Kiss the villian is a dark MM first book in the villian series by rina kent.

Update after ruminating over this book : I don’t mind rape now in rina’s books, and I also wanna say that I read some reviews of this book, I got influenced by some of them, and am really sorry for that. My honest thoughts? Regardless of the rape or not, I have a love - hate relationship with kayden.

Spoilers ahead.

You can view the trigger warnings here.

Story : ⭐⭐⭐

Plot : ⭐⭐⭐

Rating : ⭐⭐

Writing style : as always, rina is a phenomenal writer. She writes dark unapologetic heroes that keep one drawn in, but this book? Just not for me.

MMC : gareth Carson & Kayden lockwood davenport.

side characters : i liked simone, or Nadine. I also liked the mom jina and Rachel, along with reina (gareth and killian’s mom).

Story setting : dark college.

Summary : Kayden lockwood is seeking revenge for what happened to his wife two years ago, and for that he needs to have gareth wrapped around his finger, but time passes, they spend time together, and Kayden realizes that this is more than revenge, and he is falling for what he was supposed to avenge. There is a eleven years age gap between them. He’s 22, and Kayden is 33. Age is not a problem. I have so much to say about these two.

Dedicated to by the author : rina said that this book is dedicated to ones who will kiss the villian but only in fiction, and while I agree to that, i don’t like gareth, or Kayden. (FOREVER A KILLIAN CARSON STAN) gareth would throw such a fit. Sorry, but I don’t care, golden boy.

Pacing : medium.

Tropes : ☑️enemy’s grandson.
☑️ possessive MMC.
☑️ Mutual obsession.
☑️touch him and you die.
☑️Dark romance.
☑️ assault.
☑️ Domestic family scenes that are swoony.

Type of romance : dark.

Tags for the book : contemporary, dark romance, unapologetic heroes, twisty plot twists, confusing sometimes.

Onto the characters :

↪Kayden lockwood davenport is a professor, and he is just such a contrasting character. I don’t love these characters, lemme put that out there. So, Kayden assaults gareth when they first meet, and to justify it or what, i don’t know but gareth hates everything. If you read the next chapter from his pov, he definitely did not like it. But there’s a blurring line, because he says he liked it. And now i’m just like eh eh eeeeeehhhhh.

Later, Kayden and gareth are in like a situationship? He forces gareth in sexual situations, but gareth is okay with it because he is slowly awakening to the fact that he is gay, and he likes to be forced. Kayden makes him feel is real and blah f•••••• blah.

Kayden’s revenge was about approaching gareth, his wife’s rapist’s grandson, but what does he do? To avenge her, he assaults gareth? And then justifies it by saying that rape is not about force, control, or power. Which i 1000% disagree with, most of the time it f•••••• is about power and control. And rapist’s superiority complex. And Kayden says that it is about the victim’s feelings and the long term impact. That is the aftermath. The damage is already done. Mr Kayden also does not apologise to gareth, but gareth does apologize later in the book when they are together. I did not dislike the book, nor i do want to spread hate, but this is kinda contrasting for Kayden. Isn’t he what his wife already went through? What revenge? And, yes they were arranged marriage, and friends, but nobody should go through what Cassandra went through, so we will not discuss whether the marriage mattered or not. Kayden should have protected her whether it was real or not. What kind of husband not protect his wife? Someone with the same mindset as those sick f••••. Kayden did get his revenge in a way, but assaulting Gareth in the initial chapter? Naah. I am so hypocrite because I forgot what Killian did, the cliff scene if we all know it, but for some reason here, I don’t like kayden.

However, Kayden has his soft, sweetheart -y moments, if you would want to call it that.

🤌🏼 He takes care of gareth really well after every session.
🤌🏼 He stocks his fridge with strawberries, knowing that gareth loves them.
He takes a bullet for gareth.
🤌🏼He protects gareth from vencor, and his brother grant, who he knows can and will hurt gareth.
🤌🏼 He lets gareth buy him whatever expensive s••• he wants, even though he comes from a quite influential family and is richie rich af.
🤌🏼 He gives his last name to gareth. Because he wants it.
🤌🏼 He adopts a stray, though gareth protests, but names her moka, which is given by gareth himself. (Rina’s love for cats is showing).
🤌🏼 Moka is a sweet honeybun who clings to gareth, even though all he does scowl, and frown initially but warms up to her eventually.
🤌🏼 Kayden stares at gareth a lot. (He really finds gareth beautiful).
🤌🏼 Kayden also calls him “baby” multiple times in the book. (Questioning how many times I heard that, niko my love I am running back to you, you were so much better than kay was).
🤌🏼 Kayden risks his life just to see gareth once while he is admitted in the hospital knowing he is gonna die.
🤌🏼 Kayden protests gareth from his impulsive tendencies to kill and be violent.
🤌🏼 Kayden asks gareth to hurt him physically for the f••• ups he did. (Like he absolutely should).

