There’s a secret society on Hamilton University’s campus. A secret in the sense that most know about their existence through their community efforts on campus but no one knows who’s in it, what they do or how they came to be. Well, that is unless you are one of the chosen few.
In Danielle Allen’s V is for Villainous, we are introduced to the V Society and the five women who are chosen to be a part of the organization this senior year. This story focuses on Michaela Jones, she’s a hard-working undergrad student solely focused on her work and getting into Yale for law school. When we first meet her, she is breaking up with her boyfriend, though we get the sense that it isn’t something she voluntarily wanted to do.
Fast forward almost two years and Michaela is invited to join V after attending a party. She’s intrigued and wants to join. Any organization that can promise you great mentors, opportunities, cash and job leads after law school is something worth looking into, right? All of those things come with a price and there’s a mission to complete to fully become a part of V. As Michaela learns more about what she has to do and what she’s really gotten herself into, she’s forced to make some hard decisions.
Enter Nathan Phillips. A guy who is sweet, attentive and handsome. In her words, he makes everything better and is exactly what she needs. However, he is intricately tied to her assignment and that makes it tricky when she falls in love with him. She begins to feel guilty when she has to leverage her relationship to find out certain pertinent details. How far is Michaela willing to go to get the life she’s longed for? Is she willing to give up on love?
I liked Michaela a lot and not just because she shares the name of one of my favorite characters on the ABC show, How To Get Away With Murder. She’s not all good and not all bad. There are shades of grey to her even when she doesn’t want to admit it, very similar to the organization she has now pledged herself to. Nathan made a great observation of her when they first started to get to know each other. “I thought you were one of the most beautiful and closed off women I’d ever seen. Like artwork in a glass case at the museum. You can look at it and admire its beauty, but you can’t ever get too close. ” I don’t think he realized just how true that last line was going to be in their relationship.
The secondary characters were solid, I want to know more about every one of them. Most of them weren’t on the page for too long but they left enough of an impression to where I am curious. There are the other girls in Michaela’s class, her roommate, Nathan, and not to mention the ex-boyfriend who I hope she lets go of because he’s annoying LOL.
I said a lot without saying much, didn’t I? Haha. There’s a shroud of mystery around this story, and series, that you have to read for yourself. Everything’s complicated in V is for Villainous and that’s what makes the story even better. You all know I love a little suspense and mystery in my romance novels.
This story does end on a cliffhanger, not just with the whole V society but with Michaela and her love life as well. There are some interesting things at play here and I’m intrigued to find out what happens next.
V is for Vicious is out now, the second book in this series, off I go to read more of this story!
** I received this book in exchange for my honest review.**