The Villain's Melody

by Lola Malone

He's the mafia prince everyone fears. I'm the scholarship musician who should've stayed invisible.

Everyone at Caervast Academy worships Ciaran Virel.

Tattoos disappearing beneath his sleeves. Fast bikes. Expensive watches. A smile that should come with a warning label.

I know better.

Because ever since I arrived at Caervast, strange things have been happening. Someone is watching me through academy corridors. Shadows keep appearing where they shouldn't. And every clue surrounding my missing sister seems to lead back to the one person I can't afford to trust.

I came to Caervast searching for answers.

I definitely didn't expect Ciaran Virel.

But he's made one thing very clear.

Once he wants something, he doesn't let it go.

The Villain's Melody is a dark academia M/M romance featuring an obsessed mafia prince, a scholarship musician with dangerous secrets, gothic mystery, possessive devotion, and a guaranteed HEA.

Genres: M M Romance, Dark, Dark Romance, Dark Academia, College, Science Fiction, Queer

550 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 30, 2026

About the author

Lola Malone writes dark, morally grey MM romance for readers who love obsession, mystery, and morally questionable men.

Her stories are filled with possessive heroes, dangerous secrets, and emotionally intense romances where loyalty is tested and no one leaves unchanged.

From elite academies and secret societies to distant worlds on the edge of collapse, every book explores the thin line between love and obsession.

If you love obsessive heroes, dark secrets, and romance that burns a little darker, welcome to Lola's world.

Reviews

[Meadow]

Almost all of the positive reviews are from arc readers, but this truly reads like AI slop.

[Sarah]

DNF at 29%

Going into this, I didn't know it's going to be sci-fi. I tried to get into it but I wasn't in the mood. I also felt like I'm missing something, like there is a prequel book or something that I should have read beforehand to understand what's going on and the world/ planet they live in. For example, people using multi-slate. Is that a phone, an iPad, a smartwatch? Another thing is the Noctis. I guess it's a music instrument but what exactly is it?!
Maybe things are more explained later in the book but I was not able to engage and connect with the story so I decided to put it aside by 29%. Maybe I will come back to it at some point in the future.

[Erica]

DNF 34%

The world building was nonexistent. We were literally dropped in this place with zero explanation.
Also, intimate scenes mad zero sense. Hand placement changed without action, I felt like some instances the same sentence was written twice and other times it felt like a sentence was missing?

I don’t know this read like AI TBH.

[ChapterObscura]

I really forced myself to finish this because I wanted to give it a fair chance, but it just wasn't for me.

There were so many scenes I had to reread because I got confused. The writing kept throwing me off. It felt like someone was telling me a story, then suddenly remembered something else and changed the subject halfway through. That's how the flow felt to me.

The story also got repetitive, and I kept waiting for more explanation or world building, but it never really came. There were a lot of moments where I just went, "Wait... what? How did he do that?" LOL

Maybe it's just me, but I really don't get the hype. This is almost a DNF read.

[Jen (thatgirlchapsreads)]

First off, I want to say thank you to Lola for the opportunity for the ARC.

I unfortunately have to DNF this one at 81% and I’m really bummed out about that.

I really enjoyed the concept but the execution wasn’t there. The first half of the book started off ok. I wish there was a touch more world building to help with some areas I was confused with but I was able to carry on and enjoy the story. I liked the initial tension between Rowan and Ciaran and thought that was well written.

Things started to fall apart for me after they first got together. The intimate scenes didn’t make sense and one of the scenes it’s written as if Ciaran has 3 hands. The writing felt too messy towards the second half and it was enough of a deterrent for me to keep reading.

Lola did send out a final edition after I had gotten through a good chunk with some edits made so I’m hoping that some of these issues are addressed in the final manuscript.

[Daniela Tavares]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.75/6.
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/5.

Ciaran & Rowan got my attention from the very beginning!
There’s a mystery surrounding Rowan since he was a kid and when he lands in the academy, Ciaran is tasked with spying on him but that task quickly becomes an obsession and no longer something he needs to do for his family.

