2.5 Stars ( )

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 /5
🌶🌶🌶🌶 /4

!! Following may contain spoilers !!

Synopsis & Notes:

In our intro into the world of Sabine Valley, we meet Abel Paine and his 6 brothers (entertainingly named alphabetically like the Bridgertons) as they take back their home territory in a show of combat strength from Abel in the opening chapter. Overall where Wicked Villains is set in what is very much a dark and mysterious metropolis with a clear criminal underbelly, I get the sense that Sabine Valley is more of a spread out selection of areas than a clear city (my brain goes to Zootopia for some reason, in a fun way). The military compound nature of the setup in the Raider / Paine faction definitely gives off Dauntless (Divergent) vibes (lots of well trained fighters and needs for showy dominance), but combine that with a territory fighting to better itself after a series of bad & abusive leaders to give it some good complexity.

I’ll be honest, in the world of Carver City / Sabine Valley / Olympus, I prefer the city vibes to the rough and tumble Raider territory when it comes to settings. However, I loved the character dynamics in this book. Abel is obviously the strong dom, but he also has a practical streak that lets him assess those around him and pull out their strengths with great success. Eli is the sophisticated intelligence to Abel’s hard won street smarts, and the contrast led them from childhood friends to a delicious hate into lust dynamic now. And then we have Harlow who goes on her own journey of real growth in this book to become someone who can anchor an equal leg of the triangle the three of them form.

As these three strong-willed people figure out how to become an unstoppable team, this friends-to-enemies-to-lovers trope combo results in some delightful spicy scenes. I only docked the rating ½ a star for the military compound setting, but put Abel, Harlow, and Eli in one of the other two cities and it would be a full 5 star for me. ( )