Heart of the Villain (Cursed Gods, #1.5)

The emotions!!! So Heart of The Villain is a prequel to the first book of the series (Revenge of the Forgotten) and it's Marlena's story. Poor Marlena is subjected to so much and reading the first part had me reaching for tissues. I could relate to a parent's favoritism of a sibling and the neglect. I rolled my eyes every time her parents appeared on the pages.

What I love about Marlena is that she turned her pain into a purpose, albeit an "evil" or destructive one. If you suffered what she did, you would want to lash out too.

I love a good villain origin story. The way she conspired takedowns, grew to be unapologetic, and I just... They could never make me hate her! I loved the magic system and the political intrigue was *chef's kiss*. I'm excited for the next book in the Cursed Gods series.

*Thank you to Dany for the ARC