It's complicated...but they weren't always villains

by Sarah Rees Brennan

Rae wakes in a castle on the edge of a hellish chasm, in a kingdom on the brink of war. Home to dangerous monsters, scheming courtiers and her favourite fictional character: the Once and Forever Emperor. He’s impossibly alluring, as only fiction can be. And in this fantasy world, she discovers she’s not the heroine, but the villainess in the Emperor’s tale.  Expect a rogue’s gallery of villains including an axe wielding maid, a shining knight with dark moods, a charmingly homicidal bodyguard, and a playboy spymaster with a golden heart and a filthy reputation.

by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

ASSISTANT WANTED: Notorious, high-ranking villain seeks loyal, levelheaded assistant for unspecified office duties, supporting staff for random mayhem, terror, and other Dark Things in General. Discretion a must. Excellent benefits.

With ailing family to support, Evie Sage’s employment status isn’t just important, it’s vital. So when a mishap with Rennedawn’s most infamous Villain results in a job offer - naturally, she says yes. No job is perfect, of course, but even less so when you develop a teeny crush on your terrifying, temperamental, and undeniably hot boss. Don’t find evil so attractive, Evie.  After all, a good job is hard to find.

by Danai Christopoulou

With the consequences of her murderous actions closing in, Lady Macbeth turns to the three witches for help. She’s given a brew that transports her to an unknown realm. Desperately lost, she opens a door and comes face to face with a beautiful woman drenched in blood.

Klytemnestra, Queen of Mycenae, is exacting bloody vengeance on her husband.  Yet as she revels in her triumph, an otherworldly door appears and a strange woman steps in. Thinking this stranger a spirit, she chases Lady Macbeth into the realm of stories.  As every threat brings our vile lady villains closer, turning ill intentions into fiery attraction that no author dare write, they have a choice: remain within the confines of their original tales…

Or burn down the world to pen a new story together…

by Django Wexler

A hilarious fantasy adventure in which a young woman, who is stuck in a time loop, decides the best way to defend the kingdom from the Dark Lord is to become the Dark Lord herself.

Davi has done this all before. She’s tried to be the hero and take down the all-powerful Dark Lord. A hundred times she’s rallied humanity and made the final charge. But the time loop always gets her in the end. Sometimes she’s killed quickly. Sometimes it takes a while. But she’s been defeated every time.

This time? She’s done being the hero and done being stuck in this endless time loop. If the Dark Lord always wins, then maybe that’s who she needs to be. It’s Davi’s turn to play on the winning side.

by Gu Byeong-mo

Hornclaw is a sixty-five-year-old female contract killer who is considering retirement. But while on an assassination job for the ‘disease control’ company she works for, Hornclaw makes an uncharacteristic error, causing a sequence of events that brings her past well and truly into the present. Threatened with sabotage by a young male upstart and battling new desires and urges when she least expects them, Hornclaw steels her resolve, demonstrating that no matter their age, the female of the species is always more deadly than the male.

by Ruby Dixon

Joslen, a poor village girl enters her villain era with the help of the resident evil tyrant…

When she has a brush with the handsome but dangerous Scourge King, the conqueror of her land, she realizes something important. Maybe it’s time to stop being nice. And the perfect person to show her how to be bad? The Scourge King himself, Vilos Saumien. Joslen isn’t about to trade away her newfound independence, though. If Vilos wants to play games, she’ll play games. She just intends to win. Is their kingdom big enough for two villains?

by Tina Mars

With betrayals mounting and desire warring with duty, Revel must decide who to trust in a game where even the gods have their favourites. In this dark, epic, worse-than-enemies-to-lovers romantasy debut, there’s no crueler weapon than love.

Except, the Warbringer isn’t the monster she was promised. Bound by secrets of his own, he is as dangerous as he is disarming.