Review: Even Villains Fall In Love by Liana Brooks

April 2012, Breathless Press

eBook
Personal copy

Science Fiction Romance (Superhero fiction)
Kisses, caresses, off-screen sex, quadriplets who want their Mummy NOW

Summary from Breathless Press:

If you believe the rumors you know that Doctor Charm, the wickedly sexy super villain, retired in shame seven years ago after his last fight with the superhero Zephyr Girl. The fact that the charming Evan Smith - father of four and husband of the too-beautiful-to-be-real Tabitha - bears a resemblance to the defeated Doctor is pure coincidence. And, please, ignore the minions.

Everything is perfect in the Smith household until Tabitha announces her return to work as a superhero. Evan was hoping to keep her distracted until after he rigged the 2012 presidential election, but – genius that he is – Evan has a backup plan. In his basement lab Evan has a machine whose sole purpose is keeping Tabitha hungry for him.

But children and labs don’t mix. The machine is broken, and Tabitha storms out, claiming she no longer knows him. World domination takes a back seat to meeting his daughters’ demands to get Mommy back right now. This time his genius isn’t going to be enough – he’s going to need both his evil alter-ego and the blooming super abilities of his children to save his wife. But even his most charming self might not be enough to save their marriage.

Amy's Thoughts:
Those of you that follow me on Twitter will probably not be surprised by my adoration of this book. Not only is it my twinny's debut (SO EXCITING), I helped out with the betaing and proofreading of this one, so it's completely amazing to have seen it go from a casual summer joke to Real Live Proper Book. YAY!

EVFiL is a fun, quirky story about the super villain who married the superhero. He's hot, she's gorgeous, and it was just the kind of scandal the world needed :D Only now they have four kids, Evan's plan to take over the world via the US presidential elections is falling behind schedule - and his wife decides she wants to go back to superheroing. Seriously, is this not the most awesome set up? But of course, everything goes wrong, and Evan has to decide between ruling the free world, and getting his wife back - and, of course, everything is not as it seems >:)

So, reasons why you should read this book:
1) It's funny.
2) If you like anything in the superhero genre, you will probably like this.
3) It's SO nice to have a romance novel(la) based on a married couple for a change. Romance does not end with a wedding, people!
4) It's funny.
5) I helped proofread it.

O:)

Excerpt:
Maria rolled her eyes. "We won't get hurt, Daddy. You'll protect us. You never got hurt as a super villain, did you?"
"Um..."
"See? We'll be safe."
Delila raised her hand.
"Yes?"
"Can we have costumes?"
He was blindsided with nowhere to run. "Sure. I'll have a minion get right on that. You do realize that if I let you near a fight, your mother will kill me? She will skin me alive. Literally. This is a very bad idea."
"Mommy doesn't like you leaving us alone either," Maria said.
"Minions don't count," Angela added.

Final Conclusion:
If you enjoy lighthearted romance, real family dynamics, and a bit of superhero magic on the side, this is definitely the book for you. It's funny, it's quirky, and I really can't wait to read the next in the series :D


Find Liana Brooks on her website, or see the publisher's page for Even Villains Fall In Love.

Liana Brooks was born in San Diego, California. Years later she was disappointed to learn that The Shire was not some place she could move to, nor was Rider of Rohan an acceptable career choice. Studying marine biology so she could play with sharks seemed to be the only alternative. After college Liana settled down to work as a full-time author and mother because logical career progression is something that happens to other people. When she grows up, Liana wants to be an Evil Overlord and take over the world.

In the meantime, she writes sci-fi and SFR in between trips to the beach. She can be found wearing colorful socks on the Emerald Coast, or online at www.lianabrooks.com.

Guest Post: I Was Supposed To Be A Scientist!

Today I'd like to welcome Liana Brooks to the blog. As those of you who hang out on twitter probably know, Liana is my twin (separated by an ocean and a couple of years O;)) - so I'm extremely excited to be able to announce that her debut novella, Even Villains Fall In Love, is about to be released! (April 4, Breathless Press). A round of applause, if you please!

And yes, I'm the one that knows how to use a comma ;)



I never meant to be a writer. Truth be told, I failed a writing class in my first year of high school. I spent a year in remedial English being politely beaten over the head with the definition of a noun.

Yet, somehow, I found myself writing in my spare time. Scribbling out scenes for fun and amusement. I shared my work with friends in high school, talked about the books I would write if I had time in college, and forced myself to try and edit a novel after I graduated. Because I was amazing. No one had books like me!

I wasn't a writer, of course, I was just a magical being with plot prowess instead of fairy dust. I knew that if I wanted to be an author (which of course I didn't - I was going to be a scientist because I'm serious and studious like that) people would trip over themselves to read my work. Really, that half-finished hand-written novel in my desk was my nest egg. All I needed to do was open a window and whisper that I, Liana Brooks, had written a novel and money was going to fall from the clouds like rain.

Please don't die laughing...

Everything was sunshine and roses until I received my first critique from my online critique group. Unsure of which novel was best I'd posted my favorite scene, from the middle of a book. I did edit first! If you call hitting spell check editing...

They didn't get my genius!

I was flabbergasted. Then suspicious. Then a little ashamed. Then properly mortified. I couldn't even use a comma correctly. I couldn't use adverbs correctly! I didn't have a clue how to communicate in my native language! (Although, I'd like to point out, I had the grammar and spelling correct for the Latin portions of the text. I can communicate in some languages. Just not living ones.)

Maybe I should have quit there. I could have found a better hobby - you know, one I was good at. I could have gotten a real job, one with a paycheck every two weeks. But instead I found myself huddled in the Slacker's Corner, a tiny place of the internet where a few lost souls curled up under cyber-blankets to talk about bad days, chocolate, families, and books.

For a group called Slackers we really weren't - everyone was busy with something, and we all were writing something. Scribbling. Imagining. Dreaming. Learning.

What a beautiful word! Learning... some of us were gifted at plotting, some of us actually knew how to use that frakkin comma. And what we knew, we shared. We encouraged each other.

After several years of writing and abandoning projects I wrote one just for fun, just to make the Slackers laugh. With a little encouragement (and a lot of editing because the comma is still a mystery to me) I sent my story off to a publisher. Rejections came, and bounced off my iron-plated ego. Then came acceptance.

I had a panic attack and ran straight to the Slackers.

Through all the ups and downs, they were there. Perfect friends, always encouraging, always helpful, always willing to look past my flaws.

My first novella is EVEN VILLAINS FALL IN LOVE, and the only reason you will get to read it is because the Slackers encouraged me. I'm happy to say I gave something back, and I'm not the only Slacker with a book or play out this year.

I guess it goes to show, a label is only a word. Call them Slackers, call them Villains, call them what you will, at the end of the day they are still a person and capable of doing anything. Even falling in love.


Liana Brooks was born in San Diego, California. Years later she was disappointed to learn that The Shire was not some place she could move to, nor was Rider of Rohan an acceptable career choice. Studying marine biology so she could play with sharks seemed to be the only alternative. After college Liana settled down to work as a full-time author and mother because logical career progression is something that happens to other people. When she grows up, Liana wants to be an Evil Overlord and take over the world.

In the meantime, she writes sci-fi and SFR in between trips to the beach. She can be found wearing colorful socks on the Emerald Coast, or online at www.lianabrooks.com.