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A review by its_madi
Because You Love to Hate Me: 13 Tales of Villainy by Amerie
dark
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
The way I rate short story collections is that I take the average of all the stories in the book.
-The Blood of Imuriv- Renée Ahdieh-3/5
The Evil Vaccine: Keep the Darkness at Bay-Christine Riccio-2/5
This felt like a small part of a much bigger story. It made the story’s ending feel a little incomplete, but the set up was good and interesting. The piece at the end was funny, but it wasn’t that funny. Most of the humor wasn’t laugh out loud.
-Jack-Ameriie-5/5
Giants and Tyrants-Tina Burke-1/5
This was an amazingly paced short story, that started as a funny rom-com type, and quickly turned to horror. I loved it. But Giants and Tyrants was just very boring to me. I could barely get through it and it was only a page long.
Gwen and Art and Lance-Soman Chainani-1/5
The Bad Girl Hall of Fame-Samantha Lane-2/5
Didn’t really have a villain, just a vaguely mean girl antagonist that does petty things until she gets her way. I was expecting more wicked villains and not petty villains. The essay was a bit boring like the last one, but it was in a fun format and I was able to get through it.
Shirley and Jim-Susan Dennard-1.5/5
Dear Sasha, The 411 for Villains-Sasha Alsberg-3/5
Just like the last one, no one is really evil on screen, it just mentions something that the villain did off screen. It gets an extra .5 because it is Sherlock based, and that’s neat. The villain help column at the end was cool, but the last one was just...weird. I don’t know. I didn’t like it.
The Blessing of Little Wants-Sarah Enni-3/5
Will the Real Villain Please Stand Up?-Sophia Lee-3/5
Like The Blood of Imuriv it seemed like a small part of a larger story. The ending was also really confusing, but that could’ve easily been me being big dumb. The essay was the best commentary style we’d gotten so far.
The Sea Witch-Marissa Meyer-5/5
Villain or Hero? You Decide!- Zoë Herdt-4/5
Well-paced short story that includes a lot of information in a short amount of time. The essay was a nice mix of fun stuff and commentary, but I think the “Are you evil” quiz would've been better if it had been funnier.
Beautiful Venom-Cindy Pon-5/5
Without the Evil in the World, How Do We See the Good?-Benjamin Anderson-5/5
TW: rape
Really creative take on the Medusa myth. Made a pretty well known tale seem exciting,wish that the fight at the end was a little bit longer, but really the story is fine without it. It also was a pretty good commentary on victim blaming. The essay was a commentary on the story, but he gave personal opinions on his favorite parts and characters and lines, which made it much more interesting to read.
Death Knell-Victoria Schwab-5/5
Dear Death-Jesse George-4/5
It’s not exactly a VILLAINOUS story, but it is a good morally ambiguous story. Schwab has always been good at writing fiction with a morally ambiguous MC.I’m also weak for the cheating death trope. The essay was a heartfelt letter to death. It was really emotionally written, and referenced to death like it was in the story, and yes I almost cried in public.
Marigold-Samantha Shannon-4.5/5
Evil Revealed- Regan Perusse-4/5
I don’t have much to say about it. It was just a simple story about faeries. Reminded me of fall, so that was nice. I also didn’t have much to say about the essay, it was just a simple commentary on the story.
You, You, It’s All About You-Adam Silvera-5/5
Behind the Villain's Mask-Catriona Feeney-4/5
I thought it was a fun story about crime. I loved that it used 2nd person POV, because I don’t see that much. The piece at the end was nice, but the quiz at the end was a little out of place.
Julian Breaks Every Rule- Andrew Smith-3.5/5
Julian Powell: Teen Psycho Extraordinaire-Raeleen Lemay-5/5
The villain never does anything villainous, it just mentions something he’s going to do. Plus, the prompt is “a psychopath in a futuristic setting”. Unless I’m missing some big details, it wasn’t very futuristic. But he does have an interesting POV to read from. The humor in this book is pretty great and breaks the 4th wall, which I love. But if I have to read the word “foreshadowing” one more time, I’m going to lose my mind. Lemay’s part was like Without the Evil in the World, How Do We See the Good?, in which the author shared some of their favorite parts.
