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A review by kfriend
Falling for the Villain by Rachel Van Dyken, M. Robinson
3.0
<3.5 stars>
I love nothing more than seeing authors taking risks with their writing- giving us a story we don’t expect from them. And, this was just that- something unexpected, and in some ways that really paid off, but unfortunately more so in ways that didn’t- at least for me. As you can see from the copious 5-star reaction to this story- there is a lot to appreciate and many readers will enjoy it, so I hope you still give it a try. And, there were certainly parts I admired.
But for me, I felt like the actual story telling was missing. This book reads more like vignette- small windows into a coupling, primarily physical, that certainly tintilates and inspires curiosity, but ultimately felt incomplete. And, felt like a missed opportunity to showcase the many strengths of these two veteran story tellers- their ability to build substantial and complicated emotional chemistry as well as their brilliance when it comes to weaving intricate, suspenseful, and unpredictable plots.
Some of this comes down to the narrative structure. I’ll be the first to admit that the master-slave trope isn’t my favorite, but what I do find fascinating about it is how the characters psychologically evolve and break each other, how the dynamics build over time and how power shifts back and forth when feelings evolve. The trope relies on a lot of cause and effect- the little actions and moments that construct the relationship dynamic and the psychological impact that has on the characters. Only here- we get the effect, without really getting to immerse ourselves in the evolution. The choppy time hops not only make the story feel disjointed in places, but it also means we miss out on what makes the master-pet story the most interesting. It’s like the story wants to reap the rewards of this kind of dark story-telling without exploring the dynamics that got it there- or at the very least, it glosses it over.
From there, again, we have mostly these physical vignettes. I’m never going to say a book is too sexy, but I will say this book relies heavily on the sex scenes to create character connection, and not much else. Which is a fine artistic choice, and a meaningful point of view, just not what I am used to with these authors, and I prefer a bit more emotional chemistry. I felt like we never really got to know these characters outside of their pet-master dynamic, minus some brief glimmers into their past that shape their actions- and not until the end of the story. I just wanted a bit more emotional and character complexity for me to truly feel their connection- it more so read like a novella in terms of character and plot.
Once we got into some more externalized action in the ending, and tied into the prior book, I found myself more invested- and I did appreciate the relational components at the end. Not to mention we get some of the twist, unexpected story telling that makes these two so dynamic. The writing style itself is well done, and like I mentioned, this book is sexy AF- IF you don’t have triggers or are into master-pet steam.
I respect these authors and have no doubt about their skills as creators- and because the writing was strong and I admire authors going outside of their boxes, I’m going with 3.5- even if this was a big miss for me. And, again, I seem to be in the minority on this- so pick it up and decide for yourself.
I love nothing more than seeing authors taking risks with their writing- giving us a story we don’t expect from them. And, this was just that- something unexpected, and in some ways that really paid off, but unfortunately more so in ways that didn’t- at least for me. As you can see from the copious 5-star reaction to this story- there is a lot to appreciate and many readers will enjoy it, so I hope you still give it a try. And, there were certainly parts I admired.
But for me, I felt like the actual story telling was missing. This book reads more like vignette- small windows into a coupling, primarily physical, that certainly tintilates and inspires curiosity, but ultimately felt incomplete. And, felt like a missed opportunity to showcase the many strengths of these two veteran story tellers- their ability to build substantial and complicated emotional chemistry as well as their brilliance when it comes to weaving intricate, suspenseful, and unpredictable plots.
Some of this comes down to the narrative structure. I’ll be the first to admit that the master-slave trope isn’t my favorite, but what I do find fascinating about it is how the characters psychologically evolve and break each other, how the dynamics build over time and how power shifts back and forth when feelings evolve. The trope relies on a lot of cause and effect- the little actions and moments that construct the relationship dynamic and the psychological impact that has on the characters. Only here- we get the effect, without really getting to immerse ourselves in the evolution. The choppy time hops not only make the story feel disjointed in places, but it also means we miss out on what makes the master-pet story the most interesting. It’s like the story wants to reap the rewards of this kind of dark story-telling without exploring the dynamics that got it there- or at the very least, it glosses it over.
From there, again, we have mostly these physical vignettes. I’m never going to say a book is too sexy, but I will say this book relies heavily on the sex scenes to create character connection, and not much else. Which is a fine artistic choice, and a meaningful point of view, just not what I am used to with these authors, and I prefer a bit more emotional chemistry. I felt like we never really got to know these characters outside of their pet-master dynamic, minus some brief glimmers into their past that shape their actions- and not until the end of the story. I just wanted a bit more emotional and character complexity for me to truly feel their connection- it more so read like a novella in terms of character and plot.
Once we got into some more externalized action in the ending, and tied into the prior book, I found myself more invested- and I did appreciate the relational components at the end. Not to mention we get some of the twist, unexpected story telling that makes these two so dynamic. The writing style itself is well done, and like I mentioned, this book is sexy AF- IF you don’t have triggers or are into master-pet steam.
I respect these authors and have no doubt about their skills as creators- and because the writing was strong and I admire authors going outside of their boxes, I’m going with 3.5- even if this was a big miss for me. And, again, I seem to be in the minority on this- so pick it up and decide for yourself.