I enjoyed this one! It was steamy, romantic af, and soo swoony.

Ashley has been fawning over her childhood crush Nic for a long time, and she attempted to ruin her cousin's wedding by convincing him that she was the better woman for him. But it was Gabriel who walked instead. So, Ashley and Gabriel's agencies decided to have them fake date each other. Using Gabe's golden image and Ashley's bad-girl reputation, each party would benefit by hopefully rubbing off on the other individual.

I adored Ashley, she is the epitome of a “Bad Girl”, she’s confident, flirty, and seems to have no morals. But once you get to know her, we realize that she's just not the villain that we thought.

Gabriel is the perfect golden boy with a little wildness in his soul. But he breaks Ashley's heart, and I cry so much. Poor girl, she just need him to want her and love her 😭. What she did for him. OMG!!! I couldn't believe it!!! She love him so much!!! When he knelt begging for forgiveness, it was exactly what she deserved, because she needed someone who would fight for her heart, who would sacrifice for her.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the ARC.

5-star sexual tension gets derailed by 2-star drama in this spicy opposites attract romance. This started out SO strong, and I am incredibly disappointed to have to rate it so low, but… it is what it is. I was immediately hooked in by the unique premise and the smokin’ hot chemistry. I loved the concept of a girl with a bad reputation showing her softer side, but I can’t really say that’s where the story went. The juxtaposition of our squeaky clean yet not-so-nice hero and our messy heroine was interesting, but it went in the wrong direction. There was a real opportunity to do something great - and the potential was definitely there - but it went SO far off the rails. I ended up hating the hero, feeling less than enthused about the romance, and frustrated by how it all fell apart.

The story follows Ashley, a woman who is known for being a reality TV villain and over-sexualized vixen. While scheming to do a very bad thing, Ash accidentally gets caught on camera with Gabriel, an actor whose reputation is pristine. When Gabe’s PR team decides that Ashley might give his reputation the edge it needs to secure a film role, the two find themselves faking a lust- fueled relationship. Though ending up with a girl like Ashley for the long run would prove deadly to Gabe’s career, a sexy, fake fling could work wonders. But as Ash and Gabe spend time together, it’s impossible to ignore that they have more in common than either would’ve predicted.

I love the cover, the premise is great, and this was recommended by one of my favorite authors, so I was excited to dig into this. And for the first hundred pages or so, I was loving it. You could feel the tension between Ash and Gabe, who had the kind of instant chemistry that’s tough to create. I was excited to dig below the surface and see the ways they were perfect for each other, but the story stays lust-focused for significantly longer than I’d like. There was an attempt to create a stronger emotional connection between the two, but it was sorely underdeveloped and frequently sidelined by never-ending drama. The back half revealed a side of Gabe that I did not like AT ALL, and all that potential went right out the window. The conflict was too mean and way too drawn out, all they ever did was have sex, and there were a ton of missed opportunities for greatness. I’d definitely check out the author again once she gets a few more books under her belt, but this left me supremely frustrated.

A cute fast paced romcom, and I simply could not put it down, while the book as a whole was fast paced I did find that the ending for me fell flat, and to me felt a hurried to end the story.
Ashley tries to seduce her cousin’s husband on their wedding day, after getting caught kissing the wrong man, she and Gabe have to enter into a fake relationship due to the paparazzi catching her leaving Gabe’s room. So to further their Hollywood careers, cause she needed someone to make her look less like a villain and he needed someone to make him look less golden boy. Their handlers decided that since he was going on a road trip across country back home that she should join him, but along the way the fake dating turned real as they both dig deep into their past and learn more and more about each other, stuff that they don’t even let their fans know, but due to a gas station bathroom “incident” Gabe is forced to break their contract early and commit to acting and saving his image instead of following his heart.

🔹He falls first
🔹Touch and die
🔹fake dating

I loved the bad girl x good boy trope.
I loved reading this book, I thought both of them had a character development and the FMC being a misunderstood villain.

I loved the villian edit. Ashley starts the book as a TV reality star bad girl who really leans in to the villian that everyone thinks she is. Not only her to the outside world but even by her family too. Then brings in the handsome good make lead Gabe. Who is everything that Ashley despises in a person!
Then comes in the drama when they start faking dating to give Ashley a better image and Gabe a bit of an edge. Obviously the fake dating becomes real but the scenes where this happens are so expertly written it might have you feeling hot and bothered and begging for more.
The deeper you delve into the book it gets hard to see who is truly the villian and who is the good one. These characters have depth and a expansive back story to reveal why they play these characters to the world and even to themselves.
It really needs to be printed and distributed so I can have a copy for my shelf!

