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andreannechat's review
3.0
This was fine. The world was an interesting mix of humans and fae, split into good fae and bad fae. The main characters were interesting, in their identities, personalities, and lack of interest in gender norms. It was fun to read about a "villain" being the good guy and the hero realizing the errors of their way. It was a fun, quick read, nothing grandiose or revolutionary, but good fun.
nannersreads's review
5.0
Thank you to Lou Wilham and Katie and Brey PA for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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Yes, yes, a thousand times yes. Villainous combines two of my favorite things ever: heroes and paranormal creatures. And it does so effortlessly! The premise intrigued me off the bat, but I was so worried that the execution would be fumbled. I shouldn’t have been! This book was
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Yes, yes, a thousand times yes. Villainous combines two of my favorite things ever: heroes and paranormal creatures. And it does so effortlessly! The premise intrigued me off the bat, but I was so worried that the execution would be fumbled. I shouldn’t have been! This book was
maria_elisabeth's review
4.0
3,5⭐ - it was good
First of all, the writing was so nice, amazing job. Very good pacing, and storytelling, brought the characters alive for me.
The story itself was good and enjoyable, but didn't fully pick my interest.
Some scenes were even boring.
But this is more of my personal taste than something the author could do "better".
The reading experience was overall very good and smooth, I flew through the book
First of all, the writing was so nice, amazing job. Very good pacing, and storytelling, brought the characters alive for me.
The story itself was good and enjoyable, but didn't fully pick my interest.
Some scenes were even boring.
But this is more of my personal taste than something the author could do "better".
The reading experience was overall very good and smooth, I flew through the book
w_xinnie's review
3.0
Okey, it was a really interesting story. The opposition of good and bad people and the old childhood friends being the enemy. Really a good story with eye opening events and stories.
Not totally my personal cup of tea but I really enjoyed the idea of this book.
Not totally my personal cup of tea but I really enjoyed the idea of this book.
itsabookthing2021's review
4.0
Thank you to Lou Wilham for this ecopy of Villainous.
Villainous is a different type of novel for me and being truly honest, it's the first novel I've read that has a character who refers to themself as both he and she. I don't think there's many out there or at least not in the mainstream.
The chapters in Villainous followed Jericho and it switched between he and she, at first it was a little hard to wrap my head round thinking it was another character but after awhile it became normal and I didn't think anything more of it.
I did enjoy this story immensely and the premise was great, it bordered on the morally grey area of who actually is wrong and who is right, are the heroes actually villains and the villains heroes? Is such things as black and white as they appear?
I loved Jericho, the character fought for what was right and was fiercely loyal even when their beliefs were questioned.
Soleil aka Dusk was fabulous I loved him, he had spunk, wit and was just damn adorable.
He always had a game to play and you never knew if and when he was playing it.
The storyline and the build up was great to read and gave an insight into Sol and J's previous relationship, I loved Sol and J's witty remarks and banter to each other and laughed at “You’re not a fucking househusband, you’re a convict.” comment.
The story for me took a surprising turn and the twist was great, I loved that ending - from chapter 19 to the end for me had me on the edge of my seat rooting for the gang.
I really enjoyed this book - I've actually got a paperback copy of it
Villainous is a different type of novel for me and being truly honest, it's the first novel I've read that has a character who refers to themself as both he and she. I don't think there's many out there or at least not in the mainstream.
The chapters in Villainous followed Jericho and it switched between he and she, at first it was a little hard to wrap my head round thinking it was another character but after awhile it became normal and I didn't think anything more of it.
I did enjoy this story immensely and the premise was great, it bordered on the morally grey area of who actually is wrong and who is right, are the heroes actually villains and the villains heroes? Is such things as black and white as they appear?
I loved Jericho, the character fought for what was right and was fiercely loyal even when their beliefs were questioned.
Soleil aka Dusk was fabulous I loved him, he had spunk, wit and was just damn adorable.
He always had a game to play and you never knew if and when he was playing it.
The storyline and the build up was great to read and gave an insight into Sol and J's previous relationship, I loved Sol and J's witty remarks and banter to each other and laughed at “You’re not a fucking househusband, you’re a convict.” comment.
The story for me took a surprising turn and the twist was great, I loved that ending - from chapter 19 to the end for me had me on the edge of my seat rooting for the gang.
I really enjoyed this book - I've actually got a paperback copy of it
lambsbooks's review
4.0
“Because you can’t get your head out of your ass long enough to realize that you’ve gotten complacent. Comfortable. The fact of the matter is, you don’t want to upset the status quo because it might change your place in the world. You’ve become exactly the type of hero we said we’d never be.”
