The Wicked by Rebecca Johnpee

My Rating: 

Spice Rating: 

Blurb: 

Rebecca Johnpee bursts onto the dark romance scene with The Wicked ―where a mafia and heist romance collide in a scorchingly intense and unforgettable tale.

Elio

They call me “The Wicked.”

I’ve earned that name with blood, silence, and the weight of every secret I carry.

As head of the Marino Family, nothing slips past me. Not lies. Not weakness. Not fear.

But when she enters my world…everything tilts.

Zahra

I’m dangerous—and I’ve had to be.

I grew up with men who treated bullets like sugar cubes.

I’ve risen from the streets to create the most notorious gang of thieves in the country. But after a job goes wrong, my crew and I are held captive by The Wicked, and I’ll do just about anything to take advantage of it. Even if it means working with The Wicked and pulling off the biggest heist I’ve ever dreamed of.

I’m dancing with the devil, and the cost might be my body–my very soul.

But I’m willing to pay the price if it means I get him…

My Review: 

Have you read The Wicked by Rebecca Johnpee?! Because I am fully obsessed and not even trying to hide it.

Elio has completely ruined me in the best way. I’m talking “wrap him up with a bow for my birthday” levels of attachment. I said what I said.

I picked this up through my Book of the Month subscription after a book club member practically nudged me into it, and I’m so glad I listened. I paired it with the audiobook and honestly? Zero regrets. That combo pulled me straight into the world.

At the start, it gave me strong “Atlantis crew” vibes, and I was immediately hooked on the group dynamic. A morally gray team of thieves who don’t trust anyone and refuse to get emotionally close? It just worked. And yes, I know people had opinions about the nicknames, but honestly, it made sense. When you’re all hiding secrets and surviving off distrust, of course you’re not using government names and sharing your life story.

And if you stick with it, those nicknames? They hit different once you learn the stories behind them. Some of them are genuinely heartbreaking.

But Elio… Elio is on another level. He’s intense, controlled, blunt, and completely shut off from emotional noise in a way that feels so intentional. I won’t label anything outright, but I definitely picked up on those neurodivergent-coded traits, and it added so much depth to his character for me. An autistic-coded MMC with power, precision, and emotional distance in a brutal world? I was eating it up.

Now I’m just impatiently waiting for book two like my life depends on it, because I need more of this world, and more Elio immediately.