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Nemesis Mine
A not-so-evil villain strikes a deal with a not-quite-perfect hero to fake a feud, boost their reputations . . . and try not to fall in love in the process—in this hilarious, tender, sexy, and outrageously fun romp that blends the humor of Assistant to the Villain with the unforgettable romance of Red, White, & Royal Blue and the cozy fantasy vibes of Legends & Lattes.
Fake nemeses. It’s a dastardly plan that can’t go wrong… until love crashes the act.
Nobody is more surprised than Cyrus to learn that he’s no longer considered the greatest villain in the land of Athaca. Sure, he’s lying about the fact that his magical power is making flowers grow. And maybe lately he’s spent more time embroidering pillowcases than tormenting the locals. But that doesn’t mean he’s ready to be yesterday’s evil news.
Enter the hero Maximillian: the realm’s golden boy, complete with a blinding smile, chiseled abs, and an infuriating habit of spreading hope and joy. (Gross.) If Cyrus wants to be taken seriously, he’ll have to take this guy down.
But Maximillian isn’t quite as perfect as he seems. When he proposes a scheme to fake an epic rivalry and increase their fame, Cyrus can’t resist. Stage the battles, soak up the spotlight, share the spoils—it’s a villainously good marketing plan.
There’s just one hitch. Pretending to hate your nemesis becomes a lot harder when you start falling for them instead.
Nemesis Mine is a wickedly funny, steamy, and big-hearted rom-com set in a cozy fantasy world, featuring:
- An irreverent take on a fantasy kingdom for fans of Shrek and The Princess Bride
- Enemies to reluctant allies to lovers (M/M)
- A twist on fake hating/fake dating
- Black cat/golden retriever energy
- Dagger to the throat moments
- Falling for the villain
- “Touch him and you die”
Fake nemeses. It’s a dastardly plan that can’t go wrong… until love crashes the act.
Nobody is more surprised than Cyrus to learn that he’s no longer considered the greatest villain in the land of Athaca. Sure, he’s lying about the fact that his magical power is making flowers grow. And maybe lately he’s spent more time embroidering pillowcases than tormenting the locals. But that doesn’t mean he’s ready to be yesterday’s evil news.
Enter the hero Maximillian: the realm’s golden boy, complete with a blinding smile, chiseled abs, and an infuriating habit of spreading hope and joy. (Gross.) If Cyrus wants to be taken seriously, he’ll have to take this guy down.
But Maximillian isn’t quite as perfect as he seems. When he proposes a scheme to fake an epic rivalry and increase their fame, Cyrus can’t resist. Stage the battles, soak up the spotlight, share the spoils—it’s a villainously good marketing plan.
There’s just one hitch. Pretending to hate your nemesis becomes a lot harder when you start falling for them instead.
Nemesis Mine is a wickedly funny, steamy, and big-hearted rom-com set in a cozy fantasy world, featuring:
- An irreverent take on a fantasy kingdom for fans of Shrek and The Princess Bride
- Enemies to reluctant allies to lovers (M/M)
- A twist on fake hating/fake dating
- Black cat/golden retriever energy
- Dagger to the throat moments
- Falling for the villain
- “Touch him and you die”
432 pages, ebook
First published May 19, 2026
About the author
Amy Archer
1 book55 followersAmy Archer is from Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Her debut novel NEMESIS MINE was written to follow up on the teenage realisation that villains really do have more fun, and will be published by Magpie (UK) and HarperVoyager (US) in June 2026.
She is represented by Lucy Irvine.
She is represented by Lucy Irvine.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 477 reviews
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
What a silly, over the top and funny lil book.
This was so campy and goofy, but I was in the perfect mood for it and found it super charming.
I just loved getting to know Cyrus and what made him tick. And when Max entered the picture and we started to get little sprinkles of yearning I kinda melted. They were so cute! And the sprites were so adorable too.
The first 70% of the book was a solid 5 stars. Only thing is I got a little bored between the 70% and 85% mark so that lowered the rating a bit. But thankfully it picked back up right until the end. Also, the chapters were sooo long and made me feel antsy.
I'm not sure if this was just a 'right time, right place' kind of book for me, but I absolutely adored it.
─ ✦ ────
✎ᝰ.┊ pre-read: i’m freaking out a lil bit bc I just got the arc ahhhhhhhh ok i’m locking in now. i hope i love it!!
⬫ ⬪ ⬫
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for the arc!
This was so campy and goofy, but I was in the perfect mood for it and found it super charming.
I just loved getting to know Cyrus and what made him tick. And when Max entered the picture and we started to get little sprinkles of yearning I kinda melted. They were so cute! And the sprites were so adorable too.
The first 70% of the book was a solid 5 stars. Only thing is I got a little bored between the 70% and 85% mark so that lowered the rating a bit. But thankfully it picked back up right until the end. Also, the chapters were sooo long and made me feel antsy.
I'm not sure if this was just a 'right time, right place' kind of book for me, but I absolutely adored it.
─ ✦ ────
✎ᝰ.┊ pre-read: i’m freaking out a lil bit bc I just got the arc ahhhhhhhh ok i’m locking in now. i hope i love it!!
⬫ ⬪ ⬫
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for the arc!
June 11, 2026
DNF @ 60%
I'm out.
The writing is fine, but the campy, performative humor, shallow characters, and lack of plot are a no-go.
The fantasy medieval setting has potential, but the world building is noticeably absent.
Cyrus's is the only POV, and Cyrus is a jealous, spiteful asshole, a pathetic git who wants to make other people's lives miserable; not so much a villain as a teenage hooligan: creating petty disturbances, spitting seeds from rooftops, and wrecking havoc for no reason.
It's all quite silly and makes the story read very YA.
Cyrus's romance with Maximillian, the "champion" (superhero?), feels generic and stilted, essentially a throwaway so the author can carry on with her schtick.
I should have been prepared because the blurb is cringy af. The name dropping is a hard pass, never mind that this book is to Red, White, & Royal Blue as Earth is to Pluto.
Also, neither Legends & Lattes nor Assistant to the Villain is M/M, which AWKWARD. That should tell you all you need to know about this author.
I'm out.
The writing is fine, but the campy, performative humor, shallow characters, and lack of plot are a no-go.
The fantasy medieval setting has potential, but the world building is noticeably absent.
Cyrus's is the only POV, and Cyrus is a jealous, spiteful asshole, a pathetic git who wants to make other people's lives miserable; not so much a villain as a teenage hooligan: creating petty disturbances, spitting seeds from rooftops, and wrecking havoc for no reason.
It's all quite silly and makes the story read very YA.
Cyrus's romance with Maximillian, the "champion" (superhero?), feels generic and stilted, essentially a throwaway so the author can carry on with her schtick.
I should have been prepared because the blurb is cringy af. The name dropping is a hard pass, never mind that this book is to Red, White, & Royal Blue as Earth is to Pluto.
Also, neither Legends & Lattes nor Assistant to the Villain is M/M, which AWKWARD. That should tell you all you need to know about this author.
November 3, 2025
This is my second ARC via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.
Debut author, Amy Archer, has set herself a rather daunting challenge by writing this story entirely from the villain’s POV.
“Villian” should probably be in quote marks, as the alleged baddie, Cyrus, is just doing his job as a professional wrongdoer. He even has the diploma from the Wrongdoer Academy to prove it. His day job is battling the professional champions who, you guessed it, also have their own academy and governing organization.
It’s a very creative premise to the story, and I like to imagine Archer thinking, “what if I write a gay enemies to lovers trope where the main characters start out as literal I-need-to-kill-you enemies?”
But back to Archer’s challenge, writing her antagonist protagonist likeable enough to get to the romantic slow-burn turnaround with the story’s protagonist protagonist, Maximillian. It was frustrating at the start to only be in Cyrus’s POV, as the author writes him as a ridiculously cliched “villain.” This was intentional, I’m sure, because about the half-way mark of the book when the enemies start to fall for each other, my feelings toward Cyrus completely changed. So, challenge completed, I’d say.
The M/M romance was, quite simply, wonderfully romantic. Swoony in many parts, just the right amount of spice, and blended perfectly into the action and adventure.
Overall, full marks for a fun, well-written debut. Cheers.
Debut author, Amy Archer, has set herself a rather daunting challenge by writing this story entirely from the villain’s POV.
“Villian” should probably be in quote marks, as the alleged baddie, Cyrus, is just doing his job as a professional wrongdoer. He even has the diploma from the Wrongdoer Academy to prove it. His day job is battling the professional champions who, you guessed it, also have their own academy and governing organization.
It’s a very creative premise to the story, and I like to imagine Archer thinking, “what if I write a gay enemies to lovers trope where the main characters start out as literal I-need-to-kill-you enemies?”
