Kiss the Villain (Villain, #1) by Rina Kent Review

This review contains spoilers - read with caution. Content warnings include: Consensual non-con, dub-con, self-harm, violence, and mild homophobia. It also contains non on-page mentions of suicide, rape, child sexual assault, and domestic abuse. Specific kinks featured in this book include degradation, mild consensual feminization, mild BDSM, and praise.

You can read my reviews of the entire Legacy of Gods series on my blog, now: God of Malice, God of Pain, God of Wrath, God of Ruin, God of Fury, and God of War.

This was juicy juicy right off the bat - I may have had a little distain for the constant run back to initiation night in Legacy of Gods, but by now I have honestly grown attached to it. It genuinely cracks me up seeing the other couples and characters run around basically terrorizing each other, and considering we have experienced the majority of relationships now, I will be sad to see it end. That being said, with Gareth being the one surprised on initiation night, we take a turn from our leading man being the aggressor to having the story flipped to him being the prey. After Gareth's attempt to humiliate Yulian does not go according to plan and he finds himself on the receiving end of some unexpected advances, his entire world gets flipped on its axis.

Gareth proceeds to go through the most insane bi-awakening I have ever scene on page - the boy is getting thrown around like no one's business while simultaneously claiming everything that he and Kayden get up to doesn't count. The boy was in denial while getting split in half. Kayden and Gareth's relationship definitely starts out as wild as the other relationships we see in Rina Kent's books, and this is certainly no exception with an age gap, professor-student dynamic with some stalking undertones and ulterior motives by our resident law professor. I really enjoyed how out of control and possessive both Kayden and Gareth acted - while Kayden was pretty much set on Gareth being his target and basically owning him, Gareth was slowly becoming more attached and going into his obsessive tendencies.

The smut was crazy style - definitely on the same level as Niko and Brandon in God of Fury, but the dynamic was much more intense with Gareth and Kayden. Maybe it was because of the "forbidden" aspect of a professor-student relationship or the fact that Kayden was basically out to ravage Gareth within an inch of his life, but the spark between them was unmatched. Gareth's internal struggle to figure out if he even liked men or not - or basically if he just liked Kayden - while trying to tackle giving up control made the deeper plot of this book really drawing to readers. We watch as this intense, psychotic-in-nature, law student suddenly lose the perception he had of himself and try to understand if there is more to himself under the surface and if he can open himself up to loving someone he never expected to fall for.

Guys. Are we serious?? Y'all did not prepare me for the last third of this book - I feel like I was shot in the chest. I was literally speechless and my jaw was hanging open reading all the scenes with Gareth basically being held hostage and tortured for hours on end. He did not deserve to be put through that, especially when he was not even directly involved in Cassandra's passing. Obviously we know that he was targeted in order to punish his family, but good grief the guy is twenty-one and had no idea of Kayden's past until literally moments before all of this went down. My heart was aching for him when we got to the chapters of Kayden finding him and Gareth basically being catatonic after banging his head on the wall for who knows how long. Out of everyone that I have seen suffer in the Legacy of Gods series and this first installment in Villains, I would have to say Brandon and Gareth take the cake for being the most tortured characters.

I had such a fun time reading this book - it really sucked me in as much as God of Fury, and while the relationships in those two books certainly have their similarities, the characters go through their own struggles that makes their stories their own. If you are looking to make your way into some more smutty dark romance, you will definitely get a kick out of this.

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God of War (Legacy of Gods, #6) by Rina Kent Review

This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my reviews of God of Malice, God of Pain, God of Wrath, God of Ruin, and God of Fury on my blog, now!

This is what happens when you give side characters a book when they maybe only needed a 200 page novella to satisfy their tension. I do not understand how we went from God of Fury to this - I spent the majority of this book wishing Ava would shut up and hoping that Eli would fall off a cliff. I had absolutely no attachment to Ava during her appearances throughout the first five installments, and I felt as though Eli only ever made a rare appearance - I literally did not think he was an important member until maybe two books ago. The whole marriage of convenience trope is normally something I would eat up like nobody's business, but it literally felt like such a weird situation in this book compared to what I have read before - Ava was basically a hostage in my eyes. And yes, I completely understand why Eli did what he did, but I absolutely hated the way he went about it - when it is revealed on how everything went down, I wanted to smack the guy.

Saying the girl you are married to has "the emotional IQ of a plastic flower" is certainly a choice! I understand that everything Eli did was his attempt to protect Ava from herself, but he went about it in such an insane way that I literally could not wrap my head around it. She is so naive and far too trusting of everyone, so when the one person that is supposed to be honest with her is literally keeping her in a glass cage and controlling every aspect of her life, I can see why she kept trying to act out. "Because I got to own you, officially" genuinely made my ears start ringing - I hated everything about that scene, but that line really made me an Eli hater until maybe the last chapter of the book. I wanted him jailed immediately.

