty and the Beast / Jekyll & Hyde twist
Forbidden attraction, broody MMCs
Dark, moody atmosphere with hints of romance
Cliffhanger ending
🌶 2/5 — rushed intimacy, more awkward than compelling
I love Beauty and the Beast retellings, especially when they come with a darker, gothic flavor. That mix of danger, romance, and transformation tends to pull me in right away. Wicked Beasts sounded like it had all the right ingredients, but unfortunately, the execution didn’t work for me.
The story introduces a heroine who should have been compelling but instead came across as frustratingly passive. Rather than feeling like an active participant in her own story, she often seemed to drift through events. Her choices didn’t always feel believable, which made it difficult to connect with her or invest in her arc. I wanted to see growth or at least consistency in her decisions, but instead I was left with a sense of detachment.
The romance elements also fell flat. Attraction sparks quickly, but in ways that felt unearned. Moments of intimacy appeared almost out of nowhere and lacked the slow build or believable chemistry that usually makes this trope so satisfying. Instead of creating tension or excitement, it pulled me out of the story and left me questioning why the characters were making those choices.
Atmospherically, the book tries to lean into the gothic. The setting has potential, with a moody estate and mysterious brothers, but the world-building never felt fully developed. Instead of immersing me, the details often felt thin, leaving the story without the depth I was hoping for.
The pacing didn’t help matters. Sections dragged with repetition, and by the time the book reached its cliffhanger ending, I felt more frustrated than intrigued. Cliffhangers can be effective when they leave me desperate for the next installment, but here it landed more like unfinished business.
That said, the premise itself still intrigues me. I like the idea of blending gothic horror elements with a Beauty and the Beast retelling, and I can see how other readers might find value in the mood or the central romance. For me, though, the combination of a passive heroine, rushed intimacy, and uneven pacing kept it from delivering on its promise.
Wicked Beasts had an intriguing premise, but the execution left me disappointed. The atmosphere was thin, the romance unconvincing, and the pacing uneven. While I respect the ambition of combining gothic elements with a classic retelling, this one simply didn’t land for me.
👽👽/5