A Villain for Christmas

Vexing Villains, Book 1

By: Alice Winters

Narrated by: Michael Lesley

Despite growing up in a family of villains, I’d rather curl up and read than commit crimes. When I get coerced by my brother into helping him rob a bank, I run into August, my childhood crush, also known as Chrono, the city’s greatest superhero. He’s sexy, sweet, and suddenly, he’s asking me to Thanksgiving with his parents.

It’s probably because he doesn’t realize that I’m Leviathan, a villain with the power of telekinesis. And I can’t tell him because he’d never forgive me and would stop doing things like cooking for me - wait, maybe that would be a good thing, since he’s a terrible cook. It doesn’t help that my parents think they’re the ultimate villains and won’t stop getting in my way, although they can’t even steal toilet paper without getting caught.

But when real supervillains (not the wannabe kind that I grew up with) start targeting August, I might be forced to show everyone who I truly am: a slightly warped and snarky man who’d really rather read a book than save anything...besides August.

I’ll tear this world apart just to get another glimpse of him in those glasses and spandex suit. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep him safe, even though it means exposing my true identity. Luckily, August still cares about me, proving that even a villain and a hero can fall in love. Hopefully, we’ll be able to save the world in time for Christmas.

This ridiculous and snarky holiday novel contains a villain-turned-unlikely hero (even if he’s a manager's worst nightmare), a superhero with a fondness for suckers who absolutely does not use his powers to cheat on board games, a hairless cat with an unfortunate name, bumbling family members that try to be evil, but are mostly just embarrassing, a snow globe with mysterious powers, betrayal, true love, a risqué Santa suit, and the saltiest chicken ever.

©2019 Alice Winters (P)2020 Alice Winters

So much silliness is good for the soul

4 Blue Roses
4 Blue Flames

Narrator Michael Lesley delivered a fun-filled, highly imaginative, funny as fuck performance. Let’s face it, if you want comedy narrated, then Michael Lesley is your guy. Pair him with author Alice Winters and you have the perfect recipe for silliness with an extra scoop insanity.

The plot is ingenious with a superhero who falls in love with a supervillain who doesn’t want to be a villain. They develop secret mutual crushes, which is absurd because they are supposed to be fighting each other.

Landon, the villain has the power of telekinesis, and August, the superhero, can freeze time. They get into all kinds of trouble while bantering. Their families are obviously not in favor of their relationship. So Landon wants to be normal and get rid of his power, so he can have a normal life and not be used by his wannabe villain family.

The story involves multiple characters and it’s extremely entertaining to listen to. Almost like watching television. The plot was well written with vividly well rounded secondary characters.

I do recommend this audiobook, keep an open mind, it is silly and lighthearted. Guaranteed to lift your mood and pump you full of positivity.

Happy Listening

I loved it

I could listen to this book over and over there’s great humor and serious moments mixed together in an interesting way and I love Landon and August and their dynamic I enjoyed the way they helped each other with their problems and made each other happy and I love Landon’s cat and zany family and villain meetings are great fun lol

Surprisingly funny

You needn't worry about jumping into this book without reading the others in the series as this seems to be a spinoff. I found the book very funny, but more so with the absurdist humour than Landon's quips. Landon also speaks with a VERY prominent affect that is often perilously close to imitating Moira Rose. Just be aware that, even although this book is titled "A Villain for Christmas", this book is NOT family friendly: it's quite explicit in both the profanity and the bedroom sense.

Hilarious!

Oh my gosh, how have I listened to this at least a dozen times and have never reviewed it?! This is the book that got me hooked on Alice Winters. Landon is hilarious. I love his snark and sass and his cat Balzac. August is an all around good guy and the city's main superhero. The plot is so engaging, unique, and fun. There are numerous characters that deserve a shout-out: both main characters families, Inferno, and we can't forget about old man Baker. This is a ton of holiday fun that I listen to year round. Michael Lesley is a genius with his character voices. The way he inflicts emotion and says certain words and lines is brilliant.

Funny and Delightful

Landon comes from a family of villains. August is the city’s most famous superhero. Their love seems doomed at the start. But through a series of zany events (mistaken identities, supervillain cats, etc) Landon and August fall in love and (awkwardly) fight for their relationship…and lives. I loved, loved, loved this book. It was hysterical, zany, and action-packed. The romance was sweet with a lot of banter and sarcastic remarks traded between the two main characters. I will definitely re-read this book in the future.