Publisher: Forever (Grand Central Publishing), Forever
Date of publication: April 9th, 2024
Genre: Romance, Historical Romance, Historical, Jewish, Retellings, Historical Fiction, Adult Fiction, Fiction, British Literature
Series: Once Upon the East End
Shtup Me at Sunrise—Book 0.5
Marry Me by Midnight—Book 1 (review here)
Wake Me Most Wickedly—Book 2
Seduce Me in Secret—Book 3 (expected publication date: January 2025)
Dream of Me Until Dawn—Book 4 (expected publication date: January 2026)
Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat
Goodreads Synopsis:
Solomon Weiss has little interest in power, but to repay the half-brother who raised him, he pursues money, influence, and now—a respectable wife. That is, until outcast Hannah Moses saves his life, and Sol finds himself helplessly drawn to the beautiful pawnshop owner.
Forever tainted by her parents’ crimes, Hannah sees only a villain when she looks in the mirror—no one a prince would choose. To survive, she must care for herself, even if that means illegally hunting down whatever her clients wish. So, no matter how fair or charming she finds Sol, he belongs to a world far too distant from her own.
Only neither can resist their desires, and each meeting weakens Hannah’s resolve to stay away. But when Hannah discovers a shocking betrayal in Sol’s inner circle, can she convince him to trust her? Or will fear and doubt poison their love for good?
First Line
Night was the best time to hunt-especially if you relied on stealth, not strength, to snare your prey.
Important details about Wake Me Most Wickedly
Pace: Medium
POV: 3rd person (Hannah, Solomon)
Content/Trigger Guidance: Wake Me Most Wickedly contains themes of nongraphic sexual assault, nonconsensual sexual contact, emotional abuse, antisemitic language, antisemitic behavior, classism, physical abuse, religious bigotry, injury and injury detail, bullying, violence, medical content*, grief, death of a parent, pregnancy, and deportation. Please read carefully if any of these triggers you.
- Medical Content: Solomon suffers anaphylactic shock after consuming a cake with nuts in it.
Language: Wake Me Most Wickedly does not contain swearing, but it does contain language that might offend some people.
Sexual Content: There is explicit sexual content in Wake Me Most Wickedly.
Setting: Wake Me Most Wickedly is set in the East End of London, England.
My Review:
I enjoy reading historical romances, but reading the same romance format gets boring after a while. So, I am always on the lookout for different historical romances (but do keep in context with the era the book is written in). So, when the Wake Me Most Wickedly widget slid into my inbox, I accepted immediately. Also, I had read the first book in the series and liked it.
Wake Me Most Wickedly is also a fairy tale retelling. I like reading fairy tale retelling and discovering how different authors interpret fairytales. Wake Me Most Wickedly is the retelling of Snow White. I admit I had an issue figuring out how Snow White fit into this. Thankfully, that only lasted for the first couple of chapters, and I enjoyed seeing how this retelling played out.
The main storyline of Wake Me Most Wickedly was your typical romance storyline. Hannah was an outcast in the Jewish community due to crimes that her parents and herself committed while running their pawnshop. Hannah spent two years in prison, and her parents were deported to a penal colony island (I figure it was either Australia or New Zealand). She continued running the pawn shop and took up a side gig of illegally hunting down things for her fence and clients. During one of those jobs, she saved Solomon from being attacked. Solomon, raised by his older brother after their father and his mother died, grew up very sheltered and had almost no worldly experience. Solomon soon becomes enamored with Hannah, much to her dismay. But even she can’t deny the scorching heat between them. When Solomon is injured after being chased by a group of men, Hannah investigates his accident. What she uncovers will rock Solomon’s world. Will her discovery mean the end of her relationship with Solomon?
The author graciously included content guidance at the beginning of the book. I love it when authors do that because I don’t have to take notes about content. At the end of the book (and she did this with the first book), she explains the history of the Jewish people in London’s East End and their treatment throughout the centuries.
I found Wake Me Most Wickedly’s storyline much darker than the first book. I wasn’t sure if I would like it (the first chapter has nonconsensual sexual contact). But, the deeper I got into the storyline, the more I understood why the author wrote this book the way she did. Not everything was sunshine and roses in Victorian London. For people experiencing poverty and those forced to live on the outskirts of their communities, life was awful. The author was correct in reflecting the tone of the book. It made the book much more interesting to read.
Hannah started the book off with me not liking her very much. She had a chip on her shoulder that came across in her words and actions. But, the more the author got into her backstory, the more I saw how those events shaped her into the woman she was in the book. I felt terrible for her because she honestly didn’t think she was attractive enough to a man to commit to and was focused on getting a dowry for Tamara. What got me onto Team Hannah was her fantastic character growth. By the end of the book, I was amazed by her strength and devotion to those she considered family and friends.
I liked Solomon, but he reminded me somewhat of a puppy. How? Well, he was hard to train (no matter what Hannah did to push him away, he still came back), he was loyal, even when the person he was faithful to didn’t deserve it, and he was fiercely protective of his family and friends. I was also on Team Solomon because he deserved to be seen for the man he was instead of the image that he put out for family and friends. The one thing that I didn’t like was that he had a prominent blind spot when it came to his brother. But I also understood. It made what Hannah told him so painful to hear.
The romance angle of Wake Me Most Wickedly was spicy. The author turned the heat up on the sex scenes, and they had me fanning myself. But the sex was only a part of the romance. Solomon and Hannah falling in love was sweet. While Solomon immediately knew that Hannah was the one for him, Hannah fought it tooth and nail. She used every excuse in the book (the age gap: her 32 to his 26), her past, that he was just infatuated with her, his brother, and the considerable class divide to try and drive him away. Thankfully, Solomon didn’t care and pursued her anyway.
A secondary storyline that cropped up around the middle of the book involved Solomon, his brother, and Hannah. I was absolutely disgusted by what Solomon’s brother did, but I like how Solomon’s friends rallied around him and turned it around. It was poetic justice how that storyline ended.
I loved how Wake Me Most Wickedly ended. It was your typical HEA. The epilogue, which takes place five years later, almost made me cry. It also made me wonder who the next book will be about. I have a feeling I know who, but I can’t wait to see if I am right.
Many thanks to Forever (Grand Central Publishing), Forever, NetGalley, and Felicia Grossman for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Wake Me Most Wickedly. All opinions stated in this review are mine.
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