Vile & Virtue: The End

by Kathryn Ann Kingsley

A dark tale that ends darker still… and I should know. I wrote it.Oh, don't look so surprised to see me again. Did you think I'd simply let my delectable little librarian and her meddlesome twin walk away after the mess they made of my perfectly good game?
You see, something went terribly wrong. Or terribly right, depending on one's appetite for catastrophe. Sasha Lancaster—mousy, bespectacled, chronically infuriating Sasha Lancaster—did something I did not anticipate.
She's stopped playing by my rules. She's thrown away the genres, the tropes, the safety nets. She's written us a story with no structure, no conventions, and no guarantee that the villain loses.
Which means, for the first time in my eternal, miserable existence—
Anything can happen.
Even the one thing I swore never could.
See you at the end, lovelies. If there is one.
- Vile
_______________________________

The second half of the "Vile & Virtue" duet series. Perfect for fans of dark romance, twisted fairytales, and stories where the villain is just too delicious to resist. From the USA Today Bestselling Author of The Unseelie Prince, The Contortionist, and The Serpent's Bride, comes this unique spin on retelling our favorite pieces of fiction. This one might just be a little more "meta" than most. (But don't worry, I tried to keep him on his best behavior.)

Genres: Fantasy

296 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 19, 2026

About the author

Kathryn has always been a storyteller. Years of scriptwriting for performances on stage and for tourism in Boston led her to writing romantically dark, fantastical tales, which was an obsession of hers that began once seeing The Phantom of the Opera at a young age.

When she isn’t penning new villainous leads, she works in video game development. There, she has been everything from Creative Director to Chief of Staff, Design Manager, Executive Producer, and Principal Writer for various companies in the industry.

She shares her antique home with three very fluffy animals and one very patient and loving husband.

Reviews

[Natalie H · Rating 4 out of 5]

May 2026
Kindle edition

Guessing they'll be a beginning and end collection for a re-read? Couldn't really like Virtue. He felt like a white knight wind up toy with a sword. I did get distracted with Dundle and Lundle. I liked them more than Sidney and Virtue. The bog witch marriage was fun.

[Slee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Villainous fourth wall breaking delight

I loved this so much. This is the type of story that makes you read it closely for turns and verbal traps, and that brings me a dark sort of cackling at the shadows kind of joy.
I fully admit I far prefer Sasha to Sidney, but would I be a villain romance reader if I was equally invested in the story of the sister who falls for the hero? Probably not.
The story is witty, the author pokes fun at herself, the characters are relatable, and the horror is enticing.
I love that Kingsley's main characters aren't your standard run of the mill allistic characters. She's written characters with autism, EDS, depression, missing limbs, visual impairment, etc. Again, Sasha being a character who has struggled with her mental health and unhealthy going mechanisms makes the story that much more relatable and I appreciate the representation of non-classical heroines.
Absolutely loved the story.
I've already read it twice.

I feel like this duet is a great fit for people who like dark romance and enjoyed The Midnight Library or the Thursdsy Next series.

[Manar · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Because love wasn’t a reward for good behavior.
It’s a thing that happens to people—to all people, to the worst people, and to things that aren’t even people at all."

First of all, I wanna say how much I love and appreciate Kat for being the amazing author that she is. This book was an emotional rollercoaster for me, and I couldn’t put it down. I was a little—heh… okaaay, kinda maaaybe a little harsh on Vile in book 1 🫣 but now, after reading book 2, this is my unhinged, crazy baby and I will protect him with all of my heart 😤

The plot was incredible and unique. I loved both Sidney and Sasha! but dude, Dundle and Lundle were something else—they caught me off guard and I freaking adored them 🥹 I genuinely cried a couple of times during the later chapters because my god, they hit me deep.

