Book 1 of 2 in the Villain Duology, a Dark Regency Erotic Romance duet set in the wilds of Scotland. A heartless villain… Daphne into a world of mystery, hatred, and lust.
An indecent proposal…
Thirty days and nights in the bed of the Earl of Hartmoor … this is the price she must pay to learn the truth of the dark lord’s vendetta against her family. Yet, when she accepts the offer, Daphne never expects to find that nothing is what she thought it was, and the truth proves far harder to stomach than she ever imagined.
A cruel desire that holds her captive…
Even as he uses her to exact his final revenge against her family, Daphne cannot deny the way her body reacts to his touch, the way her soul seems to become more intertwined with his by the day. Despite the ruin he has made of her life, she cannot escape that the threads of deceit, desire, and pain have tied them together irrevocably. With her fate now in his hands, she is uncertain whether he will turn out to be the hero who steals her heart, or the villain who destroys her soul.
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Love bought the sequel and the book about Niall and Olivia!!
Excellent
“You place too much hope in my goodness, little dove,” he replied. “I am not your hero.” – Lord Adam Callahan
Here’s the thing…I devoured the historical romance when I was coming into my own flower. (I simply could not resist the Victorian turn of phrase. ) I loved them because as a young woman I was all about romantic love, furtive glances, desperate kisses and forbidden caresses.
Now my tastes have evolved…if you will…and what was exciting for me then…is somewhat monotonous for me now. I know that historical romances written today are very different and can be quite saucy and delightful. What’s more, it’s not often that you find one that detours into the delightfully dark romance spectrum. It is exactly this turn into the dark that makes “The Villain” a book I have looked forward to reading for a good while now.
Unequivocally, “The Villain” is a steamy hot delve into darker arts of lovemaking presenting an interesting ignoble beginning to the dance of unwanted, and at the same time, unbridled, sexual attraction…with just the right amount of hate-fucking to make your body tingle, your heart swoon and your mind interested in the mystery behind Lord Adam’s Callahan’s contempt for the Fairchild family.
Lady Daphne Fairchild is confused and outraged that Lord Adam Callahan, the Lord of Hartmoor in Scotland, has relentlessly pursued the ruin of her father, her brother, and uncle. Defying the conventions and societal constraints placed on a virginal lady at the time, Lady Daphne Fairchild bravely travels on horseback alone from London to the wilds of Scotland to confront Lord Callahan about his seemingly perverse agenda.
From this first chapter, the sexual tension begins with the mouth-watering description of this man who appears “lion-like” in his grace, power and wild beauty. O mo chreach!!! (it’s Scottish brogue) He initially presents himself both to Lady Daphne and the reader as a predatory, albeit beautiful, “villain”. Lady Daphne, for all her false bravado in the face of this male beast, is a foolhardy, innocent virgin who does not realize the swiftness of the current and/or the depth of waters into which she has dared to trod.
The sexual and even personal attraction between these two characters grows and radiates off the page. That they share a mutual and complimentary pleasure dynamic is intoxicating. Lord Callahan’s, Adam’s increasingly possessive behavior and commentary about the various “bonny” body parts of Daphne is swoon-worthy.
“You like this, don’t you, little dove? Being defiled … controlled … used.”
More and more is revealed about the reasons behind Adam’s desire/need to bring low the Fairchild family low to include the debauchment of Daphne. Those reasons almost begin to seem secondary to the craving Adam starts to exhibit seeking out the nearness and comfort of Daphne and her charms. Daphne’s eyes are opened to the realities of her family and she begins to feel she belongs in Adam’s arms until she tries to apologize.
“Do not ever seek to offer me your useless platitudes again,” he murmured, though the silence of the room magnified his voice like a cannon’s blast. “In the end, they mean nothing to me … you mean nothing to me.”
Oh please …tell me he doesn’t mean it or is he just villain enough to really mean it?
The book ends with just enough of a promise of excellent intrigue to come in the second book of the duet, “The Dove”.
And…those who will enjoy and love this duet? You know who you are!!!
I’m trying to gather my thoughts having just finished reading The Villain and resisting diving straight into the little present at the end, and then the next book. Perhaps I should eat first, as I’ve not bothered with that and kept reading. Too engrossed in the story… and a bit weak-kneed as well.
I got pulled in right off the bat. I think it was the moment she said “Courage, Daphne” when she first approached the castle, though I thought she meant the horse. Dunnottar Castle was a character in it’s own right. The description of it’s glittering rooms and hidden depths making you feel as if you were there, making you wish you were when they went out for wild horse back rides in a countryside so beautiful it could make you cry.
Daphne and Adam (Oh my Lord!) were as vivid as their surroundings, with their well-rounded characters and getting to read Daphne’s thoughts and feelings as if hitching a ride in her heads, while Adam’s actions spoke volumes. The chemistry between them was instantaneous, but never superficial. I loved them! And I want to be with them more, despite feeling wrung out now that I’ve emerged from their story. I’ve even started to cool off, lol. They were smoking hot together and let’s just say… it transferred.
Through the story Victoria Vale teaches us to be who we are and to leave behind shame and restriction, difficult as that may be, and that there’s freedom in that. I was lucky to win a copy of the book, I adore it, and I am happy there’s more of it to come.