villains and virtues – GoodeyReads

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 464 pages
Author: A.K. Caggiano
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: February 13th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Their destinies are irrevocably entangled, but will their bond be the realm’s undoing?

Damien and Amma have landed themselves in the midst of Yvlcon, the preeminent congregation of the vilest and most unscrupulous villains in existence. Once again amongst his peers, Damien’s moral growth is threatened just when he’s learning to be slightly less evil. Consequently, Amma finds her own virtue in peril when faced with so much temptation, namely in the form of a domineering blood mage she can’t—or doesn’t want—to say no to.

But a burgeoning romance is doused in the coldest of baths when the Grand Order of Dread commands Damien to once again face the swirling vortex of entropy that’s been hunting them all over the realm. The coming eclipse points to devastation and destruction, and there seems to be no avoiding annihilation, prophecy being, well, prophecy, after all.

But there’s an entire fortnight before the world is supposed to end, and surely that’s enough time to find some way around it, or to at least confess one’s devotion to the other before it all burns down around them.

GOOD CONCLUSION.

I’ve enjoyed this trilogy! It was fun to be in a fantasy world with so many quirks. It’s humorous and cheeky and just worked well for me. I loved the chemistry between Damien and Amma. The fact we got a genuine slow burn across these three books was something I’ve been missing in 2025 romantasy books. The audiobook is also great and I recommend that format!

I don’t want to go into too much detail since this is the last book so TL;DR it’s a good story. The world was expanded well and the magic system made sense. I loved the backstory on the leads and the found family created along the way.

Overall audience notes:

Romantasy
Language: moderate
Romance: 2-3ish open door
Violence: moderate+

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 450 pages
Author: A.K. Caggiano
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Release Date: November 30th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

She’s promised to be loyal, dutiful, and obedient, but to whom?

Lady Ammalie Avington, Baroness of Faebarrow, has discovered the truth, and it should not come as a surprise: the blood mage who threatened, spellbound, and abducted her intends to bring ruin to the realm–the very one she is sworn to serve. It’s just a terribly inconvenient fact to learn because, well…he’s rather cute.

But it’s not safe to pine after the son of a demon, especially not whilst locked up in a tower surrounded by infernal beings and a rival for your affection, nor trapped below ground in a den of beguiling vampires, nor even in the heart of a wild jungle under the tutelage of esoteric witches. Amma just can’t help herself around Damien Maleficus Bloodthorne, danger be damned, but, truly, what danger is there? Damien’s heart, the one he swears to not have, has been softening right before her eyes. Nevermind the weird smoke that sometimes unwittingly emanates from his hands or that faraway look he gets to his eyes, and a voice she can’t hear telling him that he’s meant to be a vessel? Surely it’s all just a bad dream.

After finally tasting freedom and learning that Amma may have ancient, innate magical powers of her own, why not use them to do exactly as she pleases?

FUN SERIES.

If you’ve been missing the vibes of Assistant to the Villain may I suggest trying this series out? Book two was wonderful and I can’t wait to read the next. I love how quirky these are while also still providing world building and magic.

I find them to be an easy listen and this genuinely has one of the slowest of slow burns and I HAVE MISSED THESE KINDS OF SLOW BURN ROMANCES. Give me books of yearning y’all. I BEG OF YOU.

I can’t really say much more without spoilers but I’m definitely going to be downloading book three soon to see what happens next.

Overall audience notes: