Name: Lover of Romance 's review of Wretched by Emily McIntire
Item: Wretched
Rating: 4
Author: Lover of Romance

Emily McIntire

𝙊𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙐𝙥𝙤𝙣 𝘼 𝙏𝙞𝙢𝙚,
there was a wicked girl.

She lost everything that mattered,

causing darkness to unfurl.

Impulsive and intelligent, 

she helped her family name grow strong.

But then one day a man without a heart came along.  

An undercover agent, meant to spy and bring back tips. 

Following down her hidden path of faded yellow bricks. 

She hated him, he wanted her; 

she was too good to be true. 

But a woman can be great...

𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙤.

💚 Forbidden
👠 Bad Girl/ Good Guy
💚 Grumpy/Sunshine
👠 Enemies with Benefits

Never After #3

Wretched

A woman can be great, and terrible too.

Evelina Westerly has always been the bad guy. As the brains, brawn, and botanist behind her family's drug empire, she's her father's ruthless secret weapon. With her days divided between perfecting her greenhouse, seeking revenge for her sister's murder, and putting a gun to the head of anyone in her way, Evelina doesn't have time for anything else. Especially not for love. After a one-night stand with a gorgeous man at a nightclub, she's sated her urges and is back to her criminal ways. That is, until that same man shows up as the new Westerly lackey...under a totally different name.

But Nicholas Woodsworth's real secret is much more dangerous than an alias. He's an undercover DEA agent, and he's hell-bent on destroying the drug trade that devastated his family. When he realizes the youngest daughter of the Westerly empire is the same woman he's been fantasizing about since that night at the club, attraction wars violently with disgust. Evelina embodies everything he's against, and he's been sent here to be her downfall. Yet the more they learn about the darkness in each other's hearts, the more alike they seem, and when hatred turns to something more, Nicholas will have to decide whether he can love a wretched woman, even if it means bringing both of their lives to ruin.

Never After Series, Book #3

Hana 

His hold tightens, one of his palms leaving for the briefest second as he reaches behind his back.

My mind is still playing catch up, trying to figure out what the hell is happening.

"You have the right to remain silent," he whispers.

"I never realized you had freckles," I say.

She scrunches her nose, her hand running across her face. "Yeah, makeup usually covers them."

Anita

But if I'm her calm, then she is my chaos, and if I can't live with her forever, then I don't want to live at all.

Her brows draw in. "I told you to stay put." 

I step into her until her ass is pressed against the edge of the desk and my hips are wedged against hers. "And I'm not a dog you can bark demands at, sweetheart." 

My cock jerks, arousal warring with my brain, warning me to keep my distance. My brain loses, the way it seems to always lose with her.

"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."

Christina Farkona

“You know, for not believing in romance—” 

“I’m so f*cking in love with you, Eveline Westerly,” he cuts me off. 

I grin, rising up on my tiptoes to press a kiss to his lips. “Every wretched piece?”

He brushes the hair back from my face. “Every single one.”

My heart skips and stutters then starts beating in a steady rhythm.

And with that single smile, I know I’ve made it home.

But I’m not staring at any of that. Not when Eveline’s right in front of me.

My heart stalls in my chest and my hand comes up to rest on top of it.

[…] but nothing stopped my soul from aching, crying out for its other half. 

Because she’s changed me fundamentally. Irrevocably. And there’s no going back.

I don’t love Eveline in spite of her flaws. I love her because of them. 

“If you don’t run, right now, then I don’t get that chance.” His eyes flick back and forth between mine. “Please, let me have it, pretty girl. Go.”

He tightens his grip on my face. “Listen to me. I won’t ask for your forgiveness.” He glances at the door before locking his frantic eyes back on me. “I don’t want you to forgive me right now. I just want to know you’re out there and there’s a chance. That one day, maybe we’ll meet again, and I’ll walk up to you and say I’m Nicholas Tennyson Woodsworth, my favorite color is blue, I hated school, and I am so f*cking in love with you that I can’t imagine living in a world that doesn’t have you in it.