Ciaran is very sure of himself and he knows the power he holds and he ain’t afraid of showing it.
What I loved the most about him is that through his actions, it was very clear to the reader that he would never leave Rowan be. His obsession with him also showed his devotion and that reassured me that towards the end of the book there would not be a separation. I never doubted Ciaran‘s intentions or his words for that matter. I just love those types of characters who are so sure of themselves and what they want without coming across as arrogant or annoying. It makes me as a reader feel sure of what’s to come regardless of the 3rd act.
Ciaran pushed Rowan out of his comfort zone time and time again, was in fact relentless sometimes but if he saw Rowan was not into it, he would stop and ask.
I like a man who can see process his emotions and name them and Ciaran was very aware of what he was feeling at all times which I absolutely loved.

Rowan lived his life afraid of his shadow so when a mafia prince sets his sights on him, he wondered what would be better for him. The choice was between someone who is persistent and makes you feel something other than fear or shadows that track him everywhere he goes and he wonders if they are even real. So he figures better someone he can touch and see than shadows.
I loved him!
Despite fear being his best friend, he defied Ciaran in his own way even though he knew Ciaran was dangerous.

Rowan is a man of few words and his body shows what he is feeling. He could deny whatever he wanted but his body told a different story wether it was when he turned red or when he stopped fighting what was happening between him and Ciaran.

Them together felt like a sure thing and I felt confident in their hea. Nothing and no one could separate them because Ciaran would never leave his little mouse out of his sight ever again.

I loved how music was weaved into the plot effortlessly and that it connected Ciaran family, Rowan‘s sister, his ‚nightmares‘ and Noctis.

I loved Ciaran‘s cousins too! They are fun and unhinged and I simply want more of them. What I got was not nearly enough!

This is not a full 5 star just because I was confused and a bit thrown off in the beginning with different planets, holo bikes and the such but the romance more than made up for it.

I honestly cannot wait to continue this series.
This was my first book by this author and it will not be the last one. I’m sat for whatever comes next!

* I read an arc of this book. *

[matryoshkat.ᐟ]

₊˚⊹ | 2 ★ read .ᐟ

I don't know if it was just me, I didn't check other reviews either, but I had high expectations for how this story started, just to end up realizing it kept repeating itself to fill pages. There was no real substance behind the plot or behind the chemistry between the MCs at all. What started as a half obsession, half stalking task, ended up being something plain and somehow boring.

The cover, though? Flawless.
The first few chapters? Made me think about a really good manhwa, I vibed with it.
But then it was a flop that kept flopping, I'm sorry.

[Rae]

I felt like this was a little slow for the first half or so, but when it took off it really took off! I can genuinely say I had no idea where the plot was heading, and I enjoyed the mysterious aspect. It gave very Echo by Chani Lynn Feener vibes in places.

I found some parts and phrases repetitive, but I eventually grew to LOVE Rowan and Ciaran. I love the side characters and would kill for their stories (especially Lucan and Demaris!!!! 🥵). I love Ciaran’s possessiveness!!!!! Also, for some reason, big bad mafia prince calling their partner “baby” or “princess” gets me EVERY TIME. I really like that even though Ciaran had one minute of questioning, he never really doubted Rowan even when it looked like he should. I really would have liked a little more world building and more background on what exactly it is that Ciaran does. There’s a lot of mention of “mafia” and “the families” but no details.

I’m definitely going to have to look into this author’s other books!

[Angharad]

I'm sorry, but I have to dnf 25% in, and I have never dnfd a Lola Malone book but this reads heavily like AI and very repetitive. I'm extremely disappointed.

I might come back and try to read it but idk, the writing felt very off to me.

[Alexa]

I’m a hater to my core and maybe some books don’t deserve it but this one does. Like idk how 4 years later (I first read them in 2022) you don’t have an editor, especially with the popularity of this author. And are making the same sloppy character mistakes and grammar mistake. And don’t even get me started on the nonexistent world building. I COULD GO ON FOR DAYS GUYS.

Dnf @ 23%. This was a flop. Beyond a flop. The floppiest of flops.

[Eva]

4.25!!

This had so much potential, and in a way it delivered. I was intrigued and liked the characters; the writing wasn’t even the problem, just the way it was paced and structured.

Let’s start with the highlights. The mystery element was great. I had no clue where we were leading or how we’d get there; I was spooked at times, always wanted to know more, and the setting was perfect for the plot.