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
This was such a relevant book, but keep in mind the trigger warnings of police and politician corruption and abuse of power - murder, frame-ups, scapegoats. It was a unique telling of police brutality, and I thought it was portrayed very nicely.
“You did this to yourself. This was your choice. Actions have consequences, Sol.”
“Yeah, they do. But I guess Seelie don’t have to think about that, do they?”
It’s so easy to ignore your privilege sometimes and stories like this remind you of why it’s so important to listen, acknowledge, and change your behaviour, as Jericho eventually did. But they weren’t so kind in the beginning:
“He liked how things were. He liked the black and white of it all. He liked knowing who was good and who was evil by the scent of their magic. He liked being able to say that if a redcap committed a crime, they were likely to commit another, and they should be taken off the streets.”
This was my first book with a gender-fluid MC, so I can’t speak to the authenticity of their thoughts/reactions but I thought it was done quite well! There was also a trans main character, as well as many queer side characters, so it was well-rounded in representation which was nice to see.
So, if you like:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
This was such a relevant book, but keep in mind the trigger warnings of police and politician corruption and abuse of power - murder, frame-ups, scapegoats. It was a unique telling of police brutality, and I thought it was portrayed very nicely.
“You did this to yourself. This was your choice. Actions have consequences, Sol.”
“Yeah, they do. But I guess Seelie don’t have to think about that, do they?”
It’s so easy to ignore your privilege sometimes and stories like this remind you of why it’s so important to listen, acknowledge, and change your behaviour, as Jericho eventually did. But they weren’t so kind in the beginning:
“He liked how things were. He liked the black and white of it all. He liked knowing who was good and who was evil by the scent of their magic. He liked being able to say that if a redcap committed a crime, they were likely to commit another, and they should be taken off the streets.”
This was my first book with a gender-fluid MC, so I can’t speak to the authenticity of their thoughts/reactions but I thought it was done quite well! There was also a trans main character, as well as many queer side characters, so it was well-rounded in representation which was nice to see.
So, if you like:
moonlight_library's review
5.0
I loved this book! I loved everything about it from the plotline, to the characters, to the representation! I think this is the first time I've ever read a book with a MC that's genderfluid like me! I loved that the whole was built around corruption and not everything being black and white! With Jericho consistently leaning back and forth in who to trust was just ugh chefs kiss! AND DUSK oh dusk I loved him so much! I loved the dynamic he had with Jericho it was awesome showing their past friendship and tense current situation. I just love this book so much! I can't wait to read the next one and see what happens!
secre's review
3.0
Villainous is an interesting tale with a focus on diversity and representation, along with the equality imbalances and corruption of power within a system designed to separate fae types into Seelie and Unseelie. Jericho and Sol/Dusk used to be best of friends, but on the brink of adulthood it was deemed that Jericho was the right 'type' of fae to become a Hero, whilst Sol as a Banshee was Unseelie and not made of the right stuff. Many years later, Jericho and Sol meet again. But this time, Jericho's putting Sol in cuffs.
I thought the idea behind this was great and the diversity representation was refreshing to see; Jericho is genderfluid, Sol transgender and deaf. There are definite themes of racism and societal inequality, although largely through fantasy races; the Unseelie are the 'disreputable' fae, the Seelie the 'golden goose'. Sol forces Jericho to open his eyes to the structural and systemic inequality and how corruption at the very heart of everything they hold dear is causing great pain and distress to those seen as criminals just because of the race they were born to.
I did think the author kind of over-egged the pudding though and it detracted from the powerful message behind this book. For every one outright racist or bigot or corrupt officer, there are a hundred more that allow evil to flourish by simply... saying nothing. Accepting the status quo. Keeping their mouth shut in fear of repercussions. First they came for the communists and all. That isn't really utilised here. Everyone who is bad is truly bad. Jericho is confused as the way he views heroes, villains, Seelies and Unseelies is challenged, but the 'resistance' movement have the evidence to back up their claims.
The characters were very well developed and I enjoyed seeing the relationship between Jericho and Sol shift and change throughout the novel. The world-building could have done with a little more exposition though as you get vague glimpses at a handful of races without giving much detail on any of them. There's more on the werewolf through Jericho, but the Banshee is very vague despite Sol being a key character. There are a lot of references to the Unseelie being disputable, criminals and generally bad people. Everyone knows this. It's simple fact. However, other than some vague references to a war at some distant point in the past, there's no real explanation of why - other than bigotry of course.