⇾conclusion, Kayden has his moments. You decide whether you want to read the book or not.

What i loved : i loved moka, and the ending where Kayden fights everyone and leaves vencor, like he should. And loves gareth in his own way. (A little). I still don’t like him much. If I was moka, i would shoving my claws at him.

Is a part of a series : yes.

Series name : villain.

Series order number : 1 of 3.

Plot or character driven : curiosity driven.

Loveable characters : no.

Strong character development : somewhat.

Flaws of characters a main focus : yes.

Interconnected/ or standalone : interconnected standalone.

Recs from the same author : if you were curious about Killian, and can ignore the famous cliff scene, then yes, you should definitely read his book — god of malice, first in the legacy of gods series.

Similar books : if you like golden boy x dominant partner, but gay? Then you’d enjoy god of fury the fifth book in the legacy of gods series by same author. Niko is such a golden retriever, his shenanigans are my fav. Looks like he could kill, which he absolutely will but is just a lover boy for his Brandon. (His lotus flower).

Last details : I am revoking my license of reading mm books for now. Where are my golden retriever MMC’s eh? Give them back! 😤 Kidding. I love niko, Killian, eli, crieghton, Jeremy from the series. Will love them always.

Can’t pick one, of course.

I can’t believe Kiss the Villain was my first Rina Kent book because it definitely won’t be my last! I was completely hooked from the first few chapters. The chemistry, the tension, and the emotional rollercoaster kept me turning pages way past my bedtime.

I loved how flawed and complex the characters were, and the banter and angst were exactly what I look for in a dark romance. Rina Kent has a way of making you fall for morally grey characters that you probably shouldn’t love—but absolutely do.

This was my very first time reading a book by Rina Kent—and I think that’s kind of an important thing to mention right off the bat.
If someone’s already read her other books and then comes to this one, of course their opinion might be different from mine, since I started with this as my intro to her world. Just something to keep in mind!
Now, let’s talk about the character development.
Honestly? I liked it. I think the author gave it enough time and focus. Some descriptions felt a little repetitive or over-the-top here and there, but overall, I found it enjoyable.
The two main characters are Kayden and Gareth—and I really, really connected with Gareth.
That actually surprised me. So many of his fears, worries, and mental struggles felt similar to my own, and that made his character feel extra special to me.
Something else I noticed: the world-building could’ve been a bit more detailed. Maybe it’s because I jumped into this book without reading any of the other Legacy of Gods books in the same world, so I was missing a bit of context. I definitely found myself wishing for more information about certain side characters—but then again, a lot of them seem to have their own books, so I guess if I want to learn more, I need to read those too.
One thing I really loved, though, was Gareth’s family dynamic. I won’t go into details because of spoilers, but it really stood out to me in the sweetest way. The way everything slowly starts fitting together—like puzzle pieces—it was just so lovely to watch unfold.
That said, I do need to mention this:
If age gap romances or certain triggers bother you, this might not be the book for you.
While I was checking out reviews on Goodreads, I saw a lot of negative ones. Some readers weren’t familiar with the MM genre at all and had only read Rina’s other books. They skipped over the trigger warnings and dove in—and ended up a bit shocked. So yeah, please make sure you’re okay with the themes before you start. And definitely, definitely read a few other MM books first before picking this one up.
Another thing I realized—even though I haven’t read Rina’s other books yet—is that there seems to be a big difference between her MM romances and her straight ones. So don’t expect them to feel the same!
The language itself wasn’t hard at all. It’s actually pretty easy to read, and if you sit down with it, I think you’ll fly through it.
Personally? I really liked it. I connected with it.
Sure, it had its little flaws—some things felt a bit too emphasized—but I loved the pull between the two main characters, how their bond slowly formed, how close they grew. That kind of emotional build-up really works for me. I think for any reader, it’s important whether or not you can connect with the characters, and for me, that totally happened here.
One last thing: I wish the plot had been a bit more complex. It had the potential for it, and I would’ve loved to see more depth.
But still—I didn’t put pressure on myself while reading. I just let myself enjoy it, and it turned out to be a really cute experience overall.
So, if you're thinking about reading your first MM book—maybe don’t start with this one. Try a few others first.
And make sure you see it as something separate from Rina Kent’s straight romances. A lot of readers did that with God of Fury too (I haven’t read that one yet, but something tells me I might like it even more than Kiss the Villain).
Still, this book? It gave me a sweet little experience I’m glad I had.