Villain, Cheryl McIntyre
Rating: 5 Stars
Publisher: Cheryl McIntyre Books
Genre: Het Romance
Tags: Superheroes, Powers, Villains, Crime, Contemporary Setting, Some Violence
Length: 124 Pages
Reviewer: Kazza K
Purchase At: amazon.com
Blurb:
How can you tell a hero from a villain?
If you’re Ember Willis and the villain is Lanely Frost, you can’t.
How can you tell a superhero from a delusional young woman?
If you’re Lanely Frost and the woman is Ember Willis, you don’t care.
For both, finding the balance between right and wrong and love and lust are not the only battles they’ll face.
CONSIDER THIS A NSFW REVIEW
Review:
What a breath of fresh air Villain turned out to be. I wasn’t sure what to expect going in, but it wasn’t this. I’ll state for the record that I do not like comics and I shudder every time I see a new movie coming out based on a comic or graphic novella. Yeck! But here I was turning the page with a need to know what would happen and feeling excited about where Lane and Ember would take me. Every book I’ve read by Cheryl McIntyre has been different from the others and when you write solely within a genre, keeping it fresh is not always easy. One thing she does have in common is that her characters are always intriguing, strong and incredibly likeable, great traits to cross over to every book and exactly what Lane and Ember were. Terrific characters.
Lanely Frost is Winter’s Wrath, a villain? Superhero? Definitely a vigilante. He rescues 
women from the men who(would) abuse, torture, rape and murder them. He not only rescues them, he kills the bad guys. His sister was a victim and his mother died not knowing her fate. Lane knew but chose not to tell a very sick and frail woman of the horror her daughter, his sister, faced. I was right behind Winter’s Wrath, certainly no grey areas for this reader. However, the FBI don’t want a loose canon on the streets killing people, bad guys or not. The law is their domain and Winters Wrath is no hero to them.
Ember Willis is in a predicament any number of twenty two year olds find themselves in, she has not long broken up with her ex. To add to that, her boyfriend cheated on her. What 
she also has going on that others don’t is she categorically knows when someone is lying. Is it a superpower though? Do you always want to know that people are lying to you? She has another interesting talent, when she is lied to her hands can become weapons – they create a light, a fire, and they can burn. Because of her ability to always know the truth, the FBI uses her as a consultant. They specifically want her to help find Winter’s Wrath. You know how it will go, they meet, they find out about the other, but reading the journey is the best part because it could have gone via a few different routes to the end. The one Cheryl McIntyre chose was scenic and enjoyable.
Villain is not a heavy book and not meant to be a full-on comic crime novella, neither a 
totally contemporary romance, but it is romantic and it does have the whole superhero/ antihero thing going on so well. It skirts the lines of crime and romance with bit of sexy and a bit of action. You primarily get to know the developments in the lives of Lane and Ember alongside Frosty and Pyro, who talk online in the Chatroom of Doom. I loved the chatroom talks, it allowed great personal character depth in this novella-sized story – and this e-book is incredibly fleshed out with tons of sass and fun. Lane is hot and snarky, Ember too. They are well suited and equals on page. There is a little bit of descriptive violence as Winter’s Wrath does his thing, but I read very dark books and it was a blip on the page for me, others may not think that way. I mention it so people can bear that in mind.
Overview:
I don’t read much het romance these days but I’ll pick up a book by a few in the genre who 
always make me smile, feel, and enjoy the ride. Cheryl McIntyre is one of those select few because she doesn’t let me down. Villain is excellent value, $0.99 cents (a bit more for us Aussies), and is well worth grabbing a copy of. It’s quick to read and full of life and energy. The quotes at the beginning of each chapter are well thought out and placed. Villain is excellent escapist fun that is well written and very entertaining. I love a shorter read that delivers and it was perfect for that. Yep, just what I needed. 5 Stars!
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I’m totally buying this book. It looks like exactly what I’m looking for right now. It’s been awhile since I’ve read anything M/F and I can tell I’d love this because it looks unique and not the same old, same old that had me stepping away from the genre.
Great review. I love the quotes and pics.
I really, REALLY needed something out of “MM” and something that mixed it up. Villain delivered that for me. If you get a chance definitely grab a copy, Cindi. It’s quick and fun and enjoyable reading. I like her writing and I have a few more on my Kindle to read as well.
Thanks 🙂
I understand needing something different and used to read a lot of het romance. Not many interested me much but this review has me intrigued about this book. Great review Kazza.
Yes, I used to read a lot of het romance a few years ago. It’s nice to dip the toe back in. Now I’m looking for something else that grabs my attention.
Definitely give it a read, Paul. It made me want to keep turning the Kindle pages quickly 🙂
When I saw the het romance genre tag on this one, I’ll admit my first inclination was to slide my eyes right on past, but then I saw the superheroes tag and my eyes decided they needed to stay put. I totally love superhero/villain/anti-hero romances, but honestly, besides the mainstream movies, it’s never been het ones, so I actually really want to check this one out given your review. For that price, it’ll be fun to stretch outside the usual but still be in familiar territory. Thanks for the rec, Kazza!
I do like to drop into het romance for certain writers and I like to jump out of “MM” because it gets samey for me. Here I am none too partial to a superhero theme and I loved this one. Go figure 🙂 So maybe with you liking a superhero/villain or two you may be ahead of me going into Villain.
You’re welcome for the rec, I hope you enjoy it. Happy superhero/villain reading, Carolyn 😀