Only the Wicked

The Sinful State Series, Book 1

De: Isabel Jolie

Narrado por: Marie Hawkins, Scott Rose

Control built my empire. She might destroy it all.

To some, my creation, ARGUS, is a weapon. To others, it's a safeguard.

The system sees all, finds every connection, leaves no secret buried.

Yet she found my blind spot.

I gave her everything—my bed, my secrets, my trust. The heart I'd buried under years of ambition and isolation.

Only to discover she didn't find me by accident. Former CIA. Investigating a deadly leak. Hired by shadows to hunt rumors that could destroy everything I've built.

Every kiss was a lie. Every vulnerable moment, a calculated move. She played me like a mark, and I let her.

But the fire between us? That was real. And now that same fire might burn us both.

I've always been willing to pay any price to protect my creation. Now I'll pay any price to keep her. Even if it means becoming the monster they already think I am.

Only the Wicked is the first book in the sizzling Sinful State series, where elite operatives and ruthless billionaires discover that the deadliest game is the one played with the heart—and the only rule is that only the wicked win.

©2025 Isabel Jolie (P)2025 Blue Nose Publishing, Isabel Jolie

A Suspenseful Thriller

This was my first experience with this author's work. I was entertained by the story. I liked Sydney who was independent, courageous, and driven to find answers regarding her last assignment. I liked Rhodes who buried himself in his work until he met Sydney. When the two were forced by circumstances to work together, in spite of their mistrust, the suspense kept me on the edge-of-my seat. I enjoyed all the twists and turns. There were some steamy scenes depicted. I thought that the narration provided by Marie Hawkins and Scott Rose enhanced the story's entertainment as their performances kept my attention riveted to the story. I was given an advanced listener's copy of the audiobook. I volunteered, without financial gain, to post this review which reflected my honest opinions regarding this audiobook.

I absolutely loved Marie Hawkins in this!!

Welcome back to another audiobook review!!! Today we were talking about a book that i’m not read a lot of before this is kind of like a spy/espionage type romance book. And it is narrative by another first time MMC narrator for me with Scott Rose. He voices are MMC Rhodes MacMillan. Rhodes is a millionaire who has created this AI program that meant to be used for good and all these should not fall into the wrong hands because obviously we’ve seen what happens when an AI falls into the wrong hands looking at you, terminator and Terminator two. But Rose’s business partner Miles convinces him to take an overdue vacation which he does and that leads him to meeting Marie Hawkins character, Sydney Parker. Now Sydney is a former CIA operative who is working undercover to gather some Intel on a case that is very close to her heart, and I’m on the way if they begin working together and obviously for a romantic relationship and that’s all the premise and kind of info I won’t give you on the plot of the story cause obviously I don’t wanna give too much. Now, if you guys have watched my TikTok post from yesterday about another book it had Angelina Rocca as the voice narrator, and y’all heard the praise I gave her, what y’all may not have heard in that is that Marie Hawkins is actually one of my other top three narrators my top three are Lucy Rivers, Marie Hawkins and Angelina Rocca. And I love the authors love these three women as well because I feel like I’ve gotten a lot of Lucy rivers narrarted books from bluenose recently. But back to Marie, she is actually the first dark romance, female narrator I ever listened to because she was in the mindf*ck series, and that was my first dark romance series so from that point on I was hooked on Marie Hawkins. I think she has done amazing and absolutely everything she has done and the series that I love her in right now is dance with my demons series. I feel like whenever I listen to Marie she actually brings the characters that she narrates to life. They are no longer just these characters on pages, but to me, they are actually real life human beings. So if you have not listened to Marie Hawkins yet this is a great book to start!

Edge-of-Seat Intrigue

A tightly woven romantic suspense, Only The Wicked blends intrigue with emotion in a way that feels deliberate and assured. Isabel Jolie layers secrets, betrayals, and slow-revealed motives into a plot that stays active without losing sight of character dynamics.

