ᴛʜᴇ ᴠɪʟʟᴀɪɴ ᴇᴅɪᴛ
ʀᴀᴛɪɴɢ: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
ꜱᴘɪᴄᴇ: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

🎬𝙴𝚗𝚎𝚖𝚒𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝙻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚜
🖤𝙵𝚘𝚛𝚌𝚎𝚍 𝙿𝚛𝚘𝚡𝚒𝚖𝚒𝚝𝚢
🎬𝚁𝚘𝚊𝚍 𝚃𝚛𝚒𝚙
🖤𝙵𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝙳𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐
🎬𝙱𝚒 𝚁𝚎𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 🌈

𝘈𝘴𝘩𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘍𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘛𝘝 𝘝𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘢 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴 𝘎𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘭 𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘺𝘸𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘎𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘉𝘰𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘦’𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘴. 𝘚𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦? 𝘊𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘺 𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘱….

I freaking LOVE Ashley, she is the epitome of a “Bad Girl”, she’s confident, flirty, and seems to have no morals by trying to seduce her own cousin’s husband. Her character is really growing on me, but even when she did all those horrible things at the beginning, it didn’t make me hate her, just made her “real”. Not often do we get a heroine who is not a “damsel in distress” or “Mother Teresa”. She has many flaws and she owns it, and once we really get to know her, we know that her “Villain Edit” is not as it appears to be.

And Gabriel freaking Sinclair, he take me on a whole roller coaster ride, he made me swoon, he made me angry, he made me cry and he made me FORGIVE him! I love how he saw through the real Ashley, and he likes her for all of her flaws, his confession gives me the butterflies. And for a golden boy with a pristine image, he sure got wild for Ashley. What he did seemed unforgivable, I was contemplating whether I could forgive him or not until the 92% mark. Then he pulled out the UNO reverse card and served me with the EPIC groveling of the century that I had no choice but to forgive his stupid cute face.

I cried so much towards the end, poor Ashley finally got what she always deserves. This book is also very steamy, and those smut are so damn hawt and I enjoy them very much. I had never heard of this author, and I picked this up because the cover caught my attention, and boy do I thank everything that is holy that I did. This is what I loved about discovering a new indie author, it’s like finding a gem in this sea of millions of releases every single day. I highly recommend this book who love a good redemption arc, celebrity romance, and epic groveling from the MMC.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 NetGalley 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸.

Ashley is the reality TV villain everyone loves to hate. Gabe is the movie star with a pristine reputation. When the paps catch the two in a compromising position at a wedding, their PR teams force them to fake date.

Gabe’s goody-two-shoes reputation has critics thinking he’s not the right fit for his next role as a bad boy superhero. He needs Ashley to give him a bad boy edge. On the other hand, Ashley’s reputation is so tarnished that no one wants to work with her. She needs Gabe’s good boy persona to soften her image. They hate each other but are willing to put feelings aside for their respective careers.

Ashley is the embodiment of a morally grey character—she tried to seduce her cousin’s fiancé AT THEIR WEDDING and arranged for paparazzi to catch it on camera. Ashley doesn’t care about what the public (or even her family) thinks of her. She is ambitious and tenacious and not afraid to be selfish or self-serving to get what she wants. Brenton makes it so easy to hate her that it’s a delight when we get a peek behind the curtain. When her motivations shine through, you can’t help but love Ashley.

Gabe is an idiot and I mean that lovingly. He prioritizes the expectations his late uncle placed on him above all and is constantly striving for perfection while stripping away the parts of him that make him him. Not to mention he made poor decisions and said things to Ashley I’m not sure I would forgive.

TLDR: I devoured it in a day. This was a fast-paced read with sassy characters who are huffy about having to spend time with one another. They loathe each other, but there’s a push and pull between them that cranks up the tension. There are also raw moments between the couple that is endearing. Read this book for a quick and spicy read!

4.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
This was so so so so good, it had everything you’d ever want from a spicy romance where we have a so called “ the bad girl of reality tv” and the “good guy of acting “”
Besides the fact the it was hella spicy i loved how the characters progressed and were portrayed searching for what they truly are
I had an absolute blast reading this

Thank you netgaller for the arc🫶🏻

The Villain Edit-Book #3 Over the Top

By Sarah Brenton-I read book #2 Holiday Vibes and gave it 4 ⭐

Rating: 3.5/5 ⭐⭐⭐ ½

Publication 1/16/24, Read 1/15/24

Thanks to NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for this ARC💛 ! I voluntarily give my honest review and all opinions expressed are my own.

