Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read this earc. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Love the cover! I started it late at night and stayed up way too late to finish, could not put it down!

I instantly loved the confidence of Ashley but slightly hated what she was trying to do in the first chapter. I really enjoyed the alternating pov between Ashley and Gabe. The fake relationship turning into something more took longer than I thought it would, I would have caved immediately near a perfect man. The dark troubled past of Gabe that he tried to hide made him even more loveable, Ashley and Gabe being more than just what the public sees was very deep and the development and growth of their characters was top notch. I was expecting more "dirtyness"from the sex parts but they were well written. I felt so angry at Gabe for his refusal to see what was right in front of him, he was so dense while assuming Ashley betrayed him. She more than proved herself and he must have had blinders on! Absolutely amazing writing to elicite feeling like that in the reader.

I would definitely recommend this book if you need a nice fast paced spicy read.

The Villain Edit is a celebrity/reality star, opposites attract romance that includes forced proximity, a road trip, lots of spice, and lots of Hollywood gossip and drama. This was a very angsty read, with two flawed characters with messy family backgrounds. Gabriel left his childhood identity in the past and constantly strives to be like his much acclaimed award winning uncle who took him in. Ashley was made out to be the “villain” in her reality TV show – and she didn’t do much outside of the limelight to discredit this title.

My only critique would be that I feel like the story could have been ~50 pages shorter and still had all of the emotion and drama. There was a bit of whiplash of being on and off again between the two, but I think they had to be so messy to believe their inevitable breakup, and of course, how they fall in love again at the end (not really a spoiler since it’s a romance…).

I enjoyed Holiday Vibes (book 2) in this series, and I still want to read Love and other Risky Business, but I think The Villain Edit was a great conclusion to this series. Thank you to Netgalley, Victory Editing, and the author for an advanced review copy.

This book is exactly what I wanted it to be. The two main characters have their own flaws and yet somehow they both work so well together. Ashley is the villain from a reality tv show and Gabe is a saint. However both are suits of armor they portray to the world. The two of them fight the urge to be together so much that it physically hurts both of them. Once they discover that they are meant to be it just proves that are meant to be. A HEA enemies to lover, fake dating turns real, brilliant book.

If I could make a book a movie this would be it. I wish I were joking, but I love this book with all my heart, and this is something I was not expecting to say. From the get-go, Ashely is as annoying as possible, and I expected to really dislike her. But you start seeing who she really is through that tough exterior she puts on and you just can't help but fall in love with her.

She's hurting and doesn't believe she can be loved after she did something terrible to her aunt and never was given her parents' love, but rather used as a pawn for their benefit. She ruins her life, not because she wants to be a villain but because she believes that's the only way the world will ever see her. Until she meets the swoony Gabriel Sinclair.

He's tough, with his own skeletons in the closet, and wants more than anything to gain the approval of his uncle (even though he's dead) because he helped him get the life he has. Ashley is not in his plan, but after being caught by the paparazzi with her lipstick smeared on his lips at Ashley's cousin's wedding, they enter a fake relationship to make him edgier and for Ashley to hopefully land a role as her money is dwindling after becoming the villain in a reality TV show.

They shouldn't work, since they're so different on paper, but they truly are two people with similar pasts who went down two different paths. He tried to change himself and prove to people his past did not define him, while she believed that her past defined her and became complacent in it all.

Ashley and Gabe grow so much on you as the book continues, and I can't imagine one person who doesn't relate to these two in some way. The sex is hot, albeit a bit much of the relationship. But by the end, you can't help but wait for them to get together and live their happily ever after.

