I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Villain Edit by Laurie Devore Published by HarperCollins Publishers on June 18, 2024
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Contemporary, Fiction / Romance / Romantic Comedy
Pages: 336
Format: ARC
ISBN: 9780063337602An irresistibly sharp and sexy dramedy about a cynical romance novelist who goes on a Bachelor-like reality show to revive her flagging career, only to discover that while she may have just met the love of her life, the producers have turned her into the show's villain.
Good villains make good TV.Romance novelist Jacqueline Matthis's big career has gone bust and she's ditched the bright lights of New York City for her more affordable South Carolina hometown. Desperate, Jac dreams up a comeback plan--she is going to be a contestant on the 1, the most obsessively watched reality dating show in the world.
After all Jac is a romance writer--she knows how to pull off a meet-cute and create a spicy plotline.
On set, Jac quickly establishes herself as a front-runner for bachelor Marcus's heart, but she's shocked to discover who's actually pulling the strings. How was she to know that Henry Foster, her last one-night stand before the show, was actually a longtime producer on the 1? Henry is just as horrified...but they can't seem to keep their hands off each other.
As Jac plays the game and the show unfurls, she slowly discovers that she's getting the villain edit. They say there's no such thing as bad publicity, but as Jac's secret plan begins crumbling around her, she's not so sure. What happens if Marcus chooses her? Worse, what happens if her affair with Henry comes to light? What if, in trying to save her career, Jac has ruined her life?
Heartbreaking, smart, and sexy, this novel is for anyone who has ever secretly rooted for--or felt like--the villain.
Before starting on the review for the book, I have to admit that I’m not a fan of The Bachelor/ette, Bachelor in Paradise, or any of it’s many other spin-offs. I’ve watched a season of the Bachelor (or maybe the Bachelorette) and a season of Bachelor in Paradise. It contained a lot of what is problematic with society (serial dating, celebrity culture, women attacking women, misogyny, the list goes on). But reading a book about a Bachelor type reality show where the main character of the novel soon finds out she’s getting the villain edit seemed intriguing. Sadly, it really wasn’t.
First off, a minor editing/placement issue with the chapters. The first chapter is the opening scene of all the women walking up to the male bachelor lead, then the next chapter involves going back to five days before that opening scene, then we’re back with all the girls at the house that first night, and finally we have the next chapter as going back four days before this opening scene. The placement of these two early chapters were odd as nothing like this happened the rest of the book. Yes, throughout the book there are articles, online message boards, podcasts, and more that analyze the episode and discuss how much of a bitch Jac is, but these weren’t separate chapters unto themselves. Plus it made sense to have these snippets of people’s reaction to certain scenes when they were edited and released to the public after reading the full scene unedited. The Four day and Five day earlier chapters would be better to start there and make it much less awkward to move through these first five chapters.
The content of the book itself was pretty boring. I thought we all understood that reality shows are completely fake and that many of these dating shows are toxic, but the theme of the book makes it seem like this is all new information. It does make me ask who the author had in mind for the intended audience because it wasn’t me. I was slightly surprised by the ending with how Jac decides to be the lead on the next season of the 1…but she goes home and Henry’s there, and they both knew this was a possibility?? I’m just confused because where supposed to understand that celebrity culture is toxic and horrible. I understand that Jac needed to get out of her NDA so she could sell her memoir about her time on the 1, but it felt like a weak way to end the book. Basically, I’m confused and bored and have some questions.
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