A review by rai_ishardtoplease
Wicked Villains by Marion Blackwood

adventurous emotional

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

“One last time.”

Confession: 

Technically, I didn’t read read this. I guess you could say I carefully skimmed it. Still, I’m like… a solid 75% sure this was an improvement, and not just because I wasn’t scrutinizing it as closely.

As luck would have it, when they aren’t constantly at odds and trying to one-up each other, Audrey and Callan are almost bearable together. I didn’t even hate how futilely they tried to resist wanting each other, despite my usual intolerance for characters brazenly breaking the promises they just made themselves. Their mutual self-awareness during and after a moment of weakness lent an inevitable quality to their hookups, rather than an impulsive one. 

What made the biggest difference was Blackwood giving more strategic storytelling a shot, and to my great surprise, it actually kinda worked. If I wasn’t so obnoxiously suspicious and jaded, I’d probably have fallen for it.

Maybe there’s potential here, after all?