Indigo and Shade-April Genevieve Tucholke-3/5
Glamorized Recovery: Expectations Vs. Reality-Whitney Atkinson-2/5
I don’t think they spent enough time with the characters’ relationship, because I didn’t care about the big emotional moment. And I guessed the plot twist from a mile away. I also don’t think that this book followed the prompt that well, but I guess if you squint it does. And I really didn’t care for the essay. It just existed.
Sera-Nicola Yoon-5/5
The Bad Girls’ Guide to Villainy-Kat Kennedy and Steph Sinclair-4/5
I loved seeing the progression of Sera growing up and using her powers. It was really unsettling and really well done. And the piece at the end may not have been the self confidence speech I wanted, but it was the self confidence speech I needed. It was funny and entertaining, and a bit inspirational not gonna lie.
-------------------------------------------------------
Overall, I think it was a pretty decent collection storywise. It started off a little rocky, except for <i>Jack</i>, and I wasn’t sure where it was going. But the further you got the better they were. My favorite story was definitely Death Knell, but Beautiful Venom and Sera were good too.
The booktuber essays/commentaries/other (not really sure what to call them) were a mixed bag. I ended up feeling just sort of passive about them, and you could definitely read this book and skip these, and not miss much. But I did really like Dear Death, Bad Girls Guide, and Without the Evil in the World.
3/5
-------------------------------------------------------
The Blood of Imuriv- 3/5
The Evil Vaccine- 2/5
Jack- 5/5
Giants and Tyrants- 1/5
Gwen and Art and Lance- 1/5
Bad Girl Hall of Fame- 2/5
Shirley and Jim-1.5/5
Dear Sasha- 3/5
The Blessing of Little Wants-3/5
Will the Real Villain, Please Stand Up-3/5
The Sea Witch-5/5
Villain or Hero? You Decide!-4/5
Beautiful Venom-5/5
Without the Evil in the World, How Do We See the Good-5/5
Death Knell-5/5
Dear Death-4/5
Marigold-4.5/5
Evil Revealed-4/5
You, You, It’s All About You-5/5
Behind the Villain's Mask-4/5
Julian Breaks Every Rule-3.5/5
Julian Powell:Teen Psycho Extraordinaire-5/5
Indigo and Shade-3/5
Glamorized Recovery: Expectations Vs. Reality-2/5
Sera-5/5
The Bad Girls’ Guide to Villainy-4/5
Average Rating: 3.5
-The Blood of Imuriv- Renée Ahdieh-3/5
The Evil Vaccine: Keep the Darkness at Bay-Christine Riccio-2/5
This felt like a small part of a much bigger story. It made the story’s ending feel a little incomplete, but the set up was good and interesting. The piece at the end was funny, but it wasn’t that funny. Most of the humor wasn’t laugh out loud.
-Jack-Ameriie-5/5
Giants and Tyrants-Tina Burke-1/5
This was an amazingly paced short story, that started as a funny rom-com type, and quickly turned to horror. I loved it. But Giants and Tyrants was just very boring to me. I could barely get through it and it was only a page long.
Gwen and Art and Lance-Soman Chainani-1/5
The Bad Girl Hall of Fame-Samantha Lane-2/5
Didn’t really have a villain, just a vaguely mean girl antagonist that does petty things until she gets her way. I was expecting more wicked villains and not petty villains. The essay was a bit boring like the last one, but it was in a fun format and I was able to get through it.
Shirley and Jim-Susan Dennard-1.5/5
Dear Sasha, The 411 for Villains-Sasha Alsberg-3/5
Just like the last one, no one is really evil on screen, it just mentions something that the villain did off screen. It gets an extra .5 because it is Sherlock based, and that’s neat. The villain help column at the end was cool, but the last one was just...weird. I don’t know. I didn’t like it.
The Blessing of Little Wants-Sarah Enni-3/5
Will the Real Villain Please Stand Up?-Sophia Lee-3/5
Like The Blood of Imuriv it seemed like a small part of a larger story. The ending was also really confusing, but that could’ve easily been me being big dumb. The essay was the best commentary style we’d gotten so far.
The Sea Witch-Marissa Meyer-5/5
Villain or Hero? You Decide!- Zoë Herdt-4/5
Well-paced short story that includes a lot of information in a short amount of time. The essay was a nice mix of fun stuff and commentary, but I think the “Are you evil” quiz would've been better if it had been funnier.