He slams his mouth to mine and I can’t help but to kiss him back, because for everything he’s done, and everything he’s not, I still love him, no matter how much I’ve tried to stop.

 love until you. And you’re not perfect, okay? You piss me off and you do things I never thought I’d be alright with, and you’re moody as hell. You’re actually the furthest f*cking thing from perfect I’ve ever seen. But Eveline… you’re perfect for me.”

Every word feels like a confession now instead of an escape. Sappy poems from a broken, lonely girl, pretending to be something strong.

He walks away before I can say anything back, but his words ache in the deepest parts of me. I’d give anything to go back to how I used to be, because this feeling now? It f*cking sucks.

And I don’t know if it will ever go away.

.” I shake my head. “But she’s not a good person.”

Rose hums. “I find it hard to believe my brother would fall for someone who isn’t worth loving.”

 feel good, because this doesn’t feel like home anymore. I don’t think I knew what home was until I found it in 

And when Eveline busted down the door and looked at me as though I had killed her spirit? 

I would pick her a thousand times over even if it meant rotting in hell.

“I know, that’s crazy, right? I didn’t mean for it to happen. I don’t even know when the hell it did happen, but I just know it’s there and it’s big. Like, can’t breathe when you’re around kind of big.”

But if I’m her calm, then she is my chaos, and if I can’t live with her forever, then I don’t want to live at all.

We’ve already f*ucked countless times. I’ve taken her in every position, filled her with my c*ck in a thousand different ways.

But right now it all pales in comparison to the way kissing her feels. 

It’s all-consuming, as if she’s ripped through my middle, and placed her heart inside my chest, forcing it to beat.

i can’t stop highlighting, he’s so sweet 🥹 

And through everything, she’s still the most stunning thing I’ve ever seen.

And maybe my morals are dulled when it comes to her. Because as long as 

 taken care of, it’s hard for me to give a damn what happens to anyone else.

The tension swirling around our bodies is overwhelming, and I don’t know what it is I’m feeling, only that nothing else has ever felt like it. Opening her eyes, she twists in my arms to look up at my face.

Lover of Romance 

Got me in love with the never after series again loved it 

Valerie Yvonne Elizabeth Hes 

I honestly could not put this book down! I felt like the story flewww by and I could not get enough. I went into this book completely blind and was pleasantly surprised that the female main character was the morally grey one.. always a villain and you know what I'm here for it!

The fact that was not the only DEA agent on the case and there was already characters who had infiltrated the Westerly family, but until Nick came along no one knew it was Evelina. I was honestly shocked!

Also just a note here for the gun scene byeeee!!!!!!!!

🌞Laur🌞

I honestly could not put this book down! I felt like the story flewww by and I could not get enough. I went into this book completely blind and was pleasantly surprised that the female main character was the morally grey one.. always a villain and you know what I'm here for it!

The fact that was not the only DEA agent on the case and there was already characters who had infiltrated the Westerly family, but until Nick came along no one knew it was Evelina. I was honestly shocked!

Also just a note here for the gun scene byeeee!!!!!!!!

This was just as much fun as the other books. While the pacing of the book felt slower I still really liked it. The ending is what helped it get up to what I rated it. I really did enjoy that ending because I felt dumb not figuring that out😂

This was also the spiciest in the series so far and I’m excited to continue on with the series!

Priscilla Stanfield

This was just as much fun as the other books. While the pacing of the book felt slower I still really liked it. The ending is what helped it get up to what I rated it. I really did enjoy that ending because I felt dumb not figuring that out😂

This was also the spiciest in the series so far and I’m excited to continue on with the series!

I wish I could say I LOVED this book because I thought it started off SO strong and SPICY. The plot was THICK until it kind of just sizzled out and I was left wanting more information about other characters to have a more shocking end. It felt very predictable, but who doesn’t love a good dark contemporary romance with enemies to lovers trope! 

