Review: Wicked As They Come by Delilah S Dawson

Let’s turn up the heat a bit, shall we? Today, in celebration of an RWA13 author, I’m reviewing WICKED AS THEY COME by the dazzling Delilah S Dawson. She’s very active on Twitter and has recently become my hero when she blogged awesomeness about Sexism in SFF. If you haven't read it yet you should check it out.

I did’t know what to expect from WICKED AS THEY COME. The novel is two parts romance, one part steampunk, and one part paranormal. I wasn’t sure if I’d like the paranormal elements but Dawson did a fantastic job making blud sucking fun again.

Here’s a basic overview. Have no fear, no spoilers here:

When nurse Tish Everett forced open the pesky but lovely locket she found at an estate sale, she had no idea she was answering the call of Criminy Stain, from the far off land of Sang. He’d cast a spell for her, but when she’s transported right to him, she’s not so sure she’s ready to be under the spell of another man. (It didn’t go so well last time with controlling, abusive, domineering Jeff.) If only Criminy wasn’t so deliciously rakish….

Half the inhabitants of Sang are Pinkies—human—and the other half are Bludmen, who in Tish’s world would be called vampires. But they don’t mess with any of the bat/coffin/no sunlight nonsense. They’re rather like you and me, just more fabulous, long living, and mostly indestructible. (They're also very good kissers.) But when the evil Mayor of Manchester (formerly Bludchester) redoubles his efforts to rid Sang of the Bludmen once and for all, stealing Tish’s locket in hopes of traveling back to her world himself for reinforcements, Criminy and Tish must battle ghosts, sea monsters, wayward submarines, a secret cabal, and thundering Bludmares to get the locket back and allow Tish to return home…but has she found love with Criminy? Could she stay in Sang forever?

Now, when they say Criminy Stain is delicious and rakish I have to agree. In fact, I couldn’t agree more. He’s the kind of self-assured that walks on the edge of arrogant, occasionally dipping his toe in. But I like that. A lot.

The world building is fabulous – I mean, come on, bludbunnies – and the dialogue is snappy. One of the best elements of this book was the romance. The scenes were steamy without being trashy. The sex served a purpose and wasn’t just ‘sex for the sake of sex’ - which I hate in fiction (IRL...that's another story).

I enjoyed this book so much I bought the next book that takes place in this world: WICKED AS SHE WANTS. I’ll post a review of that soon.

Did you read WICHED AS THEY COME? What did you think?

Haven't read WICKED AS THEY COME? Grab your copy here: Amazon or B&N