Wretched (Never after Series #3)

Wretched by Emily McIntire is a dark romance novel that reimagines The Wizard of Oz with morally complex characters. The story follows Evelina Westerly, a ruthless botanist running her family's drug empire, who has a one-night stand with a mysterious man who later appears as an undercover DEA agent infiltrating her organization. As attraction battles disgust, they must navigate their dangerous chemistry while their missions threaten to destroy them both.

Emily McIntire is a #1 New York Times and #1 Sunday Times bestselling author known for her dark romance novels featuring steam, slow burns, and morally questionable characters. Her books have been translated into over a dozen languages and she specializes in fractured fairy tale retellings through her Never After series. McIntire is a stage IV breast cancer thriver whose work has been featured in People, Cosmopolitan, and other major outlets.

Wretched by Emily McIntire is ideal for readers who enjoy dark romance, morally grey characters, and enemies-to-lovers tropes with high heat levels. Fans of fractured fairy tales, undercover romance storylines, and powerful female villains will appreciate this book. However, readers should be comfortable with graphic sex scenes, violence, and themes involving drug empires and criminal activities.

Wretched by Emily McIntire delivers a compelling dark romance with strong character development and intense chemistry between leads. Reviewers praise the suspenseful storyline that goes beyond typical romance, featuring a badass female protagonist and complex moral dilemmas. The book successfully balances steamy romance with thriller elements, though some readers wanted a more expansive ending. It's particularly worth reading for fans of unconventional heroines and morally complex love stories.

Wretched by Emily McIntire transforms The Wizard of Oz into a contemporary dark romance by reimagining the villain's perspective. The story features "Flying Monkey" heroin produced under metaphorical yellow brick roads, with Evelina as a wicked woman running the drug operation. Rather than following Dorothy's journey, Emily McIntire centers the narrative on the morally grey antagonist, exploring themes of power, corruption, and redemption through a criminal empire lens.

Wretched by Emily McIntire is the third book in the Never After series but functions as a complete standalone novel. Each book in the Never After series reimagines different fairy tales with unique characters and storylines, requiring no prior knowledge of previous installments. Readers can start with Wretched by Emily McIntire without reading Hooked (Peter Pan retelling) or Scarred (The Lion King retelling) first.

Evelina Westerly stands out as a morally grey female villain who serves as the brains, brawn, and botanist behind her family's drug empire. Unlike traditional romance heroines, Evelina is ruthless, bat-shit crazy, and puts guns to people's heads while seeking revenge for her sister's murder. Emily McIntire portrays her as simultaneously great and terrible, struggling for her father's approval while maintaining her role as his secret weapon.

The central conflict in Wretched by Emily McIntire involves the collision between Evelina's criminal world and Nicholas's undercover mission to destroy it. After sharing an unforgettable one-night stand, they discover their opposing roles when Nicholas infiltrates the Westerly drug empire under a false identity. The tension escalates as attraction wars with disgust, forcing Nicholas to choose between his duty and loving a wretched woman.

Wretched by Emily McIntire contains extremely graphic sex scenes that reviewers rate as "6 out of 5 peppers" on the spice scale. The sexual content is explicit enough that readers recommend using noise-canceling headphones for the audiobook version. Emily McIntire's signature steam and slow burn style is prominently featured throughout, making Wretched by Emily McIntire suitable only for adult readers comfortable with high heat levels.

Wretched by Emily McIntire explores themes of moral ambiguity, questioning whether someone inherently bad can be worthy of love. The novel examines daddy issues and the desperate need for parental approval, as Evelina struggles to gain her father's recognition despite running his empire. Additional themes include revenge, redemption, the grey areas between right and wrong, and how hatred can transform into love when two dark souls recognize their shared darkness.

Wretched by Emily McIntire follows the same fractured fairy tale formula as Hooked (Peter Pan) and Scarred (The Lion King) but features a female villain protagonist unlike the previous male-centered stories. Each Never After book by Emily McIntire maintains dark romance elements with morally questionable characters and high steam levels. While all are standalones, Wretched by Emily McIntire particularly stands out for centering a ruthless female antagonist and incorporating criminal thriller elements alongside romance.

Wretched by Emily McIntire contains graphic violence, explicit sexual content, drug trade storylines, murder, and morally corrupt characters. The book includes scenes of Evelina threatening people with guns, seeking revenge for her sister's death, and operating a criminal drug empire. Readers should be aware of the dark romance genre conventions, including potentially triggering content related to organized crime, undercover deception, and characters who commit violent acts.