Smexy Books

Romance and Urban Fantasy Reviews

  • Review Request
  • Contact
    • Smexy Reviewers Profiles
    • New Reviewer Application
    • Contact
  • Advertising
  • Home
  • Reviews
    • By Genre
      • BDSM
      • Contemporary
      • Erotic
      • Fantasy
      • F/F
      • Historical Romance
      • Historical PNR
      • LGBTQ+
      • M/M Romance
      • New Adult
      • Urban Fantasy
      • Paranormal Romance
      • Sci-Fi
      • Romantic Suspense
      • Young Adult
    • By Letter Grade Rating
      • A Reviews
      • B Reviews
      • C Reviews
      • D Reviews
      • DNF Reviews
  • Features
    • New Releases
    • Smexy Deals!
    • Retro Review
    • Weekly Wrap-Up
    • Blog Tour
    • Scenic Sunday
    • To Be Read
    • Guest Post
    • Top Ten/Happy Friday
    • Smex Scene Sunday
  • The Psy/Changeling Channel
You are here: Home / B Review / Review: The Villain by L.J. Shen

Review: The Villain by L.J. Shen

January 6, 2021 by Jen Leave a Comment

The Villain by L.J. Shen

The Villain by L.J. Shen
New Adult and College Romance
December 16th, 2020
Self Published

Reviewed by Jen

The Villain by L.J. Shen is the second book in her Boston Belles spin-off series. The Villain is the story of Cillian, nickname Kill, and Persephone (Persy). Kill is the brother of Hunter from book one. Kill is cold, sharp, callous, ruthless, and fairly unredeemable for me. I’ve really enjoyed Shen’s books, but this one didn’t sit as well. A very good read, but not one I was completely in love with and would read again. The reason is Kill. I just didn’t like him.

Here’s the story.

Kill is CEO of a giant oil and gas company. He’s very much THE villain. No warm conversations or heart felt angsty looks, no loving relationships in his life. His persona is that of a tycoon who gives zero F’s for the environment or his family and barely tolerates his friends. His two best friends include Sam, a thug who works on the more unsavory parts of Kill’s business and watches Kill’s back in his personal life. And, Devon is Kill’s very British, and far more charming friend, with a mysterious past in the UK. He is also Kill’s company’s lawyer. 

Persy is married to an absolutely horrible man who left her with a huge amount of debt and some scary guys who plan to collect it from her in one way…or another. Use your imagination. Ewwww.

They’re violent, threatening, and Persy’s not sure how to climb out of this mess. As a preschool teacher, her salary can’t possibly cover what her husband owes. Persy lives with her sister, Belle, in a small apartment and hides her financial troubles from her family and friends. Prior to her marriage, Persy crushed on Kill forever and when he rejected her, she moved on. 

Persy hits rock bottom and approaches Kill to ask for a loan. He embarrasses her and says no. THEN, Kill’s brother announces that his wife is pregnant and that throws Kill’s plans for the company (it’s the family company, his dad was the CEO until recently) into jeopardy. His father wants Kill to have a male child to take over some day and also thinks Kill having a family will soften his reputation, thus improving the business’s position as well. 

There you have it- Persy needs some money fast. And Kill needs a wife and son.  

There was quite a bit that I liked, but I never cared about Kill. Even when his backstory is revealed (and there’s a reason given for his lack of emotions and cruel behavior) I still didn’t care about him. I love a good anti-hero, but didn’t love him at all. There’s some good grovel that gets to the HEA, my heart swooned, but it still didn’t make up for him being largely unredeemable to me. 

Persy was a decent character. I liked that she was stronger than I first anticipated. I didn’t like that she was so obsessed with Kill from the beginning. Besides his good looks and the pull of power (success + wealth), I never got why she had always loved him. He wasn’t witty, charming, no good deeds, no relationships of any depth with his siblings, no secret love for puppies. I kid, but the truth is, there was nothing there that said he was worth crushing over.  

There is an engaging story line with a rival that I really enjoyed. The rival ends up being FAR WORSE than Kill. I loved how Persy handled that situation. I’m very much intrigued by his friend Devon, a side character in this book, who will no doubt be the star in another. The story itself was quite good, I think if there had been some tweaks to the main characters it would’ve been a home run for me. 

Grade B

Amazon | Goodreads

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Click to share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon
  • More
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Filed Under: B Review, Contemporary Romance, Discussion, Jen, L.J. Shen, New Adult, Self Published

Leave a ReplyCancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Welcome to Smexy! If you are reader feel free to use our search feature to find a specific book or browse through our features to find Smexy Deals, New Releases, and book news!

As an Amazon Associate, we do earn from qualifying purchases. We also earn a small commission on affiliate links to Apple, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords,  Booksamillion, and Bookshop,org.

 

Shop our Affiliates!

Amazon

B&N

Apple

Smashwords

Booksamillion

Angela

Melanie

Jen

Kate

Iby

Kate H.

Sign Up for Daily Emails


Thank you!

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

.

Follow Us!

Follow Us on FacebookFollow Us on TwitterFollow Us on Instagram

Top Posts & Pages

  • Smexy Deals- Deals for books by Brynne Weaver, Lori Wilde, Jo Goodman, and more!
    Smexy Deals- Deals for books by Brynne Weaver, Lori Wilde, Jo Goodman, and more!
  • Smexy’s Top Ten Favorite Sex Scenes of 2012
    Smexy’s Top Ten Favorite Sex Scenes of 2012
  • Monday Morning Book News!
    Monday Morning Book News!
  • Review: Manacled by SenLinYu
    Review: Manacled by SenLinYu
  • Smex Scene Sunday
    Smex Scene Sunday
  • Review: The Last Letter by Rebecca Yarros
    Review: The Last Letter by Rebecca Yarros
  • Review: Pen Pal by J.T. Geissinger
    Review: Pen Pal by J.T. Geissinger
  • Review: The Finish Line by Kate Stewart
    Review: The Finish Line by Kate Stewart
  • New Releases- Week of May 5-9, 2025
    New Releases- Week of May 5-9, 2025
  • Review: Every Summer After by Carley Fortune
    Review: Every Summer After by Carley Fortune

Disclosure

The majority of the books reviewed at this site have been provided for free by publishers, authors, or other third parties like NetGalley or Edelweiss. Acceptance of a free copy does not guarantee a review or a positive review.

As an Amazon Associate, we do earn from qualifying purchases. We also earn a small commission on affiliate links to Apple, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, and Booksamillion.

Shop our Affiliates!

Amazon

B&N

Apple

Smashwords

Booksamillion

 

Find Our Reviewers

Angela @fv-angela.bsky.social l Goodreads

Melanie @melonreads.bsky.social l  Goodreads

Jen .@thebooknista l Goodreads

Kate  @kateminasian l Goodreads

Iby Instagram l Goodreads

Kate H. @Naranjadia l Goodreads

Copyright © 2025 · Beautiful Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d