✔️Adult Fic/Romance
✔️ celebrity romance
✔️ road trip
✔️ fake dating
✔️ family drama

⚠️parental abandonment/emotional abuse

Summary- Made to be the villain on reality tv show Love on the Line, Ashley still lives up to the title. She has a plan to ruin her cousin Jessie's wedding because she's in love with the groom-Nic. Gabriel Sinclair-Hollywood Golden Boy- ruins her plans and unknowingly comes in his place to be setup by paparazzi. Both Ashley and Gabe agree to fake date to help their careers.

The characters:

♀️ FMC Ashley Foley(23)

♂️ MMC Gabriel Sinclair(24)

Jessie- Ashley's cousin

Dominic- A neighbor Ashley has been in love w/ him since childhood.

Celia Foley-Ashley's aunt/Jessie's mother

Rachel Foley-Ashley's mother.

David-Gabe's personal assistant

Wendy-on the show Love on the Line with Ashley.


Overall, there were way too many sex scenes for me. I skipped through much of the spice, but the betrayals and family drama kept me interested. Ashley's parents made her feel invisible and unwanted. They used her as a pawn when they had martial problems. Ashley used her obsession with Nic to justify the crazy things she did. Gabe, on the other hand, hero worshipped his uncle Michael. He was taken in by his aunt and uncle because his parents had problems. His uncle wanted him to live above reproach and Gabe could not live up to it. He and Ashley get to know each other and show that villains have good in them, and golden boys don't always have to shine.

REVIEW
cw: child neglect, near drowning, brief mentions of addiction, abortion, and foster care
When bad girl and reality TV villain Ashley Foley tries to entrap the man she loves at his wedding, it's Hollywood's golden boy, Gabriel Sinclair, who accidentally becomes ensnared. After Ashley and Gabe's clinch gets exposed, they both have reasons to pretend to date. Ashley desperately needs an image overhaul, while Gabe needs people to believe he's able to play grittier roles on screen.
I haven't read the previous stories in this series. Ashley occasionally alluded to things she'd done to her family, and these weren't always fully expanded on. Still, it didn't hinder my enjoyment. I loved the enemies-to-lovers aspect (and trust me, they REALLY hate lust after each other) even though it was very full-on early in the book. Ashley was difficult to like at the beginning and appeared to have very little self-respect. I could see that a lot of it was meant to show how 'bad' she was, but it was sometimes cringeworthy (especially the opening scene). That said, I'm so glad I continued reading, because it soon became apparent that a lot of her behaviour was a front to hide her deep emotional pain, and I really began to root for her. I went the other way with Gabe. In the beginning, I felt so sorry for him. But he messed Ashley around a lot, which broke my heart, and honestly? I genuinely thought she deserved better at times, even though I empathised with his misguided expectations for himself. This brings me to my favourite part of the story. I LOVED the commentary on fame, as well as the blatant misogyny and patriarchal double standards in the entertainment industry. Thankfully, Gabe redeemed himself towards the end, but he'd better be grovelling for the rest of his life (he was still doing a great job in the epilogue 😉).
An enemies-to-lovers rom-com that subverts the bad boy role.

Overall Rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Heat Rating: 🔥🔥🔥.5


*Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to leave an honest review*

Favourite Quotes:

"...Yes, you hurt me. But that doesn’t make you special.”
He’s silent for a beat. “It makes me just like everyone else,” he says quietly.

“You’re more,” I tell Ash softly. “So much more than what they tried to make you into.”

“Take it from the villain: you’re the good guy, even if you have some nuance.”
“You’re no villain,” I say as she kisses me. “You just like to pretend.”

"...I know who I am and I’m happy with my life. And that’s what I want for you, my dear. I want you to be happy. You don’t need Michael’s brand of perfectionism to be a good person, and I want you to see that and trust in yourself.”

"You decide who you are. Only you. And you can change and grow, rise or fall. Every day you start again."

"Who is the real Gabriel Sinclair?”
“He’s complicated,” I admit. “But he’s trying.”

“... there will be something next for me because this industry doesn’t care what I’ve done or who I am inside. It will reward me with sympathy and second chances because that’s what it’s set up to do. Because I’m a white man who inherited wealth and a name that means something. Because society can find something redeemable in me but condemnable in Ashley. The double standards in this industry, in our society, are wrong.”

