As a huge fan of The Bachelor/Bachelorette franchise, I couldn't pass this one up! I absolutely loved this novel and thought Laurie Devore did a wonderfully delightful job of playing into the reality television world of match ups while also writing characters who had some depth and purpose. Very well done!

I had a good time reading this one. It took me a while since I read it physically and I'm at that point in the year that once I read a few words at the end of the night, I conk out pretty quickly. However, I always remembered exactly where I left off which is an indication that this book hooked me.

I'm a sucker for the Bachelor trope - narrowing down a group of suitors to The One. Although this book was Bachelor focused, it wasn't so much about that trope and was more about the people who are chosen to have the "villain edit" during their season. I really enjoyed that it was easy to see how she became the villain, but you also rooted for her & Henry because she's a person with feelings just like the rest of us. Also, Marcus sucked.

It did make me think about the start of these shows though - in the beginning, people seemed to be there to find someone and have their 10 minutes of fame and then went back to their lives. Now, they're all about gaining followers on social media and becoming influencers and they never go away. Their lives just become about influencing people to buy things. I think Jac also easily became the villain because she was clearly there to get more publicity as an author. The other women who were in Marcus' top women played the game a bit more slyly.

This was a fun time. If you're at all into The Bachelor, I think you'll enjoy it.

Jacqueline, a failed romance author, has a brilliant plan: go on the latest Bachelor-type show called the 1 in an attempt to regain some fame. She’s carefully crafted a strategy beforehand and easily falls into the producers' plan to turn her into the villain. She quickly learns that the show is a lot more draining than she originally thought, leaving her to question if it was all worth it in the end.

The Villain Edit was a weird book for me. There were aspects that made me want to obsessively keep reading (I think the Bachelor premise was instrumental in this), but at the same time, I hated all the characters (which, to be fair, I’m pretty sure was intentional). I struggled a lot with having an entire cast of dislikable characters, but to readers that like this, I think this book would be a win. My favorite part about this book was that while technically a romance, it was filled with snark and didn't read like a traditional romance at all. All in all, I liked this book but didn’t love it. I think it would be perfect for fans of literary fiction who also like to see the breaking of the fourth wall in reality TV!

3.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

I loved the premise- an author joins a reality show to try and jumpstart her career. Shes a romance author but isnt feeling inspired so what better way than to go on a dating reality show? This was decently entertaining. It had some good balance between romance and humor. Nothing that will stick with me long-term, but it was fun while I was reading.

An interesting, gripping, thought-provoking novel set around a reality TV romance show, with drama both behind the scenes and in front of the camera. When Jac decides to go on a reality dating show, never could she have imagined whom might be involved, and what would happen.

I do not want to say too much about the plot of this book due to spoilers, but, I will say, there is so much in it: drama, secrets, lies, forbidden romance, moments that will have you thinking, and depth.

If you enjoy reality dating TV shows, I recommend this book!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Avon for the e-ARC of this book! All opinions expressed n this review are my own.

This was meh - I love a reality show plot but this just didn't quite hit the mark. The characters all felt a bit flat and there was quite of lot of suspension of disbelief (or stupidity) required, but it had juicy drama so that's something.

Fans of the bachelor franchise, rejoice! THE VILLAIN EDIT by Laurie Devore is one of my favorite books from 2024 -- such a fun story with equally compelling writing -- a must-read!

A low 2 stars. This wasn’t for me. I was mostly bored and annoyed by the protagonist's constant pity party.

This could have been fun, but it needed a snarky and juicy writing style to pull that off! Unfortunately, the writing felt flat and emotionless to me. It's all so samey! It feels cold, while everyone keeps saying they are feeling big emotions!

The same goes for the characters. They are dull with no personality. Jac is really not bitchy enough to be fun, but also not nice enough that the reader feels sorry for the villain edit she is receiving. She is just very bland! And I didn't care about who the producers were producing. At all.

Overall, it was lifeless and boring. Also, I’m not sure the book knows which genre it wants to be. It's not romance or satire! Maybe bad contemporary fiction?

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review an advanced copy of this novel. I highly enjoyed it and will be recommending it.

- I just can’t pass up a reality dating show novel, and THE VILLAIN EDIT is probably the juiciest one I’ve read yet.
- I didn’t think a lot of the plot made sense - How is “failed author” going to make you a beloved contestant? Could you really not see that everyone hated you? Did you think the cameras were really gone? Why would they let you talk openly about producer machinations on air? Etc. Maybe I just watch too much Bachelor, though.
- However, despite or maybe because of all that, I couldn’t put it down becauseI needed to know what would happen next.

The Villain Edit by Laurie Devore, if I’m being honest, wasn’t my favorite romance. The borderline infidelity that comes from being on a dating reality tv show really isn’t my jam—the show’s lead is dating multiple women at once, which is already icky—but then the FMC is “dating” the guy on the show while hooking up with the producer, too? Eh, I know it’s part of the process she went through to arrive at her happy ending, but I just didn’t love it. I could empathize with Jacqueline, I could understand WHY she made the decisions that she did, but this one was just a little too messy—ALTHOUGH I did enjoy the ending. *smirks* It had a pretty good ending.

