Wicked As They Come

Title:  Wicked As They Come
Author:  Delilah S. Dawson

What would you do if you went to bed in your comfortable bed with your lovable cat awaiting to wake to your safe predictable life but instead you wake up naked in front of a stranger who's natural instinct is to drink you dry?  And in this terrifying new world, you are the stranger - and you are being hunted.

That is exactly what happens to our main character Tish (Letitia).

[SPOILER ALERT]

Tish is a 26 year old Hospice nurse getting over a controlling and abusive relationship.  She finds a locket at an estate sale one day and is drawn to it immediately.  Later when Tish opens the locket, she is stained with a red liquid.  She goes to bed that night thinking everything is normal.  When she wakes up, she is in a different world (Sang) full of Bludmen and Bludcreatures who will drink your blood.  (Seriously, the Bludbunnies are a little twisted.)  It is there that she meets Criminy - a Bludman who runs and travels with a caravan of peculiar performers.

While in Sang, Letitia (Criminy likes calling her by her given name) learns that she is a glancer (someone who can see a person's past actions and future outcomes by touching them).  This causes Criminy to take her on, against her initial will, as the caravan's fortune teller.

When Letitia falls asleep in Sang, still wearing the locket, she wakes up as Tish in her ordinary world.  She is once again a Hospice nurse.  And when she falls asleep in her ordinary world, still with the locket, she wakes up in Sang.  Doing this makes her exhausted.

In Sang, Letitia meets Casper.  Like her, he exists in both worlds.  In her world he is a Hospice patient under the care of Tish.  In Sang he is a member of Criminy's caravan.  Letitia immediately feels a pull towards him.

One night, while asleep in Sang, Letitia's locket is stolen causing her to wake up and remain in Sang.  Devastated, she and Criminy set out on a tough journey to find her stolen locket and put an end to a tyrant disguised as a savior.

Alright.  As adventurous as all that sounds you have to admit that it also sounds pretty frightening.  Imagine not knowing if you will be able to see your family or friends ever again...  While being trapped in a land you are unfamiliar with...  With people you don't know.  While I would love to think that I would take the bull by the horns, put on my brave face, and find my way home (or embrace the adventure of a new life).... in reality I would probably just curl up in a ball and cry while letting cute little Bludbunnies eat me alive.

To be honest, although totally understandable, Letitia got on my nerves every time she would bring up her controlled past and use that as an excuse not to trust Criminy and let him in.  No matter how many times he proved himself to her and protected her.  I guess it wouldn't have been so annoying if she didn't swoon right away for Casper.  She trusted him instantly just because (and I'm just speculating here) he was from her world...  He could have been a serial killer for all she knew.  (He wasn't.  But she didn't know that at the time.)

One more little bone to pick with Letitia.  After an encounter with a witch and a moment of "I just want to keep my options open." Letitia has five years taken from her.  Yup... she aged five years in a matter of five seconds.  She then proceeds to tell Criminy, "But I don't want to be thirty-one."  She seriously complains about being 31 years old to someone who is like four times her new age (or older - I can't quite remember).... please.

I know I seem to be a bit harsh on Letitia.  So here is some good stuff about her.  She comes out of a controlling and abusive relationship and lives an ordinary life trying to find herself again.  She finds adventure in a terrifying new place when all she wants is to live her life and do her job back home.  She manages to pull herself together (for the most part) and go on this dangerous journey with a man she really just met and who is in love with her.  In the end she gains back control of her life and finds a way to live in both worlds.  She also opens up her heart again.  She has her cake and eats it too.  For now at least...

So.  All in all... I really enjoyed this book.  For me, it incorporated my favorite ingredients.  Part Alice in Wonderland, part "Vampire" romance, and a pinch of Steampunkery (not exactly a word but it works for me).  I would love to see what Tim Burton would do with a story like this!

YOUR TURN

Have you had the pleasure (or misfortune) of reading Wicked As They Come?  What are some of your thoughts on it?  Would you ever try to own a Bludbunny as a pet?  Let me know in the comments section!



My Rating:  ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Happy Reading!