The fake dating trope is so fun. And I wanted this one to be more fun than this was. Ashley Foley is a bad girl everyone loves to hate and she’s too toxic to get work. Her long time crush gets married and she tries to seduce him at the reception but the wrong guy, Gabriel Sinclair , walks in. Let the fake dating commence. Gabriel is a bad boy who really isn’t a bad boy, but wants to be bad but doesn’t. His motivation about that is slightly confusing. Neither are very well written characters.

I did enjoy the discussions of the standards women are held to versus men, parasocial relationships, socioeconomic bias. I haven’t read any other books in the trilogy but I think I will.


Thank you for the arc

This was a first time read for me by this author and I found it to be a very entertaining read. This is the third book in the Over the Top Love series, but can easily be read as a standalone. Ashley has a reputation for being TV's bad girl. But she's been having a hard time getting work, and matters were only made worse when the man she loves is about to get married. She decides to embrace her bad girl image and seduce the groom on the day of his wedding. Her plan is foiled when it's the groomsman, Gabe, that shows up instead of the groom. Gabe senses he's walking into a trap as soon as he enters the room. But he's eager to add some edge to his golden-boy image and goes along with it. After being caught in the scandalous situation, both of their agencies decide they can use the situation to their advantage by having them appear in a fake relationship. Gabe could get the desired edge he wants, and his golden boy image could help repair some of Ashley's bad girl image.
The plot was definitely interesting and kept my attention the whole way through. I really enjoyed the character development throughout. Ashley is portrayed as the bad girl from the get-go, but as more of her layers are revealed, I began to understand her more and saw how she grew as a character with Gabe's help. With Ashley's help, Gabe also has a chance to grow and really understand what's important in life.
I enjoyed the story and following the characters and I would love to read more of this author's work in the future.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing a complimentary copy. This is my honest review.

It was tough deciding how to rate this book. I do love a good redemption arc, however the MMC was so unlikeable, I found it hard to pay him much attention. I did find the FMC to be redeemed, I definitely felt for her.

The spice was great. Sometimes I could go either way regarding spicy scenes, but this kept my interest.

Thank you so much to the author and Netgalley for providing an advanced copy of this! All thoughts and opinions are still my own.

I've really enjoyed this series over all! I was skeptical going into book 1, but was thoroughly impressed with the series as a whole.

This was definitely my least favorite in the trilogy. But I think that's based more on personal romance preferences than the book itself.

I'm not big on the fame trope and this one deals heavily with fame. I just don't usually enjoy the exploration of the spotlight or media influence. So the plot of this one just wasn't my favorite.

However, if you're a reality tv fan or do enjoy discussions of fame, I think there were a lot of things packed into this one - from the standards women are held to versus men, socioeconomic bias, and parasocial behaviors.

I'm so glad I found this author and I can't wait to see what she releases next!

I had a blast reading The Villain Edit! It’s was a whirlwind of emotions throughout the book. Bringing me to misty eyes and tears at certain points. Reacting with sadness, anger and joy,´ to the antics between Ash and Gabe. It’s been a while since I’ve felt sympathetic towards the Villain and detested the Hero. Loved it!

The cover is what drew me in, but the story made me stay.

While I did not read the other books in the series prior, this book was easy to understand! It's a cute enemies to lovers meets fake dating but they are celebrities. He's the golden boy and she's everything but that, yet they were perfect for each other.

I loved this book so much more than I thought I would, and I was hooked. Gabriel and Ashely are everything. Ashley dealt with a lot, and one thing I did not like was how Gabriel dealt with that knowledge. Towards the end, things happen and she forgives him so easily. There was so much to love but some groveling would've been even better.

A good story with a good strong female character. I always like a strong female character and Ashley is just that. Gabriel had his moments because if he did not he would not have stayed with her. A good romance that has something for everyone depending on what you are looking for. I found this to be a good read.

I am not a diehard fan of romance, but I do like to read it. That being said, I thought I was going to hate this book but I really, really liked it. I love rooting for the villain and this book made me even more happy for doing so. This book is another surprise for me in 2024, because I just assumed it would be a book that I disliked but I loved it. I was pulled in by the first sentence: "I'm the villain of several stories, but mostly my own." This is such an iconic first sentence, the best of 2024 so far. I also loved the dedication, because as a majorly horror and mystery thriller reader, I love bad, demented, "toxic" evil, morally grey or even morally black characters!

I liked Ashley as a character a lot more than Gabriel. She was messy, wrong, carefree, audacious and hilarious! Gabriel is still a strong character and adds a lot to the story but I liked Ashley more.

This book has all the things that will make regular romance readers swoon, with good sex scenes, good chemistry between the characters, slight enemies to lovers, celebrities and fake dating tropes.

The writing is simple, so it is really the plot and characters doing the heavy lifting here as is the case in most romance novels. Which is something I don't mind, as the characters in this book seemed fleshed out and 3d.

I will definitely be reading the rest of the books in this series whilst waiting for book four.