But back to Archer’s challenge, writing her antagonist protagonist likeable enough to get to the romantic slow-burn turnaround with the story’s protagonist protagonist, Maximillian. It was frustrating at the start to only be in Cyrus’s POV, as the author writes him as a ridiculously cliched “villain.” This was intentional, I’m sure, because about the half-way mark of the book when the enemies start to fall for each other, my feelings toward Cyrus completely changed. So, challenge completed, I’d say.
The M/M romance was, quite simply, wonderfully romantic. Swoony in many parts, just the right amount of spice, and blended perfectly into the action and adventure.
Overall, full marks for a fun, well-written debut. Cheers.
Did Not Finish
March 14, 2026Thank you to Harper Voyager and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review
DNF @ 15%
I requested this ARC after it was rumored to be one of my book box picks. I thought the premise sounded fun and different so I was excited when I was approved.
Right from the first chapter I could tell this was going to be an extremely campy book. I don’t do well with camp. I’m never going to be the type of person to enjoy the movie Airplane. I did try to keep going for a few more chapters but the humor just wasn’t landing for me and I clearly am not the target audience. From what I could tell this was not a poorly written book by any stretch and seemed like it could be fun for the right person.
Best wishes to Amy Archer and their future publications!
DNF @ 15%
I requested this ARC after it was rumored to be one of my book box picks. I thought the premise sounded fun and different so I was excited when I was approved.
Right from the first chapter I could tell this was going to be an extremely campy book. I don’t do well with camp. I’m never going to be the type of person to enjoy the movie Airplane. I did try to keep going for a few more chapters but the humor just wasn’t landing for me and I clearly am not the target audience. From what I could tell this was not a poorly written book by any stretch and seemed like it could be fun for the right person.
Best wishes to Amy Archer and their future publications!
June 18, 2026
Thanks to NetGalley and HarperAudio Adult | Harper Voyager for the ARC. It hasn't affected the contents of my review.
Ohhhh boy. This wasn't great. If you don't feel like reading a whole long review, to sum up, it was derivative and poorly structured. That led to lack of character development, and that lead to a lack of reader investment. I just think this is yet another example of a book that was pushed out too soon and not given proper developmental edits. Just because the prose of a book reads well doesn't mean the story works, and the story was the problem here, for sure.
The catchy hook: a hero and a villain team up for publicity, and then fall in love. That's really all you need to know before you read the rest of this review.
Let's split this one up. Problem the first:
1. The main character. The central problem that all stories about heroes and villains falling in love have to deal with is this: is the villain actually villainous? And if so, how do you reconcile someone good loving someone evil? Because if a villain is truly doing actual bad things, that's hard if not impossible to root for, especially in a comedic/romantic setting like this one. If it were Dark Romance, we'd have more leeway.
Instead of going the route I would have done, where Cyrus (the MC and narrator) would have been a reluctant villain who was pushed into the role by some sort of circumstance and his heart isn't in it, she decided instead to make him *want* to be evil, but he's just bad at it*, and mostly comes off as an asshole/bully. No, worse than that: as a buffoon, which is not sexy, romantic, or funny. And if you're going to set up that Wrong-Doers (what she calls them in this world) are sort of like benevolent irritants, then you need to actually set that up. For that matter, why does this world have official Wrong-Doers and institutional heroes in the first place?
*Actually it's unclear if she meant him to be bad at it. Which is even worse.
2. Which brings me to the second main problem, the tone. This book wants to be funny but it's not. It seems to want to have a satirical edge, but it doesn't. Nothing is being said here. So what was it actually trying to do? Am I meant to sympathize for Cyrus for being a villain when really he should be a gardener? Or does he genuinely want to be a villain, and also do gardening? These are the facts that we have to work with, and they are not helpful at all.
I think if everything was going to be this shallow, then this book should have been a novella.
3. I don't even know what the arc was? Two people falling in love is not an arc. Either each individual character needs to grow and/or change, or they need to so together, and I am hard-pressed to find any evidence of the first, and barely any for the second. The premise is it here, it doesn't go beyond that.
4. And if you mish-mash all of that together, the story starting in the wrong place, the poor character development, the confusing characterization of the main character and the world he lives in, it just doesn't work! The result is that halfway through the book when the characters have decided they have feelings for one another, based on almost nothing, we then have to sit through an interminable sex scene that is emotionally empty and at least for me, completely lacking sexiness. But I am asexual, so take that last complaint with a grain of salt. (Although, the sex scene itself was also devoid of characterization. It could have been any two people going at it.)
Why do these two people like each other? Why should I like either of them? Those are questions that are not answered in the text.
I am not giving this one star (I really wanted to give it three, but just couldn't do it) because it's a debut, and the prose itself honestly isn't bad. But this author needs a lot of work on how to structure a story for her next go-round. This could have been really fun, but instead it was just a drag.
Will Watt is one of my favorite audiobook narrators, and he does his best with the material he's given, but in the end I think him being the narrator actually made it worse for me, because his voice was giving emotion to the characters that the story hadn't earned.
I will be selling the copy that is on its way to me in the mail right now, via Illumicrate. I wish I had skipped.
Ohhhh boy. This wasn't great. If you don't feel like reading a whole long review, to sum up, it was derivative and poorly structured. That led to lack of character development, and that lead to a lack of reader investment. I just think this is yet another example of a book that was pushed out too soon and not given proper developmental edits. Just because the prose of a book reads well doesn't mean the story works, and the story was the problem here, for sure.
The catchy hook: a hero and a villain team up for publicity, and then fall in love. That's really all you need to know before you read the rest of this review.
Let's split this one up. Problem the first:
1. The main character. The central problem that all stories about heroes and villains falling in love have to deal with is this: is the villain actually villainous? And if so, how do you reconcile someone good loving someone evil? Because if a villain is truly doing actual bad things, that's hard if not impossible to root for, especially in a comedic/romantic setting like this one. If it were Dark Romance, we'd have more leeway.
Instead of going the route I would have done, where Cyrus (the MC and narrator) would have been a reluctant villain who was pushed into the role by some sort of circumstance and his heart isn't in it, she decided instead to make him *want* to be evil, but he's just bad at it*, and mostly comes off as an asshole/bully. No, worse than that: as a buffoon, which is not sexy, romantic, or funny. And if you're going to set up that Wrong-Doers (what she calls them in this world) are sort of like benevolent irritants, then you need to actually set that up. For that matter, why does this world have official Wrong-Doers and institutional heroes in the first place?
*Actually it's unclear if she meant him to be bad at it. Which is even worse.
2. Which brings me to the second main problem, the tone. This book wants to be funny but it's not. It seems to want to have a satirical edge, but it doesn't. Nothing is being said here. So what was it actually trying to do? Am I meant to sympathize for Cyrus for being a villain when really he should be a gardener? Or does he genuinely want to be a villain, and also do gardening? These are the facts that we have to work with, and they are not helpful at all.
I think if everything was going to be this shallow, then this book should have been a novella.
3. I don't even know what the arc was? Two people falling in love is not an arc. Either each individual character needs to grow and/or change, or they need to so together, and I am hard-pressed to find any evidence of the first, and barely any for the second. The premise is it here, it doesn't go beyond that.
4. And if you mish-mash all of that together, the story starting in the wrong place, the poor character development, the confusing characterization of the main character and the world he lives in, it just doesn't work! The result is that halfway through the book when the characters have decided they have feelings for one another, based on almost nothing, we then have to sit through an interminable sex scene that is emotionally empty and at least for me, completely lacking sexiness. But I am asexual, so take that last complaint with a grain of salt. (Although, the sex scene itself was also devoid of characterization. It could have been any two people going at it.)
Why do these two people like each other? Why should I like either of them? Those are questions that are not answered in the text.
I am not giving this one star (I really wanted to give it three, but just couldn't do it) because it's a debut, and the prose itself honestly isn't bad. But this author needs a lot of work on how to structure a story for her next go-round. This could have been really fun, but instead it was just a drag.
Will Watt is one of my favorite audiobook narrators, and he does his best with the material he's given, but in the end I think him being the narrator actually made it worse for me, because his voice was giving emotion to the characters that the story hadn't earned.
I will be selling the copy that is on its way to me in the mail right now, via Illumicrate. I wish I had skipped.
June 23, 2026
Nemesis Mine by Amy Archer
Fantasy, M-M Romantasy.
Cyrus rules his town with all the villainess he’s learned to control. A bit of malicious mischief in the morning will get him through the day.
Maximillian rules his city like the champion he is. Awards and rescues abound. But Max also needs some good PR for his future so creating fake battles with Cyrus can increase his visibility and popularity for the future.
Fighting is more fun than either expected and attractions soon bloom.
