The Villain Edit is a super fun, spicy look at the behind the scenes lives of Hollywood's most famous (and infamous) elite.

I had a blast reading The Villain Edit, and absolutely loved peeking into the world of PR relationships and paparazzi. This had a sexy, trending twist on the classic fake dating trope that was perfect for the age of social media. Plus, it's dual POV so we got a phenomenal amount of pining, lusting and groveling.

It did run a bit long for my liking, particularly in the first third of the book, but I understand how it was important for character development and the slow burn.

I also appreciated the commentary on the double standard women and female identifying people face. In this instance, it centered around the entertainment industry and Hollywood in general. It was a refreshing take on how men are treated significantly differently than women, how their same actions and words are twisted to fit whatever narrative is most convenient for them, etc. I feel this book did a wonderful job of articulating and illustrating the double standard in such an authentic way, especially utilizing the dual pov.

Overall, this was a super fun, flirty and spicy (seriously spicy!!) read that i thoroughly enjoyed. I look forward to reading the other two books in the Over The Top Love series.

A huge thank you to Victory Editing NetGalley Co-Op, NetGalley and Sarah Brenton for the ARC!

4/5 stars

This book is for all the girlies who like a little bit of mess with their romances! I found the whole book to be pretty fast-paced, I liked the characters, and I appreciated that they were flawed and unapologetic about it. There was good character growth, the writing was good, overall it was just a fun, messy, enjoyable read.

*I received a free ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

I've been into Sarah's books since the very first, but the moment Gabe was mentioned I was crossing my fingers and toes that he'd have a book. So getting him for book 3 was SUPER exciting!

I love the way this book examined how people's pasts affect their future, but don't dictate it: you always have choices. It's a super steamy read, and DEFINITELY worth checking out ❤️

This wasn't at all what I was expecting however i enjoyed it greatly! really love the main characters/ couple!

Holy moly, is all I can say. 🥵My first read by Sarah Brenton, and she did not disappoint. Right from the beginning I was team Gabe and Ash. Perfect mix of spicy, fame and love. Or is it lust? This book had me in a chokehold and I admit I did not hate it one bit. Definitely recommend this book over and over. 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ and that’s putting it lightly. Will definitely not be the last Brenton book I read.

Steamy and entertaining! With tropes of fake dating, forced proximity, and even enemies to lovers, this book managed to accomplish a lot in 250 pages! The heat between Gabe and Ashley was palpable and the buildup was worth the payoff. The conflict is reasonable due to how well Sarah Brenton established the characters and their motivations. The ending was different than I hoped for the characters but was still nice to see. After reading this I will definitely read other works by this author.

Thank you to the Netgalley, the publisher, the author, and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for the opportunity to read this advanced reader copy. This honest review was based off my experience reading this eARC, which in no way biased me. All opinions are my own.

I shall preface this by saying this is the first book I have read from this author. That means that while this book is the third book in this series, I believe it was not necessary to read the previous books as either they are all complete standalones, or interconnected standalones. I did not feel lost at all starting with the third book. Perhaps I shall go back and read the previous 2.

Now, this book snuck up on me. I didn’t know what to expect and I also knew very little information about it.
But It had a hell of an opening line:

“I’m the villain of several stories, but mostly my own. Maybe other people tell themselves they’re the heroes of theirs, but there’s power in embracing the truth. I’m at my best, truest self when I’m at my worst.”

I will say I was pleasantly surprised by this book. If you would have told me at the beginning that I would be rooting for the girl who was attempting to break up her cousin’s marriage because the girl has been in love with the cousin’s husband, I would have laughed in your face. But alas I slowly became a fan of hers. It did take a while. Her character development was done well. It wasn’t a night to day immediate change. It was like peeling an onion, it was a slow realization that she didn’t like who she had become, and that that persona wasn’t really her. She was playing the role in her actual life, very few people knew the real her. And it makes sense, she has abandonment and other issues and she can’t get abandoned if she doesn’t let people in. Now would I have been a bigger fan if she would have had a few years in therapy? Yes of course, she definitely needs it especially the way her parents have treated her this way her entire life.

