The Wicked City

Yes. That’s right.

This book received a 3.75/5 stars.

This was the first book I’ve ever read by Beatriz Willaims, but certainly not the last. I enjoyed her style of writing, which was descriptive, but not overly so. The two main characters, Ella and Gin, had depth and the idea of a dual storyline was interesting.

The dual timeline follows Ella in the year 1998 and Gin in 1924.

Ella has just discovered her husband of 6 years has been cheating on her. She moves into an old apartment building with an intriguing secret – there’s a distinct possibility there is a haunted speakeasy in the basement…or is it haunted?

Gin is a flapper who is learning to break barriers and be her own woman, navigating a post-war world. She frequents speakeasies and knows how to show herself a good time, until she’s asked to help bring down her sleezy, powerful, wealthy step-father.

While the reader follows Ella’s and Gin’s storylines separately, it becomes apparent towards the end that their stories are eventually going to come together. How that happens remains to be seen. Admittedly, there are a lot of loose ends a the end of the book.

Williams’ female characters are well written, sassy, and relatable. At first, Ella’s character annoyed me a bit, but I grew to like her a lot as her character grew into a strong, independent woman from her cheating husband. Gin’s character is likeable from the start. It didn’t hurt that her storyline was by far more action packed and thrilling than Ella’s storyline was.

The male characters in the story left a little bit to be desired. They were almost too passionate or too understanding.

All in all, it was an entertaining book, but I don’t know that I’ll be reaching for it to read it again. That said, it will stay on my shelf, hence the almost-4-star review.

Purchase The Wicked City on Amazon, available as an ebook, audiobook, hardcover, or paperback