Rebecca Schaeffer

With her best friend, Kovit's, life in danger, Nita is determined to take down the black market once and for all.

When Villains Rise

aleksandra

4/5

No thoughts just Elena Lombardi. This woman can do anything to me. And wow this duet was amazing I will probably have it on my mind 24/7 this week. 


  
    "He reminded me that life was worth living and love was worth giving"

"It was funny to think of love as passive, as if you could fall into it like stumbling over a misplaced shoe. Love required work, it didn’t just happen. Like a flower it required tending to, a serious of action to make it beautiful and fulfilled. I’d always thought love just happened and then it just stayed. How wrong I’d been.”

Sara Uribe

I received this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and options are my own.

Somehow, I think that this book was way better on audio than I when I read it as an eBook 🤷🏻‍♀️ I guess things just work out that way sometimes! Rose Dioro & Jeremy York, again did a fantastic job with this book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and options are my own.

	Such an epic end to Elena and Dante’s story!! From Book One into Book Two, my love for Elena and Dante has somehow grown even more immensely than it was before. I was very put off by both of them in previous books, but now that we’ve dug deeper into getting to know them as individuals as well as a couple. It’s crazy how easily things can be turned around. I don’t think there’s two people who deserve each other more than these two. I get giddy thinking about them.They just fit so well together and I couldn’t imagine them with anyone else. They are burning with passion, explosive and so tender with each other but, they can also be very hard and cold to anybody else who gets in their way. I do wish from the bottom of my heart that I could give this five stars, but if it wasn't for part one of the book I would have. This book is broken down into two parts. Part One which is in Italy and Part Two which is back in New York. My main issue with this book was Part One. I found it very unnecessary and thought that it could have been scaled down into just a few chapters rather than have a whole part of the book. Part Two, I thought, was absolutely phenomenal. I was really nervous for a while because of the way things were going in the first part but the second part turned everything around. The second half of this book was really addictive and I could not stop myself from devouring it. They have such an epic love story with devotion and passion like no other. And that epilogue!???!! Boy, was it absolutely beautiful.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Nouran Hazem

I adore dante and elena, and I just love this book so much..they are absolutely perfect I cried laughed and fell in love with them beating all the odds to be together..

Dexter meets Victoria Schwab in this dark and compelling fantasy about a girl who is determined to take down the black market once and for all in the conclusion to the trilogy that started with the critically acclaimed Not Even Bones. Nita finally has Fabricio, the boy who betrayed her to the black market, within her grasp. But when proof that Kovit’s a zannie—a monster who eats pain in order to survive—is leaked to the world, Nita must reevalute her plans. With enemies closing in on all sides, the only way out is for Nita and Kovit to take on the most dangerous man in the world: Fabricio’s father. He protects the secrets of the monsters who run the black market. Stealing those secrets could be the one thing that stands between Nita and Kovit and certain death in the thrilling conclusion to the trilogy that began with the critically acclaimed Not Even Bones.

how is it possible that this book is in the same trilogy as the first two.

Nouran

Jasmine

3 Stars
It started out okay but then it just didn't build onto the excitement I got reading the first book. Somewhere in the middle, I became bored and it took me over a week to finish the second half. One of my biggest issues is books that could be standalone but then get expanded. There's nothing wrong with this book but I just stopped caring as much about Elena and Dante after a while, which was annoying considering how much I enjoyed seeing them get together in the first book. The first book was incredible and was exactly the dark romance I needed after not reading one for a while, and just checked a lot of my thriller/ dark romance vibes. This one lost me a bit but I was happy to see some aspects of both their relationship and individual character's development. I also love some of the friendships but had more fun again with the first. Like the scene when Elena came home from the hospital and they all were hanging out in her room together, I need more of the banter. One thing I did like is Elena accepting who she is and embracing it. Overall like I said nothing really wrong with it but just didn't hold my interest the same way.

caitlin buckley 

okay did this book take me about six years to read. yes. BUT. i loved every second of it. from dante going to prison just to find the man that abused her. to them having twins. did i cry. yes alot. it was beautiful i loved it sm

Michelle

Inês Filipa

~ 4,5 stars. 

for me, it is all about the way is the sweetest mafioso and how i want to be elena when i grow up. 

this duet was epic. 