Ava Nash is the president of the I hate my husband club and honestly I do not blame her one bit. Maybe if Eli was not so dead set on keeping every piece of her pasta secret from her, she would actually be able to have some form of organic relationship with him. Instead, he lurks around without any sleep in order to make sure she does not remember certain things she went through - sure, he was making sure she did not get triggered, but good grief she already knows she has been through a lot, just tell her! Ava's characterization as a whole was boring and one-dimensional - there was never a point where I felt drawn to reading her story, but rather begging for it to be over. That being said, there were some plot points that did intrigue me, but they all came in the last one hundred pages which made the story telling feel cheap.

"Be my dinner" is crazy work and I have to give Eli credit where credit is due. The things that came out of this man's mouth were not nearly as insane as the things that Nikolai said in God of Fury or Jeremy in God of Wrath, but my word I was left speechless. To be quite honest, the smut in this book felt like borderline harassment, considering Ava literally was wondering around with no memories of how her and Eli ended up together. He was pouncing on her like nobody's business and the girl could barely remember what day it was. Considering she was basically in a fugue state for 90% of this book, I literally could not enjoy any of those scenes because it felt like she was being taken advantage of.

Eli King... there was so much potential for his character to be better than what Kent gave us. He felt like a prison warden for 90% of the book and while I can see where he was coming from, I fear his efforts were in vain. He should have been upfront with Ava about everything from the start - sure, it could have triggered her, but I think she should have been the one to make those decisions for herself. However... and this is a big hear me out... he did it for her and did it knowing that the time he gave her was the time she may never be able to experience in the future.

Concluding the Legacy of Gods series like this feels like a let down compared to some of its preceding installments. But will I be reading more of Kent's work? Yes, she's got me hooked. Moving onto the Villains series will be my next adventure, and hopefully her story-telling and writing will take on some improvements to keep me locked into her catalogue.

You can add God of War on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date on releases and publications.

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God of Fury (Legacy of Gods, #5) by Rina Kent Review

This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my reviews of God of Malice, God of Pain, God of Wrath, and God of Ruin on my blog, now! Reader discretion is advised.

Nikolai is YOUNGER than Brandon??? How did I miss this??? Also immediately throwing us back into the initiation night.. oh how I have been waiting for this moment since God of Malice. Rina Kent's tendency to describe the family trees and two schools at the beginning of every single one of the books in this series is starting to get on my nerves, but it is understandable if someone is reading these as stand alones and not as a series. This is the first time reading this series where I did not go crazy when the parent perspectives were brought up - I actually enjoyed them this time.

Someone needs to protect Brandon at all costs - the man is going through it constantly and is plagued with so much every day, and it feels as though he is the one that everyone expects to keep it together. Watching his inner turmoil fester and grow was heartbreaking. He is going through a sexuality realization and dealing with a ton of mental health issues, while trying to understand Nikolai's actions towards him and accept some form of love from someone who unexpectedly came into his life. We get to see a lot of different sides of Brandon throughout this book - more than just his video game playing with Mia and the occasional appearance next to Landon and Glyndon at family gatherings.

Nikolai is literally one of the funniest characters I have come across - every single thing that came out of his mouth had me rolling on the floor. I genuinely was cackling at some of the things he said, and his inner monologue was just as hilarious. "That would be crazy. Just kidding, I am crazy." is one of the earliest lines from Nikolai and it truly sets the tone for his entire attitude for the book. I used to bag on him in the other books for being completely unhinged, but finally getting to see what goes on inside his head makes everything make so much sense. He is very much aware that he has psychopathic tendencies and fully embraces them - he is honestly surprised when people do not resort to the type of violence that is his first reaction.

The smut is in this book.. insane. I thought Rina would not be able to top God of Ruin's levels of craziness, but Nikolai and Brandon take it to a whole new level - they are beating each other up and off - the duality of man! I know I said God of Wrath was the best of the series when I first read it, but good grief God of Fury definitely takes the cake. There were sentences in this book that truly had my mouth on the floor and had me doing laps around my apartment - Nikolai is already unhinged on a regular basis, but put him and Brandon together and it unleashes an entirely new animal. He is definitely the one that adds to the craziness of all of those scenes, considering Brandon is more on the reserved side - that does not mean that Brandon does not get down and dirty, literally and figuratively.

