Jessica S. Carter

The fact it took me nearly a year to read this book is indicative of what I thought of it. Villainous feels like a first draft. There is an interesting underlying idea and I see parallels that could align to slavery and the need for reparations in the United States. That said, the writing itself and the presentation of the story felt very amateur.

I think if the author had wanted to go a traditional route, an agent and an editor and various drafting stages would’ve helped make Villainous a good book. There’s a lot of potential here, but it spends too long repeating the same story over and over again as the protagonist meets new people. There’s also a lot of forgiveness for surprising events that makes it feel unrealistic. There simply aren’t enough obstacles for the protagonist, even in a world where the author claims everything is an obstacle.

I had high hopes at the beginning, but ultimately, I can’t recommend this book. It’s so repetitive that I forced myself through it because I hoped for redemption. I wouldn’t recommend it to someone else. If the author ever wanted to go back and re-draft, I think there’s a lot of potential. As it stands, “potential” is the best I can say for it.… (meer)