https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP81WujQt/
First off, I will say as a fellow Clemson grad and a gal from South Carolina, I loved seeing the Clemson and South Carolina references in this book!

The DRAMA! The Villain Edit is messy, toxic, and sexy in all the best ways. I was glued to this book – it was exactly like watching The Bachelor but getting to see behind the curtain of what it means to produce a reality dating show and the emotional and mental manipulation that comes with production.

The story is told through Jac’s point of view as a contestant on the dating show called “The 1” as she quickly realizes that she is going to get the villain edit. Adding another layer to her drama is Henry, the man she met prior to the show in a one-night stand, who is actually a producer on the show.

Even though I did not relate to or really like any of the characters, it was a fast and easy read. This book is different from your normal romance novels. If you enjoy an unconventional protagonist, love triangles, or The Bachelor franchise, you will enjoy this book.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

The Villain Edit is available on July 2, 2024. I would like to thank the publisher and author for providing an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this novel via NetGalley.

This one was a pleasant surprise! I think it was the perfect beach read. Jacqueline is a flawed heroine that you can’t help but cheer for. To boost her writing career, she goes on a reality dating show on a whim. The book exposes the dark side of shows like “The Bachelor” and the book reminds us that we can’t judge a person because of the edits and the agendas that are happening behind the scenes on those shows. This one made me laugh and cheer!

thank you netgalley for the e-arc. i've said before in my reviews that i don't like or watch reality tv and i think i learned my lesson in thinking a book version will change my mind. this was well written and had a good flow to it but i couldn't care less about the content.

I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book! I have never watched an episode of the Bachelor/Bachelorette but I can completely see this book showing the truth to how it's made. It was so interesting to read through the entire show process and it kept me glued to the book.

I wasn't a huge fan of the MMC. If you go through the entire book going back and forth trying to see if you can trust him it doesn't make him 100% likable. He's fine otherwise.

As an OG Bachelor fan, I have very mixed feelings about this book. I thought I would love it because it was based on the show...but it was so much based on the show that it felt completely unoriginal. Honestly, it felt like a rip-off of the show. For every single date described, I could practically name a season with that exact day, for every questionable or wild behavior by a contestant in the book, I could name at least one real contestant that they could be describing. I just didn't like how uncannily similar all of it was!

Next, the two lead characters were all over the place, and their behaviors seemed so unpredictable and sporadic. It was a very frustrating back and forth between them, and I didn't feel like their actions always made sense, based on what information we were given about their personalities and pasts. I had no idea how this book was going to end, so I suppose that was a perk, but even then it wasn't all that believable. I'm still glad I read this book, but I can't say it was my favorite.

Writing style turned me off. Did not enjoy a drunk heroine in the first chapter. DNF. Charlotte is a failed romance writer who decides to compete in a bachelor type reality show for publicity.

I don't watch The Bachelor series, but for some reason, I really enjoy this premise in a novel. The Villain Edit follows Jac (Jacqueline), who has become a new contestant on The 1, a Bachelor-type reality dating show, in order to boost lagging book sales for her novels. Prior to the start of the filming, Jac meets a man who is appealing and aloof whom she has a one-night stand with. She learns quickly that he is one of the producers of The 1.
Jac is pretty savvy and understands "reality" shows are not actually based in reality, but quickly gets sucked into the drama of it all. The contestants are constantly manipulated, isolated, and tested emotionally. Jac’s acerbic humor and no-nonsense personality quickly puts her into the role of the villain on the show. She feels pulled between the lead of The 1 and the producer, but struggles to understand their motivations.
The Villain Edit is a really smart book with some spice that asks a lot of questions. How do you maintain your sense of self when you’re constantly tested and forced to perform for an audience? When the entire reality show is based on lies or fabrications, how can you determine what is real? I really enjoyed Jac as a character, but the book was a little tedious at times, but I think that was the point. How tedious it can be to be put in an environment where others are pulling the strings.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC. All thoughts are my own.

3.5 stars

A romance writer goes onto a dating show to try and boost her career. The only problem? The producers made her this season’s villain. Oh, and that one night stand she had right before going on the show? He works there. Drama!

It’s first person, single POV.

Overall, I’m not sure how I feel. I was expecting this to be about a whip-smart woman who gets wrongfully cast as the villain and leans into it. It’s instead a mostly unlikable character who is standoffish and says bitchy things…getting cast as the villain, leaning into it, and then being surprised she’s the villain?

