Not Her Villain

Love At All Cost #2

by Irene Bahrd

Writing a book about a morally gray billionaire is simple. Not falling for one is far from it.

Benedict Turner has made a name for himself dismantling smaller publishing houses and destroying authors’ careers in the process. When the flirtatious Brit agrees to a quick interview for my book research, the last thing I expect is the charming, sexy billionaire to sweep me off my feet.

Despite being a walking red flag who doesn’t like pineapple on pizza, considers a nightly run a good time, and insisting soccer is football, he isn’t the morally gray man I thought he would be.

He claims he’s a villain—and I should probably heed his warning—but even villains deserve a happily ever after.

Not Her Villain is a deliciously spicy romantic comedy, intended for mature audiences. Just because it's a romcom, doesn't mean you should forget to check your content warnings...

Please note: Benedict's point of view chapters are written in British English.

Genres: Romance, Ebooks, Contemporary, Rom Com, Contemporary Romance, Workplace Romance, Billionaires

406 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 29, 2023

About the author

Irene Bahrd is a feisty Capricorn and one of the most avid readers you will ever meet. Her favorite genres to read or write include romantic comedies, political romance, romantasy, and the occasional contemporary dark romance.

She started her writing journey as a dare from a friend, after recounting dating stories from her early twenties. They inspired her to write spicy romantic comedies and parodies that feature a variety of book boyfriends—though most are cinnamon roll golden retrievers. Many of her stories contain LGBTQIA+, disabled, and neurodivergent characters.

Irene can be found on Instagram and TikTok under @irenebahrdauthor

Reviews

[tei hurst · Rating 1 out of 5]

edit:
premise had so much hope, i love the writer / high profile publishing house CEO idea. but ben was so cocky and poorly written, and so much about him just rubbed me the wrong way the whole read.


BLAH. ben is so cocky and annoying i’m sorry.

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't done this series in order, but that's okay! Ben is in the habit of buying out publishing houses and making "changes" ie dismantling publishing houses. He is also in the habit of meeting girls on dating apps, but when he meets his match, Layla, he slowly starts to change. There is a problem with that tho.
Layla is an author who is in the process of writing a billionaire romance, so she decided to her research by striking up a conversation with a billionaire. Little does she know that her heart and her libido will start to fall 100% for this billionaire, the bastards.
Ben and Layla's relationship is not smooth, but it is comedic, Ben is morally grey & "Benedict? More like Ben’s a dick."

[Amara · Rating 1 out of 5]

Absolutely not. The rating has to be this high because of only ARC reads. This was nothing but show, not tell. Further, it needs editing, her male “voice” needs work, and there were many proofreading errors. The last hour of the book was tedious and not explained well. Ben was all talk and no action, and seemed like he was playing the part of a dominant kinkster instead of actually being one. Very similar to men who call themselves “alpha” and talk shit about “betas”, all while being a beta themselves.

This, again, was marketed as breeding kink. He has one, but they never act it out. So, that doesn’t count.

[Meenal · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC review:

All the vibes and so much swoon—this book has my heart.

Irene's rom-coms are the kind of love stories I long to read. As always, she delivers.

Ben is a morally different colour (no spoilers!) and has great lines to say. Look no further for a book boyfriend.

I want all my romance besties to read this and feel silly and loved.

[Barbara Huff · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC review. Here we are again with another great rom-com from Irene. This story brings a billionaire, Ben, and an author, Layla, together. While their love story develops, there are some twists and turns that encourage you to route for them. It’s another 5star read for me and I have to say, I WASN’T disappointed with the spice.

[Ashley Wolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC REVIEW
I absolutely adored this book. It was definitely a page turner.
If you love morally gray characters, billionaire romance, and romcoms then this book is for you!
Also the dedication is one of my favorites from all of the books I have read.
"For everyone who only watched once upon a time for killian "Hook" jones.

[Suzy100 · Rating 1 out of 5]

This storyline was a mess. Only finished by skimming through the last 3rd of the book.

[Lillie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very cute, steamy book. I loved how the characters and the story was handled. Although it was fast paced at times, it was very wholesome overall and I absolutely loved this book.

[Rebecca Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not Her Villain is a a grumpy/sunshine, spicy contemporary romance. It is the second book in Bahrd's Love At All Cost series. The first book is A Voice Without Reason, and I'm kicking myself because it is one of the (many) books on my Kindle that I have yet to read. Having enjoyed Not Her Villain as much as I did, I'll need to rectify that ASAP.

This book features Layla Thorne and Benedict (Ben) Turner. Layla is a best selling author, and Ben is the publishing mogul from Turner Publishing, who buys up smaller publishing companies and dismantles them. It just so happens that he bought the publishing house under which she is contracted. Neither of them know this when they first connect.

Layla is doing research for her morally grey main character in her upcoming billionaire romance novel. Layla (aka Lisa) reached out to Ben (aka Blake) on a dating app and explains that she's doing research. There's something about her that he finds fascinating and therefore agrees to answer her questions. The two end up exchanging messages frequently, so when he comes into town, he gets her to agree to a face-to-face interview. But before they can meet up at said interview, the meet through mutual friends and realize both had used pseudonyms.

The two characters have wonderful chemistry together and share some witty dialogue. Ben falls hard and fast, which is not the norm for him. Layla falls too, but does her best to keep him at arms length to protect her heart, but in the end he is irresistible.

This book was unexpectedly delightful. I expected the spice, which is always fun, but the connection between the characters, and their struggles to see themselves through the others' eyes was relatable. Ben is an alpha male used to getting what he wants, and he is very possessive of Layla. Layla is a strong woman who can give as good as she gets. They really are well suited. I also wanted to note that the book has disability representation which I appreciate. Love is for everyone and it is nice to see characters who embody physical and/or mental characteristics that are considered to be outside the norm.

[Jacklyn B · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a good dedication: "For everyone who only watched Once Upon a Time for Killian "Hook" Jones."

What does a fantasy author do when she wants to write a morally grey billionaire romance?  Join a dating app using a fake name of course...it's not like it's catfishing or anything. Layla Thorne (AKA Lisa) wants to find a morally grey billionaire to interview.  She makes contact with Ben (AKA Blake) and they have a few flirty online interactions. They seem to have a great connection. Then they discover
they actually have friends in common in real life....awkward.

"You destroy authors' careers, she's an author, how do you really think that's going to work out?"

It gets worse, he is Benedict Turner (who hates romance novels and pineapple pizza) who just purchased her publishing house and cut all the romance work.  Layla wants nothing to do with him...kinda.  Ben continues to pursue Layla and shenanigans ensue.  Maybe Ben isn't so morally grey after all....could he be a different color altogether? Do villains deserve a happily ever after?

“I love a red flag book boyfriend, but hating pineapple is taking it too far.”


I loved this book! I love spicy rom coms and couldn't put this down once I started reading it. Lalya and Ben were such an interesting pairing - it shouldn't work but it really did! Their banter had me laughing out loud several times and their chemistry is off the charts. Layla was lovely and independent and had great growth through the story. She is such a spitfire! Ben is a great morally grey MMC - yes
he does some questionable things, but he absolutely loves Layla and more than redeems himself.  You may never look at piercings or popsicles the same ever again.

Definitely read the author's note in the beginning.  She did a great job with the disability representation in the story, and it felt very authentic.  Even if you don't have triggers, the TW's are quite funny (and yes, also serious.)

Tropes
Grumpy/Sunshine
Morally Grey MMC
Disability Representation
Billionaire Romance
Writer FMC
Hilarious Banter

[Jaclyn B-P · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a huge fan of this one .... The spice was raunchy; definitely not my preference. Beyond the "romance" the writing fell short - so much of the story was centered around intimate moments, that the rest of it fell flat. The latter third of the book seemed very rushed and parts of it came across as unfinished.

