Wretched by Emily McIntire was the book I didn’t know I needed. Where “she’s the villain,” meets “golden retriever MMC.” I could not put this book down, I turned through the pages, stayed up late, and gobbled it up from beginning to end.
Wretched by Emily McIntire
Wretched by Emily McIntire is book 3 of the Never After series and is a Wizard of Oz re-imagining. It is a complete standalone, meaning you do not need to read any other book in this series to know what’s going on. Wretched was published on April 19th, 2022, is 282 pages long, and is available on Kindle Unlimited, Amazon, and the author’s website here.
Premise
Evelina needs a release, just one moment where she isn’t her father’s deadly tool in his empire but someone else entirely. Achieving that with a one night stand at a club, she’s ready to get back to work, and ready to hunt down the person who killed her sister. That is until the man from the club shows up as a new recruit in her father’s empire, with a completely different name. What she doesn’t know is Nicholas is an undercover DEA agent ready to take down the empire she helped her father build.
Triggers
Triggers found in Wretched include:
- Sexually Explicit Scenes
- Graphic Violence, Torture, and Murder
- Drugs, use and selling
My Thoughts
When I tell you I was waiting for this book without even realizing I was waiting for this book. Our villain in this Wizard of Oz reimagining is a woman, and our MMC is a golden retriever/cinnamon roll. The backstories of these two characters tugs on those heart strings but we get to see a woman who is getting shit done.
“You’re right,” I agree, taking my uninjured hand and reaching around to grip her hip and pull her into me. “Tell me to sit and eat like a good boy, and I swear to fucking god I’ll do it.” – Wretched by Emily McIntire
Naturally this book kept me up late into the night flipping pages because it’s not a Never After book if there aren’t mysteries and secrets hidden between the pages that you are searching for. I could not put this book down and I absolutely loved every single second reading it.
The book does start off with a pretty immediate spice scene, but we have to wait a little while for the spice to come back into the story again. Compared to the last two books in the series however, I would say this one was spicier. However, it is also shorter than the last two books, but it is still a plot heavy book.
Evelina lived in the grey areas, and throughout this book we see Nicholas also stepping over to that grey side as well. He sees why she has to do certain things, recognizing that she was in survival mode while also trying to find out the truth behind her sister’s death.
“He doesn’t have much, but he does have the fucking audacity.” – Wretched by Emily McIntire
Furthermore, some of the side characters in this book are downright evil, then there are others that you can’t see an ounce of sympathy in. And sure, as promised by the genre, the book has a happily ever after, but it really does make you guess if that’s going to happen all the way to the end of the book.
In Wretched we are back to those almost mafia vibes, but they’re a lot stronger than they were in Hooked. I had mentioned in a previous post how fantastic Emily was at world building and that world building just flies off the page in this one. There’s a lot of darkness in this book, but if you are like me and can practically visualize a book like a movie, be prepared for the juxtaposition between the dark elements of what’s happening and the brightness of the world at some points.
“She’s overwhelming. Devastating. She’s going to ruin my fucking life.” – Wretched by Emily McIntire
Who Would Like Wretched?
Tropes in Wretched include:
- Age Gap
- Enemies to Lovers
- Strong FMC
- Revenge Plot
If you liked the Mindfuck Series by ST Abby, the Deadly hearts series by Eve Newton, or The Joker by Nikki J Summers, you will likely love this book as well. It has that strong but dark female main character that is ready to get stuff done.
Check out my thoughts on the other books in the Never After series:
If you have read Wretched by Emily McIntire, or have added it to your TBR, let me know in the comments below. I love interacting with other readers about books I loved.