Hart

The Villain #0.5

by Victoria Vale

A short story prequel to The Villain by Victoria Vale ... offering the back story of the mysterious Earl of Hartmoor, Lord Adam Callahan. What led to his quest for revenge?

Genres: Historical Romance, Historical, Erotica, Dark Romance, BDSM, Novella, Dark

47 pages, ebook

First published March 13, 2018

About the author

Victoria Vale writes erotic romance that refuses to stay in its lane. She hops between history and suspense, blending danger with desire until the edges blur. Her stories are marked by bold heroines, irresistible heroes, and heat that never behaves the way it should. Love Me Darkly (2025) proves passion is always at its best when it misbehaves.

Reviews

[Lady Nilambari Reads HR · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Stars

Well, fuck! Not your everyday prequel novella, is it?

- My first Victoria Vale, and a brilliant piece at that.
- This provided an amazing insight into the story to come.
- It set the context up brilliantly and prepared your mind for what to expect and why it’s happening.
- This would do in a pinch to soften the reader towards Adam. (Who does not seem to be a regular ton Earl, oh no!)

I am starting The Villain right away!

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, this was dark. I was reading away then wham bam. I can't even describe the sex in this story.
When he left the gun behind I thought to myself hurry up and get out before he shoots you.
It was short, but packed a punch. 4☆ (my thanks to Lady Nilambari 👍)

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my! This was an amazing prequel! I can't wait to read the next book now. Lord Adam Callahan seems like the perfect anti-hero. Out for revenge for what happened with his step-sister, he will stop at nothing to take down the Fairchild family. Can't wait!

[C.W. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story provides details not explained in any other books in the series. My only complaint was it being too short. Since the other books show a specific character points of view with each volume, I was hopeful to get more of a glimpse from Adam’s point of view during his relationship with Daphne. No matter! Every word was still a pleasure. My greediness for more in this remarkable series will go on.
The audible narrator could not have been more perfect for this series as well. Darcy Stark is a new favorite and without comparison as one of the best! I look forward to more reading pleasure in Victoria Vale’s library of work in the future.

[Wendy Ballard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved getting the backstory for Adam. Learning about him, and how he became the man he is was an emotional roller coaster in the best way! I can't wait to read The Dove!

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant book, a great bridging book between The Villain and The Dove.
This book looks at Adam’s back story in detail. This means that in relation to The Villain we are able to more easily understand the reasons for his need for revenge, and it allows us to understand what compelled his overwhelming need to totally avenge himself upon the Fairchild family.
Totally brilliant - I highly recommend this book, but read it after The Billain and begore launching into The Dove.

[Space Cowgirl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I Read this prequel, after reading and reviewing Villain🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟. This pulls the beginning of the story in Villian🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 together, and explains why the Earl, Adam🐺🍆🌋👋, spends his time ruining Bertrum Fairchild👹, and why he wants to also take the virginity of Bertrum's sister, Lady Daphne💃💋, so that his ruination of the Fairchild family will be complete! Way to go, Adam🐺🍆🌋👋!

[Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book lets us inside the mind of The Villain while connecting all of the pieces driving his vengeance. It was great to have a different point of view before diving into The Dove.

[Alex Parr · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favourite dark steamy series of all time and this prequel does it such justice. It explains what is behind the most deliciously dark villain and still my fave #BBF. Before you embark on the Villainous Duology, do yourself a favour and read this first to give you a flavour of what is yet to come with revenge of another kind!

[Ana María · Rating 4 out of 5]

Relato corto, precuela de The Villain 01.
NI SE LES OCURRA LEERLO ANTES DEL 01 YA QUE ES UN SPOILER TOTAL.
Clarifica lo que pasó en el 01.

[Nothing Like A Great Book · Rating 5 out of 5]

Free to download; link at end of book 1. Will not disappoint. Loved it. Thanks for the Freebie 💯🌹❤️🌟

[Louise H's Book Thoughts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written to give readers a greater understanding of Adam, Earl of Hartmoor, since his POV does not appear in the main novel The Villain. This book is available for free from the author's website, you just have to sign up for her newsletter.


I really enjoyed this and will definitely be reading the remaining two books, possibly all of the series. Having not read this author before I was unsure just what my experience of her work would be. I'm happy to report that it was a very positive one. The prose flows smoothly and I soon found myself drawn into the story, quickly gaining an understanding of the setting and the main character, Adam.