As for the supporting characters, I loved Rikki!! Though I disliked the rest of the cast. Both MMCs aren’t great either. After the 60% mark I almost skipped to the end and DNF’d this because it felt like it was dragging, but I stayed to watch the dumpster fire that was the unraveling of our FMC. I have to imagine she’s unlikable on purpose. In which case, the story succeeded?

This also casts a light on how manipulative these shows are, in the literal sense and with editing. There’s soundbites spliced together, scenes getting re-shot, and a specific narrative we’re being fed as the viewer. While I’ve never DM’d something nasty to a celebrity, it makes us remember there’s a real person on the other end of the internet's vitriol.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for my advanced digital copy!

Jacqueline (Jac) found success with the publication of her first book. Moving to New York, she was going to be somebody in that city. Her second book did not do as well and her contract for the third book was cancelled. A spot on the 1, a search for love, will hopefully put her back on the track to success. It is an opportunity to promote herself. Just before reporting in at the mansion she takes a night for herself at a local bar. There she meets Henry, which leads to a one-night stand. Her first meeting with Marcus, the bachelor looking for the love of his life, goes well until Henry walks through the door. He is one of the show’s producers. They agree that no one can know about their meeting, but each time they are together she is drawn to him. Contracts have been signed and she can not just quit. She has little in common with the other women and alienates them when she speaks her mind. Everything is being filmed. When her words are edited she becomes the villain of the show.

Laurie Devore takes you behind the scenes of a reality show, revealing the manipulation and restrictions that are put on the contestants. Jac discovers that no one is to be trusted, not even Henry. She finds a friend in Rikki, one of the only characters in Devore’s story to defend Jac and offer her compassion. Even Marcus, who Jac is supposed to love, is shallow and manipulative. This is the perfect book to take to the beach or read with a glass of wine in hand. Messy relationships, a bit of humor and a bit of romance makes this a fun read. I would like to thank NetGalley and Avon & Harper Voyager for providing this book.

This book was such a fun read - I absolutely flew through it! I've always been drawn to the reality tv villains and felt like it could be fun to be the villain - if you're in on it that choice. Jac thinks she knows how to play the reality tv show game and by the time she realizes that she's not going to get the edit she expected, everything is out of her control. Jac makes mistakes and sometimes she's the bitch the producers want her to be, but i still found myself rooting for her. This is a great read for anyone who loves reality tv and romances that don't always go as planned.

Jac is a romance writer. So what is more perfect than competing in a Bachelor-type show. She quickly becomes the front runner for Marcus's heart, and also the season's villain.

This could have been good but it was just flat. I felt like the characters were just stereotypes from the Bachelor and didn't have. their own personalities. The ending was good but you could probably figure out where it was going all along.

I love me book about reality tv. The messier the characters the better. Jac was made out to be the villain, but she was the most human out of all them. All the hurts and romance made realer by the characters reactions. I can't wait to get my hands on Laurie Devore's back catalog. Overwhelmingly enjoyed!!!!

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager | Avon and Avon and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

I received a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This would make a great beach read. The juicy behind-the-scenes take on reality dating shows. I imagine this is what it’s really like to film shows like The Bachelor. Lots of fun characters and a fast-moving storyline. I like how it’s a narrative of the story but also features Instagram posts, blog discussions, DMs, etc. definitely a guilty pleasure read.

3.5

This was such a good book to be published in touring the resurgence of the bachelor love island era. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Hope they redo this again from a different contestants POV.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley.

First, kudos to this author for knowing her stuff when it comes to the Bachelor universe. I’m a super fan and it’s obvious she’s done her research. I’ve read quite a few romances based around this universe, and this one holds up well. However, I should note that I wouldn’t consider this a true romance. It’s a lot grittier and darker.

I loved the parts surrounding the behind the scenes of the show. I did get bogged down a bit by all the self loathing between the main character and her love interest - parts of it felt like saying the same thing over and over again. While the author is good at writing dialogue, some parts intentionally felt like they really weren’t saying anything at all.

This book was such an intriguing idea. I love The Bachelor and this really went into how shows manipulate the truth. Jac is honestly a bitch, but the producers were also making it so she was bitchier and more cold hearted than she actually is. This novel shows how people can be so mean online when they THINK they know the full story. I really really enjoyed the conversations in here. I even enjoyed the little toxic complicated relationship aspect we got in here.

I had a lot of fun with this one! You could really tell that the main character was invested into working the reality show and trying to get the most out of her time there. I like the retrospective on how the show was cut and viewed by its audience. There was a clear like between what was actually happening and what the rest of the world saw. I love when female characters get to be mean and a little bitchy.