Can a villain and a champion be friends? Or more?
🎧 I was able to alternate between an ebook and audiobook. The narration is performed by Will Watt who has recorded almost 400 books. A true professional with a catalog across many genres and strong accents. In this book, the villain and champion come to life to tell their story. The performance is engaging and a bit breathtaking as the villain does things maliciously around his town with glee for the most part, and the champion is more civic minded in his own town. Listening to the story, I had clear impressions of them both and felt them falling for each other during their mock battles. It was kind of adorable. Their emotions and struggles were clearly expressed as the story progressed.
A favorite narrator and a fantastic way to experience this fantasy romance.
Reading their story, I did get shades of the Assistant series and Legends in terms of the fantasy world building. It’s a realm where a villain or a champion will rule the town, kind of like a mayor. Plus it’s set in a historical setting where traveling is done on horses. The contrasting leads were unique as well as their power sources so not too close to these comparisons.
Sweet and steamy contrasts just like villain and champion. I loved the sprites and how they showed up all over. I loved how the two understood each other and played off one another, even when they didn’t know it.
Engagingly adorable with a bit of spice and emotional growth.
I received a copy of this from NetGalley and HarperAudio Adult.
Fantasy, M-M Romantasy.
Cyrus rules his town with all the villainess he’s learned to control. A bit of malicious mischief in the morning will get him through the day.
Maximillian rules his city like the champion he is. Awards and rescues abound. But Max also needs some good PR for his future so creating fake battles with Cyrus can increase his visibility and popularity for the future.
Fighting is more fun than either expected and attractions soon bloom.
Can a villain and a champion be friends? Or more?
🎧 I was able to alternate between an ebook and audiobook. The narration is performed by Will Watt who has recorded almost 400 books. A true professional with a catalog across many genres and strong accents. In this book, the villain and champion come to life to tell their story. The performance is engaging and a bit breathtaking as the villain does things maliciously around his town with glee for the most part, and the champion is more civic minded in his own town. Listening to the story, I had clear impressions of them both and felt them falling for each other during their mock battles. It was kind of adorable. Their emotions and struggles were clearly expressed as the story progressed.
A favorite narrator and a fantastic way to experience this fantasy romance.
Reading their story, I did get shades of the Assistant series and Legends in terms of the fantasy world building. It’s a realm where a villain or a champion will rule the town, kind of like a mayor. Plus it’s set in a historical setting where traveling is done on horses. The contrasting leads were unique as well as their power sources so not too close to these comparisons.
Sweet and steamy contrasts just like villain and champion. I loved the sprites and how they showed up all over. I loved how the two understood each other and played off one another, even when they didn’t know it.
Engagingly adorable with a bit of spice and emotional growth.
I received a copy of this from NetGalley and HarperAudio Adult.
June 17, 2026
I received this audiobook as an advanced copy via LibroFM for reviewing purposes, but all opinions are my own.
easiest 5 stars ever
listen LISTEN i don't know how to properly praise it if not with a pterodactyl screech but OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH my god this was everything I wanted from a nemeses to lovers book and here's my 467 pages power point presentation on why
just kidding please read it for yourselves but yeah personally when it comes to Cyrus and Maximillian they were perfect and this is exactly what I mean when I say "SHOW DON'T TELL" yeaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh babyyyyyyy I would have written this book exactly the same except with less skills but like IF i were to ever write a book i think there's a lot to learn from this
personally i know not everyone will agree but i found the generic fantasy setting perfectly in tune with how rigid the wrongdoer/champion roles were and how flat those archetypes (which only become characters when you get to know them) are meant to be at first glance
a note for the publishers but one thing i noticed that's the oooooooonly thing that i think could have been done better is that i noticed there's two very different covers and i do think that depending on which cover you see first you will get different expectations about what's inside the book? lucky for me the audiobook has the silly cover which conveys the tone of the book (at least at the beginning) a bit better than the serious (but sexy) one. although the tone of the book shifts as you dig deeper so both covers work perfectly (it does get sexy and more serious) but we all know how expectations can play with how you perceive the book
anyway i also highly recommend this in the audiobook format
easiest 5 stars ever
listen LISTEN i don't know how to properly praise it if not with a pterodactyl screech but OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH my god this was everything I wanted from a nemeses to lovers book and here's my 467 pages power point presentation on why
just kidding please read it for yourselves but yeah personally when it comes to Cyrus and Maximillian they were perfect and this is exactly what I mean when I say "SHOW DON'T TELL" yeaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh babyyyyyyy I would have written this book exactly the same except with less skills but like IF i were to ever write a book i think there's a lot to learn from this
personally i know not everyone will agree but i found the generic fantasy setting perfectly in tune with how rigid the wrongdoer/champion roles were and how flat those archetypes (which only become characters when you get to know them) are meant to be at first glance
a note for the publishers but one thing i noticed that's the oooooooonly thing that i think could have been done better is that i noticed there's two very different covers and i do think that depending on which cover you see first you will get different expectations about what's inside the book? lucky for me the audiobook has the silly cover which conveys the tone of the book (at least at the beginning) a bit better than the serious (but sexy) one. although the tone of the book shifts as you dig deeper so both covers work perfectly (it does get sexy and more serious) but we all know how expectations can play with how you perceive the book
anyway i also highly recommend this in the audiobook format
remind-me-once-out
March 30, 2026This sounds so fun
June 20, 2026
"I suppose we're both the villain in each other's story."
"Yeah. I suppose we are."
What happens when a wrongdoer and a champion team up to save their reputations? Two people who hate each other, who should be so opposite, realize overtime that they actually have a lot more common with each other than they originally thought.
UGHHHHH THIS BOOK!!! I had zero expectations going into this, and actually had no idea that this was a debut. It was everything I could have wanted from a book and more. I didn't even know that this was supposed to be cozy either, but it had the perfect amount of coziness to balance out the scheming and plotting. And for someone who was supposed to be so villainous, Cyrus really grew on me as the story continued. At first I was very much like, so... this guy is a jerk 😂 but he is a jerk you will grow to love.
The entire concept of this book was so just so much fun. I loved the idea of a villain and a hero teaming up together and scheming to put on fake fights to gain and fix their reputations. And how slowwwwwly they may or may not start to catch feelings while they're in the middle of trying to kill and pretend to hate each other. The romance was so sweet in here. I loved Maximillian and Cyrus so much together, and the ending had me teary eyed. I did not want their story to end 😭
ALSO!! 🚨NEW FAV NARRATOR ALERT!!🚨 oh my god?? How have I never done an audiobook by this narrator before? Will Watt was absolutely phenomenal. They were amazing at differentiating between the voices. I truly felt like there was a full cast for this book when I was listening. 10/10 no notes. I can't wait to listen to more audiobooks by this narrator, because they just made the experience so enjoyable.
If you're looking for a fun cozy queer story with fake fighting (gives fake dating vibes), with BANTER(!!!), with also an amazing audiobook narrator. I HIGHLY recommend this book! I can't wait to read whatever Amy Archer decides to write next 🥳
Thank you so much to libro.fm for the alc and harper voyager for the finished copy!
OUT JUNE 23rd, 2026!!!
______________________________
what a delightful surprise, I love these two 😭😭
audio was fantastic, immersion was a great experience
full rtc
"Yeah. I suppose we are."
What happens when a wrongdoer and a champion team up to save their reputations? Two people who hate each other, who should be so opposite, realize overtime that they actually have a lot more common with each other than they originally thought.
UGHHHHH THIS BOOK!!! I had zero expectations going into this, and actually had no idea that this was a debut. It was everything I could have wanted from a book and more. I didn't even know that this was supposed to be cozy either, but it had the perfect amount of coziness to balance out the scheming and plotting. And for someone who was supposed to be so villainous, Cyrus really grew on me as the story continued. At first I was very much like, so... this guy is a jerk 😂 but he is a jerk you will grow to love.
The entire concept of this book was so just so much fun. I loved the idea of a villain and a hero teaming up together and scheming to put on fake fights to gain and fix their reputations. And how slowwwwwly they may or may not start to catch feelings while they're in the middle of trying to kill and pretend to hate each other. The romance was so sweet in here. I loved Maximillian and Cyrus so much together, and the ending had me teary eyed. I did not want their story to end 😭
ALSO!! 🚨NEW FAV NARRATOR ALERT!!🚨 oh my god?? How have I never done an audiobook by this narrator before? Will Watt was absolutely phenomenal. They were amazing at differentiating between the voices. I truly felt like there was a full cast for this book when I was listening. 10/10 no notes. I can't wait to listen to more audiobooks by this narrator, because they just made the experience so enjoyable.
