The enemy of my enemy is not my friend. It is the person whose heart I want to cut out.

In a world where magic is distributed equally, there are some people who refuse to share their power. Dark mages. Lethal. Selfish. And utterly without morals.

Audrey Sable is one of them. As a poison mage, she can bring men to their knees with a flick of her wrist. But the man she really wants to kill will not go down so easily. Callan Blackwell is also a powerful dark mage, and he would like nothing better than to see Audrey beg for mercy at his feet. But their hatred for one another will have to wait.

When the heroic champions of equality prepare to launch an attack that will wipe out the remaining dark mages, Audrey and Callan are forced to put their war on hold and instead work together. They have one chance to stop the self-righteous heroes before it is too late, but their mutual animosity is bound to get in the way of the mission. And the problem with blazing feelings like hatred is that it only takes one spark to turn it into burning passion.

Audrey and Callan's temporary union is undoubtedly a dangerous one. To the world. And most of all, to their own ruthless hearts.

With only a few sentences, Callan had stripped him of his pride and made him beg for mercy. I watched the way John trembled, looking up with pleading eyes. The absolute power that Callan wielded in that moment made my core throb with desire.

Ruthless Villains by Marion Blackwood

Callan and Audrey are enemies, stuck in a feud, demanding the other’s life. But they are forced to become temporary allies when a bigger threat promises to destroy them both. 

But Callan and Audrey are both dangerous, dark mages. Welding unique powers that they’ve perfected and honed into a lethal force. They are not merciful, they are not driven by idealistic righteousness. Their aim is to thrive in the freedoms they have killed to gain. They are not the heroes of this story, but the villains. 

This isn’t the darkest book I’ve read but there is a fair bit of violence, some gore, and some darker, explicit sex scenes so take that into consideration before you start. 

Characters

Callan is the egotistical, controlling, alpha-male force mage who revels in violence and Audrey is the snarky, cunning poison mage that is often underestimated. 

They are two dark mages who rebelled and were forced on the outskirts of society, where dark mages battled for supremacy. 

I will admit that I was a bit worried at first. Audrey and Callan initially presented as cheesy, over-the-top characters but Blackwood did a great job at diving below the surface to dredge up emotions and experiences that actually made their motivations rationally justifiable and, dare I say, relatable (okay, maybe not all the gratuitous killing). 

I really appreciated that Blackwood managed to slip in some tender(-ish) moments that really fleshed out these characters and rounded out their humanity. They became a lighter shade of dark. 

Pace

Straight out of the gate, Ruthless Villains lays the action on thick. It’s a fairly average sized book at 314 pages and I read it in a day (which included forcing myself to sleep and getting up early to finish it before everyone else need something from me). There are a lot of surprises and twists that keeps the plot flowing at a good pace. I honestly struggled to put it down!

You vicious little poisoner.
Every time you open that pretty mouth of yours, I can’t decide whether I want to fuck you or kill you.

Ruthless Villains by Marion Blackwood

Tropes

• Rivals
• One Horse
• One Bed
• Fake Relationship
• Magic
• Anti-Hero/Bad Boy
• Banter for days!!

Is Ruthless Villains spicy?

Is my husband lactose intolerant but refuses to give up ice cream and nukes our house with his carcinogenic bowel movements? Yep. 
(Okay, apologies for the overshare.) But, yes! These villains are insatiable.

Conveniently for Audrey, who has never had an orgasm, Callan is a self-proclaimed sex-pert and, admittedly,  he does have skills. I don’t want to spoil anything but I literally could not stop giggling when Callan broke out his little trick.

Just be warned that there are explicit, though consensual, scenes with bondage and knife play.

Now stand there like a good boy and let me show you who really holds the power here.

Ruthless Villains by Marion Blackwood

My Thoughts

Oh, Ruthless Villains really got me good.
Along the way, I forgot Callan and Audrey were supposed to be the bad guys and then Blackwood sucker punched me with that ending. They aren’t just labelled villains for the sake of the story and I found that this twist in perspective made for a super fun, unique read. And the banter between these two – hilarious! And the schemes and twists, so clever!

Ruthless Villains is a dual POV and Blackwood did a good job at telling the story through the two distinct voices and personalities. This is not a HEA story but I’m hoping it gets as close to a HEA for Callan and Audrey as they can have by the end of the series.

I really don’t know why, but I started this book with low expectations and I’m pleased that Callan and Audrey far exceeded my flawed preconceptions.