The second our eyes connected I felt the shift in the air. The crackle of fire igniting between us. He was dark, dangerous, and secretive. He came into my life like a storm, ripping apart everything I believed in, everything I thought I knew. With his mischievous smirk, stunning looks, and alluring behavior I should’ve ran as far away from him as I could. But I was stupid. I trapped myself in his web. I thought I was safe with him. Safe in his arms, safe from a past that refused to let go. Turns out Christian Russo was the past I was running from, and my first mistake was ever thinking I could escape him.

I want to break her and bring her over to the dark side where love is painful and sex is immobilizing.

Perfect Villain by J.L. Beck & S. Rena

Before I dive into this review, I’ll admit that I don’t often read romances quite this vicious and when I do, it’s often in a fantasy/paranormal setting (perhaps where the violence is more justified in my mind? – we’ll keep the lid on that box for now). Anyways, my point is that I have a small pool from which to compare this dark reading experience. So, this is review is from the perspective of an avid romance reader who is dipping their toe into the dark, contemporary subgenre. 

Perfect Villain is the first book in the Dark Lies series by J.L. Beck and S. Rena. This is a super dark, stalker, mafia romance where the villain sorta, kinda gets the girl (no spoilers). There are instances of dub-con, non-con/rape, and violence in this story so definitely check TWs before you start. 

After years of hiding, Sian thought she could finally settle.  Little did she that her past was closer than ever. 

Pace

This is a pretty easy, straightforward read that requires little brainpower to enjoy. It’s a fairly steady paced plot, picking up towards the end and finishing on a cliffhanger. There are some tedious points where I feel that some of Sian’s inner dialogue weighs down the action a bit and Christian gets a tad repetitive but it doesn’t have a major impact on the overall pace. 

Characters

• 
  Dual POV – Sian (FMC) /Christian (MMC)

Perfect Villain focuses on Christian’s (MMC) obsession with Sian (FMC), who went into hiding when her parents were killed by Christian’s rival mafia family in Italy when she was young. Christian had been keeping tabs on her and enjoyed her fear as he stalked her, leaving notes and forcing her to uproot her life and start over somewhere else in the hopes that she could outrun her past. Sian doesn’t know who Christian is besides the dashing stranger who swept her off her feet. Sian friend, Kyla, and boyfriend, Taj, know that something isn’t right with Christian but, without actual evidence, Sian can’t be swayed. 

I found Sian’s naiveté a bit frustrating at times. For someone so paranoid, she puts a lot of trust into someone she doesn’t know very well (which inevitably turns out to be a big mistake – no surprises there). 

And Christian, I haven’t quite made my mind up about him. He clearly has a traumatic past and gets off on terrorising Sian. I’m not sure if there’s a redemption arc big enough for this guy. He’s a villain through and through. He does know his way around a bedroom though…so, that’s a plus?  

Tropes

• 
  Stalker
• 
  Anti-Hero/Bad Boy
• 
  Mafia
• 
  Arranged Marriage
• 
  Hidden/Secret Identity
• 
  One Bed

Is Perfect Villain spicy?

Holy moly. This is another contender for spiciest book I’ve read this year. Christian’s obsession with Sian translates into steamy tension and intense spicy scenes.

My Thoughts

For me, it was just okay. I don’t feel compelled to finish the series at this point but I might revisit this story later. The plot, while paced fairly well, was predictable and unsurprising. The characters, again, were just okay, though I felt that there was much more depth to Christian than Sian. There were also loose ends connected to the supporting characters that I don’t see being relevant in subsequent books, though I may be wrong. 

Those points aside, if you’re into dark, contemporary romance with mafia-level violence and aren’t triggered by sexual violence/rape, then Perfect Villain is worth checking out.