Now Gabe, I wanted to like him I really did but I didn’t jive with him as much as I did with Ashley. His character development felt much more night and day, and the change was initiated because of the classic romance novel third act breakup. This dude might have needed therapy more than she did. He was also playing a role in his real life but for all the opposite reasons. People expected the worse out of Ashley so that’s what she became. Gabe on the other hand, had the expectation of greatness thrust upon him so he shoved who he really was all the way down and became who he was expected to be.

I really wish the third act breakup would have happened a bit sooner so there would have been time for both MCs to sit with the breakup. And the reunion? There needed to be more time to sit with the apologies rather than immediately forgiving the person. Where was the groveling? Absolutely nowhere to be seen. One MC deserved so much better. That MC still was protecting the other even when the other had broken the MCs heart. AND YET the other, flipped so quickly to assuming the worst of the MC. I was annoyed, I wanted more from this.

Anyway if we don’t look too closely to the end I would say I thoroughly enjoyed this read. It managed to keep my attention and keep me invested.

Much-despised reality star/bad girl D-list celebrity Ashley contrives to seduce her cousin’s new husband AT the wedding, only to have Hollywood’s good boy Gabe walk in on the ruse instead. When the pictures that Ashley orchestrated surface putting Gabe’s career in jeopardy, their respective teams set up a fake dating scheme to get them through the scandal. As they cross the country together heading back to LA, Ashley and Gabe get closer and discover there is more to their bad girl/good boy images than they thought.
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I wanted to like this one but it fell really flat for me. Vapid characters with little charisma or appeal. Both Ashley and Gabe constantly seemed to be changing their minds about the other. They instantly decided they hated each other without even knowing each other for ten minutes.
They were thrown together very quickly with a fake dating scheme before we really got to know them at all individually. It seemed like every stop in the road had some sort of over the top dramatic moment or reveal. It was kind of exhausting keeping up with it. There was so much sexual tension and spice with no real plot to back it up.

If this wasn’t an arc I would not have finished it.

2 Stars: A Promising Premise Let Down by Execution

The Villain Edit by Sarah Brenton had a good hook: a fake dating romance between a celebrity and a "villainous" tabloid queen. Ashley's initial scheme felt a bit cringey, but I was curious to see how it would play out. Unfortunately, the book didn't quite deliver on its potential.

My biggest gripe was with Gabe. He came across as arrogant, unlikable, and frankly, abusive at times. Ashley's character did show some growth, which was a saving grace, but her sudden forgiveness of Gabe and willingness to accept his love felt unearned and rushed. The chemistry between them never truly sparked, making their romance feel hollow.

The writing style also didn't click for me. It felt uneven, with some sections overly descriptive and others lacking detail. It wasn't terrible, but it didn't pull me into the story.

I truly wanted to enjoy The Villain Edit. The premise was promising, and Ashley's growth was a positive element. However, the execution with Gabe's characterization, the forced romance, and the writing style ultimately left me disappointed. This novel might be worth a shot for die-hard fake dating fans, but for most readers, it's likely a two-star read.



Thank you NetGalley for sending me the novel. Opinions are all my own.

✨ A R C R E V I E W ✨
📖: The Villain Edit by Sarah Brenton
📚: 2/50
⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🌶️🌶️🌶️/5
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Review:
Honestly I didn’t have high hopes for this book when I started, but once I got in to it I couldn’t stop! I finished this in about 4 hours, it’s a very quick read which I personally enjoyed! I honestly didn’t expect it to be as spicy as it was by looking at the cover but that just goes to show never judge a book by its cover😂. The spice was spicin’ and for that I’m thankful. This was book 3 in her series, but this can be read as a stand alone which I enjoy, I’ll definitely be checking out her other books in this series! Honestly I think this would make a good movie especially with the plot being a redemption story!