ETA - The Villain absolutely bombed for me. I'm wondering if I had waited to read this I might have enjoyed Book #1 more? Not knowing Adam's motivation might have raised the suspense level. However given just how much I disliked The Villain waiting probably wouldn't have made any difference.

[Maia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐

I had given a 4-star rating previously but changed it now that I'm reading {The Dove}.

To be honest I should not have expected much as it is a free book. But the summarization is in the second book of the series, and I found some of the things repetitive. Yes, of course, this book has everything more in detail.

But the thing is I spent my whole night sleepless. I finished {The Villian} and decided to check this book out as it is free. And I did like it but then I started reading the second book without giving into sleep. And now I am annoyed out of my head because I am reading a lot of the same things I read already and regretting not just going on with the second book instead of wasting an hour reading this book. I am kind of bitter because I could have made much more progress in the second book if I had not bothered with this one.

If I wasn't having a pounding headache and if my eyeballs were not hurting due to reading in the dark and lack of sleep, I would have kept the rating of 4 stars.

So in conclusion, don't read this book if you're on the verge of passing out and just NEED to progress with the story. Simply, start with the second book and you can always read this book when you aren't in a state of sleep deprivation. I assure you, you would enjoy it much more than I did ☺️🦝

[Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the male lead's backstory leading up to the events in The Villain basically. It's not absolutely necessary to read it first, but it might make him a pinch more sympathetic of a character(?) to know the motivation for his actions, as he understands it, from the beginning, rather than discovering it along with the heroine in pieces as the story goes along. Also their story is told so much from her perspective that it's nice to know a bit more about him as a character outside her perception of him. The hero/anti-hero has detailed relations with an 'other woman' on page before he has met the heroine. Some people are fussy about that. The heroine doesn't show up until the very end of this novella, which overlaps very, very slightly with the start of The Villain.

[Sisi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funcionou muito bem como prólogo.
Adam foi bem exposto e seu desejo e motivação p vingança esta muito claro, bem como seu lado dominador.
É em personagem intrigante e complexo
Meu primeiro contato com a autora me deixou com gostinho de quero mais.
Gostei da indicação de profundididade emocional q está por vir.
Não gostei da única cena de sexo q me pareceu bem mecânica pronta, com muitos detalhes mais nem um pouco excitante
Vou classificar assim tem sexo mas não tem fogo.
🍑➖🔥
O contexto final não cabe a prostituta Fiona afinal ela não será a heroína, então me sobrou a dúvida, a longa cena com ela foi p marcar uma volta em algum momento ou simplesmente p marcar o tipo de gosto sexual do herói

[Rhonda Hicks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just as the teaser states, this gives us a back story to the Earl of Hartmoor and his quest for revenge. I read this prequel AFTER I read book one, The Villain, so I had pieces of the puzzle already. While reading this, Victoria Vale gave me the emotional and physical answers I needed to put the remaining pieces together making up our Earl of Hartmoor, or "Hart" as he was known as. This short read is gripping and emotional in it's telling making it all the more powerful. I loved it.

[gem]

This short story fills in some of Adam's backstory and the events leading up to the start of The Villain. I would NOT read this book before reading The Villain. You'll spoil a lot of the mystery that unfolds so beautifully in that book. Looks like the author intended it to be read between The Villain and The Dove.

[Zena · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to an audiobook version of this short story which gives an excellent background for what happens in ‘The Villain’ and ‘The Dove’.
It is written in the author’s usual interesting, exciting and easy to read style which made it a pleasure and the narration by Darcy Stark was most enjoyable too.
A lovely combination of two tallented artistes.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this short story into Adam's background after reading The Villain.

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading The Villain and The Dove it was great to read Adam’s back story and find it out why he was the way he was. Absolutely loved these books!

[Leslie Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book.

[valeria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the book although it was short, i want more

[Donna Nalbandian Woerner Homschek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intense, gut wrenching story of Hart who can not assuage his anger nor feel piece. The start of his story.

[Sandy N · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing Prequel to the series. Short but HOT.

[Sam · Rating 2 out of 5]

I guess my expectations were too high going into this. This did not need to be a book in my opinion. Could have been a prologue in the first book.

#revenge