Brandon's internal struggles play a major role in the way he views himself and how he approaches his relationship with Nikolai. We see from Nikolai's perspective how confused he gets when Brandon's emotions and personality suddenly shift when he feels cornered or is confronted by a past trauma. I was literally sick to my stomach reading what he has been through, and readers bear witness to his struggles in a first-hand account in his perspective, along with Nikolai's reactions and attempts to understand what is going on with Brandon. Brandon and Landon's relationship as twins definitely grows and expands in this book, and considering their past qualms with one another, it was nice to see them actually work through things and become closer - as a twin, I cannot imagine not being close with my sister.

This is the fifth installment in this series and yet I am constantly still surprised by the way that nineteen-year-old Nikolai speaks and the things that come out of nearly every character's mouths - who taught y'all to speak like this!! I am sure that if I finally venture out and actually read all of their parents' books, I will clearly find my answering in those works. Considering God of War is the final piece in this series, I am intrigued to see where Kent takes us next with Eli and Ava - they have been relatively absent from this series other than the occasional mentioning, but just by taking a look at the summary, I know I will be in for a treat.

You can add God of Fury on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date on releases and publications.

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God of Ruin (Legacy of Gods, #4) by Rina Kent Review

This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my reviews of God of Malice, God of Pain, and God of Wrath on my blog, now! Reader discretion is advised.

This boy is crazy!!! I should not be surprised considering the line up of men Rina Kent has supplied us in this series, but good grief it actually makes me laugh when every single male lead in these books brags about their sociopathic or psychopathic diagnosis like it is a badge of honor. Landon is no exception to this Rina Kent-character trait, and he is just as twisted as the rest of them - maybe not as crazy as Killian, but he certainly earned his title. The things that came out of Landon's mouth would genuinely make Jesus weep, my jaw was on the floor. I literally felt like I was the one being degraded instead of Mia. Honestly I should have seen this behavior coming from a mile away considering how Landon acts in the previous books, but good grief the man has got a mouth on him. Which is ironic considering Mia literally cannot speak.

Mia has gone through something traumatic over a decade ago and since then has not been able to speak - using sign language to communicate with everyone, her friends and family learned how to sign to help her adjust. Landon becomes no exception to this rule and learns sign language to properly communicate with Mia, which only goes to show how dedicated he was - or obsessed - to inserting himself into her life. Considering the trauma Mia has gone through, I can only imagine how it impacted her - I do wish Kent spent more time exploring it instead of making it this huge reveal at the end of the book, but I guess it would have revealed too much to readers if spaced out throughout this installment.

Y'all I literally cannot believe what Landon and Mia are getting up to like my body literally had a visceral reaction to reading some of their moments together. I fear for this girl and the absolute ringer Landon puts her through at every chance he gets. All of Kent's male leads seem to love lurking around and snatching up the girls they are interested in to do whatever they want to do to them at a moment's notice. This is low-key kidnapping!! The way I would be putting out Amber Alerts every single chance I got if I was a character in this book would have the Citizen app go into overdrive. It is hilarious that this is such a common occurrence for everyone that no one bats an eye on why girls suddenly disappearing would be anything but concerning. Landon and Mia's communication seemed to be the best out of all the couples so far, so I was grateful there was no real miscommunication happening in this book.

Once again I am tormented by the parent perspectives but at least they are only ever a few chapters. Maybe one day I will actually go back and read all of those series and trilogies, but for now I am solely sticking to the Legacy of Gods series until I have finished them completely. I am sure their chapters are more entertaining for those who read the parent books, but I find they typically only add character development for the male leads and that the female leads tend to not get as explored as I would have liked. On that note, it also feels like all of Kent's leading men are little copies of each other, just with slightly different interests and the insanity dial adjusted. I wish they were more distinguishable and not blending together - they each have one or two characteristics that stand out, but for the most part I am just seeing these little psycho men run around terrorizing college campuses on the regular.

I actually enjoyed Nikolai's presence in this book more than I was enjoying Landon's presence at one point, and Landon is literally the lead here. Nikolai's characteristics and personality really shined through here in terms of highlighting how violent and impulsive he was, which I am sure was a set up considering he is one of the leads in the next installment. I am not going to lie, the only reason why I started this series was so that I could read God of Fury and not be confused on who the couples were or what happened in their books. I am definitely looking forward to seeing what Kent has in store for him in the next installment.

You can add God of Ruin on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date on releases and publications.

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God of Wrath (Legacy of Gods, #3) by Rina Kent Review

This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my reviews of God of Malice and God of Pain on my blog, now! Reader discretion is advised.