Blurb:
Ashley Foley is the bad girl everyone loves to hate—a role she embraced long before a series of betrayals branded her as one of reality TV’s all-time greatest villains. But now she’s too toxic to get work and worse, she just watched the man she loves walk down the aisle with the wrong woman—again.
What’s a bad girl to do?
Seduce the groom at the reception, of course.
But when the wrong man walks into the room, her plans blow up in her face.
Hollywood Golden Boy Gabriel Sinclair should have left that room the moment he sensed the trap. But getting caught with TV’s bad girl might give him the edge he needs to hold onto his gritty superhero role in the face of a fandom that sees him as too much of a do-gooder to play their beloved morally-gray superhero. And Ashley’s reputation could use his shine.
But fake dating means bringing Ashley on his cross-country road trip. She’s a temptation he can’t afford, especially once he realizes she might not be that bad after all. Because Gabriel Sinclair isn’t the good boy he’s been pretending to be.

Read this if you enjoy:
🤍 Redemption stories
🩶 Fake dating
🤍Celebrities
🩶 Only one bed
🤍 Smut
🩶 Enemies to lovers
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I would like to thank NetGalley, Victory Editing, and Sarah Brenton for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own!
This title releases on 1.16.24!

If I’d had time to read this is one sitting, I would’ve. Addictive, hot, and very hard to put down.

This was my introduction to the Over the Top Love series, and I was hooked from the first page. (From the summary, to be honest. I see a romance novel that involves fake dating and a reality tv villain, and I’m all in.)

I love a starchy hero who slowly loses his mind and his rulebook over the heroine — Gabe didn’t disappoint! The chemistry here was scorching from chapter one.

Very highly recommend to anyone looking for a fun, sexy read ❤️ Thank you to NetGalley and Sarah Brenton for the ARC!

The Villain Edit is book three in Over The Top Love series by Sarah Brenton.
I loved reading Love and Other Risky Business and Holiday Vibes so I was super excited to jump into book three.
Brenton is an incredible author who has a magical way of developing characters.
I loved the characters growth throughout the story. It was wonderful to see it all unfold.
An emotional and steamy enemies to lovers.

Thank You NetGalley and Victory Editing for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Loved "The Villain Edit." I was unsure how I would feel about Ashley as a main character following the end of the previous book in this series. (Note that you do not have to have read that book to like and follow this one.). She seemed so....well, villainous. And she was. But here we get her reasons, her origin story. Sarah Brenton somehow gives Ashley depth and allows the reader to truly understand how she ended up taking the actions that she did. Her journey of self-discovery/understanding is relatable and lovely. Interestingly, Gabriel was much harder to warm up to. His focus on his reputation is aggravating. His actions in the latter third of the book are awful and I felt like Ashley forgave him a bit too quickly.

4.5 stars, rounding down to 4. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a complimentary ARC of this book. The opinions herein are my own.

This book was an experience, I will say. It was smutty, I am not going to lie. It just wasn’t for me. The writing was all over the place, to me. The Fake dating made sense, but I guess it wanted to be deep and it just felt flat to me.

I got an e-arc of this book on NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Villain Edit was a good book, it started off a little slow, but then picked up as the story progressed. The two main characters, Gabe and Ashley, played well off each other. First as enemies and then as lovers, both characters grew and flourished together. The spice I would say was a bit of a slow burn, but still good. Yes I would read another book from the author. 
I received a complimentary ARC from Netgalley for a fair and honest review.

Hot Pursuit, Fake Romance, Real Sparks: The Villain Edit Drives Fast and Flirty

The Villain Edit, the sizzling conclusion to Sarah Brenton's Over the Top Love trilogy, takes readers on a wild ride. While there are some juicy family secrets and inside jokes sprinkled throughout, the core of the story is fresh and fast-paced.

Ashley, our almost-thirty femme fatale, hatches a devilish plan to snag her longtime crush on his wedding day. But fate, as it often does, throws her a curveball in the form of Gabe, Hollywood's golden boy with a squeaky-clean image. With cameras rolling, they're thrust into a compromising position, forcing them to craft a web of fake romance to salvage their public images.