It took me a few days to rate this one because I had to sit on it but it's a 3.5 star for me. She's hollywoods bad girl that everyone loves to hate, and he's hollywoods straight edge rising star.

It's pretty straight forward so I won't ruin it but it definitely had me openly crying near the end. Watching her character development throughout the story was A1. Overall a good and quick read!

Overall, this was a 3.5/5 star read for me. I enjoyed it, but it wasn't impressive. The last half of the book was great. I enjoyed the spice and sweet romance scenes. However, there were lots of "problems" in their romance that could have been solved by just communicating. I feel as if that could have been written better. This was my first book by Sarah Brenton and I would read more of her books. I would probably recommend this book, but it wouldn't my first recommendation.

* I will including links to my Goodreads and Instagram reviews, live 1/15/24.

It was a different read than the usual reads I usually choose, but it did not disappoint. Very good story, I hope to read more from Sarah soon.

An unhinged, hot mess FMC is forced on road trip with Hollywood's Golden Boy to rehab both of their public images. Jealousy moments, a tiny white bikini, spicy car times, 'just one time', and strong female friendships are some of what you'll find inside this hilarious, heartfelt romance. This book was such a refreshing read. Instead of being saved by the MMC, the FMC learns from her own mistakes and inspires both of them to change and be better versions of themselves.

Dual POV, Spicy, Forced Proximity, Celebrity Romance

Loved the character development and the romance that they had.

Interested in reading the other books in the series now.

The Villain Edit- Sarah Brenton.

Over The Top Love book 3.

I’m going to be honest and say I haven’t read the first two books in the Over The Top Love series, but this does make me the ideal person to say that The Villain Edit can definitely be read as a stand-alone. But you won’t. Because if you’re anything like me you’ll immediately download books one and two to read as soon as you close this book!

I loved this book.
I’d seen people I follow on Instagram talk about it towards the end of the year so when I was able to get an ARC copy I jumped at the chance.

The world of “reality” tv and all the behind the scenes drama, combined with the state of dating when famous in such a social media heavy world are handled so well in this book.
Our FMC Ashley is unquestionably a villain at the start of the story, but social media and an equally as villainous press magnify this tenfold. Her journey, her growth, the relapses and her honesty make her a very engaging character from the start. She views herself as the world portrays her and that is what really made me feel for her, even when she was at her worst.

The MMC is our “Golden Boy” Gabriel. His journey is equally as engaging. Watching as he breaks out of his shell, learns to stand up for himself, makes some silly but very human decisions and discovers who he really is reads so well alongside Ashley’s story. They have strong chemistry and the spice *really* reflects that!!

With fun side characters (who maybe I’d recognise if I’d read books 1&2 but this doesn’t distract). This book was a 5⭐️ read for me, it hits the ground running from page one and I read it all in one afternoon.

Thank you to Sarah Brenton and NetGalley for gifting me this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I wanted to enjoy The Villain Edit but sadly this book is not for me.

Ashley has a bad girl reputation that she isn't afraid to flaunt, especially if that means landing her childhood love Nic. What starts as a set up ends as a kiss with good guy Gabriel in front of loads of paparazzi. Gabriel needs to change and show society he can be a dangerous male and Ashley needs to start bringing in money again. What better way to make this happen then fake date, starting with a road trip back to LA. What's the worst that can happen....

This is my first by author Sarah Brenton and while it wasn't a hit for me, I may consider picking up another by her. The Villain Edit took off in the spice department at about 30% and then the book became more about them hooking up and less about the character growth journey (in my opinion).

3.5 stars

i think i'd be able to appreciate this more if i read the other books in the series (didn't realize this was part of a standalone series!) but i love having an understanding of all the characters that are included.

but nonetheless it was fun and i can't wait to read the rest of the series!

This book is my favorite Sarah Brenton book ever. EVER. No one writes angry-sexy banter like Sarah; no one walks right up to the unlikable heroine line and then saucily puts a toe over it like she can. Ashley is a hot mess and Gabe is sternly repressed and I died over and over again watching them light each other’s fuses. Dying for everyone to fall in love with this book the way I did!

