The Villain
Addictive
Surreal
Unpredictable

The Villain A Billionaire Romance

L.J. Shen2020
Cruel. Coldblooded. Hades in a Brioni suit. Cillian Fitzpatrick has been dubbed every wicked thing on planet earth. To the media, he is The Villain. To me, he is the man who (reluctantly) saved my life. Now I need him to do me another, small solid. Bail me out of the mess my husband got me into. What’s a hundred grand to one of the wealthiest men in America, anyway?
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Reviews

Photo of arwen
arwen@corienrielle
2 stars
May 5, 2024

it was boring?? the romance was a big meh and gave me second hand embarrassment... tbh the only thing i liked about this book was persephone, and she deserves better than this

Photo of x
x@malyhska
0.5 stars
Nov 22, 2023

who am i if not a girl who's so obsessed with every male character named k/cillian. he's soooooo sexy i can't even explain HOW. sometimes persephone does/says things that doesn't make sense, but i love how she's a fighter. always have been. i'm so proud of her

Photo of Sarah
Sarah @sarahfathim1787
4.5 stars
Jul 25, 2023

hell yeah

Photo of Ana Clara Moreno
Ana Clara Moreno@annikavolkov
5 stars
Jul 4, 2023

mt bom vdd

Photo of Ms. Mint
Ms. Mint@iread4fun
5 stars
May 22, 2023

I very much enjoyed reading about Cillian and Persephone's love story, dare to say, even much more than that of Hunter and Sailor's. Perhaps it's because Cillian is a more broken soul than Hunter, and therefore, when Persephone finally triumphed in putting back his shattered pieces together and made him feel again with her defiant perseverance, love and loyalty, my own heart couldn't help but soar high with fierce joy. I also loved that we get glimpses into Hunter and Sailor's life after their own book's epilogue (note: this story takes place 8 years after the end of book 1: The Hunter). I can't wait for the next installment in the series, The Monster, which I'm guessing would be Ash and Sam's story. I'd love to witness how our sweet Ash Fitzpatrick will bulldoze her way through the walls of the King of the underworld, Sam Brennan.

Photo of mercy
mercy@catluvr
2 stars
Jan 23, 2023

this was basically vicious in a different font

Photo of celene
celene@recluseperformer
3 stars
Jan 23, 2023

3.5

Photo of Jules
Jules@warnymph
3 stars
Jan 22, 2023

3.8

Photo of Kathleen Tom
Kathleen Tom@kateee
5 stars
Jan 2, 2023

5 Stars ★★★★★ HI BOOKLOVERS, CAN I GIVE THIS MORE THAN 5 STARS? Because if I can I definitely give it 10/10 STARS! I LOVE FREAKING LOVE IT. I'M IN LOVE WITH IT ♥♥♥♥♥ I have a few books that I can't get over with and this will fall under that too. The books that I will re-read again and again without getting bored. I don't remember if I ever dislike anything that LJ Shen writes but this, this is just something I love. It's perfect. The storyline, the writing, the plot twist, the characters, it was amazing. The gesture of love in this book is outstanding, I love the simple thing that the characters did to each other like rearranged the neckties, the necklace, the heroin call her husband, "HUBS" you know something so simple like this make me swooning. Melting. I wish the story is longer. More but I'm satisfied. And next, I can't wait for the The Monster #3. Highly Recommended! :) xoxo. Kath!

Photo of sam
sam@sammiev
4 stars
Dec 15, 2022

Immensely enjoyed Cillian being in denial of his feelings for Persephone. Internal struggles/dialogue about his feelings as well as dry humor was hilarious.

Photo of cam
cam@clayolivia
5 stars
Aug 18, 2022

Dijeron que si me gustó the kiss thief, me iba a gustar este y pos si.

Photo of nory
nory@tristanmorana
1 star
Aug 16, 2022

how can two characters be so equally insufferable god this was the worst experience of my life

Photo of roan
roan@kal4din
4 stars
Aug 15, 2022

I DIDNT SIGN UP FOR THE FUCKING FEELS

Photo of Aditi
Aditi@phoenixs
2 stars
Aug 15, 2022

The main characters were fun and had a couple of cute moments, some sexy scenes but ultimately the writing was bad and misogynistic. Add in the shaming of sex workers and it was a no for me. I've read other L.J. Shen books and they've gotten progressively worse so I don't think I'll be reading any more of her works.

Photo of Nikki
Nikki@beaushelly
4 stars
Jul 1, 2022

2021 reread: 3.5 stars they really got me i fear it was ok but it really felt like a vicious x angry god meshed into one book. love persy tho and that grand gesture rly got me

Photo of Elif Gültekin
Elif Gültekin@unexpectedbook
5 stars
Feb 17, 2022

4.5 Best L.J Shen book so far!

Photo of Micol Scalabrino
Micol Scalabrino@micolreads
5 stars
Jan 5, 2022

One of my all time favorites. She outdid herself.

Photo of Sarina Sherman
Sarina Sherman@sarina
4 stars
Nov 25, 2021

3.75 stars ⭐️ okay buckle up since I stayed up until 6am to finish this. I liked it. Typical LJ Shen. Nothing too new or special aside from Cillian’s character development which surprised me a bit in a pleasant way. Writing was good and i loved the poetic moments and the ones that tied into Greek mythology. HOWEVER. it was too similar to her other books imo. Idk I just wanted to be 5+ stars so bad but it just wasn’t 😭

Photo of Linda Quintanilla
Linda Quintanilla@abigailbooksaddiction
3 stars
Nov 22, 2021

You know what they say. The bigger the villain, the harder they will fall in love. And I definitely expected Cillian to live up to it. Don't hate me but I really did not like The Villain that much. I just did not like Persy character. I know y'all are going to hate but I hate when female characters want to change someone and get offense when they don't have any flaws. Like no, it's their choice. And Persy consistently wanted to change Cillian from the beginning. I understand that Cillian is a jerk from the get-go but at least you know what you are getting. He never lied about himself. And that's the Persy problem. Why choose to marry him? And get so mad about his behavior. You made your bed, and now lie with it. Ugh, I hate when someone forces another person to change. It needs to be them to change for himself, not for someone else.  I was greatly disappointed about Persy. And do not get me wrong, I absolutely love Cillian even when he started to get soft. Nothing wrong with that. It was his choice and his time.

Photo of Lee Ann
Lee Ann@leeann
5 stars
Nov 3, 2021

Leigh knocks it out of the water ... AGAIN! Cillian is beautifully broken. A flawed man, even though you wouldn't know it. I never got involved in the whole Emmabelle/Cillian or Persephone/Cillian battle, so I wasn't bothered by who his heroine was going to be. But I will say if you were an Emmabelle fan and were disappointed when you found out it wasn't going to be her and you're considering skipping this book. Don't. Trust in Leigh. She knows what she's doing. This book is beautiful.

Photo of Lily
Lily@lilyxreads
5 stars
Oct 22, 2021

I don’t know why I just loved this book. If you liked vicious and angry god then you’ll love this book too. It dealt with real issues and I’m in love with their relationship

Photo of Ann-Loy
Ann-Loy@breadfruit
2 stars
Sep 15, 2021

Man this was...idk man. IDK. They wanted me to feel sorry for this hero but he was an ASSHOLE. They gave the reason but still. No.

Photo of Belen Silva
Belen Silva@bmimi7
4 stars
Aug 3, 2022
Photo of Alexis
Alexis@alxisrae
3.5 stars
May 10, 2022