If you love shows like The Bachelor or Love Island, then you’ll probably love The Villain Edit.

This book was a read in one sitting sort of novel. It was very compelling and kept me interested. There is reality tv, and the facade these people get in an edit. The Fillain edit was perfect and had a fast plot without being too typical. Definitely a lick it up now.

Oh my what a wild ride! If you like the Bachelor shows you will love this book. I loved every second, definitely one of my favorites this year. Jac's time on the1 with Marcus as lead and Henry as a producer keeps you wanting more. Who gets the happily ever after?

Well, this was an absolute riot! My anxiety was through the roof, actually sweating and panicking but wow. There was so much drama but I also by far enjoyed the exploration of the behind-the-scenes of the reality dating show. I love reality tv and this was so much fun to read! I mean, it really can be blamed on the edit sometimes.

The Villain edit brought you into your favorite reality dating show to make a case that the villains might not always be as bad as we are made to think. Often you don’t even see the true extent of how they ended up there and what parts don’t even factor in.
I went back and forth on liking the main character, which I think was the point. At times I felt for her and didn’t know who to trust either, but then she would try to pass off something she did as a stupid mistake, but instead felt rather calculating.
Overall though I enjoyed the concept and the writing, a fun quick read!

I really enjoyed this book but I had SO MUCH anxiety the entire time😂 There's tons of drama, secrets, scandals, tension, and chemistry that make this a story you won't want to put down!

I recently watched the 2015 show UnREAL which this was giving me similar vibes to -- minus the deaths and awful things that happen in the show. But the anxiety and the questioning of what's sincere or if the producers are just producing you/manipulating you for the show made me think of it. I don't really watch reality tv but I imagine I'd think back on the "villains" of past seasons and feel bad for them if I did after reading this book. We all know that reality tv edits things and takes them out of context to create drama and a show that will sell and get better ratings. This is obviously fiction but I feel like it's probably pretty accurate to how some contestants are feeling on these shows. Since it's about a reality show there are a lot of names thrown into the mix but I didn't find it hard to keep up with at all and each of the girls that made it far in the show were easy to differentiate. The pace was perfect and the chapters were each named after a song which was fun.

I liked Jac and Henry but they also both really frustrated me throughout the entire book because they kept making bad decisions and I could never trust what Henry was really feeling. I was still rooting for them anyway though! And I felt for Jac because the whole process would definitely take a toll on anyone in her shoes. I just kept waiting for good things to happen for her. Marcus made me so angry and some of the other producers/contestants because so many people are producing each other so basically nothing is real which would drive me nuts irl, but of course just added to the drama and made me want to see what would happen next and who was actually good or manipulative. I really liked that we got the inside/behind the scenes look at the show as Jac is actively living it, but we also get the outside perspective from tabloids and podcasts that show how it's playing out outside their little on set bubble. It foreshadows how Jac will be feeling after the show wraps up but doesn't give everything away.

The author also doesn't shy away from the kind of threats and abuse Jac was getting from being on the show and how it affected her, as well as a former female lead, which is really important because we see it all the time in the media/online how awful people treat those who are in the public eye. There's a good balance of fun and serious in this story.

Read if you like:
💗reality tv
💗drama (which is probably a given if you like reality tv)
💗forbidden romance
💗secret rendezvous
💗workplace romance
💗love-triangle

I don't actually like reality tv but I do really enjoy fiction about reality tv. So even if you're not a fan of The Bachelor or shows like it, you can still enjoy this book like I did (:

Thank you Avon & NetGalley for the digital ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This book came out 8/27/24 so go check it out especially if you're a reality tv fan or even critic! The drama will hook you from the start!

The author masterfully portrays flawed, relatable characters navigating the blurry lines between perception and reality, particularly in how we craft our online personas. The story is filled with drama, tension, and thought-provoking moments that will keep readers hooked. Devore's sharp writing and keen insight into the pressures of being young in today's world make this a standout contemporary YA novel. Perfect for fans of character-driven stories with a modern twist!

This was SO FUN! As a self-proclaimed reality TV fanatic, I absolutely loved reading this behind-the-scenes take on a reality TV dating show (based on The Bachelor, obvs). As I've been watching reality TV since finishing this, I've been wondering how much truth there is to the behind-the-scenes content portrayed in this book.

If you're a reality TV fan of any sort, but especially The Bachelor franchise, this is a must-read!

Anything Bachelor-esque is right up my alley. I love reality TV and any media that offers a slightly jaded behind-the-scenes look at it (aka UnReal). Because of that, I really enjoyed this book. My hottest take, of course, is Let Women be Unlikeable! Jac was at times, as is her right, especially in a setting that we know is presented as squeaky clean, like most reality dating shows are.

Fun read for fans of reality TV and the Bachelor franchise. It's a bit predictable, but still fun and I loved the inclusion of articles, podcasts etc