Because You Love To Hate Me- Review

In this unique YA anthology, thirteen acclaimed, bestselling authors team up with thirteen influential BookTubers to reimagine fairy tales from the oft-misunderstood villains’ points of view. These fractured, unconventional spins on classics like “Medusa,” Sherlock Holmes, and “Jack and the Beanstalk” provide a behind-the-curtain look at villains’ acts of vengeance, defiance, and rage–and the pain, heartbreak, and sorrow that spurned them on. No fairy tale will ever seem quite the same again!

Featuring writing from . . . 

Authors: Renée Ahdieh, Ameriie, Soman Chainani, Susan Dennard, Sarah Enni, Marissa Meyer, Cindy Pon, Victoria Schwab, Samantha Shannon, Adam Silvera, Andrew Smith, April Genevieve Tucholke, and Nicola Yoon 

BookTubers: Benjamin Alderson (Benjaminoftomes), Sasha Alsberg (abookutopia), Whitney Atkinson (WhittyNovels), Tina Burke (ChristinaReadsYA blog and TheLushables), Catriona Feeney (LittleBookOwl), Jesse George (JessetheReader), Zoë Herdt (readbyzoe), Samantha Lane (Thoughts on Tomes), Sophia Lee (thebookbasement), Raeleen Lemay (padfootandprongs07), Regan Perusse (PeruseProject), Christine Riccio (polandbananasBOOKS), and Steph Sinclair & Kat Kennedy (Cuddlebuggery blog and channel).

Rather than give an in depth review of all the stories featured in this book, I will instead give a rating for each story and a little mini review to go along with it.

1. The Blood of Imuriv by Renée Ahdieh

I found this story to be very interesting and even though this is a short story, the characters were well developed. I would of liked to read more about the world and the characters.

2. Jack by Ameriie

I was really excited to read this because I love the Jack and the Beanstalk story, and I did like this story, but I didn’t love it. To me it was missing something just to make it something special.

3. Gwen and Art and Lance by Soman Chainani

This story I liked a lot. First off it was written as messages, which was different. Also the story was great to read, it had the King Arthur legend mixed together with other myths. I could of read an entire book of these characters.

4. Shirley and Jim by Susan Dennard

I knew his was a Sherlock story with the gender of Sherlock switched to a girl, and I thought it would make an interesting story. But in the end it really didn’t, there wasn’t anything really grabbing my attention.

5. The Blessing of Little Wants by Sarah Enni

This story started with a lot a promise and it did hook me in, but then it lost me a little towards the middle and when I reached the end I wasn’t that bothered about the story of the characters. I can’t really remember much about this one at all.

6. The Sea Witch by Marissa Meyer

I was excited to read this because I love the Lunar Chronicles, and I love the authors writing. This story doesn’t disappoint, it has a great villain and has an interesting plot that I wouldn’t mind reading more about.

7. Beautiful Venom by Cindy Pon 

I found this story to be a little dull. Nothing really interested me and I found myself skimming the pages to try and reach the end. I tried to get into the story but nothing was grabbing my attention.

8. Death Knell by Victoria Schwab

This was another story I had high hopes for and it definitely didn’t disappoint. Everything about this story is pure perfection. It didn’t even feel like I was reading a short story because everything was well developed and beautifully written.

9. Marigold by Samantha Shannon

Again I found the first half of this story really interesting, but towards the end I felt a little less interested. I liked the London setting and the writing, but the story seemed to be lacking something.

10. You, You, It’s All About You by Adam Silvera

Out of all the stories featured in this book I found this one to be the most exciting. Everything about this story was amazing, it was a complete story, but I could of read more and more. I kind of hope the author does write more stories like this.

11. Julian Breaks Every Rule by Andrew Smith

I have never read anything by Andre Smith before but after reading this short story I will be definitely checking out some of his books. I found this to be an interesting take on the theme and I did find it funny in places to read.

12. Indigo and Shade by April Genevieve Tucholke

This story had a Beaty and the Beast theme which I was really happy to read about. But in the end I didn’t really like it at all. I found the story to be forgettable and a little slow in places.

13. Sera by Nicola Yoon

This was a great story to end on, because it fitted the theme perfectly. The story was interesting and exciting throughout, and was written perfectly. I have only read Everything, Everything by this author, but I think she my become one of my favourites.

For me Because You Love To Hate Me is a mix bag of stories, there are some that fitted the villain theme perfectly, while some fell a little short. I wanted this book to be filled with brilliant stories of villains, but I think half of these stories could of been cut, while the others were expanded a little more. Having book tubers collaborate with authors is a really neat and different idea. This is my first go at reading short stories and I did enjoy some, for me I think I would rather read a full book of certain stories, rather than a few pages. For me I feel a little more invested in both the plot and the characters.

I rate this book 4/5 stars