If you're looking for a fun cozy queer story with fake fighting (gives fake dating vibes), with BANTER(!!!), with also an amazing audiobook narrator. I HIGHLY recommend this book! I can't wait to read whatever Amy Archer decides to write next 🥳
Thank you so much to libro.fm for the alc and harper voyager for the finished copy!
OUT JUNE 23rd, 2026!!!
______________________________
what a delightful surprise, I love these two 😭😭
audio was fantastic, immersion was a great experience
full rtc
July 3, 2026
This was absolute ridiculous and silly and hilarious in the best way possible.
In a world of villains and champions who protect their towns, general wrongdoer Cyrus couldn’t hate nobody more than Maximillian: golden boy and champion of Heliarth.
When Max decides to go on tour to become more popular and has the audacity to stop in Cyrus’ town, he decides Max must absolutely die.
But when Max approaches him with a deal, he can’t resist. Become fake nemesis and pick fights in front of towns people so both will become more feared and admired.
But the more time they spend together, the more they get to know each other, the more they start to like each other…a lot.
Cyrus was so extra and sassy, I looooved him!
Him being feared on the assumption that he caused a massive earthquake when he’s really just a mischievous plant guy who’s friends with his garden sprites was hilarious.
I loved that he wasn’t really a bad supervillain, but just liked to cause general chaos and prank people.
When he and Max revealed their deeply burried secrets to each other I wanted to scream.
I loved these two and I had the absolute best time reading it. Especially when they first stabbed each other, but kissed after. ✋🏻🙂↕️
I wiiiish there was a bit more world building in this though, because we don’t really get to know much about the magic system or even the idea behind the champions/ villains thing, which left me confused.
And I also really think we needed a kind of epilogue or a longer ending after that dragged out fake nemesis scheme story.
Overall I had the best time reading this though and it’s absolutely worth reading if you’re into a fun romantasy story!
In a world of villains and champions who protect their towns, general wrongdoer Cyrus couldn’t hate nobody more than Maximillian: golden boy and champion of Heliarth.
When Max decides to go on tour to become more popular and has the audacity to stop in Cyrus’ town, he decides Max must absolutely die.
But when Max approaches him with a deal, he can’t resist. Become fake nemesis and pick fights in front of towns people so both will become more feared and admired.
But the more time they spend together, the more they get to know each other, the more they start to like each other…a lot.
Cyrus was so extra and sassy, I looooved him!
Him being feared on the assumption that he caused a massive earthquake when he’s really just a mischievous plant guy who’s friends with his garden sprites was hilarious.
I loved that he wasn’t really a bad supervillain, but just liked to cause general chaos and prank people.
When he and Max revealed their deeply burried secrets to each other I wanted to scream.
I loved these two and I had the absolute best time reading it. Especially when they first stabbed each other, but kissed after. ✋🏻🙂↕️
I wiiiish there was a bit more world building in this though, because we don’t really get to know much about the magic system or even the idea behind the champions/ villains thing, which left me confused.
And I also really think we needed a kind of epilogue or a longer ending after that dragged out fake nemesis scheme story.
Overall I had the best time reading this though and it’s absolutely worth reading if you’re into a fun romantasy story!
June 1, 2026
I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The tl;dr version: this isn’t quite my flavour of humour, and that’s okay.
The long version: there are objectively weird rules for likeable villains. Murdering people is fine, as long as it’s not too gory, but rape will make readers blanch. We’ll handwave putting a village to the torch, but killing a pet-shaped animal is inexcusable. Etc. It’s very strange. I mean, I feel this way too; I’ll give a pass to burning down a village, and throw a book out the window if the villain I like (or am supposed to like) hurts an animal. I just don’t know why I feel this way, because when you stop and think about it, it’s ridiculous.
I think it’s a combination of factors. One is that, for some reason, fictional murder doesn’t feel very real to us unless it’s written/shown in very intense ways; this usually necessitates it being the murder of a character we know and care about. If it’s an NPC, and it’s not a very gory murder, then it just doesn’t land emotionally. I don’t know if we’re desensitised, or if we just don’t think of NPCs as ‘real’ and therefore don’t care about them getting hurt?
The other factor is the unreality or glamour (which I mean in the old-school sense of the word) of villains in general. I don’t quite know how to articulate this, but I expect most readers understand exactly what I mean, even if they can’t articulate it either. Villains, especially ones written so that we’re meant to like them, kind of…stand above or outside of normal societal standards? Partly, I think, because they don’t feel real to us; most of us (happily) do not know people who would burn a village, or order it burned, so it doesn’t feel real to us. Not really.
Whereas smaller evils – like sexual assault, or hurting an animal – those things feel real, I guess because they’re more common? Or easier to wrap our heads around the existence of? I continue to not articulate this well but again, I suspect most readers know what I mean.
Now: the difficulty with writing a likeable, small-scale villain? Is that if you turn the dial too far down on the villainy, you are left with ONLY small evils. Smaller than sexual assault or harm to animals. Pettier things. Everyday things that we are all very familiar with. That feel real to us, and which we viscerally dislike.
In other words, if you bring a character down from the unreal heights of villainy, what you are left with is an asshole.
This, imo, is the problem with Nemesis Mine: in trying to keep things light and/or cozy, the author didn’t want the villain (the protagonist) to be an ACTUAL villain. He does not have the glamour of an actual villain, because he is engaging in mundane, everyday awfulness which I have no trouble feeling as real. Petty stuff. Which means that he’s…just an asshole.
Which is what he comes across as, to me. Not funny, and not villainous, but petty and mean and pathetic. I hold him in contempt, and he does not interest me at all. Stealing toys from small children? Really? Lying on roofs spitting seeds at people? Are you serious? Why would I want to read about this character? This kind of person is boring. I am rolling my eyes at his antics and not grinning while I do it.
If you want to see light-hearted villainy done correctly, check out Apparently, Sir Cameron Needs To Die by Greer Stothers. That’s a perfect example of a not-truly-evil villain, who is not toned down so far that they’re just pathetic.
Nemesis Mine missed the spot for me, so. DNF.
The tl;dr version: this isn’t quite my flavour of humour, and that’s okay.
The long version: there are objectively weird rules for likeable villains. Murdering people is fine, as long as it’s not too gory, but rape will make readers blanch. We’ll handwave putting a village to the torch, but killing a pet-shaped animal is inexcusable. Etc. It’s very strange. I mean, I feel this way too; I’ll give a pass to burning down a village, and throw a book out the window if the villain I like (or am supposed to like) hurts an animal. I just don’t know why I feel this way, because when you stop and think about it, it’s ridiculous.
I think it’s a combination of factors. One is that, for some reason, fictional murder doesn’t feel very real to us unless it’s written/shown in very intense ways; this usually necessitates it being the murder of a character we know and care about. If it’s an NPC, and it’s not a very gory murder, then it just doesn’t land emotionally. I don’t know if we’re desensitised, or if we just don’t think of NPCs as ‘real’ and therefore don’t care about them getting hurt?
The other factor is the unreality or glamour (which I mean in the old-school sense of the word) of villains in general. I don’t quite know how to articulate this, but I expect most readers understand exactly what I mean, even if they can’t articulate it either. Villains, especially ones written so that we’re meant to like them, kind of…stand above or outside of normal societal standards? Partly, I think, because they don’t feel real to us; most of us (happily) do not know people who would burn a village, or order it burned, so it doesn’t feel real to us. Not really.
Whereas smaller evils – like sexual assault, or hurting an animal – those things feel real, I guess because they’re more common? Or easier to wrap our heads around the existence of? I continue to not articulate this well but again, I suspect most readers know what I mean.
Now: the difficulty with writing a likeable, small-scale villain? Is that if you turn the dial too far down on the villainy, you are left with ONLY small evils. Smaller than sexual assault or harm to animals. Pettier things. Everyday things that we are all very familiar with. That feel real to us, and which we viscerally dislike.
In other words, if you bring a character down from the unreal heights of villainy, what you are left with is an asshole.
This, imo, is the problem with Nemesis Mine: in trying to keep things light and/or cozy, the author didn’t want the villain (the protagonist) to be an ACTUAL villain. He does not have the glamour of an actual villain, because he is engaging in mundane, everyday awfulness which I have no trouble feeling as real. Petty stuff. Which means that he’s…just an asshole.
Which is what he comes across as, to me. Not funny, and not villainous, but petty and mean and pathetic. I hold him in contempt, and he does not interest me at all. Stealing toys from small children? Really? Lying on roofs spitting seeds at people? Are you serious? Why would I want to read about this character? This kind of person is boring. I am rolling my eyes at his antics and not grinning while I do it.
If you want to see light-hearted villainy done correctly, check out Apparently, Sir Cameron Needs To Die by Greer Stothers. That’s a perfect example of a not-truly-evil villain, who is not toned down so far that they’re just pathetic.