Beautiful Venom-Cindy Pon-5/5
Without the Evil in the World, How Do We See the Good?-Benjamin Anderson-5/5
TW: rape
Really creative take on the Medusa myth. Made a pretty well known tale seem exciting,
Death Knell-Victoria Schwab-5/5
Dear Death-Jesse George-4/5
It’s not exactly a VILLAINOUS story, but it is a good morally ambiguous story. Schwab has always been good at writing fiction with a morally ambiguous MC.
Marigold-Samantha Shannon-4.5/5
Evil Revealed- Regan Perusse-4/5
I don’t have much to say about it. It was just a simple story about faeries. Reminded me of fall, so that was nice. I also didn’t have much to say about the essay, it was just a simple commentary on the story.
You, You, It’s All About You-Adam Silvera-5/5
Behind the Villain's Mask-Catriona Feeney-4/5
I thought it was a fun story about crime. I loved that it used 2nd person POV, because I don’t see that much. The piece at the end was nice, but the quiz at the end was a little out of place.
Julian Breaks Every Rule- Andrew Smith-3.5/5
Julian Powell: Teen Psycho Extraordinaire-Raeleen Lemay-5/5
The villain never does anything villainous, it just mentions something he’s going to do. Plus, the prompt is “a psychopath in a futuristic setting”. Unless I’m missing some big details, it wasn’t very futuristic. But he does have an interesting POV to read from. The humor in this book is pretty great and breaks the 4th wall, which I love. But if I have to read the word “foreshadowing” one more time, I’m going to lose my mind. Lemay’s part was like Without the Evil in the World, How Do We See the Good?, in which the author shared some of their favorite parts.
Indigo and Shade-April Genevieve Tucholke-3/5
Glamorized Recovery: Expectations Vs. Reality-Whitney Atkinson-2/5
I don’t think they spent enough time with the characters’ relationship, because I didn’t care about the big emotional moment. And I guessed the plot twist from a mile away. I also don’t think that this book followed the prompt that well, but I guess if you squint it does. And I really didn’t care for the essay. It just existed.
Sera-Nicola Yoon-5/5
The Bad Girls’ Guide to Villainy-Kat Kennedy and Steph Sinclair-4/5
I loved seeing the progression of Sera growing up and using her powers. It was really unsettling and really well done. And the piece at the end may not have been the self confidence speech I wanted, but it was the self confidence speech I needed. It was funny and entertaining, and a bit inspirational not gonna lie.
-------------------------------------------------------
Overall, I think it was a pretty decent collection storywise. It started off a little rocky, except for <i>Jack</i>, and I wasn’t sure where it was going. But the further you got the better they were. My favorite story was definitely Death Knell, but Beautiful Venom and Sera were good too.
The booktuber essays/commentaries/other (not really sure what to call them) were a mixed bag. I ended up feeling just sort of passive about them, and you could definitely read this book and skip these, and not miss much. But I did really like Dear Death, Bad Girls Guide, and Without the Evil in the World.
3/5
-------------------------------------------------------
The Blood of Imuriv- 3/5
The Evil Vaccine- 2/5
Jack- 5/5
Giants and Tyrants- 1/5
Gwen and Art and Lance- 1/5
Bad Girl Hall of Fame- 2/5
Shirley and Jim-1.5/5
Dear Sasha- 3/5
The Blessing of Little Wants-3/5
Will the Real Villain, Please Stand Up-3/5
The Sea Witch-5/5
Villain or Hero? You Decide!-4/5
Beautiful Venom-5/5
Without the Evil in the World, How Do We See the Good-5/5
Death Knell-5/5
Dear Death-4/5
Marigold-4.5/5
Evil Revealed-4/5
You, You, It’s All About You-5/5
Behind the Villain's Mask-4/5
Julian Breaks Every Rule-3.5/5
Julian Powell:Teen Psycho Extraordinaire-5/5
Indigo and Shade-3/5
Glamorized Recovery: Expectations Vs. Reality-2/5
Sera-5/5
The Bad Girls’ Guide to Villainy-4/5
Average Rating: 3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape