Hi everyone! I hope that you are having a great Labor Day if you’re in the United States observing the holiday. If not, I still hope you are having a great Monday! Today I am sharing my thoughts on the collaborative book “Because You Love to Hate Me“. This book has thirteen tales centered around villains. How the collaboration worked is that the booktubers came up with a prompt and the authors fulfilled it. Once the tale was done the booktuber had a q&a with the author about it. I am going to make a confession. I didn’t read majority of the q&a’s. That wasn’t what interested me about the book. So I am basing the book on its short stories. So let’s get started.

All the stories are amazing in their own right. My scale is based on if I would enjoy reading this short story if it was full fledge novel or series and a clearly defined villain who steals my heart. So I went into this knowing that I was going to rate them on a 0 to 5 scale. 0 being that I wouldn’t want to read it and 5 being that I would read it.

The Blood of Imuriv was a really good story that I enjoyed immensely. The villain Rhone, was someone that we could all relate to especially if you have a sibling that you believe outshines you or holds you back. While his tale is relatable it also really sad. This was most definitely the story to kick off this collab with. I give this one 5 stars!

Jack is a big (pun intended) old hidden gem. I didn’t expect that she would do that jack but I understand from her perspective that she has to protect her people. I give this story 5 stars.

Gwen, Art, and Lance just reminded me of that trailer for the movie Unfriended. It’s like that style of story telling. I don’t mind that in the slightest and for me it actually built up anticipation to see where the story went. I however felt that this story fell short in being a villain type story. To me there really wasn’t a villain just some love crazy kids. I give this one a 2.5 stars.

Shirley & Jim just wasn’t really my cup of tea. I was okay with the story being a letter to a gender bent version of Dr. Watson. I just couldn’t get into it. That might be because I am not a Sherlock Holmes fan. I do give it credit for bringing the story to present day times and how it would be if the characters were different. I give this story 2 stars.

The Blessings of Little Wants first made me think of the Rowling’s Potterverse. I was excited but the characters just were bland. Because honestly I feel like there are so many things that were trying to be pushed into the story that I fell short honestly being able to connect to Sigrid. I gave this one 1 star.

The Sea Witch made me really want this story to be a book so that I could have it to give me Little Mermaid retelling feels. I really felt for Nefrit. I think her story really gives you insight into how villains aren’t born they are made. I give this story 5 stars.

Beautiful Venom is one of the best retellings of medusa I’ve read in a long time. I would have enjoyed this story as a full length book. I honestly wished that Mei would have gotten revenge on the goddess some how. That would have been a true villain’s tale and another excellent example of how villain’s are made. I give this one 4.5 stars.

Death Knell is the only story in this book had me checking the sleeve to make sure it was right that there was 13 tales of villains in this book. I don’t know if it is escaping me who the villain is but this story had no villain. Death isn’t a villain to me. I give this story a rating of 0 stars.

Marigold made me think of who the true villain actually was. There is the thought that it is the Erl folk but in reality it is brother with his lust for power and greed. He would sacrifice all to better himself. This results in death of not only his friend but also of Marigold. I gave this one 3.5 stars.

You, You, It’s all About You is not one I could truly get into. I think the storyline is definitely unique and on the macabre side. I think that the villain, Amanda, is one for the dystopian drug ages! She knows how to truly eat the dish called revenge. I give is this story a 3.5 stars.

Julian Breaks Every Rule is my least favorite story of all the ones in this book. I could empathize with Julian’s situation but I mean his story was one that I wouldn’t pick up to read as a full fledge book or series. I give this story 0 stars. Enough said.

Indigo and Shade is a great retelling of Gaston. Honestly if this was turned into a tv series or something I’d watch it. I think that Brahm makes for a good villain. Who doesn’t love a main guy lead turning dark side for the girl he loves? It’s a classic trope. I give this story a 4.5 stars.

Sera was an interesting tale to end with. It kind of reminded me of the movie Orphan or any movie where the other sibling is otherworldly evil. I am wondering where she got her otherness from? It is a good story! I give it a 3.5 stars.

So overall the book is a has a rating of 5 stars. I recommend this book because the stories are interesting and to support our authors & booktubers. They put a lot of love into this collab and shows. I hope you’ve enjoyed this review and please let me know down below your thoughts or if you’re going to be picking this up!