Perfectly Wicked by Lindsay Lovise an ARC Review

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Blurb - As Per Amazon
Charmed meets Ghosthunters in this magically wicked paranormal romance, perfect for fans of Not the Witch You Wed and The Ex Hex.
Holly Celeste and her sisters make the best apple cider in Maine—courtesy of a magical secret ingredient—but even that hasn’t been enough to keep their orchard afloat. To save the family business, Holly accepts a proposal to let a ghost hunting series film an episode on her farm. Connor Grimm may be the sexy and down-to-earth TV host the nation loves, but to Holly he represents her greatest fear: exposure. Holly doesn’t mind if Connor chases down a silly ghost story—it’s their other secret she’s terrified he’ll reveal.
Connor Grimm’s life goal is to normalize the paranormal, which he does on his show, Grimm Reality. Except he isn’t only looking for a ghost at Wicked Good Apples. There have been rumors of rain during droughts and other inexplicable happenings that could only be attributed to something supernatural, and Connor plans to expose it on an episode that will take his show’s success to another level.
Intent on keeping Connor in the dark, Holly joins him as he interviews eyewitnesses, hunts for old records, and unearths a story even she didn’t know existed. Despite her resolution to dislike him, she begins to fall for the only man who’s ever made her feel like strange could be normal. Too bad a relationship with Connor could only be temporary: he moves to a new state every month, and there’s no room in his life for a woman with a pet hedgehog, a houseful of nosy aunts and sisters, and a failing apple orchard.
When Connor finally pieces together Holly’s greatest secret, he’s forced to choose between revealing his biggest paranormal discovery yet and propelling his show to the top of the charts, and giving it all up for the wicked woman who’s charmed his heart.

You Can See The Book On Amazon By Clicking The Pic

Now For The Review

Standalone or series?
Standalone 

How did I get this book?
I was offered it for review on Netgalley

Why did I choose to read this book:  
The blurb really appealed to me - Charmed meets Ghosthunters in this magically wicked paranormal romance!

Genre:
Paranormal Romance

Who would enjoy this book:  
Hmmm I am really not sure as you will see from the review. There is a lot of stronger swear words and although the cover looks like it would be on the sweeter side - it skews on the sexier side of things with some fairly detailed descriptions. 

And Now To The Review!

First Impressions:
This throws you into a situation that you don't have a backstory for and I kind of felt that I needed to know a bit more than the author was sharing. Sometimes this is done for a big reveal later, in this case I think the author may have done SO much research and knew her story so well that she forgot that readers didn't have all the info. 
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General Review
The general premise is an interesting one. Any time you can put a twist on the paranormal side of things that hasn't been done before is a bonus. Whilst I was able to figure out the rough powers, and the issues surrounding them, I really expected it to lean into a different supernatural path - this one not being one I had encountered before.

 *MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD*. Normally, I avoid all spoilers in my reviews but I can't figure out a way to give accurate feedback as to why I ended up with that rating I did without pointing out a few specifics. Firstly, Ghost Adventures would definitely be a better description than Ghost Hunters. I can't help but feel that Connor was very influenced by the main Ghost Adventures cast, with SO many similarities that I wasn't able to appreciate him AS his own character in the story. Secondly, I don't feel the cover is appropriate for the story, It leads to the idea of the generally cute Rom/Com style TikTok popular books, and this definitely leans more into the sexy (which isn't a bad thing), and stronger language than I expected. (Note -NEITHER of these things is an issue for me - I really literally everything from YA to Erotica - I just think the cover doesn't accurately portray the contents). Thirdly, and this is the biggest spoiler, the ghost back story mentioned is literally a gender-bend on the Bent-Neck Lady from the Haunting of Hill House. The Bent-Neck lady is so iconic I find it hard to believe that others won't make the connection. Finally, there are several major sticking points for me where it feels that things happen LITERALLY as an excuse for something else to happen with NO real tie-in to the actual story, or proper resolution.

Final Thoughts
I really wanted to enjoy this book but was sadly left feeling sort of Meh about it. It's a shame because the idea definitely had potential.

Rating:
A sad 2/12 stars rounded up to 3 because most places you post don't allow a half star option. 

As always let me know what you think in the comments!


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