4,5-stars ✨

nory

danteelena my best people <33 could’ve been 5 stars but some parts made me mad like the whole dante & cosima thing ?? wtf was that it was so unnecessary and the fact elena was made out to be in the wrong AGAIN ? when she had every right to be upset. also call me bitter but i hate that she reached out to giselle & daniel when they should’ve just been left alone to live their sad little lives no one wants those ugly bitches around. anyway i would d!e for elena and the epilogue had me in tears their little family deserve the world 🫂

althea

** spoiler alert **
           3:.75 Stars, I really wanted Elena to be Dante’s first choice and for him to run after her when she drove off but anyways i loved them both so much, the ending was beautiful. I don’t want to spoil anything but i am so happy for Elena.

Savannah Winchell

3.75⭐️
Stuff wrapped too quickly and I think it should’ve been spread out between book 2 and this one but still a solid series more interesting and ballsy than 95% of YA

samantha youngclaus

literally loved this elena was such a relatable character and i loved her and dante being a team

Jacquelyn Hood

After realizing what she felt for Dante was love she was willing to do whatever it took to save him from a crime he never committed while also looking for the mole in his ranks.

Campbell Berry

This was an amazing ending to this series and I love how to characters were wrapped up. It did seem a little repetitive at points. Overall, I love the characters and plot of this series and thought they were all so unique.

illa

I absolutely ADORE this series and this book? A perfect finale. I'm just sad it's over.

Maegan Kennedy

** spoiler alert **
           Thank you to publisher for gifting me this arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was very excited and had high expectations for this finale, and I hate to say this but it fell flat for me. Since it’s the finale of one of my favourite series, I was expecting so much action and romance and a good wrap up to an exciting storyline. I really wanted more romance between Nita and Kovit. They were setup so well in the second book, and I get the reasons for the lack of romance, as it was explained in the book, but I’m a sucker for enemies to lovers romance and it was a missed opportunity in this book. There also could’ve been more action. I felt that the exciting scenes were over too fast.
I liked how Nita’s character arc transitioned throughout the series. She realized who she was meant to be because of Kovit. Their friendship was wholesome and good for both of them. 
I wish we could’ve seen more of Mirella, and she could’ve come to see how much Kovit and Nita had changed. Nita really needed a girl friend and Mirella could’ve been that support for her.
I feel like the end was left open-ended and I’m holding out hope for another book or even a spin-off series. I still really enjoyed the book but I guess my expectations were too high and this finale fell flat for me. I will still recommend this series to anyone and everyone because it’s amazing and unique. 
Rating: 4 stars

Tânia Borges

I can't believe it's over 😭 Such a good series, I have no words. The plot, the writing, the characters. So, SO good. I'm so glad these books exist.

alaska🪐

after the cliffhanger the first book ended with, i immediately had to start off with this one because i just had to know how elenas and dantes story would progress.
and while the plot was still strong in the second book, it got lost between to many details and honestly, too many filler sex scenes aswell that were so horribly worded that i cringed in disgust more than once.
it sometimes felt like a contest of "who can find the most atrocious word for a bodypart" and i skipped a lot of the scenes after a few sentences. i love me a good steamy scene but this was…. something else.
also the part in italy was so off, it felt anticlimactic and full of unnecessary problems, especially the part about dante ALSO loving elenas sister in the past was cruel, she deserves better than to always be the second choice.
the new york part was however great and exactly how i wished and imagined the story to progress.

all in all, the book would have been an absolute banger if giana darling would have focused more on the plot and original storytime than writing sex scenes and unnecessary fillers.
these two books would probably have been better of they were combined into one, skipping the italy part.

Lily

4.75 ⭐️ 

"𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙚. 𝙈𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙪𝙘𝙠. 𝙈𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙩. 𝙈𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚."

As a whole, I rate this duet 5/5. The only reason this one was rated that smidge lower is because the first half wasn't as action-packed as I usually like, I did love how we got to just see Elena and Dante as a couple and watch them develop and explore their relationship I did love the second half of the book more.

"𝘽𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙙, 𝙡𝙤𝙩𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙖. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙧𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚."

I was not expecting to love this duet as much as I did, I knew that I'd love it since I've loved all of Giana's books but I fell in love with Dante and Elena both in their own ways. I admired Dante's personality and how even though he's a capo and the "Devil of NYC" he still has a 'soft' side. Dante would do anything for the people he loves and cares about and I think that is definitely an admirable quality. Elena perceives herself as an 'ice queen' due to the hardships of her like making her that way, but in spite of that, along with Dante, Elena would do anything for the people she loves and cares about. She cared for her siblings when she was just a child herself to assist her mother because lets be straight here, her father is a complete asshole who deserved what he got and It's perfect justice that it was delivered by Elena's hand, It gave her an immense relief knowing that she was free of him forever. Speaking (well typing) of justice the way Dante handled Christopher ahhh perfection, he went to jail for that!! wow if that's not true love I don't know what is.