The characters. Both Rowan and Ciaran were special. Different but paired well together. Interesting on their own with their own problems, but their romance was strong, and while I didn’t fully get why Rowan was always deny deny deny Ciaran (there was no explanation for his rejection from what I find), the pursue element was good. Ciaran is my down bad queen, and I love him for it.


Issues I had? I reached out to Lola, and she looked over the kinks and issues I pointed out. After reviewing the final copy, I had no more complaints.

Pacing was a bit off. We start with a bang and then don’t move. The plot didn’t move at all in my opinion. We get moments of “following” and “leads,” but they lead to the same unanswered questions from the very beginning, without adding any new info to the story. The only thing moving it’s the romance, which valid; I loved it, but it’s a 500+ page book, you cannot rely on that alone to keep things interesting the whole time.

I want to stay in this world and see more couples and mysteries. The academic and sci-fi meshed well, and it was alluring and interesting.

Thank you, Lola, for this arc; I loved our boys!

[Taylor Milligan-Csemez]

DNF @ 6% // for a dark academic, sci fi there needs to be some world building and we were just thrown into this world without any knowledge and I felt so lost and confused. If anyone thinks I should give it another shot and push through let me know. The only good ratings are from arc readers so…

[LauraSt]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4 stars

The Villain’s Melody is an MM dark romance with a gothic mystery, a scholarship musician searching for answers about his missing sister, and a terrifying mafia prince who takes one look at him and essentially decides, mine.

Rowan comes to Caervast Academy looking for answers. His sister is missing, strange things keep happening around him, and everything seems to point toward people he absolutely should not trust. Enter Ciaran Virel: mafia prince, dangerous, possessive, completely obsessed with Rowan, and very quickly my favorite part of this entire book.

The mystery hooked me immediately. I genuinely wanted to know what the hell was happening, who Rowan could trust, and how everything connected. The atmosphere surrounding it was creepy and intriguing, and for a while I was completely invested in figuring it out alongside Rowan.

BUT CIARAN AND ROWAN????

Dear Jesus.

Their chemistry was OFF THE FREAKING CHARTS. From the moment they meet, the tension between them is insane, and watching Ciaran become progressively more down bad for Rowan was everything I wanted it to be. This man had absolutely no intention of being normal about Rowan, and I supported him wholeheartedly.

And every single time he called him little mouse???

Giggling. Kicking my feet. DONE.

“You’re my entire world, mouse,” Ciaran growls against my throat. “Every f*ng light out there might belong to someone else, but your soul belongs to me. You are mine.”

EXCUSE ME???

And then later:

“You are my answer, Rowan,” he rasps against my ear. “And I will burn every stage you ever stand on before I let anyone else look at you like this.”

CIARAN. SIR.

Unfortunately, the mystery that hooked me so hard in the beginning is also where the book lost some points for me. It went on for a little too long without enough progression, and after all that buildup, I expected the resolution to be bigger and more concrete. Instead, it felt surprisingly simple and a little underwhelming compared to everything leading up to it.

I also continue to struggle a little with Lola Malone’s pacing and story structure. There are moments where the transitions or progression feel disjointed to me, and when that happens, I start feeling disconnected from the story even when I really like the characters. At 500+ pages, I think this could have been tighter, especially when it came to developing the mystery.

And I have to say it: for something marketed as dark academia, there really wasn’t much academia. I got the dark, gothic atmosphere, but I wanted the actual academy setting to play a much bigger role.

Thankfully, the romance never had that problem. Rowan and Ciaran CARRIED for me. Their chemistry, possessiveness, tension, obsession and the eventual payoff were scorching. This was a very, VERY sexy book.

Also, once again Lola has me looking at the side characters like 👀 because WHY do I suddenly need books for absolutely everybody??? There are already multiple characters I need to know more about immediately.

So while the mystery and pacing kept this from being a five-star read for me, the romance absolutely delivered.

Ciaran Virel, you possessive psychopath. I understand you.

4 stars.

[tobifun.pp]

rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
darkness: 🖤🖤🖤
feelings: 😱🥵☠️😍🫠😡🥹🤣😭

A missing sister, a mysterious stalker, a highly talented musician, an unexpected scholarship and a mafia prince.
Lola Malone cooks up a fantastic gothic sci-fi story from these ingredients.