Valentina Moreno Escobar

This book was based a bit of the wonderful and wizard of oz but it’s from Dorothy’s sisters perspective and she makes drugs and her cottage where she makes them has a yellow brick road leading to them. But anyway the ending is happy I’m glad she forgave him.

Hard to stay engaged in. Loved hooked though 

Katie Buchanan

marta 

Renata

pls- i love this series so fucking much 
i enjoyed every single second while reading evelinenicholas 
EVELINE IS A BADDIE I LOVE HER 

- “But when it comes to Eveline Westerly, I’m a fucking fool. ”

- “You don’t have to trust me, Eveline. But words are your safe space, the same way that they’re mine.”

- “But if I’m her calm, then she is my chaos, and if I can’t live with her forever, then I don’t want to live at all. ”

- “I’ll walk up to you and say I’m Nicholas Tennyson Woodsworth, my favorite color is blue, I hated school, and I am so fucking in love with you that I can’t imagine living in a world that doesn’t have you in it.”

- “Are you gonna tell me yours?” ”

- “I’m so fucking in love with you, Eveline Westerly,”
 “Every wretched piece?”
 “Every single one.”

Nice read. Nice romance. Nice spice. Nice plot.

Quite enjoyable not life changing or anything though.

Kyra

Nice read. Nice romance. Nice spice. Nice plot.

Quite enjoyable not life changing or anything though.

After Scarred, I didn’t had much hope for this series but holly molly… I devoured this book! It was really, really good. And for once it’s female main character who is the bad one and not the male character. 

This was such a quick and amazing read. So far I am not dissapointed by the books in this serie

Emma Kamer

mariana

Review 

This was an unexpected book for me 
I was so nervous to continue the series 
That author conquer my heart everytime

Nouran Hazem

Cindy

the chokehold this author has on me. these books are easy to read, the scenarios are unique in each one (although there's a common "avenging a family member death" that is in all of these), and they're the right amount of spice. 4.5/5

Taylor Arevalo

Nouran

🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼 love love love. my heart went out to evie she deserves better 

grayson gruber

Loulou

Emily oh Emily you slayed so hard 
The little hints and references to the Wizard of Oz had me screaming and the spicy scenes were so so good.

at first, i didn't like it and i was just thinking about how much i liked scarred better...but holy lord did it get better. it was such a ride and i have to give props to emily because she really writes characters well in this series. its crazy how much you dislike the characters your not supposed to like from the beginning yet you don't even know why you don't like them. lowkey i was more into the politics and organizations than the romance TT but Nick and Eve were too cute also, the tension between the two and connecting through poetry in their broken worlds was just too good and i ate it all up.

Niyah<3

this book got me very emotional, so much i know i’ll finish the series and go back to my self-help pile 🥲.

i loved reading Nick’s POV and how he goes through his thoughts, feelings, and struggles. i also loved his attitude, his faith there’s something good about Eveline and his powerful personality, as well as how hot he is 🥵.

i didn’t like how long i had to endure Eveline's “badass” attitude toward him until almost the very end. i wish i’d read more genuine interactions with each other on her part. 

and of course, i liked the intense dynamic between them. 

i’d be lying if i’d say i didn’t expect the twist.

i wish a few things to go differently but if i were to read a different epilogue (a few years after of being together for example, like the two previous books), less of poetry and more of his and her words, and one last intimate moment between them, i think my heart would be bleeding a little less!

this book triggered for me a thrilling vibe with the undercover agent who’s falling for the wrong girl, lots of questions about what love and trauma are capable of, and loads of tears.

 : This would be my favourite, if it didn't get me so emotional and had given me the ending i wish to read.

