A Little Wicked by A.J. Merlin

A Little Wicked is a unique story about a rare and powerful witch named George who accidentally moves to New Orleans and promptly gets wrapped up in a supernatural power struggle. She befriends a number of various supernatural beings and through the misadventures in which she partakes she learns more about her own strength and power.

I found George to be an interesting and mostly relatable character. My favorite aspect of her, though, is that George is bisexual. I very rarely read books with blatant queer labels like that. Any queer representation is great but seeing actual terms like bisexual makes me extra happy. There’s also a nice variety of diversity among the main characters.

All in all this was a cute story that also managed to be angsty, intense, and hot. There was a lot of moments where we get to see George grow and learn about herself enough that at the end of this first book she’s already a stronger person.

This is a reverse harem, and it’s a sort of slow burn. I’d say it’s semi-instalust and slow burn romance. There are definitely some great connections made between George and her love interests, but none of those relationships progressed too fast. It all unfolds very naturally and I can’t wait to see how much more these bonds grow in the next books.

A Little Wicked was released today, April 13, 2021. Check it out on Goodreads here!

Untamed (Rejected Mate Academy #1) by E.M. Moore

Welcome to the school for shifter rejects… Unwanted. Dismissed. Cast away by their mate, the renounced are directed to attend university together by the Pack Council to salvage what’s left of their shattered lives. The objective? Reform, impress, or get the hell out. There’s no room in the packs for wolves who don’t conform. Who can’t breed future heirs. With living feral, a.k.a. certain death, as the only alternative, the rejects need to win back their true mate—or find an appropriate alternative—before they’re banished from the packs forever. – Blurb from Goodreads

Untamed is the first in a series of connected standalones set in a shifter world where shifters rejected by their mates are sent to a university to be “reformed”. That means you can read this on its own as it does have a HEA.
Kinsey Walker has been mistreated her whole life over something beyond her control, and because of this she has retreated from the pack life, never trying to belong because she knows how she’ll be received. After her first shift, she discovers her fated mate, who promptly rejects her. She’s sent to the Rejected Mate Academy, where the goal seem to essentially be to groom her into the perfect mate so the one who rejected her takes it back. She hates the whole process. But through it all she learns a lot about herself, and about her mate, and they learn to understand each other.
It’s a beautiful relationship. One that developed so organically. I was so pleased with how the whole conflict of the story was resolved, and I absolutely adored all the bonds and relationships Kinsey was able to form.
E. M. Moore seems to have a knack for deep and unbreakable bonds with her characters. I have yet to read one of her books that didn’t make me all warm and fuzzy inside from how perfect the romances were. But she also does a spectacular job with the non romantic bonds. She kicks ass when it comes to writing found families.

Untamed does contain adult themes, including sexual content and violence. It will release on April 12, 2021. Check it out on Goodreads here!