Lola whisks us away to new planets thanks to her incredible world-building. Her characters are fascinating, right down to the secondary roles. I love Rowan and Chiaran! The two couldn’t be more different, but that’s exactly what makes their relationship so captivating.

The story put me on the edge of my seat! There are so many secrets, and I could hardly wait to find out how they’d be unravelled. The dual point of view lets us delve deep into our heroes’ inner worlds. Whilst Rowan’s thoughts and flashbacks are often very dark, Chiaran’s thoughts are entirely focused on Rowan. He’s absolutely obsessed with his “little mouse”.

The Villain’s Melody is definitely one of my top reads this year. An absolute must-read!

I can’t wait to read the next book in this series. Damaris, Rowan’s bestie, and Lucan, Chiaran’s cousin, were a real highlight of this book. They brought so much humour to this otherwise rather dark story. I hope they get their own book!


TROPES & THEMES
🖤 Mafia Prince × Scholarship Musician
🖤 Dark Academia
🖤 Obsessive Hero
🖤 Touch Him and Die
🖤 He Falls First
🖤 Elite Academy
🖤 Hidden Secrets
🖤 Secret Society
🖤 Missing Sister Mystery
🖤 Dangerous Attraction
🖤 Slow Burn
🖤 Gothic Mystery
🖤 Possessive Devotion
🖤 M/M Romance

[V]

DNF @ 23%. I’m just confused and bored.

[annas.bookcase]

If there’s one thing this author does well, it’s writing dark obsessive and possessive men! This dark academia, mafia MM romance also had some mystery and intrigue with slow burn and plenty of spice.




annas.bookcase

[Courtney]

Well that was garbage. This needed cut in half cause it’s super repetitive. The spicy scenes make no sense, from a physical possibility standpoint alone it’s just impossible. At one point they’re in the bathtub and the one character leans over the others should to suck on his nipple…how long is this dudes neck? I skimmed 50% of this book and didn’t miss a thing.

[Ifelunwa Nzeh]

AI use

[Rozary]

I’m sorry in advance because this is going to be a big disappointment of a review, especially because I know you all love this book. I honestly don’t even know where to start, so let’s talk about the positive things first.
But let me tell you, I’m not a hater. I love Lola’s books, but this one was just a huge disappointment for me.
Let’s talk about the world she created. I don’t know, it just didn’t connect with me. And the mystery she tried to build throughout the book? It felt kind of made up to me because I never really felt like there was an actual mystery or anything that kept me intrigued.
Then we have the MMCs. I honestly didn’t feel any chemistry between them. It felt like they were just talking to each other without that spark or connection. One MMC is running away from the other because he’s scared of him and his obsession, and I actually love when one MMC tries to run away from the other because he feels like he shouldn’t give in. I thought I would really enjoy that part, but unfortunately, I didn’t.
I also thought I would love the side characters, but again, I just couldn’t connect with them. And the whole mystery/sci-fi aspect felt like everything was being made up as the story went along. I didn’t feel the chemistry, the mystery, or the connection I was looking for.
If you want to read a sci-fi romance with this kind of concept, you might enjoy it, but unfortunately, it just wasn’t for me.
I guess there were a few things I liked here and there, but let me tell you, I LOVE Lola’s books. This one just didn’t work for me, and that’s okay. 🥲

[Jessica]

Even though it took me nearly a week to read this, I had a fun time with this! It is a slow book overall, with both the plot and the romance, but I didn't mind it that much. Not when I can read about how smitten Ciaran was with Rowan, he was so boy-obsessed that he became quite funny to read about 🤣

I really liked Rowan's character too, I do like a character that can bite back 😉 Unfortunately for him, that didn't stop Ciaran one bit 😅 I loved how their romance progressed to the end, I loved them so much. The side characters were great as well, Damarius and Lucan? Stunning, wouldn't mind to read more about them.

I did wish the mystery could have been longer and solved much more longer, it did felt a little bit anticlimactic at the end. But oh well.

