I wasn’t sure what to expect, but A Stage Set for Villains had me in my seat the whole time. The twists and turns, the Greek mythology influences? This was such an action packed fantasy. Keep reading this book review of A Stage Set for Villains for my full thoughts.
Summary
The performers of the Playhouse are as worshipped as they are feared, their enchanting shows bending hearts, minds, and even reality itself. Vicious, godlike, lethal. Eighteen-year-old Riven Hesper knows the dangers better than anyone, after her own encounter with a Player resulted in a curse that is slowly killing her.
When the Playhouse announces the spectacle of a lifetime—a chance for one mortal to steal a Player’s immortality—Riven sees her last chance to live. Desperate for answers, she infiltrates the competition. There, she finds Jude, the Playhouse’s brilliant, merciless Lead Player, whose charm is as dangerous as his Craft, and strikes a deadly bargain to save her life.
But with time running out and the Playhouse’s secrets unraveling into a disturbing picture, Riven faces a grim possibility: she might not be the hero of her story after all. In fact, she may be the villain.
Because the Playhouse doesn’t just tell stories. It rewrites them.
And Riven’s might end in blood.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
A Stage Set for Villains features a magical playhouse set at the nexus of societal conflict between the North and the South. It’s a site of religious fanaticism, of entertainment, and competition. I loved how A Stage Set for Villains focuses on the mystery of unraveling the Playhouse and the conflicts within the country. I love a good game Caraval style, but where I felt that one fell a bit flat, A Stage Set for Villains picks up that thread and keeps running. This mixture of dangerous mystery within the Playhouse, while being grounded in some of the societal implications, kept me coming back.
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I’m a fan of interesting magic and A Stage Set for Villains fits the bill. It’s a world full of illusions, performance, and danger. The feeling while reading the last 30% is indescribable and that’s where this book really sealed the deal for me. A Stage Set for Villains has unlikely allies, training montages, and plenty of secrets to unravel. In a somewhat meta way, it examines the lines between the roles we have to play and who we are. What happens when the illusions become real? Or visa versa? There are some passages that are truly gorgeous as Spann asks us what happens if we give ourselves to the theater, the audiences, to art and it still demands more. Find A Stage Set for Villains on Goodreads, Storygraph, Bookshop. org, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.