Nemesis Mine missed the spot for me, so. DNF.
July 8, 2026
4.5 stars
This was a v fun read!
This was a v fun read!
June 24, 2026
4.5⭐️ rounded up!
Just a fun and delightfully cozy book about bumbling romantic idiots!
This was so humorous and light hearted, and it was just what I didn’t know I needed. A villain focusing on small mischief and general wrong doings, decides to raise the stakes against his local hero and champion. But do they have a history…?
More of a Medieval setting overall with a magic touch, and just a fun queer romp of a read. And hilarious modern day inserts such as brand deals! Humor like that was right up my alley, and I literally laughed out loud a few times while reading. Overall vibes were immaculate.
Yearning was spot on! The Character art makes the MMCs appear as adults but the romantic giddiness is closer to a teen, with mild embarrassments that gave me second hand embarrassment one moment, then darker and heavier subject matter the next.
Also shout out to one of my favorite micro tropes: an entertaining and grumpy horse side character!
This appears to be a true standalone, though I would have loved to explore more of the magical aspect! Overall a really enjoyable low stakes humorous read! Thank you to Amy Archer, Avon and Harper Voyager, and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!
Just a fun and delightfully cozy book about bumbling romantic idiots!
This was so humorous and light hearted, and it was just what I didn’t know I needed. A villain focusing on small mischief and general wrong doings, decides to raise the stakes against his local hero and champion. But do they have a history…?
More of a Medieval setting overall with a magic touch, and just a fun queer romp of a read. And hilarious modern day inserts such as brand deals! Humor like that was right up my alley, and I literally laughed out loud a few times while reading. Overall vibes were immaculate.
Yearning was spot on! The Character art makes the MMCs appear as adults but the romantic giddiness is closer to a teen, with mild embarrassments that gave me second hand embarrassment one moment, then darker and heavier subject matter the next.
Also shout out to one of my favorite micro tropes: an entertaining and grumpy horse side character!
This appears to be a true standalone, though I would have loved to explore more of the magical aspect! Overall a really enjoyable low stakes humorous read! Thank you to Amy Archer, Avon and Harper Voyager, and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!
Did Not Finish
June 1, 2026DNF
I went into Nemesis Mine genuinely excited because the premise sounded like it had everything I usually eat up with a spoon: rivals, tension, humor, chaos, romance, villains, heroes, all wrapped up in a fun fantasy package. On paper, this should have been a slam dunk for me. In reality, it felt like I showed up to a five-course meal and got handed a single saltine cracker with "world-building" written on it in Sharpie.
The biggest issue for me was that this book seems completely uninterested in explaining the world it takes place in. We are dropped into the middle of everything and expected to immediately accept it without asking questions. And unfortunately, I am nothing if not a professional question-asker. The book presents a society where there is essentially a Villains University™ that trains professional bad guys and a Heroes University™ that trains champions to stop them. That's the setup. That's basically all the setup you get.
And listen, I can suspend my disbelief. I have accepted magical swords, sentient forests, talking skeletons, immortal shadow daddies, and people surviving stab wounds that should have them seeing God. But if you present me with an entire institution dedicated to producing villains, I need at least a crumb of explanation as to why society collectively looked at that and went, "Yeah, this seems fine."
Why do Villains exist as a sanctioned career path?
Why are Champions apparently okay with this?
Why hasn't someone shut the academy down?
What are the rules?
Are there rules?
Can villains only commit minor crimes? Can they murder people? Can they burn down villages? Is there a villain HR department handing out employee handbooks? Is there a code of conduct? A monthly newsletter? A union?
Because the book never really tells us.
The problem is that the moral boundaries are so vague that the entire premise starts collapsing under the weight of its own questions. Some villains seem like cartoon nuisances whose greatest crime is kicking over milk buckets and stealing candy from children. Others seem capable of genuinely horrific violence. The distinction is never clearly established, so the world ends up feeling less like a functioning society and more like someone came up with a funny Tumblr post and forgot to build anything underneath it.
And unfortunately, the humor didn't work for me either.
A huge part of that comes down to Cyrus. I know what the book was trying to do with him. I think it wanted him to be this lovable disaster. An incompetent menace. But instead of finding him charming, I spent most of the book wanting to launch him directly into the sun.
His entire personality feels stuck somewhere between a twelve-year-old edgelord and that one guy who makes being annoying his defining character trait. He's petty. He's mean. He's selfish. He's supposedly a villain, but not in an interesting way. Not in a compelling morally-gray way. He's “evil” in the most irritating way possible.
Like the kind of evil where he'd steal your lunch from the office fridge.
The kind of evil where he'd kick the neighbor's cat because he thought it would be funny.
The kind of evil where he'd steal candy from children, not because he has some grand villainous plan, but because he's emotionally fourteen years old.
And maybe that was supposed to be funny?
If it was, it completely missed me.
Because instead of laughing, I just kept wondering why I was supposed to root for this man.
The thing about oblivious protagonists is that they can be absolutely hilarious. Some of my favorite characters are walking disasters with zero self-awareness. But there's a very delicate balance. They need to have some redeeming quality. Some charm. Some vulnerability. Something that makes you enjoy being trapped inside their head.
Cyrus doesn't have that.
His POV was genuinely exhausting for me because he's somehow both completely lacking in self-awareness and deeply obsessed with himself at the same time.
I wanted witty chaos. I wanted rivals. I wanted a fun fantasy rom-com with clever world-building underneath all the silliness.
Instead, I got a protagonist who made me grind my teeth and a world that felt like it was held together by duct tape, vibes, and a prayer.
I went into Nemesis Mine genuinely excited because the premise sounded like it had everything I usually eat up with a spoon: rivals, tension, humor, chaos, romance, villains, heroes, all wrapped up in a fun fantasy package. On paper, this should have been a slam dunk for me. In reality, it felt like I showed up to a five-course meal and got handed a single saltine cracker with "world-building" written on it in Sharpie.
The biggest issue for me was that this book seems completely uninterested in explaining the world it takes place in. We are dropped into the middle of everything and expected to immediately accept it without asking questions. And unfortunately, I am nothing if not a professional question-asker. The book presents a society where there is essentially a Villains University™ that trains professional bad guys and a Heroes University™ that trains champions to stop them. That's the setup. That's basically all the setup you get.
And listen, I can suspend my disbelief. I have accepted magical swords, sentient forests, talking skeletons, immortal shadow daddies, and people surviving stab wounds that should have them seeing God. But if you present me with an entire institution dedicated to producing villains, I need at least a crumb of explanation as to why society collectively looked at that and went, "Yeah, this seems fine."
Why do Villains exist as a sanctioned career path?
Why are Champions apparently okay with this?
Why hasn't someone shut the academy down?
What are the rules?
Are there rules?
Can villains only commit minor crimes? Can they murder people? Can they burn down villages? Is there a villain HR department handing out employee handbooks? Is there a code of conduct? A monthly newsletter? A union?
Because the book never really tells us.
The problem is that the moral boundaries are so vague that the entire premise starts collapsing under the weight of its own questions. Some villains seem like cartoon nuisances whose greatest crime is kicking over milk buckets and stealing candy from children. Others seem capable of genuinely horrific violence. The distinction is never clearly established, so the world ends up feeling less like a functioning society and more like someone came up with a funny Tumblr post and forgot to build anything underneath it.
And unfortunately, the humor didn't work for me either.
A huge part of that comes down to Cyrus. I know what the book was trying to do with him. I think it wanted him to be this lovable disaster. An incompetent menace. But instead of finding him charming, I spent most of the book wanting to launch him directly into the sun.
His entire personality feels stuck somewhere between a twelve-year-old edgelord and that one guy who makes being annoying his defining character trait. He's petty. He's mean. He's selfish. He's supposedly a villain, but not in an interesting way. Not in a compelling morally-gray way. He's “evil” in the most irritating way possible.
Like the kind of evil where he'd steal your lunch from the office fridge.
The kind of evil where he'd kick the neighbor's cat because he thought it would be funny.
The kind of evil where he'd steal candy from children, not because he has some grand villainous plan, but because he's emotionally fourteen years old.
And maybe that was supposed to be funny?
If it was, it completely missed me.
Because instead of laughing, I just kept wondering why I was supposed to root for this man.
The thing about oblivious protagonists is that they can be absolutely hilarious. Some of my favorite characters are walking disasters with zero self-awareness. But there's a very delicate balance. They need to have some redeeming quality. Some charm. Some vulnerability. Something that makes you enjoy being trapped inside their head.
Cyrus doesn't have that.
His POV was genuinely exhausting for me because he's somehow both completely lacking in self-awareness and deeply obsessed with himself at the same time.