The idea was decent, but the delivery definitely wasn't for me.

[Nichole Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am beyond grateful to have received this ARC and this is an honest review. I absolutely loved this book. It is a romantic comedy about a romance author who meets a HOT 🔥 morally grey billionaire who doesn't believe in love. I was hooked from page 1. Ben is such a red flag but I think red is my new favorite color. This story has so many funny parts as well as romance and spice 🌶🌶🌶 The epilogue was absolutely FIRE 🔥 and the bonus epilogue has me so so ready for Unexpectedly Ruined! Another amazing 5 ⭐️ read for 2023 in the books 👏

[Lisa Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I’ve struggled with reading and not listening to a book for a long time and finally found this to catch my attention. I received an ARC of this book and began reading nearly immediately. The male main character, Ben, is written as a morally grey billionaire who very quickly falls in love with the female main character. Through the words of this story you can see how much he cares about her and how it changes Ben from a ruthless man into one who cares about his woman and her friends.

[CJ]

Bahrd is my go to for a fun and smutty romance!



Summary

Layla is a romance author doing research for her latest book, which happens to be a billionaire romance. Scouring the dating apps for a morally grey billionaire, she finds one! Benedict aka Ben is perfect; he's hot, moody, and intrigued by Layla. There is only one problem... he is trying to take down her publishing company and her career. I need to know what dating app you find billionaires on. (*Yes... I am married... I just want to dream OK?)



Things I Liked

- The Smut (of course Bahrd writes these scenes wonderfully... imo... very little cringe which I tend to get in smut scenes).
- Disability Representation - Love to see it!
- Link with characters to prior books
- Love the Billionaire aspect... like a man that pays for everything... I am so tired of working...



Things I Didn't Love

- The piercings - It did make the spice scenes different, but I just didn't feel it. How many millionaires have all of these exotic piercing's... I need a survey. Also, I just couldn't relate because I am old and hole less.
- Crudeness in front of her mom/friends. My mouth dropped. See above... I could never and would never.
- I wont spoil it, but the trope at the end is my absolute least favorite.
- The Attagirl had a cameo in this book and I got scared, but thankfully it was a one and done.



Overall these book are so fun and like a hallmark after dark!!

Quote

"I love you. Not by accident, not on a whim... on purpose. I love you, even knowing there is darkness in you."

[AJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was thrilled to get an ARC for this book. I absolutely LOVE everyone’s stories and relationships. I would very much like to find my own morally grey billionaire. Ben gave me serious daddy vibes. The trigger warning section (if you can call it that) was what drew me in and I am so excited this book fell into my lap. I can’t wait to read all of the other books that tie into this universe. 🩶

[Ashley R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Irene Bahrd does it again! I have never been let down by one of her books. Ben may be my new favorite book boyfriend! I love billionaire romances where he falls first and I was blushing and smiling through the whole story! The spicy scenes were 🔥🔥🔥!

4.5 star rating, thanks to Irene for an advanced copy for my honest review and for letting me be part of their amazing ARC team!

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did enjoy this book. The romance was nice, the spicy scenes were good. But it took a weird and confusing turn like 3/4 of the way in and got confusing. There were weird situations that had no lead up, no explanation, and no real resolution. It felt thrown together a little at the end.

[Karelys · Rating 3 out of 5]

Insta lovey
Fav quote:
“I May be a villain to some, but I’m not her villain. I won’t allow it.”- Benedict

[Yianna Schneckloth · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 Stars !!!.

The vibes were so there - so insta love(four months?) it was a little cringey with the cliches too - but it did its job and I’m glad I read it :)

The last 150 pages made me soooooo lost plot wise - like wtf - and wasn’t as enjoyable as the beginning of the book. But it was a cute entertaining read (not a good one lol).

