VILLAIN – SAMANTHA YOUNG

**Spoilers Ahead, Read On With Caution**

I’m going to keep this review short and sweet, because that’s what this novella is. Perfectly short and sweet. Playing alongside and following on from HERO, VILLAIN follows from characters we’ve already met. Back again in wonderful Boston MA, as our backdrop, I’m naturally inclined to speed-read it.

Nadia Ray is not just a broadcast meteorologist. She’s Boston’s morning television It Girl. Successful and independent, she’s put a past she’s ashamed of behind her and is forging a future she can be proud of. However, when her new boss discovers her secret he blackmails her, intent on using Nadia’s popularity to make them the number one morning show in Massachusetts. He wants her to be part of uncovering the city’s biggest scandal – a secret billionaire Caine Carraway is hiding. Soon Nadia is thrown into the path of Caine’s best friend: sexy, wealthy bachelor Henry Lexington. But she doesn’t encounter the dashing high society gentleman Henry is purported to be. Instead she’s faced with an insulting and defensive villain who misjudges her at every turn. When Henry finally realizes the truth, and decides to make amends, Nadia wants nothing to do with him. But she underestimates his determination and charm and soon they find themselves embroiled in an intense, passionate affair. An affair Nadia knows must come to an end before their feelings grow any deeper and he discovers her secrets. After all, Henry Lexington isn’t the only one who played the part of a villain once…

I definitely powered through this one hot off the heels of HERO. Set just as it begins to get juicy in HERO, VILLAIN is the perfect pick-me-up for the post book blues. Getting to see more of Henry than previously seen, we see that he is indeed a multi-layered man, and is better than just the charming best friend we see in HERO; and it’s safe to say that he meets his match in Nadia Ray. Not one to be mistreated and not plan for the consequences, Nadia is another brilliant, strong headed female character for Samantha Young to have written. I liked her approach, drive and unwillingness to be easy to get, but not out of reach. I enjoyed their conversing and easy banter, how they didn’t act unlike what freshly dating people would be. And handled the obstacles without any added drama and menace.

You don’t have to have read HERO to get VILLAIN, but you’ll sure be missing out on some drama if you do. It’s definitely worth reading them both!