Well, it looks like September was my villain era; almost every book I picked up was about revenge, reckoning, or becoming/understanding the monster. I’m starting to feel like the misunderstood-villain backstory has become an audience favorite because people are connecting with wanting to feel understood, and in some ways, justified in their own actions. It’s almost like victimization, marketed as entertainment to a society that keeps rewarding bad behavior.
Here’s the thing, I don’t believe we are our emotions or our intentions, rather, we are our actions and the consequences we create. Who you are is not who you can to be on your best days. Who you are is determined by the morals and values you actively stand by under stress, and when facing conflict and adversity. It’s your choice of action in these situations.
So yes, the ‘misunderstood villain’ trope is getting quite tedious. But I’ll give it this: it forces us to examine the dark, gritty parts of humanity and call them what they are… part of being human.
We will all become the villain in someone else’s story at some point or another, but I think it’s an important lesson; Don’t let your reason become your excuse.
Silvercloak by L.K. Steven
Shelf Worthy- 4/5 Stars
Two decades ago, the Bloodmoons, a brutal gang of dark mages, murdered Saffron’s parents. Hell-bent on revenge, she lies her way into Silvercloak Academy, the elite order of mage detectives, only to be exposed on the eve of graduation. Instead of being cast out, she’s given one shot: go undercover inside the Bloodmoons and tear them down from within.
What I thought: I actually felt like this plot line was fairly fresh and original. I enjoyed the book and the ending really pulled it together for me, will definitely be continuing this series!
Amazon: US or CA
Dear Debbie by Freida McFadden
Read Worthy- 3/5 Stars
Debbie Mullen has spent years dishing out advice in her Dear Debbie column, but lately her own life is spiraling: she just lost her job, her teenage daughters have grown distant, and the tracking app she put on her husband’s phone is telling her she doesn’t know the full story.
What I Thought: This was probably my favorite book from Freida McFadden, it was fun, quirky, and the ‘who done it’ twist at the end is all morbidly hilarious. I just don’t seem to jive with her genre, so I don’t think it will be making its way onto my shelf quite yet. But if you are a Freida fan, I think you might like this one!
Amazon: US or CA
Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman
Shelf Worthy- 4.5/5 Stars
The year is 1348, and the Black Death is ravaging France. Thomas, a disgraced knight turned brigand after losing his lands and his honor, finds a young girl alone in a dead Norman village. Delphine, an orphan of the plague, tells him the pestilence is only part of something far worse: the fallen angels under Lucifer are rising in a second war on heaven, and the world of men has become their battleground. She convinces Thomas to shepherd her across a depraved, demon-haunted landscape to Avignon, where she claims she’ll fulfill her mission.
What I Thought: A recommendation from @AliciasAnthology on Instagram, I went in blind with no idea or context as to the plot. Let me say this, it took me way too long to get to this book, I wish I had read it sooner while I was fighting those reading slumps! Each chapter was a mix of ‘wild’ & ‘just real enough’, you have no idea what to expect!
Amazon: US or CA
Rites of the Starling by Devney Perry
Shelf Worthy- 4/5 Stars
Odessa has been separated from Ransom in the wake of a brutal crux attack, and now she’s alone, hunted by monsters, kidnapped by a powerful priest, and responsible for a little girl who’s counting on her to survive. As the crux migration bears down on Calandra’s five kingdoms, Odessa is forced to become the Guardian she never expected to be, while the unknown creeps up on her.
What I Thought: This second installment took me a little longer to get into. I could see the direction it was headed in, and Devney did manage to pull it together for the end. Although… I do feel that (without giving too much away) character development was a little rushed, and too many past hurts were conveniently overlooked once a loose explanation for poor behavior was given. I think my favorite part was how the different perspectives finally meet, it was a great writing style brought to a finale!
Amazon: US or CA
Vengeful by V.E. Schwab
Shelf Worthy- 4/5 Stars
The thrilling sequel to Vicious, set five years after Victor Vale and Eli Ever’s showdown: Victor survived, barely, and is deteriorating fast, while Eli sits in the custody of EON, an organization trying to “rehabilitate” ExtraOrdinaries. Then a new EO awakens, Marcella Riggins, who walked away from death at the hands of her husband, with devastating power and every intention of ruining him and bringing the city to its knees.
What I Thought: Having recently watched ‘The Boys’ with my daughter, I’m getting some serious anti-hero vibes from this series and I’m loving it. The morally grey paint brush has made broad strokes and I’m digging it. Lucky for me, the next installment to the series was just recently released!
Amazon: US or CA
Ballad of Falling Dragons by Ocean Vuong
Hard Cover Worthy- 5/5 Stars
The world is about to face its most devastating moonfall yet, and Raeve is stretched in every direction : a new bond she’s still learning to hold, a hunt for moonshards that can’t wait, and a past that’s come back to haunt her. For the first time, she can’t just outrun it all and showing up for the people she loves means standing still long enough to face the pain she’s been trying to outrun.
What I Thought:
Amazon: US or CA
I Hope You Remember by Josie Balka
Hard Cover Worthy- 4/5 Stars
A debut poetry collection from viral TikTok poet and Calgary radio host Josie Balka, gathering 80+ poems. In sparse, plainspoken verse she moves through jealousy, family, body image, falling in and out of love, and the shifting lens of nostalgia.
What I Thought: Keeping in mind that this was my first foray into poetry and honestly, there were so many quotable moments, I was stopping every 10 minutes to bookmark audio clips. Eventually I had to give up listening and just buy the book. I love the directness of her language, and the clarity and bluntness in which she examines pain, love and all of our little shortcomings, and our beauty, as humans. I don’t normally highlight in books (ever), but this one will certainly be the exception.
Amazon: US or CA
NotMyThing
The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong
I am a little conflicted on this one, I didn’t ‘enjoy’ it per say but I appreciated the message; that what society perceives as a ‘small’ life, is still a life well lived, that the compassion we show and the community we create is what defines us as people. It just didn’t draw me in quite as much as I would have hoped.
What would be your villain origin story in 5 emoticons or less?!
-Anna R.
*As always if you purchase through any of the links in this post, or throughout this blog, a small commission comes back to help support the page & what I do here!
Leave a Reply