Review by whatthefridge - Kiss the Villain

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whatthefridge 's review for:

Kiss the Villain by Rina Kent

4.25

dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

The story begins with the characters at the worst versions of themselves. Are either of them likeable? No. But are they compelling? Hell yeah.

A lot of times you get dark romance where it skims the line of non-con. Not here though. The first sex scene between Gareth and Kayden is full-on assault at gun point. It only edges on dub-con once Gareth unintentionally discovers he’s turned on by the ordeal despite his best efforts. As such stories progress, it does gradually move the needle towards being actual dub-con where Gareth secretly wants it but will never willingly do it unless it’s coerced. Inevitably it turns into enthusiastic consent. Sex scenes are hot as hell regardless.

I do find it amusing that they’re both presumed straight until their paths cross and they start having intrusive sexual thoughts about one another. Kayden is far more accepting of his fluid sexuality and is fine with a bi awakening. Meanwhile Gareth discovers he’s very likely on the asexual spectrum with his reaction to anybody, let alone Kayden, being a supernova emotional event. I’m glad that there’s no push to definitively have either of them pin a label on themselves since all that matters to them is their attraction to each other.

At the start I was concerned that Gareth and Kayden have too much same-voice going on, but as things unfold, it’s acknowledged that they’re drawn to one another because they’re alike at their cores. Then it dawned on me that the places where they diverge are the places where they’re meant to be foils. Gareth’s entire golden life has been about meticulously controlling every detail, so it makes sense that he’d come upon someone he can’t control and who forces him to give up control. Conversely Kayden is a product of abuse and tragedy, so attaining someone he can possess and consume is a luxury that he will latch onto and fight for.

Around the 50% mark, the dubious nature of their relationship reaches a point where Gareth can no longer deny his attraction—and Kayden can no longer deny his attachment. The story shifts gears to developing what they have beyond the violence and sex. They’re catching feelings, after all, and establishing an exclusive relationship is something they both desperately desire. With this comes intensely hostile jealousy issues on both ends, but thankfully there’s a surprisingly good amount of communication as every jealous episode rears its ugly head.

I really liked how Gareth’s growing emotional intelligence is based on him going on Reddit and anonymously asking people what they think of his situation. It’s honestly very refreshing. Gareth is not the type to understand himself by himself, and he can’t be real with the actual people in his life. The fact that he unintentionally becomes closer to a person in his friend group through aliases on Reddit is kind of cute.

There’s a lot to enjoy.

There’s also a lot to complain about. Some notable things that bugged me:

- There’s a lot of events that happen off-page during time skips that involve interaction with secondary characters. These events are mentioned as by-the-way Telling not Showing, and I rationalized it as a style choice, like a representation of how these are people that neither Gareth nor Kayden are strongly attached to; besides, the book is long enough as it is. At the end I discovered that this is a SPIN-OFF of a different series following those other characters. I hate when authors make me feel like I jumped into their world at Book 6.

- The worldbuilding feels jarring. I’m fine about the university being on a made-up island off of the UK. But then nearly every member of the cast, from main to minor, is from America. And also they’re central to the Russian mafia in the USA, with all the major players attending this specific university in the UK. Is that a thing? Am I just missing a cultural thing?

- Early on Kayden basically marks up Gareth’s neck, and this is never something Gareth worries about covering up. In fact, no one ever acknowledges it’s even there. At least this is not something that plagues the book since other marking scenes are better acknowledged.

- Nico’s speech to Gareth when Gareth opens up about his sexuality feels artificial. Nico is barely a character up to that point, but he’s mainly depicted as an impulsive airhead. Him suddenly speaking introspectively like a therapist who’s spelling everything out for Gareth felt out of place.

- I’m side-eying the author for making Kayden only 33yo. There’s some leeway believing Kayden’s already a criminal law professor, especially considering his spoilery background. But the age gap is treated like it’s way more intense than 11 years, which isn’t even that much once you’re over 20. Kayden should be in his forties.

- It’s frustrating knowing Kayden is younger than me and yet acting like he’s above social media and online slang. Coupled with his distaste for having Gareth swear, and this dude sounds like he should be in his fifties. (I don’t know why I’m so sensitive about my suspension of disbelief when Kayden casually has a fucking eight pack—the least realistic thing of all lol.)

- Okay, one more thing. The sappy heart-to-heart at the very end felt very forced and repetitive. I was like “ok I get it. I get it! Oh my fucking god.” The ending is SO saccharine sweet and vanilla that it honestly hurts. I was skimming the epilogues because they added nothing but fluff. I don’t like fluff; I don’t pick up dark romance for fluff goddamnit.

Ultimately this book started so damn strong, and I think it’s still fine overall but between the overly sappy ending that’s trying WAY too hard and the realization that this is a spin-off that’s not really a spin-off, I’m very apprehensive about reading anything more by the author.

Content Warnings