Nick has to be my all time favourite (a tiny tiny bit more than Tristan) because i got very connected with his thoughts and his POV. i feel as if we got to see him express himself more and deeper compared to James and Julian. and maybe just a little more than Tristan. and i think that this made me so invested in him. this and that he is so hot indeed. his mouth was so sexy, yet less dirty than Tristan's but omg! 

this book got me very emotional, so much i know i’ll finish the series and go back to my self-help pile 🥲.

i loved reading Nick’s POV and how he goes through his thoughts, feelings, and struggles. i also loved his attitude, his faith there’s something good about Eveline and his powerful personality, as well as how hot he is 🥵.

i didn’t like how long i had to endure Eveline's “badass” attitude toward him until almost the very end. i wish i’d read more genuine interactions with each other on her part. 

and of course, i liked the intense dynamic between them. 

i’d be lying if i’d say i didn’t expect the twist.

i wish a few things to go differently but if i were to read a different epilogue (a few years after of being together for example, like the two previous books), less of poetry and more of his and her words, and one last intimate moment between them, i think my heart would be bleeding a little less!

this book triggered for me a thrilling vibe with the undercover agent who’s falling for the wrong girl, lots of questions about what love and trauma are capable of, and loads of tears.

all the stars go to the guy 😅

UPDATE : This would be my favourite, if it didn't get me so emotional and had given me the ending i wish to read.

Nick has to be my all time favourite (a tiny tiny bit more than Tristan) because i got very connected with his thoughts and his POV. i feel as if we got to see him express himself more and deeper compared to James and Julian. and maybe just a little more than Tristan. and i think that this made me so invested in him. this and that he is so hot indeed. his mouth was so sexy, yet less dirty than Tristan's but omg! 

i think that this book and Scarred are the most romantic and spicy of all.

Karla Katherine

😴

This was just… really boring? Very obvious and mundane, wouldn’t waste the time if I were you. The characters have no viable chemistry whatsoever. Reads like every other “Mafia” related book.

Not as good as the others but still a good story

j ♡

Cait Yvonne

** spoiler alert **
           while this isn’t my favourite book in the series (that honour goes to Hooked), it is still a solid overall favourite of mine. you know from the start that his undercover mission will get found out by Evie but the suspense of the ‘when’ was palpable. 

every time he slipped up or she followed him, I would be thinking “she’s got you now Nick”, but she hadn’t. it really added a whole new level of anticipation for me. 

I love how Eveline is not your usual angelic female lead. she was a badass and she reminded me a lot of Lana from the Mindfuck series. her sheer cruelty sometimes really had me hooked on her character. while I do love the whole ‘good girl falls for bad guy’ trope, this was different and I loved it.

 agent x villain trope will always be a slay 

seth would have slayed if it weren’t for that one sexist comment at the beginning of the book.

dorothy and skip got what they deserved woooooo.

nick giving up his morals and killing someone for her 🤭🤭

THAT ONE SCENE WHERE SHE COMPARED HIM TO A DOG????

her rose gold gun was a slay until it was shoved up somewhere

rhea ⸆⸉

 agent x villain trope will always be a slay 

 my favorite dark romance EVER

EVIE??? SLAYED

NICK??? SLAYED

ZEKE??? SLAYED

ROSA???SLAYED

seth would have slayed if it weren’t for that one sexist comment at the beginning of the book.

dorothy and skip got what they deserved woooooo.

THE PLOT TWIST ???? I DIDNT EXPECT IT

nick giving up his morals and killing someone for her 🤭🤭

THAT ONE SCENE WHERE SHE COMPARED HIM TO A DOG????

her rose gold gun was a slay until it was shoved up somewhere

This review was originally posted on Addicted To Romance

This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.
 


But if I’m her calm, then she is my chaos, and if I can’t live with her forever, then I don’t want to live at all.



  First Impressions

This is a book that is one of my most anticipated reads of the year and after reading the first two books of the series, I really loved what the author created with this series. There was a TON of hype surrounding this book, especially on bookstagram. It is a more unique retelling, this is where we have a “Wizard of Oz” theme to it, it’s not a straight-up retelling, but I was really intrigued by how this author was writing this series here. I really wanted to see more of what this author would deliver in this story. Now I won’t lie in that I was nervous as the author had written a heroine that is the villain (kinda). But honestly, I felt like its very rare for a anti-heroine to work for me, but i did like it for the most part even though it didn’t quite work as much as I had hoped for. I do think that this book is a bit overhyped, in my opinion,. While I liked it overall, the first book “Hooked” still wins for me.

