A huge thank you to the author, Claudia Cain, for sending me an Advance Copy of her book Wicked Walking (Fallow Creek #2) in exchange for a honest review.
SYNOPSIS
After killing a monster and dragging herself home from another world, Cassandra Reilly has become more than a witch – she’s a hero. Sure, she can’t sleep through the night and she’s haunted by what she saw, but things should be looking up. Right?
Except something followed her out of the woods that day. And despite her best efforts – and the help of Merich, the handsome Fae Warden – Cass has failed to find any trace of it. Vanishing entities rarely bode well, but maybe no news is good news. And with a ticket out of town and her future on the horizon, Cass could really use a lucky break.
She’s not going to get one.
| BOOK INFORMATION | TRIGGER & CONTENT WARNING |
| Title: Wicked Walking Author: Claudia Cain Publisher: Black Sheep Books Publication Date: 30 August 2022 | ☪Profanity ☪Mild Gore ☪Depictions of Injury ☪Violence, Death, Mild Body Horror ☪Mentions of Suicide ☪Depictions of Anxiety |
| BOOK LINKS | Amazon Goodreads |
THOUGHTS & RATING
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
“Then I’m a selfish person.” “To want to be free of all this.”
“Cassandra,” he says. “There is nothing selfish about knowing what you want.”
Wicked Walking was one of my most anticipated release for this year and I absolutely enjoyed it more than the first book which is saying a lot cause I loved the first one so much.
Once again we are transported back to the dark and mysterious world of Fallow Creek where the story continues with Cassandra together with the rest of the characters – Theo, Pen, Aunt Louisa and of course our very flirty fae Merich – in another mission to hunt the “Sixth Child” who followed her out of the veil when she rescued the missing children’s in book one.
Just like I mentioned in the first book I really liked Cass’s character. After everything she has experienced and after making the decision to finally leave town she still had a strong sense of responsibility to capture the Sixth child. She was brave and willing to do everything she can to make things right, but you can also see her fears and vulnerability which makes her more relatable as a character.
More tensions also ensued between her and her family in this second installment. Questions I had in the first book about the rite, the Witch and why her Aunt was pushing Cass to be one were answered here BUT when one question is answered a new one arise.
I also got to see more of Merich here which was very much appreciated! We got to know him a bit better without losing the mysterious aura in him. I also felt like this has more romance than the 1st book but not to the point where it overshadows the main plot of the story.
This is definitely more darker, creepier and gruesome than the first one. It had my pulse racing to the point where I was reading it at 3AM and had to stop cause I was feeling a bit paranoid and kept imagining something might pop out of somewhere.
Wicked Walking is the perfect blend of magic and paranormal. From the dark and vivid imagery to the very relatable set of characters, creepy plotline with body possession, mystery, murder and epic fight scenes which will have you in the edge of your sit wanting to either fight or run for your life.
Claudia Cain has a way of making you feel like you are inside the story. Her writing style made me feel a lot of emotions from the first page. I read this in one sitting and I felt scared, heartbroken (a million of times!), anxious and giddy the whole time which made me not put the book down at all. Highly recommend for someone who loves thriller and horror.
Another cliffhanger for this second book which makes me crave the 3rd book so much more! I need a release date!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Claudia Cain is the author of the Silver and Bone trilogy, bringing together crime and fantasy in a supernatural San Francisco.
She currently lives in New Zealand and can usually be found either writing or reading. She owns more books than strictly necessary, and loves fantasy, animals, and dark humour.
The Bibliophile Thoughts 