[Natasha Hoffert Groesse]

I loved the main characters. The chemistry and the spice between them was fabulous! The storyline was a mystery that kept you wondering what’s going on up until about 80% and I didn’t really buy into the “mystery” of the plot. It fell flat for me. It also felt repetitive in places and much longer than it needed to be. But the spice 🌶️ made up for that!

[Thebookaddict]

No world building, you are directly drop somewhere without explanation. Like, there is others planets or countries ? I don’t know.
And don’t start with the sex scenes, no sens at all : at one moment he is on top and the next he is standing. No sens at all.

Would not read other books from this author

[Rach]

Dnf @ 44%. I’m so confused

[kixha09]

Dnf at 17% iT was so boring nothing was happening like literally nothing

[Kristy]

This is a high heat mystery/syfy academy MM read with the poor scholarship student Rowan with his bestfriend going to and exclusive Academy whitch has raised some people's curiosity at Solar because everthing was shut down do to the waring Mafia Familys so how did Rowane get into Caervast Academy. Ciaran Virel watch the new student that's all his father want but Ciran becomes obsessed quickly were is he why dose he keep disappearing and why is he the one Rowane turns to when things become dangerous he doesn't care because no Rowane is write were he always wanted him in his home under his watch and in his bed. Rowan has only one reason for excepting a scholarship to find his missing sister but at every turn his watched and threatened and the one person he's tried to avoid becomes his protector if he can only trust him with all his secrets. Okay so it's been awhile since I have read any syfy romance it was interesting and the Author was good at telling about the environment and the tech stuff so it was easy to visualize if there were any issues it was manly with the pace of the book and some things seemed to repeat places dialogue that kingdom of stuff so I only gave 4.5 stars but I loved the progression of Cirean and Rowans relationship the other characters and how his friend found love too and I hope this author comes back to this world again because Cirean has 2 cousins left maybe there's a future book for them. So to recap i loved the details of this book there were some small issues that I was able to look over because it may just be the authors writing style and new to me but I would still recommend this book to anyone who reads this genre off book. I was allowed to read and advance copy of this book and this is my honest review I also purchased a copy.

[Krista]

DNF 47% in after finding too many exact similarities to another author. I understand there will always be creative 'overlaps' but when you can listen to the other book on audio and be reading this one and point out the similarities that's where I draw the line.

[Alonna Irizarry]

DNF’d at 21%

Science fiction/ MM/ forced proximity/ mafia/ dark romance

Trigger warning: violence/ missing loved one/ medical condition

This was too complicated to get into. The world building is virtually nonexistent and I was confused most of the time. The concept is good but the execution was rough.

#DNF

[Itzel]

Lola has a way of of completely consumed you with her world building and characters and this is not the exception.

The villain Melody tells the story of Rowan Ashford a new scholarship student that came to Caervast Academy not only to play music but to also uncover what actually happened to his sister and Ciaran Virel a dangerous mafia heir who gets assigned o to watch him, but what happens when the assignment starts to become an all consuming obsession and need to protect is stronger than anything.

This was such a good story, the slow burn, the push and pull, the tension between Rowan and Ciaran add to that the suspense and mystery of Caervast Academy everything worked perfectly and made the story exciting and intriguing especially the last part of the book. Overall this was such good introduction to this new world Lola has created and can’t wait to hopefully find out more this new world has to offer, definitely recommend.

[Cătălina Andreea]

— 3.5 stars

i think i seriously need to stop creating five-star versions of books in my head before i even read them because that's usually how i end up disappointing myself. i'll read the synopsis, see a few quotes, catch the vibes, imagine the characters, and somehow convince myself i'm about to read my new favourite book. then i finally pick it up, and the actual story can never quite live up to the one i've already built in my imagination. unfortunately... that was exactly the case here. which is not really fair to the story; this is something i definitely acknowledge.

but this book had such a fascinating premise, and i really do think there was the potential for something incredible. the execution just didn't quite get there for me. i still enjoyed reading it, but there were too many things that bothered me.

my biggest issue was probably the world-building. it felt surprisingly underdeveloped considering how much the story relied on it. there were so many concepts, rules, and references that were introduced with very little explanation, almost as if i was expected to already understand how everything worked. i spent far too much time thinking, "wait... what is this again? how does that connect?" instead of actually being immersed in the story. i just wanted a stronger sense of the world and its mechanics because i think that would've made such a difference.