Someone needs to lock me up. I kept telling myself that I would not go down this road again and yet I continue to place holds on Libby and wait for weeks to read this series. I genuinely did not know what to expect from this third installment, with the only information I had going into it being that Jeremy was absolutely bonkers. I did not think we would encounter someone crazier than Killian Carson, and yet Jeremy very much came close - the man truly is unhinged in the most jaw-dropping ways possible. I literally would like Jeremy's actions would finally reach their limit, and then the next chapter would have him doing the most unhinged things on the planet.

I am not even ashamed to say that this was definitely the best book so far - I was on the edge considering how much I did not enjoy God of Pain, but this honestly really turned the series around for me. Sure, the plot was still all over the place and this book was basically driven by smut, but that hit the spot for me in this moment and I was living for it. There was not a moment while reading this where my jaw was not literally on the floor. Cecily and Jeremy's relationship was unexpected on Cecily's part, and watching her literally drag this man around was hilarious, we love women in male-dominated fields!

Once again, I absolutely cannot stand the parent perspective chapters in these books - yes, they only last about two or three chapters, but they low-key interrupt the flow of the story for me. Maybe it is because I did not read the other million books Kent has written before the Legacy of Gods series, but it does not add anything to the pairings' stories when I have no clue who these people are. On that note, I do like all of the callbacks from the other books in this series as the book goes on - when I first started this series, I expected the books to move on in time-order. I was surprised to see a majority of events actually overlap throughout the books, and definitely recommend readings these in order to get the full effect.

The smut was off the wall in this book. I literally do not think I have the words to properly express the series of emotions and jaw-dropping moments I experienced while this story progressed. Jeremy Volkov is out of his mind. This book definitely rivals Haunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton and The Ritual by Shantel Tessier when it comes to the insanity of male leads and the extremes they are willing to go to get the girl. You literally cannot read this book in public. This was a 200% improvement compared to the second installment of this series, and considering Jeremy and Cecily actually had insane chemistry was definitely the driving force. I still think it is absolutely bonkers that these characters act this way but that is the beauty of fiction.

I truly think you have to make it past the first two books in this series to actually get to the good stuff (and deserve a medal at that point) and see some actual plot take place. Cecily was put through the ringer a number of times, both in flashbacks and in current day, not to mention the emotional turmoil Jeremy was suffering through during his perspective chapters. The only good thing that came from his father's chapter was Jeremy actually working through some of his issues instead of taking it out on everyone else or holding a grudge.

Maybe I was a touch harsh on my last review, but this book certainly made up for that - and honestly boosted my overall feelings regarding this series. I was worried that this book would not push me to keep going, but instead I placed my Libby holds for the rest of the series as I was still reading God of Wrath.

You can add God of Wrath on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date on releases and publications.

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God of Pain (Legacy of Gods, #2) by Rina Kent Review

This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my review of God of Malice on my blog, now!

My TikTok For You Page has been harassing me to continue on with this series, and I have finally succumbed to the constant onslaught of videos. I love a good dark college romance, but it actually cracks me up that these twenty-year-old boys think they are the scariest individuals to walk the planet... like you are glorified frat boys at best. It will never fail to make me laugh when the male lead of the book claims he terrorizes their university campus and it turns out that they are not even legal drinking age in the United States.

Annika is out here locked in the Heathens mansion during initiation, meanwhile everyone and their mother is out there either terrorizing freshmen or somehow finding their soulmate. That does not stop her from having some...fun...that night - when a masked man shows up in her room and causes a curiosity that she just cannot shake, she takes her interest into her own hands and sets up to basically annoying the man into hanging out with her. You could tell that the banter was there on her side, but Creighton, our leading man of few words, would turn that banter itno a punish faster than Annika could shut her mouth.

Annika and Creighton are yapper4silent core - she does not shut up and he barely says a word - a match made in heaven. "Little violet," however, is one of the worst nicknames I have ever come across, and the fact that Creighton uses it basically every other sentence started to drive me insane. It was interesting to see the backstory on why Creighton does not speak so much, and the fact that other characters were so impressed that he actually would have conversation with Annika showed how much he cared about her. I do wish that he did not use silencing Annika as a way to get what he wanted from her - a majority of the time, it felt as though he knew he could do whatever he wanted with her by threatening her every single time she spoke.

The plot of this book... I will not lie, did not have me in a chokehold, or even a tight grip, to be honest. I tore through this book mostly because the chapters are so short and you can fly right through it like it is nothing, but other than that, I was not on the edge of my seat waiting to see what highs and lows would hit Annika and Creighton -- they seemed to do a pretty good job at rustling each other's feathers on their own. It felt as though every character was out to destroy their relationship - with the exception of a few, there was at least one point for everyone that made them not want Annika and Creighton to be together - it got old, fast.