Let me be your calm in the chaos, pretty girl.


  Summary

Nick and Evie are from two different worlds, but they meet one night in a club and share some passionate interactions and even though they are complete strangers, they live that night together, just embracing the passion they have for each other. But reality wakes them up when they are reunited with each other. Nick is working undercover, to bring down a drug cartel and his focus is the family that Evie is a part of. Her father is the king of the underworld or at least his section of it Her older sister was killed and ever sine Evie hasn’t been the same. Her sister Dorothy, is the evil sister and has her father’s heart. And even though Evie sacrifices so much for the family, she is still viewed as second best. She is the daughter that does the dirty work and is still given the least amount of information. Evie lives for the poetry and her gardens and secret places she hides from the world. Even though Nick’s focus is to be drawn in by Dorothy, as she is the flighty sister, there is something in Evie that he can’t resist. Even knowing she is probably the villain and there is no happy ever after in their future, he can’t resist what she gives to him and the love that is starting to build between them despite how forbidden their relationship is.

How can someone so fucking beautiful be so goddamn bad?


  What I Loved

This book just kicked booty, there is so much to unpack here. I really do feel that this story will be one that most dark romance readers will really get a kick out of. Because normally when it comes to anti-main characters, we always see it in the hero and just rarely in the heroine. I did enjoy what we get from Evie, she is such a badass but also has her share of vulnerabilities as well. My heart just ached for her, she wanted to be a part of the family, and she missed her older sister who was killed, and she has a heart of a poet. There are quite a few redeemable qualities to her. Then we have Nick, who is quite divided in how he feels. He has his duty to the law but at the same time, he can’t deny what he feels for Evie. I really enjoyed seeing how this author handled the forbidden nature of their relationship and how they gain their HEA was such a beautiful wrap-up to this angsty love affair of a romance. This is definitely a dark romance so please know that going into it before reading it. However, if you like dark romance and are intrigued by the series, I can’t recommend these books enough and they easily read as standalone. And the quirky connections that we have to the Wizard of Oz were such a delight. We NEED more authors that are willing to write these uncommon retellings because I was all for this and I might have been wanting to listen to the soundtrack for this classic while reading, not going to lie. I also think the way that this author handles her layers of plot and character build-up was quite impressive. I was so hooked on this story and intrigued to see where she would take this story.

“I lie with her, and she with me.” He pauses, and then suddenly his tongue is on me, swirling in small circles around the sensitive nerves. I whimper, heat shooting down my legs. His tongue disappears. “And in our faults by lies we flattered be.”


  What I Struggled With

There were a few aspects to this story that I will admit that I did struggle with. I was split into two with the heroine. I wanted to love her but at the same time she is CRAZY and a bit unhinged at times. She does know how to take care of herself, but I was torn on her character because yeah this book did push my limits “Morality wise” and while I love that in dark romance, it definitely took me to the edge of what I normally enjoy. I also felt that this romance was not as connecting as the previous two books. While there is plenty of chemistry, the actual intimacy part that I love to see in a romance was missing. And I definitely wanted more of those small moments between Nick and Evie.


  Overall View

I found Wretched to be a badass dark romance that will stretch the limits of your morality, open your eyes to hidden depths, and will fascinate you with the connections to the Wizard of Oz. It’s a magical dark edgy romance that will get your blood to pump and your heart to race and keep you enthralled from beginning to end.

There’s no one like family, Evie, and there’s no place like home. We have to stick together.


  Trigger Warnings:

(view spoiler)[Bullying, Violence, Death of a family member. (hide spoiler)]

Lover of Romance &
Wretched by Emily McIntire

Reviews

Highlights

Join the club

Lover of Romance &Wretched by Emily McIntire

Reviews

Highlights

Join the club

Lover of Romance &
Wretched by Emily McIntire