Ashley Foley has always been the villain, so it’s no surprise that her stint on reality TV scored her a reputation as an unemployable bad girl. Even bad girls need love, though, so she hatches a plan: seduce the man of her dreams just in time to ruin his wedding…to her cousin. But when the wrong man falls into her trap, she accidentally ensnares *herself* into a reputation-saving road trip with Hollywood’s most boring good guy. Tormenting him all the way to LA is the only thing that could keep her sane.

Gabriel Sinclair can act, unlike the pretty boy he’s replacing as the lead of a superhero franchise — but he doesn’t have the grit the fandom has grown to love. Ashley screwed him over with that red lipstick seduction stunt, but fake-dating a bad girl might be the key to sullying his reputation just enough to make him into the morally grey anti-hero he needs to be.

But underneath it all, Ash isn’t nearly as bad as she seems, and Gabe isn’t nearly as good. They’d better not fall in love, because the time limit on their fake romance will run out at the end of the road . . .

What a ride! This is so worth persevering with, but it's quite the trip. FMC Ashley at first impression is just so awful. She's a stereotype bimbo - one who ruins herself and other women and feeds into the whole kind of slut-shaming narrative. She's so abrasive, and her self-loathing is vicious, but she's also kind and vulnerable. How can she be redeemed? And Gabriel, the goodie to the press is as insecure and unpleasant as you can imagine. Yes, at first it's easy to think they deserve each other, both behaving appallingly, separately and together. But, as their backstories unfold it seems that they have a chance at redemption. My heart aches for them both.

It's steamy. Lots of side characters who flesh out their story, helping, not helping, meddling and muddying everything as they try and manage the fallout that combusts between Gabriel and Ashley. There's miscommunication, distrust. a necessary breakup, and finally, finally they get to where they need to be.

If you loved Ava Wilder's How to Fake it in Hollywood, this is not quite as dark, but has the same vibe, with a throughline about the toxicity of stardom, and celebrity. This is a great mix of soap-level romantic drama, alongside some thoughtful observation. So worth the read!

Thank you NetGalley and the author for the ARC. Opinions are completely my own.

I definitely went into this book with no expectations, which I think was the best way to go into this book. It reads for a much younger audience than I expected but the story itself was kind of fun to dive into. The story was relatively cute but really reads like a wattled book, so just be prepared going into it!

This was still fun and I had a cute time reading it, the spice saved the story for me for sure!

Thank you NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This one was a little better than the first two books. I loved Ashley’s character development it was good and it was worthwhile. However, she was supposed to be the villain in this story but interestingly enough, she was the least annoying character. I didn’t expect Gabe I’m not gonna lie. What an interesting turn of events. He got on my nerves a lot. Most of the time I wanted to give him a piece of my mind. He might be the worst mmc in this series. He still needs a little more redemption. At least the book cover is better. I don’t have a lot to say about this book. I’m just glad it’s over.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

Thank you to @netgalley for the chance to review The Villain Edit by Sarah Brenton. I’d never read anything by this author, but will absolutely be reading her other books! This was book three of the Over the Top series, and I loved it!
Ashley is a reality tv actress who is trying to seduce her crush - on his wedding day!! Instead, movie star Gabe walks into her room. When they’re busted by paparazzi, to save Gabe’s pristine reputation, they decide to fake date.
I love a fake dating trope! Combining it with a road trip? Perfection. So fun and lots of spice!

It was a fun book, with celebrities enemies to lovers and fake dating.
Ashley is know to all as the bad girl and when someting happens, she needs to fake date Hollywood´s golden boy Gabriel.
It starts as an enemies to lovers but at the end they fall in love.

I dind´t like a lot of things that both of them did, but at the end it was a fun story to read.

This book has me from the get go, it had the perfect amount of banter, steamy moments and wholesome moments. I loved seeing the characters development for both characters and watching them grow.

Seeing Ashley go from the stereotypical mean girl to her true self was wholesome and the fact that she didn’t realise she was becoming herself overtime was special. Gabe was a huge help for that and it helped him not care what others thought.
wasn’t a huge fan on Ashley’s parents feeding off her attention and pressuring her to choose sides, I don’t think that helped her with her image of herself. I’m glad she stood up for herself with the help of gabe.
Give this book a try, it’s a great feel good quick read that you will finish in no time!!
I gave this book a 4 stars because I really enjoyed it and finished it within 2 days, but it’s not my favourite which is why it’s 4 stars.