A Little Bit Wicked

I have enjoyed every single one of Sarah A. Bailey’s books since The Soulmate Theory, and this one is no exception. We even get some cameos from Carter and Pep and Macie and Dom that are just icing on an already really good cake. Which is fitting, since Dahlia is a baker, after all…

OK, to the actual review now… (and thanks to the author for the ARC – publication is October 15th).

Wicked & Wildflower picks up where Heathen & Honeysuckle left off. Dahlia and Lou have fled Kansas to Pacific Shores to start over, away from Dahlia and Darby’s toxic father. But he is still a looming presence, trying to pull his daughters back under his control and a life neither of them wanted. And in settling into a new chapter in Pacific Shores, Dahlia quickly comes under the heated gaze of Everett Ramos. Brother to Leo, friend to Darby, town flirt who has left no man or woman behind so far in his life. But Dahlia is different. And very quickly Everett becomes the protective, solid support that Dahlia so desperately needs, but is afraid to ask for. Is afraid to want. Her whole focus is on saving her daughter, Lou, and her sister, Darby, from the wrath that is their father.

With Dahlia and Everett, a bar fling turns slowly into friendship, and then into a fake dating scheme that unfolds into more. Everett, our king of a man who rides motorcycles, owns businesses, fixes cars, and has tattoos for days, has eyes only for Dahlia. He quickly becomes someone Lou can count on. He does everything he can to show Dahlia that he cares, even if she can’t believe it yet.

We get a little more into the history of Everett’s twin Elena, and what happened after their friend Zach’s death (which sets up book 3 in a way that I know will make that one hurt when we finally get the whole story). And we see how much both he and Dahlia don’t realize their worth until someone else points it out. And protective Everett? Oh, that is pure gold. Up there along with “will crawl on his knees” Everett.

Wicked & Wildflower gives us he-fall-first, stress-baking, Swiftie fandom, and found family. It is both sweet and spicy and leaves you wanting more. Honestly, the relationship between Everett and Dahlia’s daughter Lou was just the sweetest 💖 (oh, their nicknames!), and maybe my favorite of the whole book. Once again, Sarah has made Pacific Shores a place I wish I could go to, and all the characters (other than Darby and Dahlia’s father 🤬) are people I wish I could be friends with.