I didn’t know what to make of this book, and thought of me maybe very predictable and not interesting. I really liked it all the way through and actually found it very suspenseful but also cute. I would recommend this book to a

The Villain Edit by Laurie Devore is a juicy, drama-filled read that I absolutely loved! If you're a fan of The Bachelor, this book is definitely for you. Devore’s sharp writing takes the story to another level. The characters are incredibly flawed, but somehow I ended up loving them. The chemistry between Jac and Henry practically seeps off the pages. This is the kind of scandalous, page-turning book I can’t get enough of. Highly recommend if you’re in the mood for a fun and messy romance!

If you want a book steeped with women’s wrong, this is it.

I went into this not knowing what to expect, particularly because I don’t usually like shows like The Bachelor or The Bachelorette, BUT I had just watched Love Island and I needed more mess and drama and this did a pretty good job of it.

None of the characters in this are remotely close to being good people, but that’s what makes this so incredibly enjoyable.

I read this book before watching Unreal on Netflix. It was enjoyable, and I had a good time, but when I found out it was inspired by the series, it felt way too similar in terms of plot. Like there are some twists that feel beat for beat with the series, I thought they were adaptations of each other.

The colors on the cover are excellent just makes you want to read the book.

OMG i love the trope of Bachelor / Bachelorette just couldn't wait to read this. This is a great take on the reality tv world of dating matchups and the writing was fantastic.

The book was well done and i will read more from this author. Great job on the book!

Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review.

ate this book up but after i read about 80 pages and forced myself to keep going. strong writing so it might’ve just been my headspace

As a huge fan of The Bachelor/Bachelorette franchise, I couldn't pass this one up! I absolutely loved this novel and thought Laurie Devore did a wonderfully delightful job of playing into the reality television world of match ups while also writing characters who had some depth and purpose. Very well done!

I had a good time reading this one. It took me a while since I read it physically and I'm at that point in the year that once I read a few words at the end of the night, I conk out pretty quickly. However, I always remembered exactly where I left off which is an indication that this book hooked me.

I'm a sucker for the Bachelor trope - narrowing down a group of suitors to The One. Although this book was Bachelor focused, it wasn't so much about that trope and was more about the people who are chosen to have the "villain edit" during their season. I really enjoyed that it was easy to see how she became the villain, but you also rooted for her & Henry because she's a person with feelings just like the rest of us. Also, Marcus sucked.

It did make me think about the start of these shows though - in the beginning, people seemed to be there to find someone and have their 10 minutes of fame and then went back to their lives. Now, they're all about gaining followers on social media and becoming influencers and they never go away. Their lives just become about influencing people to buy things. I think Jac also easily became the villain because she was clearly there to get more publicity as an author. The other women who were in Marcus' top women played the game a bit more slyly.

This was a fun time. If you're at all into The Bachelor, I think you'll enjoy it.

Jacqueline, a failed romance author, has a brilliant plan: go on the latest Bachelor-type show called the 1 in an attempt to regain some fame. She’s carefully crafted a strategy beforehand and easily falls into the producers' plan to turn her into the villain. She quickly learns that the show is a lot more draining than she originally thought, leaving her to question if it was all worth it in the end.

The Villain Edit was a weird book for me. There were aspects that made me want to obsessively keep reading (I think the Bachelor premise was instrumental in this), but at the same time, I hated all the characters (which, to be fair, I’m pretty sure was intentional). I struggled a lot with having an entire cast of dislikable characters, but to readers that like this, I think this book would be a win. My favorite part about this book was that while technically a romance, it was filled with snark and didn't read like a traditional romance at all. All in all, I liked this book but didn’t love it. I think it would be perfect for fans of literary fiction who also like to see the breaking of the fourth wall in reality TV!

3.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

I loved the premise- an author joins a reality show to try and jumpstart her career. Shes a romance author but isnt feeling inspired so what better way than to go on a dating reality show? This was decently entertaining. It had some good balance between romance and humor. Nothing that will stick with me long-term, but it was fun while I was reading.

An interesting, gripping, thought-provoking novel set around a reality TV romance show, with drama both behind the scenes and in front of the camera. When Jac decides to go on a reality dating show, never could she have imagined whom might be involved, and what would happen.

I do not want to say too much about the plot of this book due to spoilers, but, I will say, there is so much in it: drama, secrets, lies, forbidden romance, moments that will have you thinking, and depth.

If you enjoy reality dating TV shows, I recommend this book!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Avon for the e-ARC of this book! All opinions expressed n this review are my own.

This was meh - I love a reality show plot but this just didn't quite hit the mark. The characters all felt a bit flat and there was quite of lot of suspension of disbelief (or stupidity) required, but it had juicy drama so that's something.

Fans of the bachelor franchise, rejoice! THE VILLAIN EDIT by Laurie Devore is one of my favorite books from 2024 -- such a fun story with equally compelling writing -- a must-read!

A low 2 stars. This wasn’t for me. I was mostly bored and annoyed by the protagonist's constant pity party.

This could have been fun, but it needed a snarky and juicy writing style to pull that off! Unfortunately, the writing felt flat and emotionless to me. It's all so samey! It feels cold, while everyone keeps saying they are feeling big emotions!

The same goes for the characters. They are dull with no personality. Jac is really not bitchy enough to be fun, but also not nice enough that the reader feels sorry for the villain edit she is receiving. She is just very bland! And I didn't care about who the producers were producing. At all.

Overall, it was lifeless and boring. Also, I’m not sure the book knows which genre it wants to be. It's not romance or satire! Maybe bad contemporary fiction?

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review an advanced copy of this novel. I highly enjoyed it and will be recommending it.

- I just can’t pass up a reality dating show novel, and THE VILLAIN EDIT is probably the juiciest one I’ve read yet.
- I didn’t think a lot of the plot made sense - How is “failed author” going to make you a beloved contestant? Could you really not see that everyone hated you? Did you think the cameras were really gone? Why would they let you talk openly about producer machinations on air? Etc. Maybe I just watch too much Bachelor, though.
- However, despite or maybe because of all that, I couldn’t put it down becauseI needed to know what would happen next.

The Villain Edit by Laurie Devore, if I’m being honest, wasn’t my favorite romance. The borderline infidelity that comes from being on a dating reality tv show really isn’t my jam—the show’s lead is dating multiple women at once, which is already icky—but then the FMC is “dating” the guy on the show while hooking up with the producer, too? Eh, I know it’s part of the process she went through to arrive at her happy ending, but I just didn’t love it. I could empathize with Jacqueline, I could understand WHY she made the decisions that she did, but this one was just a little too messy—ALTHOUGH I did enjoy the ending. *smirks* It had a pretty good ending.

If you love shows like The Bachelor or Love Island, then you’ll probably love The Villain Edit.

This book was a read in one sitting sort of novel. It was very compelling and kept me interested. There is reality tv, and the facade these people get in an edit. The Fillain edit was perfect and had a fast plot without being too typical. Definitely a lick it up now.

Oh my what a wild ride! If you like the Bachelor shows you will love this book. I loved every second, definitely one of my favorites this year. Jac's time on the1 with Marcus as lead and Henry as a producer keeps you wanting more. Who gets the happily ever after?

Well, this was an absolute riot! My anxiety was through the roof, actually sweating and panicking but wow. There was so much drama but I also by far enjoyed the exploration of the behind-the-scenes of the reality dating show. I love reality tv and this was so much fun to read! I mean, it really can be blamed on the edit sometimes.