It's so sad to say goodbye to all the characters that I grew to love, but once again, thanks to Kat for the ARC and for how she writes amazing villains that stay true to themselves for us 💜

[Marla Berry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loovvvvedd it! This story is written and thought out so well, book two had my attention from start to finish. We pick up right where we left off in book 1. I felt so bad for Sasha and Sidney, but especially Sasha. The way the story built to get to the crazy ending was perfect, with plenty of things that I didn’t see coming. I can say with absolute certainty that I enjoyed Vile’s character the most. Especially when it was just him and Sasha by themselves towards the end and we really got to see how he felt and what he went through after each set of twins. I also felt that Sasha made a great bog witch lol. I am slightly sad about the ending, as I wanted more of the story lol. So I will be patiently waiting and hoping for a surprise 3rd book to the series 🤞🏼. There is more that I would love to say, but I don’t want to give out spoilers! 😉 Over all, this was a great series and I highly recommend reading both books!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

But like...that was the ending?! I feel like I'm missing a second epilogue there. This book didn't fully wrap up, and I have so many unanswered questions. The journey was awesome but the destination there just left me underwhelmed and frustrated. I need closure, but this one just isn't going to give it to me, unfortunately, so 3 stars. I was hoping for that big grand gesture and closure to make me swoon, and since I got open ended, confusing lines, that just...left me feeling a bit hollowed out, 3*.

There are some books though that the journey is so good that the destination almost doesn't even matter. I would say this is close but honestly I loved Vile so much that I wanted (at least the standard) the best ending possible. I feel like I got the "normal ending" of a video game but the "good ending" is still out there somewhere. R.I.P my heart.

[Kája · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was even better than the first one. I really liked it that right from the start it was more emotional than the first book and thanks to that i was able to better understand and get to know Vile and Sasha. I loved the tragedy of Vile's story, it made me cry at least four times though the whole book and the ending of the book absolutely destroyed me. I really hope we will get some bonus short story like with Simon and Julien in the future, because i just can't imagine what will happen after the ending. I really enjoyed this duology it's become my most favourite two books i have ever read and Vile my most favourite character ever so i hope everyone will enjoy this book as much as i did too.

[Adrienn Györe · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Vile & Virtue: The End was another incredible read from Kathryn Ann Kingsley. At this point, I genuinely think I would read absolutely anything Kat writes because she never fails to pull me completely into her stories.
I loved this book just as much as all of her other works. The characters, the atmosphere, the emotion — everything was captivating from beginning to end. Once again, she delivered a story that kept me fully invested, and once again, she did not disappoint.
Kathryn Ann Kingsley continues to be one of my all-time favorite authors, and I already can’t wait to see what she writes next.

[Amelia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love KAK, and I loved book 1 of this duology, but this caboose doesn’t seem to have enough meat on its bones to merit its own separate tome. I found myself questioning what seems like a lot of filler content that repeatedly bludgeoned me with the point of this book through heavily abused “not x, not y, not z, but A” text. It felt clumsy and rushed - stuff that should have been culled out on a more careful review. But if they had done that, maybe it wouldn’t have met some required minimum word count?

I don’t know. All I know is that the book did too much explaining and not enough showing, and overall just don’t have very much narrative left to it. It was like KAK got bored with it.

[Alexandra G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am so glad for that epilogue because it allowed me to give this book one more star than I originally planned.

While these books weren't exactly my type, the meaning and overall message deeply resonated with me and that ending was so bittersweet that I had to give it 4 stars.

This author helped me realise my love for villain romance and every one of her books was an adventure. I can't wait to see and try every one of her stories. I might not love them all, but I will certainly try.

[Kelsey Marriott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have no words to describe how much I loved this book. This duet is definitely up there with Harrow Faire as one of my all time favourite series.

I absolutely devoured this book in one sitting. Vile is beautifully written and complex, and the story was like nothing I've ever read. The ending was so wonderfully bittersweet.

I cannot recommend this series enough!

[Cleo Coppola · Rating 5 out of 5]

This may be KAK’s craziest story yet. The ending was so surprising but amazing and I loved it so much 😭