[Sydney · Rating 1 out of 5]

There was essentially no plot to this book unless you count the raunchy scenes every other page. The characters were not fleshed out very well, but really nothing was. Hard to stay interested in the book but glad I finished it quickly so it could be over.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the cutest book ever. Def going to read it again

[Natorious Reading · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series got better with this book. I love Julian and Becca, but Layla and Ben are on another level. This started out hilarious with some “miscommunication” and mistaken identity tropes, but they were resolved quickly and these two got down to business. Some instalove here as well, and I loved that they connected when they thought the other was someone else. But they felt a connection with each other before they even met.

Benedict and Layla are opposites. She is a fantasy writer, but is writing her first contemporary romance and needs to do research on a morally grey billionaire. Enter Ben (who gives her the fake name of Blake). There is flirty banter right away from Ben, and Layla gives it right back! Ben’s character started off in an Alphahole way, but he showed Layla nothing but love throughout.

This book was spicyy. Like, piercings and popsicles and airport adventures. They were not afraid at all with exploration. I loved how Ben still worshipped Layla though.

I really enjoyed this one and can’t wait for Amanda’s book. We get a glance in this book. She is a spitfire!

Thanks to Irene Bahrd for the advance copy of this book.

Ratings:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️


Tropes:
☀️ Morally "Orange"
📖 Billionaire x Sunshine Author
☀️He falls first and hard
🔥Spicier than A Voice Without Reason
📖Check your Content Warnings!!!
☀️Disability rep
🔥Popsicle debacle
📖Interconnected standalone that can truly be read separately
☀️No 3rd act breakup
🔥 Impulsive piercings

[Amber Hoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not Her Villian is the second installment of the Love at All Cost series. It can be read and completely understood without reading any of the other books in the series.

This is one of the best Romantic Comedies I have ever read. Most romcoms I have read rely far too much on bad humor to carry the story, leaving spice and actual plot behind in its wake. Irene Bahrd's writing does not suffer from this. The story itself drew me into the book, add in the witty banter between the main characters, hilarious scenarios they find themselves in and the steamy encounters throughout the entire book and you have the fabulous five star read that I could not put down.

Layla and Benedict are the reason I prefer dual point of views when reading romance. I have a fondness for Layla's inner dialog, along with her witty outer comments and conversations. I absolutely loved Benedict's British Accent, fully experienced while reading is POV in British English. Had the book been written in any other POV we definitely would have lost a large amount of the humor (or is it humour?!), and Benedict would have lost a great deal of his allure.

I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a funny, spicy read with great character banter.

[Janelle Belle · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️

I’m convinced Irene Bahrd never misses! Not Her Villain is everything I wanted and more. Layla is a ray of sunshine, she’s compassionate, sweet, driven, and is a talented author for the fantasy romance and thriller genres (she’s exploring romance and is working on a billionaire romance). She’s absolutely the light to Ben’s darkness. Ben is definitely the grump of the two, morally “grey,” possessive, and alphahole, and is a publishing house owner. I love their little crew too - all the side characters are so strong. I love Irene’s character development!

Layla and Ben have fantastic banter and a ton of chemistry - they feel very relatable overall. The colours are important and without spoilers I loved how this played out. We also get great disability representation! There’s instalove, metamorphosis for the one they love, secret identity, found family (friends like family), and a dash of star-crossed-lovers. The spice - a Bahrd trademark was definitely spicing (eyes on me hellooo).

This is an interconnected series but I think you could read Not Her Villain as a standalone, you will get mild spoilers for the other books though. It was beautiful story of being deserving of love no matter your past. Such a great spicy romcom! Kinky Hallmark-y vibes!!

[Taylor Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

“𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕… 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒆𝒅. 𝑫𝒊𝒅 𝑰 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒍? 𝑰 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈! 𝑰 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏, 𝑰 𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒔, 𝒃𝒖𝒕… 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒆𝒅.”

A true rom-com. This is easily the best book I’ve ever snagged on Stuff Your Kindle Day - I’ve already grabbed the rest of the series that’s available!

