Review: Wicked As She Wants by Delilah Dawson

Wicked As She Wants
(Blud #2)
Delilah Dawson
Release: April 30, 2013
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When Blud princess Ahnastasia wakes up, drained and starving in a suitcase, she’s not sure which calls to her more: the sound of music or the scent of blood. The source of both sensations is a handsome and mysterious man named Casper Sterling. Once the most celebrated musician in London, Sangland, he’s fallen on hard times. Now, much to Ahna’s frustration, the debauched and reckless human is her only ticket back home to the snow-rimmed and magical land of Freesia.

Together with Casper’s prickly charge, a scrappy orphan named Keen, they seek passage to Ahna’s homeland, where a power-hungry sorceress named Ravenna holds the royal family in thrall. Traveling from the back alleys of London to the sparkling minarets of Muscovy, Ahna discovers that Freesia holds new perils and dangerous foes. Back in her country, she is forced to choose between the heart she never knew she had and the land that she was born to rule. But with Casper’s help, Ahna may find a way to have it all….

Review:

Wicked As She Wants is the second in the Blud series, a unique steampunk paranormal romance. While this one doesn't have the same magic as the first one, this series continues to be a fun and unusual diversion from the typical PNR and I recommend readers check out the series for something a little different.

At the end of Wicked As They Come we were unsure of Casper's whereabouts, only that he was no longer with Criminy's circus caravan. In Wicked As She Wants we follow Casper as he meets Ahna and the two travel a long distance to Ahna's home of Muscovy. Casper is a famous musician but he's pretty down on his luck. We find him drunk and performing in a lounge. Casper is also still drinking the blood of Bludmen in order to keep himself from becoming the one on the menu, but he's getting close to the point where he must drink the blood to keep from going mad or make the full transition into a Bludman.  Casper takes care of a human girl named Keen, who is a smart ass street kid that I liked but didn't really feel was that important to the story as a whole. I could have taken her or left her, so to speak, but she was a snarky little addition.

Ahna is an interesting character. I think, for me, she was the reason I didn't find this story as remarkable as the first of this series. In Wicked As They Come, the story is told from Tish's point of view and she was an extremely likable character, very easy to relate to. In Wicked As She Wants, Ahna narrates the story. Ahna was difficult for me to connect with. She's often described as being very tiny and frail looking, she's kind of cold, and quite often she's just plain bitchy. Even well into the book she's still flaunting her royal status in Casper and Keen's face. I just had trouble seeing why the charming Southern hottie, Casper, would fall for her. This took me out of the romance a little. Many other reviewers have had no problem loving Casper and Ahna together so perhaps this is just my issue.

Casper and Ahna's journey is long and the reader gets to see much of the steampunk, alternate world of Casper, Ahna, Criminy, and Tish. The more we see of this word the better. The treatment of the Bludmen varies from location to location so that was interesting to read as well. I especially enjoyed seeing Ahna's home of Muscovy, an alternate form of Moscow, and the ball at the story's end.

This is a great series for readers who need a little diversion from the typical paranormal romance. Even though this one was no Criminy and Tish, it still had some great romance and, of course, Casper.

Recommended for fans of: steampunk, romance, dirigibles, Casper, unusual interpretations of vampires, and tiny women.

This review is based on an advance copy of the book provided by the publisher.

   1/2

  3.5 / 5 stars

My reviews of other books in this series:
Wicked As They Come (Blud #1)