the plot also didn't live up to the promise of the synopsis. it sounded like this huge, exciting mystery, but the pacing dragged so much that i eventually stopped caring about the answers. there were too many repetitive scenes and too much waiting around for something significant to happen. i genuinely think this book would've benefited from being a good 100 pages shorter. a tighter edit would've made the story so much stronger, because a lot of scenes didn't really move either the plot or the romance forward.

i also have really mixed feelings about the writing. sometimes it was genuinely beautiful, and i highlighted so many incredible lines. but then other times it felt repetitive and awkward, especially during the spicy scenes. the dialogue, inner monologue, and descriptions didn't always flow naturally into one another, which made those moments feel a little clunky. i also noticed quite a few inconsistencies, with characters saying or believing one thing and then contradicting themselves later without it feeling intentional.

and then the romance. this is another area where i just wanted more. i liked them together. i genuinely did. but i never felt that all-consuming chemistry or yearning that makes a romance unforgettable. their dynamic was good, but it never developed into something that felt uniquely them. i wanted sharper banter, more emotional depth, more conversations that revealed who they were beneath the surface. instead, everything felt a little too basic.

i think that's what ultimately held the book back for me. despite spending over 500 pages with these characters, i still don't feel like i truly know them. i wanted more layers and more emotion. i wanted to feel it drip from the pages, but i never really got that.

all that said, i still enjoyed the experience overall. i really appreciate what the author was trying to do, and i actually admire the blending of the genres. this one just didn't fully land for me. i'll absolutely be picking up more of their books in the future because i can see the talent, but this particular story never quite reached the incredible potential i saw in its premise.

[Meliii]

First I would like to thank Lola for sending this ARC and letting me meet Rowan and Ciaran before they are introduced to the rest of the world🖤.

Lola is a new author to me but when I saw
🖤Dark Romance
💙MM Romance
I had to sign up and get my hands on this.

I stepped into The Villain’s Melody world completely blind. Wow, was I strung in from the start. I was completely taken aback by this,
•🪐Sci-Fi
•🕯️Dark Academia
world. I usually have trouble keeping up with world building but Lola made it easy and straight to the point that I was able to follow along perfectly fine through Rowan & Ciaran. You can really feel that dark/gothic academia atmosphere creeping through each page. The world itself was fascinating, seeing how different these planets were but yet so similar to ours that it was easy to stay in tune.
The
•👁️‍🗨️Stalking
•🗝️Gothic Mystery added that extra tension throughout the story. Building it up during every twist and turn. Just like Rowan, it kept me anxious and on high alert.

Now let’s talk a bit about our two MMC
•💸Mafia Prince
•🔪Touch Him and Die
•⛓️Possessive/Obsessive Hero: Ciaran Virel, a dangerous tattooed young mafia prince from the Virel family. One of the most powerful and oldest families from Sero. Assigned to watch and keep a close eye on Rowan. The more he watches the more he falls. And the need to protect him and make him his becomes an obsession.
*Adds Ciaran Virel to the book boyfriends list*

•🎻Musician
•📜Scholarship Student
Rowan Ashford, a talented, shy and fragile young musician who comes from Düren to Sero on a scholarship. Attending Caevast Academy to play the instrument of his dreams. Hellbent on getting answers and solving the mystery that has left him scared, confused and always looking over his shoulder.

This
•🔥Forced Proximity
•⏳Slow Burn relationship becomes EVERYTHING and more🖤. Usually I’m not a big fan of slow burns but the teasing, flirting and tension between Rowan and Ciaran consumed me. That push and pull between them had me edging. Those intimate moments between them had me blushing, giggling and kicking my feet up! Their chemistry was so addicting, from the way Ciaran notices every detail about Rowan and his need to protect him to the way Rowan starts to let his guard down and lets himself feel safe around Ciaran. These two have completely changed my mind about slow burns❤️‍🔥.
It’s a bitter sweet feeling having to say goodbye to Caevast Academy, Rowan and Ciaran💙
I’m hoping Lola will bring us back soon through the eyes of these other interesting characters that I cannot wait to know on a deeper level✨🤭.