Before We Were Wicked

By: Eric Jerome Dickey

Narrated by: Dion Graham

Length: 9 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's Summary

From New York Times best-selling author Eric Jerome Dickey, "one of the most successful Black authors of the last quarter-century" (The New York Times), a novel about the how one chance meeting can change everything in this thrilling, sexy tale of star-crossed lust.

They say the love of money is the root of all evil, but for Ken Swift, it's the love of a woman.

Ken is 21, hurting people for cash to try to pay his way through college, when he lays eyes on Jimi Lee, the woman who will change the course of his entire life. What's meant to be a one-night stand with the Harvard-bound beauty turns into an explosion of sexual chemistry that neither can quit. And when Jimi Lee becomes pregnant, their two very different worlds collide in ways they never could have anticipated.

Passion, infidelity, and raw emotion combine in Eric Jerome Dickey's poignant, erotic portrait of a relationship: the rise, the fall, and the scars⁠ - and desire⁠ - that never fade.

©2019 Eric Jerome Dickey (P)2019 Random House Audio

Critic Reviews

“From wanton to wicked, the love-hate relationship between Dickey's characters burns with rapid-fire dialogue and plenty of steam.” (Kirkus)

"The love story Dickey tells...is potent. Readers will want to read Bad Men and Wicked Women again after being immersed in this edgy, emotional adventure.” (Booklist) 

"A passion-filled prequel that puts a new spin on the familiar conflicts that have made him a household name.” (Essence)

Mixed feelings on this one

It kind of felt like this book was written by two different people. The beginning was hella cheesy, not like most of EJD's writings. Then about 1/4 of the way in or so, the book settled down into classic EJD style.

As a father though, the subject matter really pissed me off. I was talking back to the book as I listened, alot! This book really evoked some serious response from me. I was literally thinking I hate this fucking book, I want to return it! Not because it was a bad book, but just because of the subject matter. I've dealt with party much the same scenario, and it was hard to listen to, but I suck with it. I was a bit disappointed in the ending, to me it didn't really close in a fitting way, there should've been more depth to the closure.

Go ahead, get the book, but fathers dealing with child custody/visitation issues may want to skip this one.

Page turner, Yoni juicer

Spoiler alert: DO NOT READ ALONE OR AWAY FROM YOUR SPOUSE. It makes the innocent want to dance with the devil. The sex scenes are mind blowing. Had to read and reread them. Now on to the next one, hope it's as juicy as this one. There's more than sex, there's colorism, sexism, betrayals, and violence. Africans and African Americans bump heads which shows and tells a bunch about our society and how we view each other. I couldn't expect anything less from Eric Jerome Dickey. #book26of2019 #bookworm #whatsnext

First EJD book that I wanted to strangle a charact

The book was okay but that Jimi Lee!! Never hated a character as much as I did her! Jeeze!!

KEN SWIFT!!!

I throughly enjoyed this book. I'm actually thinking of starting it again just in case I missed something 😉

Good Read.

The book gave a better insigt on the story of Bad Men and Wicked Women, but it was so sexualized that it didn't have all if the excitement, turns and twists that I anticipated. It was very well researched and though out as all books by Eric Jerome Dickey, but this was kind of a snooze fest asides for the Unrealistic Sex scenes.....

EJD

I haven't read an EJD book I didn't enjoy. "Before We Were Wicked" was a preclude. We finally found out what happened in Florida. I expected more but hey...
This story spent much time on the relationship between Ken Swift and Jimmie Lee...and I can officially say I hate Jimmie Lee. I probably can put $5 on everyone who reads it will feel the same.
I wanted more typical action but the change of pace wasn't bad. If you are a true EJD fan, read it. If you are not a true EJD fan, read it. :-)

love love love

this book brings it all together, story is so easy to follow, and the way he connected them is amazing!!

if you do not read Eric Jerome Dickey, your loss!

great read, I really enjoyed the commentary on race relations all around the African diaspora. I'm going back to read the first book in the series now.

Excellence!!!

This is a really great story. The narrator did an amazing job! It will make you keep listening.

I Can Not Stand Jimmie Lee! Too Childish ! Ugh!

I almost stopped listening to this book several times because I found Jimmie Lee the most irritating and selfish person I have ever seen. Hopefully the book will get better from here!