I wanted witty chaos. I wanted rivals. I wanted a fun fantasy rom-com with clever world-building underneath all the silliness.
Instead, I got a protagonist who made me grind my teeth and a world that felt like it was held together by duct tape, vibes, and a prayer.
June 10, 2026
Wrongdoers! Champions! Stand up! Take a bow for delivering the most fantastic of tales.
I reveled in the beauty of Nemesis Mine. Like it began as this one thing and then became something else, and both things just blew my mind. Does that make sense?! Okay how 'bout this. This began as an extremely well humored cozy fantasy, definite Shrek and The Princess Bride vibes, but then it became this angsty, emotionally consuming fantasy with high stakes at hand! Like we went from delightful comedic low stakes to we-are-getting-serious high stakes galore! My heart thudded, my breath trembled, my soul became all consumed! Nemesis Mine worked so damn well. On every level. Whether it's that Shrek-like fairytale of comedy or that anguish-filled fantasy of life or death, the plot flowed well and perfectly in balance. Like it took me through every facet of feeling and it made for one heck of a spectacular experience.
This is the story of the evil wrongdoer, the dreaded Earthshaker himself, Cyrus. Suuuure he didn't actually cause an epic earthquake and turns out his power is flower growing (with a secret hobby of gardening, shhh!), but Cyrus has a reputation to uphold! But with his villainy losing a bit of its public luster, he decides to give into the most unexpected of offers. From a champion himself. Champion and all around goody two shoes, sorry I mean good-doer, Maximillian, is about to step into the morally grey zone. To ensure he wins the champions election, he conjures up a plan to begin a longstanding rivalry with wrongdoer Cyrus. The goal is for Maximillian to strengthen public respect and for Cyrus to whip up public dread. Win win, if you ask me! But then again, to keep the ruse, the secret must stay secure. And the question is, can it?
The stage is set. The script is a go. The players are ready. Everything should go swimmingly and the best part of this work is how you constantly will hold your breath just praying that is the case. Because one wrong move, and our guys are goners. High stakes, I tell ya! Yes there will be the best of laughs, the wittiest of commentary, the swooniest of romancing, but with it comes the realization that one wrong move, and the charade can bring about tremendous consequences. It's amazing how this book excelled in navigating these two very different facets of the work, but it's what elevates the narrative as a whole. And why my engagement was never once shaken.
And in grand part, my attention stayed focused thanks to the delight of the most comedic of inner monologues from our sole protagonist, Cyrus. The blondie of my heart! Cyrus introduces us to this world of wrongdoers and champions and the adventure begins on such a fun note. But that fun ends up carrying much weight. Because it carries so much care. I came to care so deeply for the chaotic Cyrus. I just wanted to embrace him and go all "you're doing amazing, sweetie" over his every evil(ish) deed. Cyrus is simply lovable. But he's also so darn lonely. It's so clear how he needs companionship, a person to truly, deeply trust. A person to share not only space but heart with. As a reader, the urge was just to fly into the pages and give Cyrus a well deserved hug. Luckily Maximillian, the rival slash love interest, has this covered. Welllll, might take a few sword clashes to get there, but we'll get there, fret not!
I love how the tentative partnership between Cyrus and Maximillian becomes so much more. Cyrus learns to genuinely trust Maximillian. And in the process fall so beautifully in love. God it's such a slow burn, y'all, but it's worth it. Like a small touch to the knee had me on the floor in endless swoons! Every small movement forward was so well earned, it heightens the anticipation for these two to go all in with one another, and the result is a stunning and poignant romance. One that makes the angst even more angsty, arghhh! Cyrus and Maximillian learn so much from one another, and we see how not so different they are. How well they can complement one another. How well Maximillian can see through Cyrus' defensive humor and bite. How well Cyrus can see the true person behind the hero in Maximillian. They are two puzzle pieces you may initially think won’t fit together but end realizing there is no better fit. Their love story is hard fought, well earned, and a triumph to witness evolve.
I loved it! Not to go all ‘live, laugh, love,’ but to go there: Nemesis Mine really hit all three. I lived for the adventure, I howled with laughter over the comedy, and I fell in love with the romance…and the angst. Because yes, I’m chaotic like Cyrus and love me some angst! It works, I’ll say it again and again. Nemesis Mine *works* brilliantly. Do not miss out!
Thank you Harper Voyager and NetGalley for this complimentary eARC, I leave this honest review voluntarily.
I reveled in the beauty of Nemesis Mine. Like it began as this one thing and then became something else, and both things just blew my mind. Does that make sense?! Okay how 'bout this. This began as an extremely well humored cozy fantasy, definite Shrek and The Princess Bride vibes, but then it became this angsty, emotionally consuming fantasy with high stakes at hand! Like we went from delightful comedic low stakes to we-are-getting-serious high stakes galore! My heart thudded, my breath trembled, my soul became all consumed! Nemesis Mine worked so damn well. On every level. Whether it's that Shrek-like fairytale of comedy or that anguish-filled fantasy of life or death, the plot flowed well and perfectly in balance. Like it took me through every facet of feeling and it made for one heck of a spectacular experience.
This is the story of the evil wrongdoer, the dreaded Earthshaker himself, Cyrus. Suuuure he didn't actually cause an epic earthquake and turns out his power is flower growing (with a secret hobby of gardening, shhh!), but Cyrus has a reputation to uphold! But with his villainy losing a bit of its public luster, he decides to give into the most unexpected of offers. From a champion himself. Champion and all around goody two shoes, sorry I mean good-doer, Maximillian, is about to step into the morally grey zone. To ensure he wins the champions election, he conjures up a plan to begin a longstanding rivalry with wrongdoer Cyrus. The goal is for Maximillian to strengthen public respect and for Cyrus to whip up public dread. Win win, if you ask me! But then again, to keep the ruse, the secret must stay secure. And the question is, can it?
The stage is set. The script is a go. The players are ready. Everything should go swimmingly and the best part of this work is how you constantly will hold your breath just praying that is the case. Because one wrong move, and our guys are goners. High stakes, I tell ya! Yes there will be the best of laughs, the wittiest of commentary, the swooniest of romancing, but with it comes the realization that one wrong move, and the charade can bring about tremendous consequences. It's amazing how this book excelled in navigating these two very different facets of the work, but it's what elevates the narrative as a whole. And why my engagement was never once shaken.
And in grand part, my attention stayed focused thanks to the delight of the most comedic of inner monologues from our sole protagonist, Cyrus. The blondie of my heart! Cyrus introduces us to this world of wrongdoers and champions and the adventure begins on such a fun note. But that fun ends up carrying much weight. Because it carries so much care. I came to care so deeply for the chaotic Cyrus. I just wanted to embrace him and go all "you're doing amazing, sweetie" over his every evil(ish) deed. Cyrus is simply lovable. But he's also so darn lonely. It's so clear how he needs companionship, a person to truly, deeply trust. A person to share not only space but heart with. As a reader, the urge was just to fly into the pages and give Cyrus a well deserved hug. Luckily Maximillian, the rival slash love interest, has this covered. Welllll, might take a few sword clashes to get there, but we'll get there, fret not!
I love how the tentative partnership between Cyrus and Maximillian becomes so much more. Cyrus learns to genuinely trust Maximillian. And in the process fall so beautifully in love. God it's such a slow burn, y'all, but it's worth it. Like a small touch to the knee had me on the floor in endless swoons! Every small movement forward was so well earned, it heightens the anticipation for these two to go all in with one another, and the result is a stunning and poignant romance. One that makes the angst even more angsty, arghhh! Cyrus and Maximillian learn so much from one another, and we see how not so different they are. How well they can complement one another. How well Maximillian can see through Cyrus' defensive humor and bite. How well Cyrus can see the true person behind the hero in Maximillian. They are two puzzle pieces you may initially think won’t fit together but end realizing there is no better fit. Their love story is hard fought, well earned, and a triumph to witness evolve.
I loved it! Not to go all ‘live, laugh, love,’ but to go there: Nemesis Mine really hit all three. I lived for the adventure, I howled with laughter over the comedy, and I fell in love with the romance…and the angst. Because yes, I’m chaotic like Cyrus and love me some angst! It works, I’ll say it again and again. Nemesis Mine *works* brilliantly. Do not miss out!
Thank you Harper Voyager and NetGalley for this complimentary eARC, I leave this honest review voluntarily.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you Harper Collins for providing me with the aARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Villain Cyrus's reputation is no longer what it used to be. In a bid to remind everyone to take heed of him, he decides to challenge heroes. One such hero is Maximilian, but rather than fight to the death, they come to the conclusion that an alliance of sorts might work out better for them.
