Violet The Villain was here
Book review: Violet Thistlewaite is Not a Villain Anymore by Emily Krempholtz
Violet Thistlewaite is Not a Villain Anymore by Emily Krempholz
Published: November 18, 2025 by Ace
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Synopsis:
She traded curses for carnations. But old magic dies hard...
Guy Shadowfade is dead, and Violet Thistlethwaite is out of a job. After a lifetime as the dark sorcerer's right-hand witch, she's ready to turn over a new leaf. And this time, she wants to sprout peonies instead of poison.
The quiet town of Dragon's Rest seems like the perfect place to start over. Violet opens a flower shop, swears off dark magic, and does her best to be...good. Even if her reputation - and her mildly homicidal, sentient houseplant - make that tricky.
Her vibrant bouquets soon charm the locals, but nothing she does seems to impress the grumpy (and infuriatingly gorgeous) Nathaniel Marsh, the alchemist she's forced to share a greenhouse with.
But when a strange blight begins to rot the roots of Dragon's Rest, Violet and Nathaniel must work together - through their fears, pasts, and growing feelings - to save the town.
And as old secrets start to surface, Violet can't help but does a former villain like her truly deserve a happily-ever-after?
Rating:
Review:
I often will pick a book based on a pretty cover or a good synopsis. This one pulled me in with both. The cover gave cozy romance vibes but with a fantasy twist. And it is exactly what I expected. It completely met the expectation of being a cozy fantasy with a side of romance. Dragon’s Rest was a great little village to spend time in. I wanted to pull up a cup of tea with the plants too.
This book also had a lot going on. A flower shop trying to establish itself. The apothecary and the troubles there. The blight that threatens the village. Violet dealing with her prior villain status and worry about the town finding out. I felt like we didn’t need a romance. Frankly, it felt a little forced and unnecessary. It seemed to be a plot device to raise the stakes for Violet when her prior villain lifestyle is inevitably revealed. But because the rest of the book was so busy it just fell a little flat. We didn’t have the time to let their romance blossom (bad pun fully intended). The banter was fun. The attraction was cute. But it didn’t add much else to the plot.
I was interested in the story of how Violet would redeem herself. She was a pretty bad person. Slaughtering whole villages level villain. Ultimately though it felt low stakes when it shouldn’t have.
In the end, I can’t really complaint about it nor can I sing its praises. It was exactly what it is marketed to be. A low stakes, cozy fantasy with a side of romance. I enjoyed it.