A breath of fresh air. Genuinely can't rave about this enough,

I'm so happy I decided to read this book! It was totally random, I just decided to read it based on the plot (and the cover). The fact that the heroine was the bad girl and the hero was the "do-gooder" was 100% why I picked it up right away without giving much thought.
I usually do not have expectations when it comes to new-to-me authors but I can honestly say I was impressed by Sarah Brenton's writing: it's easy to read, it has dual POV in first person (my fave) and it's got spice (and lots of it!) and a hate-to-love relationship between the MCs (well, only for a third of the book). I don't like drama and scandals but Ashley and Gabe are famous people so what did I expect? It was angst-packed and at times I hated Gabriel for being so job oriented... but in the end, he came to his senses and my girl Ash got her HEA 💕. I wish the epilogue was longer, they were so hot and cute 🔥🥺

So...if you like hate-to-love, road trip, reality tv star bad girl x do-gooder with a dirty mouth actor, fake dating and a lot of steam then this book is for you ❤️

This is a really interesting take on how edits on shows can make people villains or heroes. I love that it’s the person who supposedly a villain who is being criticized because she seems like she’s developing a relationship with who everyone in Hollywood sees us a good guy the romance is really interesting and it’s fun to see how nobody is actually good or evil, but rather just real. I really enjoyed this book very much.

I just love the way Sarah Brenton writes. She seems to know exactly what words, emotions, and scenes will hook me into her books. I can't believe how much I identified with Ashley. And the way Sarah sneaks in the unexpected! There were so many little things I didn't see coming that just elevated this book.

Ashley is the 'villian' everyone loves to hate, but over the course of the book, we find that maybe she's not so bad after all. I loved how Gabe slowly broke down her walls, and how Gabe gradually reconnected with himself. Both of them struggled under the weight of expectations but came out of the story with their HEA.

If you still aren't sold, here are a few of the tropes that might convince you to read:
-Fake Dating
-Forced Proximity
-Only One Bed

Hilarious and adorable. I would highly recommend to anyone looking for a great light hearted read this year.

Reality villain Ashley Foley's failed attempt to ruin her cousin's marriage to the man she's in love finds herself forced to participate in a fake relationship with clean cut Hollywood hunk Gabriel Sinclair.

Ashley is nursing long-time hurts and insecrities and is happy to play the villain. She's an utter porcupine, very soft belly but don't get too close. Meanwhile Gabe is trying to be perfect to live up to his late director uncle's perfection, despite his own difficult childhood before he was taken in by his aunt and uncle. They both have a blistering chemistry.

This book was a compelling character study between two people who have deliberately become caricatures of themselves. I really liked that Sarah Brenton explored who really was the villain and how we can be stuck being how others view ourselves because we're afraid. At the start I found Ashley so hard to understand as she would do outrageous things to embarass Gabe. Then Gabe behaved so badly I wanted her to keep him in her dust and the book to focus on her personal growth and finding her talents validated earlier than in the epilogue.

Thanks to Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op and NetGalley for the ARC.

I started this book today and FLEW through it! This book was heartfelt and vulnerable with spiciness that won’t disappoint. I loved that it was fast paced and the banter throughout was SO GOOD!

I picked this book up late last night, and kept waking up thinking about what was happening next ... I literally lost sleep to read this book & I don't regret the decision. I will be reading this authors prior stories in this series because this book was so captivating!!!

Our FMC has the "bag girl" persona, which was a welcome reprieve as it's usually reversed.
Our MMC has the opposite public persona, and it's truly written well.

The way that the fake dating situation begins is absolutely righteous, I loved it!!! It's the typical mutually beneficial reasoning but the scene that starts it all, caused me quite a gasp. Our MCs fake date to mildly alter their respective public personas. He is supposed to soften her inage and she is supposed to roughen his.
She isnt getting any work because she's being condemned publicly for her most recent role.
He is viewed as such a Saint, it's hard for him to get the darker, soul hitting, roles that he seeks.

Anyways - that's all I'm gonna give you!!!
Tropes: Celebrity, Fake Dating, Road trip, Image Rehab, Enemies to Lovers, Third Act Break Up, HEA

This was a tepid Hollywood romance and I did not care for the two leads. There was no joy to the road trip, and the chemistry was lacking.

Sweet romance and I definitely felt the confection. Between the characters. The overall book definitely worked for me. Thanks for the arc.