TV villain Ashley Foley and actor Gabriel Sinclair are the focus of Sarah Brenton's fictional romance novel, The Villain Edit. The author compares her thoughts on the book to a viral TikTok audio, expressing her overall dissatisfaction with it. Initially, the author had doubts about the novel due to Ashley's attempt to ruin her cousin's wedding. However, she eventually sympathizes with Ashley and hoped to enjoy the story when Ashley and Gabriel pretend to date. Unfortunately, their fake relationship takes a turn for the worst when Gabriel distances himself from Ashley for the sake of his image and career. The author criticizes Gabriel's actions towards Ashley and expresses her dislike for him. Despite her empathy for Ashley, the author feels disappointed when Ashley forgives Gabriel without hesitation. Although the author hated the book, she found the awfulness of it strangely entertaining. In conclusion, the book leaves a negative impression on the author, who struggled to find any aspect of the story that she enjoyed. The author thanks NetGalley, Victory Editing, and Sarah Brenton for providing a copy of the ebook in exchange for an honest review.

📖 Book Review 📖
The Villain Edit by Sarah Brenton

⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

I’ve never really been into the fake dating trope but I think I have to change my mind on that because, I ate this book up!! I definitely recommend it.


Sarah Brenton (Author) wrote this book amazingly. I felt a sense of familiarity with the characters and I was really surprised with the character growth but also the storytelling and spice was top tier.

Ashley (FMC) has been painted the villain forever and from reading the blurb I thought I’d dislike her but as I read on I genuinely connected and loved her the most. Sure she’s done bad things and is flawed but aren’t we all? As I continued to read I realised that Ashley isn’t a hero or a villain, she’s just a person and people do both good and bad things.


Gabe (MMC) Golden boy actor who’s being led to dirty his pristine image in order to keep a role. His agents convince him and Ashley to fake date and during this Gabe loses himself, realising that always trying to look good and uphold honour his Uncle's memory isn’t what he wants. Between long car rides, getting to know each other, scandals and an undeniable attraction to each other. Maybe fake dating isn’t so fake anymore.

Thankyou to @Netgalley for gifting me this ARC 💖

Who doesn't love a fake dating trope? Add in that the FMC is the "villain" and I'm down for the ride. This is the third book in the series and one of my favs. I loved Ashley's redemption arc, and the layers that Brenton wove into the flawed character. We understood by the end of it how Ashley's past affected her decisions in the beginning, and we finally saw her softer side, even though she's still a spitfire. Gabe was the villain in my mind with the shit he pulled, but I also love when the MMC grovels for forgiveness, so that helped me enjoy his character more. The story was fast-paced and entertaining.

This book was fine. It wasn’t anything I was dying to pick up every day but I also wasn’t ready to throw it out the window. I love myself a good fake dating trope so it was an easy sell for me and a fast read. Great for a palette cleanser but not one I’ll pick up and reread. I think the attempt to make the characters realistically flawed was there but skewed a little too far and made me just not really like them. The spice was fantastic but it felt like that’s all there was to their relationship. They needed more development to form a deeper connection besides their off the charts sexual chemistry.

Thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing Netgalley Co-op for providing me with this ARC.

I didn't have high expectations for this book when I first picked it up. However, once I started reading, I found myself completely engrossed and couldn't put it down! The writing is face-paced and captivating, which is something I truly appreciate.
After my initial reservations, I was pleasantly surprised by the level of excitement the story delivered. There were surprising twists and turns, which made me excited to explore the Author's other work.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone looking for a good pallet cleanser or a quick read.

I love a book where the girl is the villain and the boy is the innocent one. It so refreshing to read a reversal of roles after awhile and I loved it so much!
It was such a fun and easy read and I by the time I got half way, the book flew by because I couldn't put it down.
The plot was great and I loved that it was different from the typical bad boy/bad girl vibe. There was more to the story and the characters developed over time to ones that I didn't think I'd love when I first started reading.

"You are worthy of love just as you are."

2.5 stars for me. Personally, the desire just wasn't there to pick this up. It took me longer than normal to finish & I just feel like things kind of got jumbled at the end.

While I love a good fake dating trope as much as the next person, I just did not feel it with this one. I felt like I kept being told what a unlikable person Ash was on tv, but other than one not so well thought out plan, there wasn't much to justify it. Gabe was supposed to be this perfect man, and again, I just wanted more from him personality wise.

I also just wish there was something more to distinguish this romance from all of the other romances that are out there. Something that made it more different than the rest!

Thank you to Netgalley & Victory Editing for an advance copy of this book! All thoughts an opinions are my own!

Honestly, this one blew me away! I was a little unsure after the blurb about trying to break up her cousins marriage, but it’s truly a story of two broken people coming together and healing. One loved, loved this one!! Thank you netgalley for the ARC. The characters grew so much and it felt like I was along for the ride with them both and felt their growing pains. I can’t say enough about the spice. It was everything and more, I cannot wait to read every single thing Sarah Brenton has written. FIRE!!!!

Received an ARC for this one- took me a bit to get into, I couldn’t connect with the main character but eventually picks up and enjoyed it overall. I try and reserve 4 or 5 stars for my all time favorite books and the overall flow of the book was just a bit too slow for me but would be interested in reading another book in the future by the author

Unfortunately, this book wasn't for me. It was tough for me to get into the story. I did get through a couple of chapters but I just couldn't; finish it.

I REALLY ENJOYED THIS ONE! I have never heard of this author, but I loved the plotline to this book! I am a sucker for fake dating, and this book 10000% delivered.

I think over this book was a fun and easy read. While I love a good fake dating trope, this one definitely was a little much but that’s just my opinion.

Honestly I was going to rate this 4 stars up until the very end when Gabe was literally on his knees apologizing to Ashley. Ashley was this strong feministic character throughout the whole book, so I was expecting her to have something to say to Gabe but she just took him back without on hesitations or second thoughts. I needed her to be stronger for herself…