Not Your Villain

C.B.Lee

O.R.S.

Not Your Villain follows Bells, a secondary character of Not Your Sidekick, the first of this series, as he navigates his secret identity, his superpower of shifting his appearance, and his crush, his bff’s, against the backdrop of the discoveries of the first book that the supervillains aren’t all bad. Told from Bells’ perspective in third person voice.

How much did you like it overall?

A lot less than the first one. In the first novel, which followed Jessica as she discovered her place in a superhero/supervillain world, had a clear voice in the main character, a clear plot–uncovering the usual YA conspiracies–and a fun subplot about Jess’s crush on her intern mate Abby. All of which made for a really fun romp. The sequel, with Bells, much less so. His voice is a lot less distinctive, and a bulk of the first part is a recounting of Jessica’s adventures from Bells’ perspective. One can only imagine how confusing it would be if the reader came into the sequel fresh, as it’s a bit like, maybe, watching Winter Soldier and Falcon. Not very fun.

What did you like most?

I liked being back in the world that C.B.Lee created, I liked catching a glimpse of Abby and Jess being happy together, and the rare moments that Abby and Jess show their powers. Oh, and you get to go to SuperHero Academy!

What did you not like about it?

There was not a lot of action–and what action there was was squeezed into strange chunks that, at times, felt like a shoehorning of Bells’ powers. And for reasons unknown, the use of Bells’ powers were just not that exciting. He does get some unusual boosts and expansions of his powers, which are never well explained. And Super Hero Academy should be all about the classes, but it’s not very well fleshed out.

Any favorite moments?

The few moments of surprise with Bells’ shifting powers–and what he’s able to do with third parties. Also, as previously mentioned, getting to see Abby and Jess be happy together and have this other life.

Where do I put it on The Shelf?

Definitely lending library. It feels like a bridge kind of a book–an expansion of the first but not a full book in and of itself.

Any closing thoughts?

This sequel showcases the importance of a strong lead character voice–and when Bells was set up as a secondary, support character in the first, it’s as if C.B.Lee wasn’t able to fill him in with the rest of the detail. Not sure if Jessica, the first character’s, Asian ethnicity was something C.B.Lee identified more closely with? That is probably an unfair assumption, but it’s quite puzzling given how much fun the first book was.

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