Two things that stood out to be from the beginning were that this was really well written, even more so considering it's a debut. It was witty and flowed well and at no point felt like it was trying too hard. But humour is also such a subjective thing, by which I mean that it's not going to work for everyone. The first 20% of the book had me thinking this feels like Megamind if the romance had centred around the hero and villain but make the setting Shrek. For some, this might be the perfect set up, others might find it too much. It is definitely very heavy on the humour and during the first chapters I wasn't sure whether or not this book would land right for me despite genuinely appreciating the writing. And Cyrus - he's fun and I love that his back aches, so does mine.
However, once the 20% mark is hit, we get to see a lot more interactions between Cyrus and Maximilian and they managed to pull this book off. I already really liked Cyrus but his dynamics with Maximilian were everything I enjoy in an enemies to lovers set up. While the world building itself was very rooted in humour, I was surprised by how many and well written battles there were. The main characters truly go from trying to cause serious damage through various stages of banter to some form of reluctant trust and understanding. Pacing, banter, battles and growing attraction were all just really well done and I also ended enjoying Maximilian as a character.
The stakes do start to feel higher in the later chapters and while titles used in this world such as wrongdoer and champion might not instil the feeling of this being a particularly deep book, there were some genuine reflections fitting into roles we're expected to play and learning to trust in yourself and others. For some final notes, there wasn't that much of it but I enjoyed the magic system and Cyrus's bad tempered horse.
If this sounds like your kind of humour, absolutely go for it. If, and I have seen a few, you fear this is too far on the humorous side - I'd say give it a chance. If you push through the first chapters until Cyrus and Maximilian properly interact, I think they payoff is well worth it if you enjoy these kinds of romance dynamics.
June 23, 2026
THIS WAS SO CUTE, Alexa play My Nemesis from Phineas & Ferb.
Cozy satirical fantasy romances don’t always work for me, but this one did. It had the perfect blend of humor, wit, romance, and an engaging plot. The enemies-to-lovers plot was enemies-to-lovering, let me tell you. Cyrus and Max should hate each other on principle alone, but they can’t help being drawn to each other because their chemistry is ELECTRIC.
Their relationship is so compelling because of how opposite they are. Cyrus is outgoing on the outside while being deeply insecure on the inside, while Max is your typical broody hero who is actually softer than he lets on. Throughout the story, they let their walls fall and show each other their true selves, and I ate it up!
I wish this book had been dual POV. Seeing the story exclusively from Cyrus’s perspective hindered the development of both the plot and the romance between Cyrus and Max. POVs from Max’s perspective would have elevated the whole story even more.
The audiobook was SO engaging, and the narrator did a great job bringing the story, the characters, and the humor to life.
This was a super cute fantasy romance, perfect for Pride Month—and every month!
Cozy satirical fantasy romances don’t always work for me, but this one did. It had the perfect blend of humor, wit, romance, and an engaging plot. The enemies-to-lovers plot was enemies-to-lovering, let me tell you. Cyrus and Max should hate each other on principle alone, but they can’t help being drawn to each other because their chemistry is ELECTRIC.
Their relationship is so compelling because of how opposite they are. Cyrus is outgoing on the outside while being deeply insecure on the inside, while Max is your typical broody hero who is actually softer than he lets on. Throughout the story, they let their walls fall and show each other their true selves, and I ate it up!
I wish this book had been dual POV. Seeing the story exclusively from Cyrus’s perspective hindered the development of both the plot and the romance between Cyrus and Max. POVs from Max’s perspective would have elevated the whole story even more.
The audiobook was SO engaging, and the narrator did a great job bringing the story, the characters, and the humor to life.
This was a super cute fantasy romance, perfect for Pride Month—and every month!
March 23, 2026
What does it mean to be good and evil?
I think this book did a great job of showing the complexities of people, and that you don't have to fit into just one box to be accepted and loved.
Cyrus is so Ilya Rozanov coded and I was laughing so much throughout this one. It had the perfect level of banter and tension.
⚔️Enemies to Nemesis to Lovers
⚔️Planned chaos
⚔️Queer Romantasy
⚔️Fake Hating
⚔️ Cozy Fantasy
I can't wait to see what Amy Archer does next! Thankyou to the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I think this book did a great job of showing the complexities of people, and that you don't have to fit into just one box to be accepted and loved.
Cyrus is so Ilya Rozanov coded and I was laughing so much throughout this one. It had the perfect level of banter and tension.
⚔️Enemies to Nemesis to Lovers
⚔️Planned chaos
⚔️Queer Romantasy
⚔️Fake Hating
⚔️ Cozy Fantasy
I can't wait to see what Amy Archer does next! Thankyou to the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
July 8, 2026
This was very cute, but not saccharine. Funny, without being idiotic, and generally quite engaging.
Will Watt is becoming one of my preferred narrators, I hadn’t heard him voice a character quite as bitchy as Cyrus before, but the performance was excellent. Especially when paired with the Himbo voice for Max. Very well done.
Will Watt is becoming one of my preferred narrators, I hadn’t heard him voice a character quite as bitchy as Cyrus before, but the performance was excellent. Especially when paired with the Himbo voice for Max. Very well done.
Did Not Finish
June 21, 2026I’m becoming way more picky when it comes to romance and tropes, I’m especially burned out with enemies to lovers lately, so I think it might not have been the right time for me to pick up this book. I don’t like when enemies to lovers is based just on petty arguments. I might try to pick it up again when I get a physical copy.
November 4, 2025
RATING: 4.25/5 STARS
My cozy fantasy streak continues with NEMESIS MINE! I tore through this book. The blend of humor, action, and romance was exactly what I was looking for. I could not resist reading about a dastardly villain wandering about creating mischief but foiled by his own gentle plant power, love of embroidery crafts, and troublesome crush on the golden hero of the town. How precious is that?!
My cozy fantasy streak continues with NEMESIS MINE! I tore through this book. The blend of humor, action, and romance was exactly what I was looking for. I could not resist reading about a dastardly villain wandering about creating mischief but foiled by his own gentle plant power, love of embroidery crafts, and troublesome crush on the golden hero of the town. How precious is that?!
May 14, 2026
3.5 ⭐️
Very cute and silly and fun
Very cute and silly and fun
October 29, 2025
Tropes:
Enemies to Lovers
Black Cat / Golden Retriever
Fake “dating” (but it’s fighting!)
Forbidden relationship
Slow burn
Hidden Magic ✨✨
Vibes:
Cozy cottage-core with a Shrek-like fantasy world and a Megamind-like hero (though he would hate if you called him such ❤️)
Spice:
🌶️🌶️ (explicit open door, only two scenes or so)
————————
Awwww, this was a really sweet queer love story about a villain who isn’t all bad (have you seen his flower magic?! Well you shouldn’t because he’s ferocious!) and a hero who isn’t all the way good (I won’t say more without spoiling a major plot point!). Really great character and location development and description throughout and a well-built out world that felt entirely real. I will say that the world building in the beginning did at times feel like it dragged a bit though it ended up being worth it at the end but yeah, this is a VERY developed world.
The romance between Max and Cyrus was slow building, full of personal angst (because how could a bad guy fall for a good guy?!) but still had lots of darling banter and culminated in a relationship that was really sweet and felt deep. I adored watching Cyrus fight his instincts to emotionally hide/remain “tough” and instead learn to open himself up to Max. But don’t worry, he never loses his snarky personality in the process and continues to shine in all his super “villain” glory!
Altogether a great read that I highly recommend for anyone looking for a cozy rom-com/fantasy read! Thank you so much to Amy Archer, NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the chance to read the ARC early in exchange for honest review!
Enemies to Lovers
Black Cat / Golden Retriever
Fake “dating” (but it’s fighting!)
Forbidden relationship
Slow burn
Hidden Magic ✨✨
Vibes:
Cozy cottage-core with a Shrek-like fantasy world and a Megamind-like hero (though he would hate if you called him such ❤️)
Spice:
🌶️🌶️ (explicit open door, only two scenes or so)
————————
Awwww, this was a really sweet queer love story about a villain who isn’t all bad (have you seen his flower magic?! Well you shouldn’t because he’s ferocious!) and a hero who isn’t all the way good (I won’t say more without spoiling a major plot point!). Really great character and location development and description throughout and a well-built out world that felt entirely real. I will say that the world building in the beginning did at times feel like it dragged a bit though it ended up being worth it at the end but yeah, this is a VERY developed world.
The romance between Max and Cyrus was slow building, full of personal angst (because how could a bad guy fall for a good guy?!) but still had lots of darling banter and culminated in a relationship that was really sweet and felt deep. I adored watching Cyrus fight his instincts to emotionally hide/remain “tough” and instead learn to open himself up to Max. But don’t worry, he never loses his snarky personality in the process and continues to shine in all his super “villain” glory!
