Felicia Grossman’s latest spicy romance novel is a gender-bent take on the Snow White fairy tale. Wake Me Most Wickedly, which follows Grossman’s Marry Me by Midnight, tells the story of Hannah Moses, an outcast pawnshop owner who must live with the criminal actions of her parents, and Soloman Weiss, a man pursuing a respectable marriage to gain the money and influence he needs to pay back the older brother who raised him. When sparks fly between the two, they must learn to navigate their different worlds and find a way to be together.
Grossman’s novel empowers the female character. Hannah is older than Soloman, and she has a life beyond searching for a husband. She enjoys her dangerous work procuring the items and information her customers need, and she cares for her younger sister, saving money so that her sibling can make a respectable match. The budding romance between Hannah and Soloman is filled with fairy tale references to apples and mirrors, but it is set in the neighborhoods of London in 1833. The characters in the novel are Jewish, and Grossman seeks to explore the legal and social antisemitism reflected in 19th century British culture. Her author’s note at the end of the book cites Charles Dickens’ Fagin from Oliver Twist as an example of the fears Londoners held toward Jewish immigrants.
If you enjoy spicy romance with a fairy tale twist, give Wake Me Most Wickedly a try. It is an escapist romance that will teach readers about the harmful stereotypes that have plagued Jewish communities, and it will give romance fans a happily ever after. I loved it and I can’t wait for more installments in Felicia Grossman’s Once Upon the East End series! You can find it here.
Thank you to NetGalley for a free copy of the book in exchange for a fair review.
Kelly Jarvis works as the Assistant Editor for The Fairy Tale Magazine where she writes stories, poems, essays, book reviews, and interviews. Her poetry has also been featured or is forthcoming in Blue Heron Review, Mermaids Monthly, Eternal Haunted Summer, Forget Me Not Press, The Magic of Us, A Moon of One’s Own, Baseball Bard, and Corvid Queen. Her short fiction has appeared in The Chamber Magazine and the World Weaver Press Anthology Mothers of Enchantment: New Tales of Fairy Godmothers. You can connect with her on Facebook (Kelly Jarvis, Author) or Instagram (@kellyjarviswriter) or find her at https://kellyjarviswriter.com/
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