DNF at 42%

“Emily Henry meets Fleabag” = FALSE

I couldn’t root for Jac because of her neverending “I’m not like all the other girls”-ing and being so much prettier than everyone else (of course) and making out with Marcus and maybe having real feelings for him (?) but also lusting over Henry and maybe having real feelings for him (?) because of course both men are hot to trot for her (see: not like all the other girls) while being constantly manipulated by the producers (including Henry) while thinking she’s so above it all because she’s A Writer who lived in NEW YORK CITY (!) and she is NOT LIKE ALL OF THOSE OTHER GIRLS - it became unreadable.

I absolutely 5-star LOVED Devore’s last book (A Better Bad Idea), but this one was clearly not the book for me.

I've finished the book, and what a ride it was! The premise had me hooked: reality show inside info from the POV of the show's villain. We've seen enough memoirs of reality show contestants to realize that the actual reality of these shows is far darker than even the most scintillating show premise. I was here for it, and Laurie Devore delivered. I fully credit her research on The Bachelor and all the related podcasts and analyses, as well as citing all the readings of aforementioned memoirs in her Acknowledgments. She put in the work, and the result is as compelling a trainwreck as any of those types of shows. I just think readers should know what they're in for.

This is not for traditional romance readers, unless you've grown a bit cynical about common romance tropes. Jac is not a likeable heroine. If you're like me, you'll have some things in common with Jac -- especially falling into the "not like other girls" trap and the near-constant need to see yourself as special. She is a complex character who makes self-destructive decisions and follows toxic patterns, but always in a believable way. She is no tidy stand-in character for the audience, both a liberated woman that's also an ideal version of ourselves. Jac is messy as fuck. And so is Henry, the love interest. It's their flaws and toxicity that end up both bonding and strangely redeeming both. In that way, this is the most modern romance I've ever read.

I read an ARC, so some of the final polish may have been missing. Other critics have pointed out the banging soundtrack made up of the chapter titles of the novel, for which I'm headed to my music streamer next to find. Looks pretty emo-punk like Fall Out Boy and Paramore, and I recommend the explicit versions to closely match the vibe of the text.

This book is surprisingly explicit, while some details could have been fleshed through more thoroughly. I respect that Jac is as sexual as she is, and this book is the first I've read (that's marketed as a romance) that covers that sexual chemistry can be entirely separate from whether you actually like the person. This novel really is like a roller-coaster ride (complete with the occasional regret when you get a good look at what you got yourself into). There were times when I thought it was getting too dark to go on. But I made it through to the HEA, and so did Jac, even though other critics have pointed out that the ending seemed too rushed. The other characters outside the triangle featuring Jac weren't terribly fleshed out, but that makes sense in that they barely registered on Jac's radar, and the story is from her POV. I'm sort of mystified that Jac's family is as positive and supportive as they are, and she's still so damaged, but I suppose that feeds into her complexity being her own making and not the result of terrible trauma.

I was also sort of stunned by the toxicity of the publishing world as depicted in the book. That was a bit traumatic to my reader's impression that authors are supportive of each other. The fellow authors who knew Jac before the show were just as petty and judgmental as those who ripped through the show in online commentary. The whole thing left me feeling like I needed about three consecutive showers.

A compulsively readable romp of a book, but not to be mistaken for light reading.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.

TW: alcohol abuse, suicide attempt (off-camera), parental death, cancer descriptions, racial slurs (referenced off-camera), threats of sexual violence (commentary), death threats (commentary), slut-shaming, and disordered eating with body image depictions, online harassment.

2.5 stars

I love books with social commentary, books that challenge accepted narratives or shine a light on subjects like misogyny and the inhumanely manipulative nature of reality TV. But this book felt heavy-handed in its commentary.

My biggest problem is that the characters were hard to connect to. Rikki was probably my favorite out of all of them. The rest? I didn't care. And the love triangle never had me wondering. I'm not sure why, but I was confident I knew who was endgame in that situation.

We see Jac and Henry and Marcus and most of the contestants and producers at their worst. I don't care that Henry's manipulative or that Jac earns her villain edit -- their flaws can make for some great characters. But everything was so muddled so fast that I never had time to empathize with anyone. Maybe this is on me (I don't do subtext, I don't play mind games) but these were interesting characters with unscalable walls for me as a reader.

This is also the second book I've read this year by the same title, dealing with similar subject matter. They're structured very differently and they make their points in different ways but I wholeheartedly preferred the other one.

<i>Many thanks to NetGalley, Avon, and the author for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.</i>