A Wicked Thing (Wicked Thing, #1)

by Rhiannon Thomas

[jnikkir]

You know that book? The one that might not be The Most Amazing Thing Ever, but it's pretty entertaining, and it makes you smile while you're reading it? This was that book for me.

...Until the last 25%.

See, the problem with not-amazing-but-fairly-happy-making books is that, for them to be memorable and recommendable, they need to also have a strong ending. At least for me. I want to be able to say "Yeah, it was light, but it was entertaining and fun and it wrapped up nicely!" But take away a strong ending, and you just have... well, an okay book that ended in a disappointing manner.

So here I am, left with incredibly conflicting feelings about A Wicked Thing. On the one hand, I thoroughly enjoyed the first half, and up until 75% of the way through, it was a solid, fun, 4-star book for me. On the other hand... that last 25% was a huge let-down. :(

What I liked...

For me, the first half was a really solid, quick, enjoyable read. It reminded me a little bit of what I imagine a Disney movie would be like, a la Tangled, if Disney decided to pick up on the story of Sleeping Beauty at the point Thomas did - with the kiss that wakes the sleeping princess, and her having to deal with all the unreal expectations of a "happily ever after" (with a stranger for a fiance and the assumption that you'll be able to save an ailing kingdom after waking from your cursed sleep).

I really enjoyed the characters. I actually liked how Aurora wasn't unbelievably outspoken -- she initially had problems finding ways to to deal with those who wanted to take advantage of her, but I found that believable. I really liked Rodric, the "handsome prince" of legend, who woke Aurora with a kiss. Turns out, he's not quite as dashing as the fairy tale made him out to be - but he's sweet, and quiet, and loyal, and really hard not to love. I also really liked Tristan, a boy Aurora meets at a tavern in the city. He's charming, fun, offers Aurora a different view of the city... And then there was Finnegan, another prince visiting the castle -- a complete flirt with a dangerous flair, but there's some hidden depth to him as well. (...And yes, there are three boys vying for Aurora's attentions. I liked them all, but did find it to be a bit... much.)

What didn't work...

Unfortunately, even though this book and its characters were enjoyable, I just don't think it reached its full potential. The characters were good, but they weren't great. Again, my comparison to a Tangled-esque Disney movie feels appropriate. Everything was entertaining and solid and there was a lot that made me smile.

The difference between Tangled and this book, though, is that Tangled was strong all the way through. =/

About halfway/three-quarters through the book, I could feel something changing. Things seemed to slow down. Tristan suddenly wasn't around (for what I guess was a legit reason, but still, he was part of what I enjoyed in the first half), and it felt like focus was shifting. I still greatly enjoyed things, but it was more a feeling of "okay book, you've been great so far, I know something good must be on its way, so hurry up and get there..."

...And then, yeah. It never got there. I don't know what happened in the last few chapters, but they were super frustrating. First off, this book is the first in a series, which I don't think I realized going in. And second, even for the first in a series, it doesn't wrap things up at all. When I finished, I literally felt like I was missing 70-100 pages of what could have been a very enjoyable standalone. And that's not a good feeling.


 
In conclusion...

I know a lot of people (or, at least some...) tend to rate books based on overall impression, and my overall impression was that this book was pretty good. But really, I have to rate books on my final feelings upon finishing. The ending was just... not strong. If it had been, this would've been a solid 4-stars for me. But it went from fun and enjoyable, to boring -- yes, there was action at the end, but I didn't care, and when I don't care, I get bored. Even explosions and magic aren't enough to distract me. And then it just ended.

Unfortunately, this was enough of a let-down to make me uninterested in a sequel. Maybe some people can look past it, knowing what they're getting into. And maybe this would've worked better for me if I'd waited to read it, and had the sequel ready to pick up immediately upon finishing, but... *shrugs* I don't think I care enough to want to invest more time in it.