Wicked Beginnings is perfect for fans of the Fallen Crest series by Tijan or The Royals series by Erin Watt! Lo lost her mom and her brother in an accident and now she has to move to America and live with her dad's brother and his blended family. No one seems happy to have her there. She had visited in the past and had a connection with Maverick, but they did not know who they were to each other.
The story is told entirely from Lo's POV. You get an understanding of her pain and loss. She is a teenager with deep grief over losing her mother and brother, a bit of survivor's guilt, frustration at moving to a foreign country, and then anger at her father for moving on. Lo was a very dynamic character that I felt really sympathetic towards. I wanted to throat punch her dad. Like, really hard!
Because you don't get any POV from Maverick, I am not sure I like him yet. They are in lust for sure, but I don't have any clue as to why he is such a jerk to her. Honestly, I don't really see the chemistry between Maverick and Lo. He is so hot and cold that I can't understand his behavior. I don't know what Lo sees in him and honestly just wanted her to move on! And there are so many questions! What is the deal with Alec Prince? What is going on with Rebecca and Gentry?
I think readers will draw a lot of comparisons to Paper Princess and The Royals. It didn't bother me, but I did find myself making parallels in the characters for sure!
- POV: 1st
- Tears: a few (Lo has had some crappy stuff happen!)
- Trope: high school drama, step-family
- Triggers: none
- Series/Standalone: series
- Cliffhanger: yes in the sense you have a lot of unanswered questions. There is some resolution to a few things however making it feel like a more bearable cliffy!
- HEA: it ends on a positive note between Maverick and Lo but not an HEA by any means!
Paper Princess by Erin Watt, Fallen Crest by Tijan, How to Date a Douchebag by Sara Ney...then you will probably like Wicked Beginnings!
See full review on The Book Disciple