I personally did not enjoy Annika's characterization - she felt a little all over the place. She would either be so rigid during one chapter, and then do whatever someone told her to do the next. While she did have some vulnerable moments that took her out of these polar opposites, I just could not connect to her character. When it came to Creighton, I was more so amused with the way he viewed himself as this mighty, controlling man, when in reality it was mostly a protective front as he worked to seek revenge for past events. The spicier scenes were not anything special, and it honestly felt a little recycled after the first couple times.

While this series shows promise, I wish I was able to lock into the story more and improve the rating from God of Malice - after over 500 pages, I should have felt some sort of connection to Creighton and Annika. Instead, I am viewing it as a stepping stone in the series as I continue on and see what relationship Kent has in store for us next. If you are looking for a fast-paced mildly forbidden romance, God of Pain could be your next read.

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God of Malice (Legacy of Gods, #1) by Rina Kent Review

 

This is a spoiler-free review! Please read trigger warnings - reader discretion is advised.

I am reading the original publication before the edits were made to the first three chapters and oh my god... y'all were not lying when you said this was insane. Killian's first appearance put such a bad taste in my mouth, and this is coming from someone who eats up dark romance like they are my daily vitamin. Now I know in the literal book summary he is described as a predator, but in my mind I was thinking more along the lines of lion hunting in the wilderness-type predator, not a literal sexual predator. I literally would have filed a restraining order against Killian so fast - not like it would have ended up doing Glyndon any favors.

Guys... who was going to tell me I was supposed to read an entire series before reading this book? Y'all are fake for not giving me a warning. I was wondering why everyone in the book seemed to know everything about people's parents and siblings, and here I discover there are six other books I need to get my hands on in order for everything else to make sense. I will be completely honest, I only started reading this because I want to read God of Fury... sue me!! That being said, I absolutely could not stand the parent POV chapters - maybe it is because I have not read that series, but it felt unnecessary when it could have been replaced with a Killian perspective chapter to explain his childhood. On that note, his dad is the absolute worst and it was like nails on a chalkboard getting through his perspective.

When Glyndon was running around during the initiation, I swear Brandon was there too... the world may never know. It was fun to match everyone's mask colors with characters - you could tell by the description and pin who it was under the mask. The entire sequence of the initiation was fun and I enjoyed that we were able to experience Killian and Glyndon's perspectives. The little bit of Nikolai and Brandon crumbs that were in this book, I'll take it! The majority of the side characters did not interest me and honestly became a nuisance 

Sometimes during this book, Glyndon would have me so frustrated that I thought I was going to rip the book in half. She has zero survival instincts one minute, and then suddenly is running around like a trained professional the next. Her logic goes out the window a decent amount of times, and I was just baffled that she decided to keep everything that was happening to her a literal secret. It should not have taken her well into the book before she grew a backbone, especially considering her family is high up in ranks when it comes to power. Spice scenes went crazy though and I will admit Rina Kent knows how to write them well.

I probably said the same thing about Shantel Tessier's The Ritual and The Sinner, but my word... Killian, you are in COLLEGE who taught you to act like this?? We get it, you are a psychopath, but literally how in the world did you become this person? In all seriousness, he is a nineteen-year-old acting like he can do no wrong, and is confused on how anyone would see it otherwise. And the way he speaks to Glyndon and everyone else.. where is his decorum? The whole "Doesn't no mean yes sometimes?" had my jaw on the floor... I could not believe this is the man y'all are thirsting over on TikTok.

It was hard to root for Killian and Glyndon's relationship in the beginning - they grew on me throughout the middle of the book, but then it felt as though their relationship was backtracking and the miscommunication drove me insane. Glyndon spent nearly the entire book afraid that Killian was going to attack her in some form and we were supposed to think that was normal?? The random plot twist towards the end of the book was probably the most interesting plot point besides the initiation night, and yet it felt so surreal that I could not believe this was something that people were going crazy over. In the end I did end up wanting them to be together, but I expect them to go through a lot of up and downs in the future.

As far as a dark romance college bully book can go, God of Malice excels in some areas while falls short in others. While I was giggling and kicking my feet at a lot of Killian and Glyndon's interactions, I felt as though Killian's character kept getting pulled back, whereas Glyndon was allowed to grow and develop. The writing is fast paced and allows the reader to speed through the story, which goes well with the timeline as the events take place over a short interval. However, as far as interconnected stand alones go, the set up for the next couple did not spark an interest in me where I found myself desperately needing to get my hands on the second book. I will most likely be seeing this series through, because it is an extensive plot that draws the reader in.

You can add God of Malice on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date on releases and publications.

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