Kiss the Villain (Standard Edition)

4.5/5⭐️ I gave it 0.5 stars less because at some points it could be helpful to have read the Legacy Of Gods - series before because a few scenes were more explicitly written in the other novels, but then again we get a conversation in the same scene that is totally different compared to the LoG novel, so that is that. Other than that I have to say I really liked the story about Gareth and Kayden(I was looking forward to their own book since like forever) and I was so happy when it finally released. So it's safe to say the story and the characters themselves didn't disappoint me in the slightest. And as a bonus, it contains a lot of really funny scenes where I literally had to pause for a minute to compose myself again.

Kiss. The. Villain. And yes—the title fits this book eerily well. I was SO excited when I found out the book was being translated. My expectations were just as high when I finally got to start reading. And I’ll be honest: maybe they were a little too high in the end. If I had to break the book down into three parts, it would look something like this: The first 33.3%? Really good. Seriously. A student and his older professor? Hot. And I would never have guessed that about Gareth based on the previous books. On the outside, he seems controlled and calm, but on the inside, this man is probably even more psychopathic than Killian. And that’s saying something. With Kayden, on the other hand, I didn’t warm up to him at all in the beginning. To be honest, I didn’t like their first interaction at all. (In the end, though, you understand him much better.) The second 33.3% dragged on forever. It was constantly this “I want you, but kind of don’t” back-and-forth. And Kayden says “baby” on what feels like every other page. At some point, I was really getting sick of it. On top of that, there was an extreme amount of smut, which meant that at some point I just lost track of the plot and needed to take frequent breaks from the book. BUT. The last 33.3% were really strong. The plot completely came together in the end. What Gareth has to go through is just sick. And “bad” doesn’t even begin to cover it. Toward the end, I was literally sitting there with my mouth open because I was so shocked. I didn’t see that coming at all. As for Gareth and Kayden, I can really only say one word: toxic. These two really aren’t good for each other. It feels like Gareth wants to kill Kayden all the time, and Kayden lets his authoritarian side show more than enough. Still, I don’t regret reading the book. For me, it was more of a “semi-good” book—with really strong and really weak moments. It definitely won’t be my favorite book by Rina Kent. But the ending? That was really something.

Kayden und Gareth sind beide so unfassbar unangenehm, genau wie das komplette Buch. Ich gebe es auf mit Rina Kents Büchern. Alle Charaktere sind gleich „wanna be dark & edgy“, was einfach schwer zu lesen ist, ohne zu cringen, und die Plotlines sind monoton. Ich finds auch schwierig wie mit SA Szenen in den Büchern umgegangen wird. Hier ein paar Quotes.. "I love it more when they have this little pained look in their eyes when it gets to be too much Turn their skin red. See their fucking tears. Blood. Their goddamn insides." ok diva “My voice is deep, composed, I have a beautiful voice. Everyone knows that.” ... “My stomach is full of these rampant little bats that are slaughtering each other” Gareth in his emo era

Tropes: villain x monster, professor x student, forbidden love, MM-dark romance, university, dark past/secret past, forced obedience, hate to love, stalker, bi and gay awakening, age-gap, enemies to lovers, non-con, dub-con, mutual obsession, revenge, dominance and submission, power imbalance--------- So, due to popular demand, the rant IS HERE. Your patience is deeply appreciated, and I’m so happy to have you here. With that being said, let’s unpack this mess. First of all. What in the copy-paste-toxic-wattpatt-fanfic-god of malice+god of fury-mashup was this? It took me 2 WEEKS to finish this book and I had to force myself not to DNF this nonsense and not to throw my Kindle against the wall and the more I think about this book, the more I hate it. To phrase it simply: I AM DISGUSTED and beyond disappointed. I want to start with the most deranged, distasteful, creepy, sick, gross, disgraceful, embarrassing, disgusting characterS I have ever read about, and continue with the most fcked up and barely existing plotline ever. Gareth, or as I like to refer to him as *the failed rapist*, also known as a certified good-boy and a brilliant, high-archiving law student with a secret life full of violence and *darkness*. He was even promoted as THE DARKEST OF THEM ALL. The fcking darkest. Of them ALL. (This includes Jeremy, Killian, Niko and Lan and I’m so pissed). He is a crazy narcissistic psychopath and sociopath who’s obsessed with himself and who feels the urge to constantly remind you of how dark and scary and disturbing and how perfect he is and you know what? He needs to calm the fck down and get over himself. He tries so hard to be evil and mysterious and untouchable and powerful but just ends up acting like a privileged brat with daddy issues throwing a fcking tantrum over the most stupid things. His constant meltdowns after finding out about Kayden having an ex-wife in the second half was so pathetic, melodramatic and SO HARD to read- it was literally impossible to take anything about him seriously. And it feels like the dead wife was nothing more than a sad, overused plot tool. She was brutally gang-raped and murdered, and instead of treating that with care, it was just tossed in to further the “romance” between two men and as a drama fuel so Gareth could have his little "Does he love me or her more??" existential crisis. EXCUSE ME? This woman was tortured to death, and your biggest issue is your self-esteem?? Are you for real? — Kayden, or as I like to refer to him as *the rapist who despises rapists* who: 1. rapes Gareth in the second chapter while threatening to **** him till he bleeds. 2. mocks Gareth in front of his whole class multiple times. 3. plays god while teaching a class about rape HOW IRONIC and then he assignes Gareth with defending a rapist in a rape case after raping Gareth for Gareth wanting to abuse Kayden in the first place. (???) 3. rapes Gareth again while he was drugged. 4. calling him grotesque, a slut, a whore, and a useful hole non stop. 5. rapes gareth AGAIN at the initiation. 6. wants revenge for his raped and murdered wife and then rapes Gareth himself SEVEREL TIMES. The first two times because Gareth "deserved" it- as said, Gareth himself was coming with the intention of abusing him (to call this mess a dark romance book makes me so fcking angry), and the second time because he is beautiful. Do I have to say more? — But now to the previously mentioned fcked up and barely existing plotline. We all know that RK is a big fan of copy paste -ing her own plots over and over and over again so I didn’t expect much originality plotwise but this was low. This was so fcking low. And not just the plot but also the language and the dialogues. Ms. Kent If you are looking for a sign to just take some time to sit back and reflect on your writing and see where you can improve instead of writing three books a year and giving us nothing- this is it. This was a sad and desperate attempt to smash all her better books together and her trying to write her darkest book by using rape. I don’t care how you try to spin it. I don’t care if you cling to whatever the author says about this book being her “darkest and most unhinged”. I don’t care how much you want to convince yourself it isn’t actually rape. IT IS!!! — Kayden: Why do you hate me? Gareth: Let’s see. You raped me. Three times. Keep threatening me and won’t leave me alone. Take your pick. Kayden: You shouldn’t throw stones when your house is made of glass. You started the rape thing first. I only let you get a taste of being on the receiving end instead. Gareth: And last night? I wasn’t going to do anything to anyone. What’s your excuse? Kayden: You looked beautiful. — ???? Anyways. The one star is for Moka the cat and because Jeremy Volkov and NikoBran was mentioned.