Something Wicked by Belinda Campbell

Synopsis: Hadley Manor was quiet, but it was very much awake.

Darryl Hadley has always been kept in the dark about her family history, so when she moves to her estranged and recently deceased grandma’s countryside manor, she takes it as an opportunity to find out more about where she came from.

But Darryl soon discovers her family has a reputation, and that everyone thinks her grandma murdered her own twin sister almost fifty years ago.

After befriending her new neighbour, Tod Griffin, the pair team up to uncover the truth about what actually happened to her grandma’s sister. Things take a wicked turn when on the night of a storm, Darryl wakes up the dormant magic inside her — magic she didn’t know she possessed — and resurrects her grandma in the process.

Darryl is forced to come face-to-face with her past — quite literally. Not only has her magic brought back the dead, but it has also awoken a dark force that is hungry for revenge on the Hadley family. Darryl must learn to use her magic to protect herself and the ones she cares about before they are caught in a battle between the past and present.

This tale of rage, family trauma and second chances is perfect for fans of Gallant , Mike Flanagan’s The Haunting of Hill House and This Poison Heart .

This book is available for preorder, release date of 10/12/2024!!

Disclaimer: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am writing this review voluntarily.

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.

LBPS (Long Blog Post Short): I was very lucky to have the opportunity to read this book early as an ARC! Full round of applause to the author on their debut novel. This book is filled with lush descriptions of the manor and all the emotions of our teenage protagonist, Darryl. Thrust from her ‘normal’ teenage life in the city – moving to the country manor after her grandmother’s passing isn’t the only culture shock. This book really proved itself to have all the makings of not just a great debut novel, but a stunning series of books. Filled with magic, family secrets, friendship, young love, and a dash of spookiness; this is truly a journey into a world of mystery and lore. It navigates the complexities of grief and family secrets with some healthy teenage drama, effortlessly. I am thoroughly impressed by how good this book is, for a young adult book it never once felt too ‘immature’ for me (as an adult) at the same time, it never felt too ‘mature’ for someone in their teens to read. There was a really great balance of plot, character, and lore/world building. Honestly I wish I could give this book 4 1/2 stars across all review platforms, because it truly does deserve it (the one reason I love my blog is I can rate out 1-10 and include halves!). If you are looking for a cozy, witchy book for spooky season (or any other season) this is definitely the book for you!

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Darryl was such a relatable character throughout this book, and the author took great care to see things from her point of view. Though the book started up a little slow, it makes sense as to ‘why’. We get introduced to Darryl, and her being uprooted by her mom to move from the city to the country. She is without friends in this new place, and her mom is kind of absent from her day-to-day life. Spending a lot of time alone it’s natural that she would get curious about their home. Which was the home her mother grew up in, and was the home of a grandmother she never knew. There are plenty of ‘rumors’ about her grandmother, and Darryl easily gets sucked into wanting to solve that mystery. The townspeople don’t care for her family or the manor, which only fans the flames of the mystery. She does manage to make a friend with Tod, and their dynamic relationship quickly becomes something to look forward to as we dive deeper into the book. They don’t get off on the right foot, but seem to find common ground when it comes to feeling ‘alone’. They go from being like oil and water, to leaning on each other in times of need.

One of my ‘pain’ points with this book is the relationship with Darryl and her mom, Caroline. She is incredibly out of touch with her daughter and comes across in most of the book as self-absorbed. While later on things are ‘reconciled’ between them it felt awkward. Darryl at one point even thinks to herself that she was too hard on her mom. And while it may be partially true – it was, to me, a result of her mother’s actions. Her mom basically tunes out the fact that Darryl is clearly unhappy in most of the first third of the book, and tries to make it better by saying she was trying to protect her. It made very little sense in the long run. While I am glad that they eventually see eye-to-eye, it doesn’t feel entirely genuine. More like we took a short cut from having a real conversation that could have brought them closer more organically. This is honestly the only ‘major’ reason it doesn’t get a full 5 stars from me on GoodReads or Amazon. As someone who’s dealt with a lot of family ‘drama’, I was hoping for a little bit more substance to their relationship.

I can’t say too much without giving away too many spoilers. There were characters like Jean and Alice who made such a welcome addition to the story. I felt like we got a lot of fun personalities and backstories throughout this book – while not feeling overwhelmed at any point. Also the cat was adorable, though part of me wished he was a little more in tune with the ‘magic’ in the house. Again – just personal preference and I love a good cat side character.

There were some really good twists throughout, and I was frequently left wondering where we were going next and who the potential ‘villain’ was. The ending of the book was also tied up quite nicely with just enough loose ends to leave anticipation for a sequel, while not leaving too many as to feel overwhelmed at the end.

The descriptions of the characters and Hadley Manor were excellent, and it was easy to imagine them in these scenes. The magic, while along the line of other magic in other books, manifested in different ways for each person. I kind of felt bad for how rough Darryl had it, and I hope in the next book we get some insight as to why it was so rough for her. Current theories are she either is super strong with her magic, or perhaps its something to with her family? I would love to explore the magic more in the next book, along with whatever other mysteries are in store.

I also liked the family dynamics, and the way it touched on generational trauma. We all have that ‘black sheep’ of the family, along with numerous secrets or skeletons in the closet. The discord between the sisters, which led to a continuation in the mother/daughter relationship made all the feelings Darryl had just ring more true.

I could go on and on, this was such a fun read and I am super excited for everyone else who will get to read it once it comes out!

You can view the book on Amazon here.

Overall Rating: 8.5/10
Re-readability Rating: 9.5/10