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)

Awesome

This book explains a lot from the 1st book so it was a good follow up. I can't wait to see where it goes from here

EJD has done it again! Another exciting saga...

Leaving me wanting more. Going to reread 'Bad Men and Wicked Women' to fulfill my unquenchable curiosity!

A look into the Past

Thank you Mr. Dickey for another great book.

Thank you Mr. Graham for extraordinary work with the characters. You help bring them all into perspective.

Finally... I wanna spank Miss Margot, crush Mrs. Jimmy Lee and I wonder for Miss Lela

Have a Great Day on Purpose

Great read!

This was a great read. Listened to this Audio in 2 days. Story line is great. Jimmie Lee had me pissed.

Just Wow. This 1 was just as good as the first 1.

Eric never disappoints me with his writing and man Dion Graham's voice just sets the scene!

Could Have Been A Great NOVELLA!

Described as a love story but it wasn’t believable as two young people in love. It should more correctly be described as two young people in lust. They didn’t know each other and made foolish decisions. And while young people do make foolish decisions, the author dragged this thing out for no apparent reason. On top of that he added political and racial issues which became gratuitous after a while. In short…. it was too L O N G ! ! !
The story d r a g g e d and I have to run the audio at 1.5+ speed to get through it. There was not enough material for a full novel which is why I believed he dragged this thing out. As a novella I like it; as a novel, please save me!!!

See, first of all...

So I purchased this title during a recent 2 for 1 credit sale. I did not realize it's book two to Bad Men and Wicked Women. This one has you really wanting to get the other book! SPOILER ALERT! BWWW gets in with the ill-conceived prejudices, cultural, and social-economic differences with Black Americans and Ethiopian-Americans. The lack of being accountable for ones actions and accepting the consequences resonated with me. In particular with Miss. Jimi Lee! Not to sound bias with sis, but she was a hot mess!

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!!

Excellence!!!

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

Better than I expected!

Book was great, not sure I was ready for that ending. Guess there won’t be a sequel. Bummer