Book: The Making of a Villain by Lancet, Veronica
Reviewed by Booksbystarlightandshadows
I knew I was going to feel conflicted about Nykander after reading this book! Nyk has grown up so isolated from people through no fault of his own and it's no wonder he took a shine to Moe when he met her after being on his own for so long. I thought they were actually quite cute together and Nyk's internal monologue was very sweet when he was so nervous around Moe; he is so far away from the Nyk in Barbi and the Villain! I did have a hard time reconciling that Nyk with this one as it has been a while since I read book one; especially after the whole Scarlet Lady element and his scary mother which made me much more empathetic towards him.
Moe herself didn't really come into her own until later on in the book and she is very different to Barbi. Barbi is a larger than life character and although Nyk and Moe were sweet, I could appreciate the chosen rather than fated mate comparison. Moe is a very believable first love but whether or not Barbi will be Nyk's final love is up for debate!
There is a lot of intense world building in this and I did need to re-read a couple of parts to get my head around it all. The Aimaxion section was probably the most engaging and was an interesting source of action. The narrative was a little disjointed at times but I feel that is by design after some of the reveals towards the end. We are dealing with an unreliable narrator to an extend and the timelines have gaps at the moment which did leave me with plenty of questions going into book three. We definitely don't have the full story yet and I'm intrigued to see how Nyk is going to get of the mess he is in!
My interpretation of the star system;
3 stars - I enjoyed it; would read the author again
4 stars - I really liked it; I am invested and definitely want more from this author/series
5 stars - I loved it; I engaged with this book completely until I finished it and it is one I will re-read