Layla plans to interview her very own morally grey billionaire as research for a novel, buuut ends up with Ben - not terribly morally grey, but who has made a name for himself dismantling publishing houses.

We may only be two weeks into 2024, but this already has won my spot for rom-com read of the year. I love love loved the banter and the relationship between Layla and Ben. The way they both fell was to die for. The heavy sprinkle of breeding kink was a big plus for me, ngl.

I loved that it was a healthy balance of slow and fast burn (nothing a good 🍆💍 to avoid having sex on the second date). I’d call it more romantic than spicy, but spicy nonetheless.

If you’re looking for a fast falling, hilarious, flirty, sunshiny billionaire romance, pleaaaase grab this one! Not Her Villain by Irene Bahrd is 👏👏👏👏

[Lauren Bridgeman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hooked on a Villain

3.5⭐️4🌶️

Tropes:
Enemies to Lovers
Online Dating
Billionaire Romance
Morally “Orange” MMC
Sunshine Author FMC
Disability Rep
Dual POV

Vibes:
First off - it’s soooo incredibly fun to be in Irene’s reader group! The #bookishbaddies are hilarious and enhance the overall experience of reading Irene Bahrd. Not Her Villain is a spin off of A Voice Without Reason (which I freaking loved!) I definitely enjoyed reading NHV - but I really wanted to see more character/relationship development from Ben. Yes, he’s morally orange (because there is some good under his morally grey exterior) and loosely based on Once Upon a Time’s Killian “Hook” Jones. He and Layla nearly have an insta-infatuation via an online dating app which is confirmed when they actually meet and ditch the fake names. The spice and kínk were spot on, and I adore all the side characters. I’ll just be over here not-so-patiently waiting for Amanda’s book!

Recommended to billionaire romance / romcom readers.

[Ilona Nurmela · Rating 5 out of 5]

No-streetgirl Pretty Woman meets no-cruelty 50 Shades

I quite liked this fun romp of a billionaire romance. There was sass, there was kink, swearing, takeovers and akward postcoital meet-the-parents. Layla does research on a dating app for a morally grey billionaire book only to meet the same billionaire at a dinner her friends set up.p and the rest is history. I loved how the author wrote through all the tropes she mentione the FMC was writing about and of course the USA-UK connection, although only the old guys in the UK use that many loves and darlings, tbh. Still, fast paced, good characters, a decent plot, lots of smut - what’s not to like.

Recommended for lovers of spicy love at first sight billionaire romances where romantasy authors end up with said kinky billionaires who might or might jot have a breeding kink.

[Johanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really really enjoyed this book!

Layla finds Ben on a dating app, they each give each other Pseudonyms as she does research for an upcoming book.

Turns out they have friends in common and they find that out quite early on.

The rest of the book is him learning how to be a better man to be with Layla as she is one of the sweetest and most down to earth women.

He’s never had any problems tearing things apart for a buck until he’s gets close with Layla and sees how that attitude affects people up close and personal.

I love how he doesn’t necessarily change FOR her but BECAUSE of her.

I loves the twist of Amanda too! She is an EPIC spitfire and reminds me so much of Sage (Royally On The Rocks) but less controlled lol

[Shelby · Rating 5 out of 5]

If Irene writes it, I must read it. It’s as simple as that.

I’m a firm believer that she is the absolute queen of deliciously spicy rom-coms. I can’t get enough.

Ben and Layla were just 😂🥵 Benisadick is the perfect blend of morally gray billionaire but really is a whole colour (hehe cause he’s Brittish) of his own. Layla though, omg she is a whole mood. These two together…. Lawd help me. They were such an unlikely pair but it worked so well. I loved the cameos of Julian and Becca from A voice without reason. It was simply perfect.

If you haven’t read a book by Irene, run… don’t walk. You don’t know what you’re missing,

Thank you so much Irene for the incredible opportunity to review the ARC of Not Her Villain. 20/10 experience yet again 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Milena K · Rating 1 out of 5]

i dont think ive ever read a book with such insufferable characters