Altogether a great read that I highly recommend for anyone looking for a cozy rom-com/fantasy read! Thank you so much to Amy Archer, NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the chance to read the ARC early in exchange for honest review!
June 11, 2026
What an utterly fantastic, hilarious, and wonderful read! Nemesis Mine is witty and spirited, but also poignant and sweet—just as well-balanced as its approach to good, evil, and everything in between. I laughed so much (it has one of the best and most unexpected one bed jokes I've ever read that still has me cackling whenever I think about it) and cried just a little (all good tears and all at the end). Amy Archer perfectly weaves dark humor, quick quips, and arguing disguised as flirting with heartfelt themes of acceptance, trust, and love to create something so special.
It's so easy for the topic of good and evil to become both trite and unwieldy, but Amy and Nemesis Mine handles it perfectly. It doesn't take itself too seriously, but also has meaningful things to say about the flaws of both: how maybe no one can quite live up to the perfect ideal of either, and that everyone falls somewhere between the two.
That message is made clear by how nuanced Cyrus and Max are. They are both so dramatic, extremely stubborn (Cyrus), and fantastically flirty (Max). And the two of them are, in many ways, stereotypically the villain and the hero, but also in many more ways, neither and both. As they tangle and the lines between them blur and they perhaps have more heart-to-heart conversations than mortal enemies should, we get to see more of their hopes and flaws, and how Cyrus can be soft—for the right reasons, for the right person—and Max can make mistakes, even on his path to do-good-ing glory.
And at the core of this story is a criticism of a system that pits them against each other, that is not as infallible as it thinks it is, that is not exactly what it presents itself to be. The plot here is definitely cozy, meandering, even, giving just enough time for Cyrus and Max's slow burn to shine, where we can really luxuriate with them, their growth, and their budding affection. Seeing them talk about their feelings was my favorite part of the book. But I also really love how the story draws to points of clear conflict and development—leading to an end that feels exciting and earned.
I know this story and these characters are ones that will linger. I only feel this sort of achy, bittersweet feeling at the end of a book when I really don't want to say goodbye. I want more snarky retorts and playful banter and soft trust. I want more of Nemesis Mine and Cyrus and Max. But the next best thing I can do is recommend this to everyone. You are going to adore them and this story—and the trove of running jokes that will undoubtedly have you laughing out loud.
﹙ four-point-five stars ﹚
— thank you so much harper voyager for the arc!
It's so easy for the topic of good and evil to become both trite and unwieldy, but Amy and Nemesis Mine handles it perfectly. It doesn't take itself too seriously, but also has meaningful things to say about the flaws of both: how maybe no one can quite live up to the perfect ideal of either, and that everyone falls somewhere between the two.
That message is made clear by how nuanced Cyrus and Max are. They are both so dramatic, extremely stubborn (Cyrus), and fantastically flirty (Max). And the two of them are, in many ways, stereotypically the villain and the hero, but also in many more ways, neither and both. As they tangle and the lines between them blur and they perhaps have more heart-to-heart conversations than mortal enemies should, we get to see more of their hopes and flaws, and how Cyrus can be soft—for the right reasons, for the right person—and Max can make mistakes, even on his path to do-good-ing glory.
And at the core of this story is a criticism of a system that pits them against each other, that is not as infallible as it thinks it is, that is not exactly what it presents itself to be. The plot here is definitely cozy, meandering, even, giving just enough time for Cyrus and Max's slow burn to shine, where we can really luxuriate with them, their growth, and their budding affection. Seeing them talk about their feelings was my favorite part of the book. But I also really love how the story draws to points of clear conflict and development—leading to an end that feels exciting and earned.
I know this story and these characters are ones that will linger. I only feel this sort of achy, bittersweet feeling at the end of a book when I really don't want to say goodbye. I want more snarky retorts and playful banter and soft trust. I want more of Nemesis Mine and Cyrus and Max. But the next best thing I can do is recommend this to everyone. You are going to adore them and this story—and the trove of running jokes that will undoubtedly have you laughing out loud.
﹙ four-point-five stars ﹚
— thank you so much harper voyager for the arc!
June 15, 2026
Thanks to Libro.fm for the ALC. All opinions are my own.
I ADORED this! First, Will Watt is amazing and makes every book he narrates even better, but overall this would have been delightful with my eyes too. Nemesis Mine is the book so many other recent books wanted to be, but couldn’t measure up. It’s the perfect mix of funny, lighthearted, a little campy, with heart and steam.
This enemies to lovers with a classic “bad guy” vs “good guy” was *chef’s kiss.*. Absolutely let’s team up for fake fights to improve both of our reputations! Oops, did we fall in love along the way? This had heel-kicklingly giddy scenes, laugh out loud scenes, big surprises that had me gasping, and scenes that left me blushing. Truly it was the perfect balance and I had the BEST time while listening. The only thing that could have kicked it up another notch would be dual POV, but I know we needed the tension from not having both.
Highly recommend!! I know I’ll be searching out a special edition for myself!
I ADORED this! First, Will Watt is amazing and makes every book he narrates even better, but overall this would have been delightful with my eyes too. Nemesis Mine is the book so many other recent books wanted to be, but couldn’t measure up. It’s the perfect mix of funny, lighthearted, a little campy, with heart and steam.
This enemies to lovers with a classic “bad guy” vs “good guy” was *chef’s kiss.*. Absolutely let’s team up for fake fights to improve both of our reputations! Oops, did we fall in love along the way? This had heel-kicklingly giddy scenes, laugh out loud scenes, big surprises that had me gasping, and scenes that left me blushing. Truly it was the perfect balance and I had the BEST time while listening. The only thing that could have kicked it up another notch would be dual POV, but I know we needed the tension from not having both.
Highly recommend!! I know I’ll be searching out a special edition for myself!
October 28, 2025
Thank you to Harper Voyager and NetGalley for the arc!
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June 25, 2026
2026: 3.75
This started weak but the ending was good
This started weak but the ending was good
June 5, 2026
Hilarious, witty, and delightfully ridiculous. This is peak silly but make it smart and the perfect mix of irreverant and sincere.
Cyrus is peak dramatic blonde diva dreams. Think the energy and vibe of Lestat, only make him a scrapbooking drama queen who just wants people to fear him and respect him, okay?
I just adored this twist on fake dating but make it hating. These two were adorbs from the start, and the plot kept me interested with all the right beats of tension and miscommunication and longing and drama along the way.
Maximillian was the hero but make him hot and a little dumb that I didn’t know I needed. I don’t know if Will Watt’s lean into simple for him was an intentional choice, but it was giving himbo energy and I loved it.
🎧 I will listen to Will Watt read anything and this one was a delight.
Just a fun time from start to finish. Reminded me a lot of the (far too underappreciated) Zomromcom. Perfect pride romp!
Thank you Harper Voyager for the ARC & Harper Audio for the ALC!
4.5 ⭐️ rounded 🆙
Cyrus is peak dramatic blonde diva dreams. Think the energy and vibe of Lestat, only make him a scrapbooking drama queen who just wants people to fear him and respect him, okay?
I just adored this twist on fake dating but make it hating. These two were adorbs from the start, and the plot kept me interested with all the right beats of tension and miscommunication and longing and drama along the way.
Maximillian was the hero but make him hot and a little dumb that I didn’t know I needed. I don’t know if Will Watt’s lean into simple for him was an intentional choice, but it was giving himbo energy and I loved it.
🎧 I will listen to Will Watt read anything and this one was a delight.
Just a fun time from start to finish. Reminded me a lot of the (far too underappreciated) Zomromcom. Perfect pride romp!
Thank you Harper Voyager for the ARC & Harper Audio for the ALC!
4.5 ⭐️ rounded 🆙
June 29, 2026
Nemesis Mine is a fun campy romance. The first portion of the book is extremely campy so depending on your taste will be giggling or rolling your eyes. Once we get into the story though the camp tampers off. The romance is slow burn open door. I was more invested in the second half of the book probably because I’m a sucker for romance.
I would recommend to people who enjoy camp, light hearted fantasy, and sweet love stories.
Thank you to Harper Voyager for the ARC!
I would recommend to people who enjoy camp, light hearted fantasy, and sweet love stories.
Thank you to Harper Voyager for the ARC!
May 22, 2026
4.5⭐️
this was so much fun, I was giggling and kicking my feet
I loved Cyrus and Max, the tension between them was insane before they got together, then they were incredibly sweet (but not boring)
this was so much fun, I was giggling and kicking my feet
I loved Cyrus and Max, the tension between them was insane before they got together, then they were incredibly sweet (but not boring)
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