Thanks to net galley for letting me read it before realise and letting me review it

Favourite quote
"Welcome to the dark side, Gabe. You'll do just fine here!"

I received a complimentary copy of this book via Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are my own

I loved how the roles seemed reversed in this book. The male is the golden boy while the female is portrayed as the morally grey villan.

I enjoyed this book very much. The story and world building.

Thank you for the opportunity to ARC read this.

I received a complimentary copy of this book via Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are my own

I love a good spicy novel and The Villain Edit is a fun one to read in front of the fireplace. It's a bit repetitive, but overall fun. Although part of a series stands alone just fine.

The Villain Edit by Sarah Brenton is a gripping read that tells the story of Ashley Foley, the bad girl everyone loves to hate. The book takes us on a journey where Ashley, after being betrayed and branded as one of reality TV's greatest villains, finds herself too toxic to get work. To make matters worse, she watches the man she loves walk down the aisle with the wrong woman. But being a bad girl, Ashley has a plan up her sleeve - to seduce the groom at the reception. However, things take an unexpected turn when she realizes she's with the wrong man.

Hollywood Golden Boy Gabriel Sinclair walks into the room, and Ashley's plan blows up in her face. Gabriel shouldn't have fallen for the trap, but he did. He sees this as an opportunity to hold onto his gritty superhero role, which has been under the fandom's scrutiny for being too much of a do-gooder. Ashley's reputation could use his shine, and they both agree to a fake dating arrangement. But fake dating means bringing Ashley on Gabriel's cross-country road trip, and she's a temptation he can't afford, especially when he realizes she might not be the bad girl she's been portrayed to be.

The Villain Edit is a page-turner that will keep you on the edge of your seat. The chemistry between Ashley and Gabriel is electric and will leave you wanting more. The development of the characters is excellent, and the plot twists are unexpected. If you're looking for a romantic read with a touch of drama, then The Villain Edit is a perfect choice.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Villain Edit is the 3rd book in the series and can be read as a stand-alone, however, it seems to begin in the middle of a storyline and takes a little bit to adjust and figure out what's going on.

Ashley is perceived as a bad girl after being portrayed as a villain on a reality TV series. In real life she's living up to that reputation by trying to seduce a groom on his wedding day. The wrong man walks into the room and blows up all her plans. But is it the wrong man.....

Ashley and Gabriel have instant chemistry. I wish there had been more plot to this one and a little less steam, but still an overall quick fun read.

the book was okay, but also disappointing at the same time. i really loved the premise of the story and the book had so much potential to be something but it wasn't anything special to me. and i really wanted to connect with the characters, especially Ash and Gabe, but i wasn't able to. some positives on the other hand though, are that it is fast paced, still enjoyable and it made me laugh. if you like a quick read with fake dating, road trips and celebrities then go for it.

𝐼 𝒶𝓂 𝓂𝑒. 𝒜𝓃𝒹 𝐼'𝓂 𝓉𝒾𝓇𝑒𝒹 𝑜𝒻 𝓃𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝒷𝑒𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉𝑒𝒹, 𝑜𝒻 𝒶𝓁𝓌𝒶𝓎𝓈 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔

The book follows Ashley and Gabriel who are to set out on a road trip to alter both of their images in the public.

I started enjoying the book but could not get over how fast-paced and underdeveloped some of the events were. The book seriously had potential and I thought I would like it but I ended up disappointed in the end.

One of my biggest issues was how David talked to and about Ashley throughout the novel. All in all, I decided to DNF the book at 50% so I'm not sure how much weight my review truly holds.

I really enjoyed this book, I love an awful FMC! I have not read books 1 or 2 but this was such a fun way to be introduced to this author and series. I loved how Sarah wrote Ashley and Gabriel's Story. This is definitely a must read if you love redemption arcs, fake dating, road trips and unlikeable FMC's!

From time to time this book had me laughing and drawn into the story but overall I didn't really connect to any of the main characters, which put me off reading every now and then. I don't think that's the author's writing but more me that wasn't able to get into the book.

great premise, absolute letdown though. i couldnt find a redeemable quality about either character to make me interested enough to continue reading.