"𝙄 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙢𝙮 𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝘿𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚."
"𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙝 𝙞𝙩?"
"𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙝 𝙞𝙩."

I could talk about this duet for hours but I think this duet needs to be experienced to understand the complexity and beauty of their relationship. He taught her how to love and that she deserved love and she taught him how beautiful it is to be loved by your soulmate because that's truly what they are... SOULMATES and TWO VILLAINS IN LOVE.

"𝘿𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙛𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙚𝙙𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙬𝙤 𝙫𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚."

** spoiler alert **
           Maybe you do deserve to die. Maybe you’re irredeemably evil. But I don’t care, and neither does the world. And God damn it, I’m not going to let INHUP take you from me.

Enemies to lovers? More like monsters to platonic partners

Henry had betrayed Kovit. They find out that he will be put on the list of dangerous supernaturals and have one week to prevent that from happening. He reaches out to his sister who's promises to see what she can do. Nita manages to confront her father's murderer and finds out shocking information. Unfortunately Kovit somehow gets put up before the review period ends. Desperate, they decide that they'll bring INHUP down completely with the help of Fabricio . 

This is my new favorite non fantasy... ish? series. Fast paced, full of complex characters, lots of unexpected and intriguing twists. I never liked Fabricio but damn, he turned out to be a very interesting character. Nita's and Kovit's relationship progressed very satisfactory. 

" I’m pretty sure Kovit’s the only thing besides yourself you care about.”

Y'all better not be disappointed by the lack of romance. 🤨 

 Of course you could say say they all are villains, but we finally find out who the real one of this story is. The ending was a bit too open for my taste. It would be nice if I got the sense that they'll live happily ever after, you know. 

The representation??!?!

I don’t even know if they’re actually romantic. I don’t even know what romantic feels like.

"And I guess I’ve just never understood how romance was different from a friendship? I mean, aside from the kissing?” She looked away. “I don’t . . . I don’t know what any of these things are supposed to be like. I don’t understand what I’m feeling,” she admitted, and then she bit her lip and whispered, “But I don’t think I’m experiencing it right.”

There was a disconnect between what she thought her feelings were supposed to be—big, all-consuming, rose-tinted glasses, giddy with love—and what she actually felt.

“Anyway.” He laughed a little. “Turned out I need not have worried. I’ve never really been, you know. Interested. Maybe all the puberty hormones skipped me.” “Well, if they did, then they skipped me too.” Nita shrugged. “I’ve never been particularly interested in sex either.” She considered. “I suppose I might try it someday to see what all the fuss is about.” A little of the tension left his shoulders, but some remained. “I guess it’s more common than I thought. The noninterest.”

My heart 😖. I almost cried. This is the first time I've come across such representation in a book and it made me so happy. 

If I see anyone say "they're monsters, they just don't have empathy and can't feel" I'm going to 🤜🏼🤜🏼🤜🏼🤕

Kate

"So much murder, so little time."

From the beginning right until the end, this trilogy has been a wild, gruesome, all consuming journey and I've loved every moment of it. It defied all my expectations. For not one moment upon picking up book one did I expect to read such a self aware exploration of humanity, morality and what it means to be human yet that's exactly what I found hidden under the brilliantly unrestrained murder and gore. 

Spending three books inside the complexities of Nita's mind was fascinating. She's selfish and ruthless and is not only aware of the evil inside her, but welcomes it and I loved that Rebecca Schaeffer never back peddled the villainous part of her character. Nita has a brilliant character arc and growth throughout the three books but it's not the journey we often expect from 'villains' or morally grey characters and I have to give Schaeffer major props for that. Nita's journey of self analysing, questioning and acceptance was a wild ride and one that constantly took paths I didn't expect and it was so much fun.

The world building in this series is fabulous. Perfectly blending a 'real world' setting and issues with supernatural creatures, it felt like urban fantasy at its finest. The conversations throughout the trilogy surrounding social and political issues such as privilege, prejudice, racism and colonisation made what could have been a fun but base level fantasy a real depth and sense of self awareness. 

Overall, this dark, graphic, murderous, gritty trilogy is one that will live on in my reading memory as one of the strangest yet interesting, unique and impossibly gripping series I've come across in a long time. If a fast paced, action packed book featuring a protagonist who's both morally grey and a straight up villain, grisly murders and dissections and a monstrous cast of characters (both literally and figuratively) making deductions that will have you questioning your own morals sounds like something you'd enjoy, I couldn't recommend this trilogy more highly.

When Villains Rise

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