Sidney and Rhodes are drawn with clear arcs and complementary tensions; their chemistry builds alongside the mystery, supported by confident world-building and steady pacing. The puzzle pieces come together cleanly, with twists that feel earned rather than flashy. Themes of trust, agency, and consequence underpin the action, giving the story weight beyond the thrills.

The dual narration adds dimension. Marie Hawkins and Scott Rose differentiate the cast effectively, matching tone to scene and giving secondary characters distinct voices. Their performances track the shifts from urgency to vulnerability, keeping the emotional throughline intact.

Rhode and Sydney

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🎧🎧🎧🎧🎧
🌶️🌶️

Thank you Blue Nose Audio for this ALC

Only the Wicked by Isabel Jolie
Book 1 in The Sinful State Series
Performed in duet by Marie Hawkins & Scott Rose 

Isabel Jolie is a new author for me. This troupe is also a something I haven’t read a lot of. I loved it.

Billionaire Romance
He Falls First
Disguise
Protective Hero
Strong Heroine
Vigilante

Rhodes and Sydney

I enjoyed this suspense audiobook. Former CIA recruited to find out a leak that put her and others in danger.

I liked the chemistry between these two. Sydney turmoil whether she could trust him.

Both Marie Hawkins and Scott Rose were fantastic. Scott is a new narrator for me and look forward to listening to more of his narrations

I am looking forward to more in this series

An amazing romantic suspense

Oh my god, Only The Wicked was better than I expected. Marie Hawkins and Scott Rose were the perfect pair of narrators to bring this amazing book to life. And the story was amazing! A handsome Rhodes( tech guy) was forced on vacation (working too much) and Sydney was sent there to get intel on him. And I absolutely loved that Sydney is undercover agent (but no longer in the CIA), and that in itself is just amazing. I love to read about a badass woman. The chemistry and banter between Rhodes and Sydney was amazing. The plot is so good, I was on the edge on my seat. What’s going on? Who following them? What is Rhodes hiding? Is he hiding anything? Who’s working against them?

Only the Wicked

5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
5🎙️🎙️🎙️🎙️🎙️
3🌶️🌶️🌶️

Only the Wicked is the first book in The Sinful State series. Rhodes is a wealthy man that has created an AI system called ARGUS. This system could become a weapon if it ends up in the wrong hands. Sydney is an ex-CIA agent. She now works for a private company. She is hired to investigate Rhodes and ARGUS. She has been researching Rhodes and his hobbies. She plans to casually meet him on a hiking trail and try to spark his interest. As she starts spending time with Rhodes she can’t stop falling for him. They decide to team up together and try to find out who might be working against them. This book was very intriguing.

Marie Hawkins and Scott Rose did an excellent job narrating this book.

Wickedly Addictive! Fantastic Story & Narration🎧

This is my first Isabel Jolie book, and consider me impressed by her writing style and the amazing characters and storylines she created that are complex and multi-layered. A gripping romantic suspense that is intriguing, keeps you guessing and takes you to the edge of your seat, all while tugging at your heartstrings, too. Billionaire Rhodes MacMillan created an AI program to do good, a powerful program that should not get into the wrong hands, but that does not stop them from wanting a piece of it or trying to get in but the tech guru has safety and security measures in place. His partner, Miles, convinced him to take a long overdue vacation, and that is where he met her, Sidney Parker, while out hiking. The two hit it off, and what starts off as a vacation fling turns into something more, but it turns out not all is as it seems. Sidney is a former CIA, working undercover to gather intel, a case that is close to her heart because there may be a connection to her former job. It was great watching these two get to know each other, and despite her working on an assignment, her feelings were real, and so was their connection. When the truth comes out, he questions the validity of her feelings, but you can not fake that smoking hot chemistry between them. Jolie weaved a complex and might fine web, and I loved watching it unravel as all the pieces fell into place. There is never a dull moment in this cleverly plotted story, a story that has a perfect balance of drama, angst, mystery, betrayals, twists and turns, thrilling suspense and steamy romance. The world building and character growth and development are fantastic too. Isabel Jolie, thank you for this amazing story and the wild emotional rollercoaster ride.