I think this was a "It's not you, it's me" situation. There was just something about the main female character, Ashley, that I didn't connect with, and then really stopped me from getting into the story - perhaps she was trying too hard, I don't know, but she just wasn't for me. And as for Gabe, I just felt nothing for him at all.
I'm slightly disappointed because I loved the premise of the story, and wanted to love it son badly. This is why I think perhaps the issue was with me and not the actual book.

The premise of this book is what initially drew me in and it definitely had some twists and turns I wasn’t expecting. I found myself laughing a lot, however at times, it felt like the author was trying to offer up commentary on too many topics — the small conversation about nepotism in Hollywood, Gabe’s privilege as a white man with money, etc., without saying anything definitively which caused the writing and plot to feel rushed and underdeveloped at times. As such, the book could’ve used maybe 50-75 more pages and a second epilogue from Gabe’s POV.

I found it funny that at first I could not see myself rooting for the FMC, Ash, at first because she was just not a good person but then over time as we pulled back her layers, and got to the core of who she was, you could tell that she was unsure of who she was and going through a lot with very little support. And by the end you were rooting for her. And on the flip side, you like Gabe when you meet him, feel bad for the shit he’d been dealt and then you’re like why the f*** is he making these stupid ass decisions, that cause you to not like him as much as the beginning. I think there definitely needed to be more groveling on his end following the third act break-up.

But also at times, seeing the way he was struggling with his public and private life, had me feeling very empathetic towards my favorite actors/public figures because I think the author shared a fictionalized tale of the ups and downs of what it’s like to live in the public eye, and dealing with following your true wants/desires versus what’s expected of you, and how quickly you can lose sight of who you really are under the weight of others expectations of you— from your family, your team and those who claim to adore you.

The characters had good chemistry and the spice scenes were hot. I just wish there was more time spent exploring who Ash was a person outside of her public persona and her relationship, as well as what she got up to post 3rd act breakup, more of Gabe groveling and apologizing because a penthouse of flowers was a just a start, more of W and Ash’s friendship, what going back to LA was like following their reconciliation— learning to be open and honest in the public eye while protecting their relationship, the life they built together and future Gabe continuing to discover who he was and living up to being the person Ash deserved.

Thank you to NetGalley for the e-Arc, all opinions and thoughts are my own.

I really enjoyed the first to books in this series, with Holiday Vibes being one of my favorite Christmas books this year. So when the author reached out to offer me an advanced copy I jumped on it. Sadly I struggled with this one. More on a personal level because I just couldn't like Ashley and her determination for at last half the book to willing destroy a marriage. I've had my own Ashley, and it skewed my enjoyment of the book. But don't let that stop you from picking it up. It is not most peoples hang up. Her snark and sass did crack me up though. She also redeemed herself slightly by the end of the book, but not enough to make me like her. I did like Gabriel right up to a bit of a hiccup at the end. But people have their moments.

That said I did like the premise, if not the characters. As well as getting to see some favs from the previous books make a return. And the steam was on point. Just what I expected. None of the above stopped me from reading through it in 2 days either. It was a quick paced, easy read. Would recommend to rom com lovers without my personal issues.

Oof. I was intrigued by the tag line for The Villain Edit, “He’s the best. She’s the worst.” I like an “unlikable” woman. Ashley was actually pretty great. Gabriel, who was supposed to be the best, is the actual worst. I got to a point where I knew he was going to be awful to her so I jumped ahead. He was awful to her, did some light groveling, and got her back. I just don’t want to read about men being awful to women. I wish Ashley had called the Whole Man Disposal Service.

When I started this book I was convinced it was going to be a 5 star read but at about the half way point it lost me. I thought I was going to hate Ashley because her actions at the start are terrible but she soon grew on me & I felt sorry for her. Gabe was the opposite. I enjoyed the start of the fake dating and them winding each other up but the tension didn't last long enough for me. They were obsessed with each other way too quickly.

I didn't reall understand Gabriel. He kept saying that he wasn't the good guy everyone thought he was but all he seemed to be hiding was a couple mistakes as a CHILD and the fact that he liked sex. He also turned into a massive dick at the end. I hated the way he treated Ashley in the 3rd act conflict and their was nowhere near enough apologizing and grovelling. I honestly didn't want them to end up together and Ashley ended up coming across as pathetic instead of the badass she should've been.

It is a quick easy read with spice and it did make me laugh. I was disappointed in the ending though.

2.5 stars

I received a copy of the ebook via NetGalley and have given an honest review

This was so fun!! A super spicy and quick read! I need to go back and read the rest of the series now!