So, a well-written novel about how good and evil aren't always so easy to distinguish, however it lacks some depth and subtlety. I liked the additional representation of both disabilities and sexuality here; it's not something I see often in fantasy. It almost feels like it was written for a middle school or young adult audience, but there are quite a few swears which mean it probably wouldn't get a place on a school library. It's a shame, because I think this would make a thought provoking addition to a youngster's reading list.
I thought the idea behind this was great and the diversity representation was refreshing to see; Jericho is genderfluid, Sol transgender and deaf. There are definite themes of racism and societal inequality, although largely through fantasy races; the Unseelie are the 'disreputable' fae, the Seelie the 'golden goose'. Sol forces Jericho to open his eyes to the structural and systemic inequality and how corruption at the very heart of everything they hold dear is causing great pain and distress to those seen as criminals just because of the race they were born to.
I did think the author kind of over-egged the pudding though and it detracted from the powerful message behind this book. For every one outright racist or bigot or corrupt officer, there are a hundred more that allow evil to flourish by simply... saying nothing. Accepting the status quo. Keeping their mouth shut in fear of repercussions. First they came for the communists and all. That isn't really utilised here. Everyone who is bad is truly bad. Jericho is confused as the way he views heroes, villains, Seelies and Unseelies is challenged, but the 'resistance' movement have the evidence to back up their claims.
The characters were very well developed and I enjoyed seeing the relationship between Jericho and Sol shift and change throughout the novel. The world-building could have done with a little more exposition though as you get vague glimpses at a handful of races without giving much detail on any of them. There's more on the werewolf through Jericho, but the Banshee is very vague despite Sol being a key character. There are a lot of references to the Unseelie being disputable, criminals and generally bad people. Everyone knows this. It's simple fact. However, other than some vague references to a war at some distant point in the past, there's no real explanation of why - other than bigotry of course.
So, a well-written novel about how good and evil aren't always so easy to distinguish, however it lacks some depth and subtlety. I liked the additional representation of both disabilities and sexuality here; it's not something I see often in fantasy. It almost feels like it was written for a middle school or young adult audience, but there are quite a few swears which mean it probably wouldn't get a place on a school library. It's a shame, because I think this would make a thought provoking addition to a youngster's reading list.
theartsybookwitch's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
“Every hero needs a villain, right?”
Villainous was so well written and did a wonderful job putting the superhero media on display. Lou Wilham did a fabulous job creating Mythikos, and I loved their writing so much.
The way Villainous tugs at your heartstrings, makes you really think about what team you’re on.
Jericho “Lettie” was an amazing main character and I loved their character arc. Their mixed feelings, the twists and turns you never see coming were so well done, and entertaining.
I loved the representation of all the characters, namely Jericho and Sol. The way that Jericho and Sol will go down swinging for each other, even after all these years; after their childhood screwed their friendship over. It was always ride or die for them, their forevers. Even if they never knew it.
I loved all of the references to mythology and fantasy and retellings, that even in the futuristic world they’re in, they know about Snow White and the Arthurian legends and royalty bloodline.
AND THAT ENDING, UGH KILL ME NOW.
“ ‘Your self made villain.’ “
“ ‘Watch it. You keep defending my honor like that and you’ll wind up in here with me.’ “
“ ‘What’s a little food poisoning between friends?’ …
… ‘Besides, I need him to trust me, and to get him to of that, I need to prove I trust hi,. If that means getting food poisoning so be it. And hey… being taken care of when I’m sick is probably the quickest way to get him to take pity on me.’ “
Tropes // forced proximity, gender fluid MC, deaf MC, sign language, non-binary MC
TW // suicide attempt (past, referenced), betrayal, non-con drugging, death of parent (past, referenced), blood, violence, misgendering, magical racism, ableism, discrimination
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Violence
Moderate: Ableism, Suicide attempt, and Drug use
Minor: Death of parent
betrayal, non-con drugging, misgendering, magical racism, discriminationbookaddictedfox's review
adventurous
challenging
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Lou Wilham is amazing!! She definitely made me fall in love with Sol and Jericho and now I wish I could be friends with them!
The world building was amazing and I very much want to meet all the amazing fantasy creatures in the book!I'll never say no to meeting a kitsune lol
Every so often a book hits you with how easily you can fall into the "we always did it like this this is the good and just way" way of thinking and how often that is wrong. And I love books like that
The world building was amazing and I very much want to meet all the amazing fantasy creatures in the book!
Every so often a book hits you with how easily you can fall into the "we always did it like this this is the good and just way" way of thinking and how often that is wrong. And I love books like that