🎧📚🎧And for the amazing casting and audiobook listen performed by two talented voice artists, Marie Hawkins and Scott Rose, who brought these characters to life perfectly. I loved how they took each role and made it their own, with voices that were fitting, sounding believable and just as I imagined the characters to sound. Hawkins was fantastic as Sidney, and Rose was just as fantastic as Rhodes, each embodying their roles and showcasing their personalities perfectly, confident and fierce. Both were just as great performing the roles of the side/secondary characters too. They set the ideal tone for the story, conveyed all the characters’ emotions in their performance, making you feel them all. These entertaining storytellers are a pleasure to listen to and their captivating performance rivets you to the story.

Secrets & Lies

Before I dive into any story, my usual routine has always been reading the description and making sure the tropes aligned with what I typically go for. Yet, with this story, I decided to go in blind only knowing the title. This was the best decision I’ve ever made because it added to the constant surprises throughout this story. The intensity, secrets, lies, and espionage was formed together so intricately that it made me feel like this was a movie! The writing of this story is so authentic, detailed, and relatable to similar concepts happening currently in our world. Then when the romance is mixed in it’s like a whole new ball game making it a more fascinating story since it constantly has you on your toes. You keep wondering how Sydney and Rhodes will navigate there situation when their hearts get involved especially when each have their own objective of spying for info and keeping details close to the cuff. The two characters are equally intelligent and have strong personalities which make for an intriguing plot! So the question I leave you with is will only one survive or both?! For the audiobook Marie Hawkins and Scott Rose’s performances were simply brilliant! When these two commit they give everything they have to make the story and their characters believable down to the very last detail. The flow of their narration was seamless and each played off each other so effortlessly! Marie and Scott are definitely worth listening to again and again! Thank you Blue Nose Audio and Isabel Jolie for this amazing ALC opportunity!!!

I couldn't stop listening!

Story - ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Spice - 🌶🌶
Narration - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Only the Wicked is book #1 in The Sinful State Series. Ms Jolie is a new author for me and I was super excited for a spy/intrigue political thriller with some steamy romance spicing it up! Rhodes has developed AI technology that is being sought by enemies of the USA. Sydney is former CIA working for another invisible agency and Rhodes is her target. This story could seriously have been ripped from the headlines it was that believable. Rhodes doesn't know who to trust as everyone seems to be pushing their own agenda. Sydney is positive Rhodes is innocent, but she's had mistakes in her past from questionable decisions. Ms. Jolie has given us a great base for the rest of the stories in this series. Dirty politicians, ruthless billionaires, and betrayals galore has me looking forward to more!

The duet narration was fantastic! Scott Rose and Marie Hawkins were perfectly cast to voice Rhodes and Sydney, the nerdy-ish tech genius and the feisty operative. LOVED their narration. 5/5 stars!

4.5 stars

Only The Wicked has fast paced writing, elite operatives, ruthless billionaires and truths and lies are interwoven. I loved that it jumps right into the story and you're immediately introduced to Rhodes and Sydney. Rhodes owns an AI program called ARGUS. He's forced to go on vacation and meets Sydney on a hike. She's former CIA and is supposed to find intel on Rhodes. There's an immediate attraction between the two. When the truth finally comes out Rhodes will do anything to keep Sydney.

I loved the characters. It was never a dull moment. I loved that despite Rhodes and Sydney falling for eachother fast, their relationship still felt natural. I loved their moments together. I loved the dual POV. I enjoyed listening to Rhodes perspective. As for the audiobook narration, it's amazing! Performed in duet by Marie Hawkins and Scott Rose. Marie conveyed Sydney with confidence and exuded her charisma. Scott is a new to narrator. I loved his deep baritone. He was exactly how I imagined Rhodes to sound like. The duet narration brought the story and characters to life. Overall, I enjoyed it!