Barbi and the Villain

Barbi & the Villain, Book 1

By: Veronica Lancet

Narrated by: Adrienne Fleming

She's an awkward bookworm. He's a fictional character in her favorite book.

When Barbara “Barbi” Bancroft mysteriously receives an unreleased manuscript from her favorite book series, she can’t curb her excitement. But when she gets sucked into the story—literally—she finds herself in the fantastical realm of Akkaya. Immediately, she thinks this is the adventure of a lifetime and she will finally meet her Prince Charming, and maybe have her first kiss.

But things don’t go her way, and soon she is running for her life.

Her only hope to survive and get home is the heroic Sir Damien, her fictional crush.

Unfortunately, he is anything but heroic and he decides to sacrifice her in an evil ritual that will allow him to invade her world—and conquer it.

Channeling her main character energy, Barbi tries to run and outsmart Sir Damien. And that is how she ends up thrown in a dungeon, waiting for her death.

With the villain of the story.

Forming an unlikely alliance with the most hated character wasn’t in Barbi’s bingo card, but she will do anything to save herself and her world.

Things become further complicated when she accidentally gets mated to said villain, and now she’s trapped forever.

Or is she?

This is a DARK fantasy romance with a villainous love interest. Please check the triggers before listening.

©2023, 2024 Veronica Lancet (P)2024 Veronica Lancet

Loved It

"Where you go, I go,” I tell him confidently.

I loved this book. It was a fascinating adventure. I love the idea of someone who's completely in love with fictional characters or a fictional world and somehow gets transported there either as themselves or one of the characters. Barbi was quirky and I really liked her from the start. In the beginning of the story I kept getting flashbacks of Elle Woods from Legally Blonde from her name and favorite color pink. There's an innocence to her and I was sad how her so-called friends took advantage of and used her for her money. PomPom is like a little tiger and sassy and protective of her owner.

Once they somehow get transported into Akkaya (won't spoil how), she finds that the world isn't exactly how it was in the series- and if anyone would know, she would. I liked how she used her knowledge to outwit others when she could. This story was a lot of fun and I liked how her love interest was the last person she would have ever imagined getting close to. I really liked him, too. The story has action, danger, twists and turns. And that cliffhanger! I can't wait until the next book!

I listened to this audiobook narrated by Adrienne Fleming and she did a wonderful job bringing these characters to life. Especially Barbi. Her voice was perfect for her!

Both this author and this narrator are new to me.

Overall: 5 stars
Performance: 5 stars
Story: 5 stars

Ding bat

I had a very hard time listening to this book. The main character is an absolute dingbat granted maybe that’s the way she wanted her to be, but she doesn’t get any smarter. The plot is good. The narrator fits the dingbat thing perfectly.
I don’t know if I will continue to and go onto read book 2.

Blown away!

Veronica Lancet is one of the most diverse authors I have had the pleasure of reading. Fantasy books always deter me as it is often daunting to learn a new world, but the author does an amazing job teaching us about this new land and its traditions, customs, and histories. As Barbi is transported into this alternate world, we only know the information that Barbi is able to learn through her experiences and information relayed to her by other characters. I loved that, at the end of this book, we still don’t know what is real or lies, and can most definitely not predict the outcome. I love this in a book and know that it would only work this way because it is told only from Barbi’s POV, though I do hope we eventually will get a few chapters from “the Villian’s” POV. I am not even sure what genre this book fits in, but maybe that is why it is so fabulous.

Adrienne Fleming does a phenomenal job performing this story!

Captivating!

This is the first book in the Barbi and the Villain Trilogy, a dark fantasy romance. I like this author's writing style. Barbara “Barbi” and Nykander “Nyk“'s story is entertaining, funny, and captivating. The characters are well developed, and intriguing. Barbi is feisty, smart, strong, and determined. Nyk is enigmatic. The world building is original. I liked the banter, the push and pull, the mystery, and the twists and turns. Adrienne Fleming did a great job bringing this story to life. I can't wait to listen to the next book in the series. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Barbi and the Villain!

What an intriguing story! This was definitely not what I was expecting but was definitely worth every bit of my time. The author does a great job with the build and development of the world and the characters. The story says it is dark, but it not as dark as some I have read or listened too. I do like the characters! It is an interesting twist on fairy tale like story.