To salvage their reputations, Ashley and Gabe sign a contract for a charade of epic proportions: a cross-country road trip documented on social media and a staged three-month affair. Think sizzling selfies, staged PDA, and enough fake chemistry to light up the Hollywood sign. But as the miles fly by and the cameras roll, the line between pretend and real starts to blur. Will their carefully constructed romance combust into genuine passion, or will the whole thing crash and burn in a fiery heap of tabloid headlines?

The Villain Edit is a rollercoaster of laughter, very steamy encounters, and self-discovery. Overall, the story flows well, even if some subplots involving secondary characters feel slightly muddled, especially if you haven’t read the first two books in the series. I recommend it for readers who crave a lighthearted escape with a touch of forbidden romance. So buckle up, hit the gas, and get ready for a wild ride with Ashley and Gabe!

““Welcome to the dark side, Gabe. You’ll do just fine here.””- Ashley

I, unfortunately, didn't really like this one. I thought that Ashley was trying too much to hide behind this unlikable front. She deliberately does things that would make people hate her. Which, ok, fair enough, she is who she is. But then I had a hard time believing how suddenly she switched to this better person.
Same for Gabe, we're told that he projects this image of a perfect person, and at one point he says that he is far from perfect, but I couldn't believe in any of it.

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

3.75⭐️

“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.”

Let me start by asking you a question - who do you think the villain of the story is? Because the roles kept reversing and in the end, the answer may surprise you.

This book is kind of a hot mess. I'm not sure how to rate it as I'm not sure if that's how it was supposed to be, given the premise and the title, or it just wanted to be something and it didn't quite manage it. But it sure was addictive and entertaining. And better than the first (I didn't read the second one).

Kind of a rocky start, but I enjoyed the opposites attract enemies to fake dating to enemies with benefits to lovers thing they had going on after a while.

When they were together, they were living in a bubble where they could finally be themselves and go crazy. Ash, not so much a villain, Gabe not so much as a good golden boy after all. They got each other like no one else could, saw their deepest darkest parts and roled with it. Their roadtrips and interactions were fun and explosive, their chemistry was undeniable and the spice hot. Like, really hot. Helloo, cutesy cover hiding all the dirty talking and public places shenanigans. 🤭🤣

So it was ok... Until it wasn't.
After a while, things started getting chaotic. So it was a little hard and exhausting to keep up. (Probably also part of the storyline?)

This Ashley… she has me sliding closer to my destruction.

I didn't quite connect with the characters to be honest, I always had that feeling that the other shoe was about to drop. Like there was more to their story or personality but we were disconnected from it. They kept changing their groove, going from good to bad and back again. They were toxic.

And towards the end, they felt less and less like themselves. Ash got mopey, Gabe was an asshole with too many personalities to keep track.
In the end he felt like the villain and she was the victim. His, to be precise. He was downright cruel and unforgivable imo. He needed to do more groveling - more actions than words (actually, his kind of grovelingv would have been better suited for King of Greed hehe).

“Welcome to the dark side, Gabe. You’ll do just fine here.

Then there was the 3rd act breakup... *smh*

But their redemption arc and HEA were satisfying.

And besides the spice and the good laughs, there's some nice lessons hidden here too-

I'm not living my life trying to win the love or attention of anyone. I’m living it for me, loving myself for me. Taking the time to figure this newer, truer version of myself out.

So... Overall, I did like the book, it was fun, but also confusing and exasperating at times, so I'm settling for 3.5-3.75 stars.

Would I still recommend it? Yes, like I said it's quick, sexy and entertaining, if you can overlook the later drama and chameleonic personalities.

“And you could never drag me down. Not when you’ve helped me find my way up. I was drowning before you, in guilt and fear. You saved me."

Thank you for the review copy

The Villain Edit by Sarah Brenton is an entertaining read. While it is explicit in its scenes, you feel for the main character and how she was been painted. Sarah Brenton is excellent with her words and I would love to read another one of her books, however this one wasn't for me.

DNF at 20%. I'm really sorry but this just isn't for me. The main character is annoying and I really couldn't find myself caring about what happened to her or her story.