Because You Love to Hate Me

Jede einzelne der 13 Geschichten verdient seine eigene Bewertung, daher werde ich nicht zu sehr ins Detail gesehen. Manche mochte ich einfach mehr als andere, wie es oft mit Kurzgeschichtensammlungen ist. Sie sind auf jeden Fall extrem verschieden gewesen. Der Aufbau des Buchs hat mich überzeugen können. Man nimmt eine schon bestehende Geschichte, vielleicht einen Klassiker, und gibt ihr eine neue Perspektive. Nur dieses Mal so, dass man den ursprünglich „bösen“ Charakter in einem anderen Licht kennenlernt. Dieses Vorgehen konnte mich begeistern. Ich finde die Buchidee daher klasse. Sie weckt Mitgefühl und gibt mögliche Einblicke, die sonst übersehen werden. Definitiv eine Empfehlung, die aber nicht für jeden geeignet ist. Man sollte nämlich beachten, dass es sich hauptsächlich an Jugendliche richtet und in einem dementsprechend Stil geschrieben wurde. Mich persönlich haben die meisten Geschichten nicht überzeugen können (oft auch wegen des Schreibstils), aber die wenigen, die ich absolut genial fand, haben mich weiterlesen lassen. In Sternen würde ich daher „nur“ 2 oder 2,5 vergeben, auch, wenn ich die Grundidee geliebt habe.

It's actually more of a 3,5/5 ☆ Overall, I think I expected something else out of this. The stories and characters were definitely not as villainous as I'd hoped they would be. Nevertheless, I did enjoy most of the stories in the end. But I would have hoped to read a few stories about those purely evil villains (Voldemort-like maybe), you know, but I didn't get that. As for the BookTuber contributions: I honestly could've gone without them. It was interesting to read why they chose these prompts, but most of them read like story reviews, and some were just not up my ally. There was only one single one that impressed me, and that was Jesse's contribution after V.E. Schwabs story. Other than that, these essays dulled my reading experience a little bit. I now will go into more depth about what I thought about each story: I will now go into detail about what I thought of every story individually. I will not talk about the BookTuber contributions in detail, though, since I already mentioned the only one I thoroughly enjoyed. Introduction by Ameriie: 4,5/5 stars The Blood of Imuriv by Renee Ahdieh I felt like this wasn't the best way to start this book. In a short story collection that is about villains I actually, idk, expected a villain in the first story? Maybe that was a mistake on my part. But for me, this story showed no signs of villains. A petty young lad maybe, but villain? Then again, the “villain challenge” the author was given to work with also didn’t leave enough room for villainy, let’s be honest. I didn’t read the prompt before, but I saw the ending coming from a mile away. So it was very predictable, and as I said, the evilness was missing for me. Plus: the world in which it took place in was confusing for me, and I felt like if the author had more time for the world building, it would have been very interesting. 2,5/5 stars. Unfortunately not a fan. Jack by Ameriie This was a lot of fun to read about. A retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk but from the Giant’s point of view. The wit and humor in the story were great, and I also really liked the dynamic between the characters very much. I am not very familiar with the story it is based on, which probably resulted in me not understanding a lot of references to the actual tale. Nevertheless, it was a really enjoyable read. 4/5 stars. A lot of fun. Gwen and Art and Lance by Soman Chainani When I first read this story I was very intrigued by it. However, now that a few days have passed I realize that this story isn’t memorable at all. I actually had to go back and look what it was about in order to write this review, which isn’t necessarily a good sign. The format it was written in was something special and interesting, but the characters were a little dull. And since I remembered basically nothing of the plot, it wasn’t very exciting either, unfortunately. 2,5/5 stars. It was okay. Shirley & Jim by Susan Dennard This story was absolutely amazing! I expected exactly these types of stories of this anthology. It can be described as a story about a young Moriarty and a young Holmes, figuring out their paths. Figuring out if they want to do good or bad to the world, and how they want to do it. This was phenomenal. The dynamic between the characters was so on point, and the overall atmosphere of the story was so much like the one I get from Sherlock. 5/5 stars. Amazing. The Blessing of Little Wants by Sarah Enni I have quite mixed feelings on this one. On the one hand I really enjoyed it, but on the other hand I felt like this story was all over the place, and in some parts even confusing. This was again one of those stories that I just didn’t remember enough to be able to review, so I had to go back to it once more. Reading it a second time it was less confusing, but the more I looked at it the more I didn’t like the characters at all. However, the plot of the story (I won’t say what exactly because I don’t want to spoil it) was very interesting. I am not sure about this one. 3/5 stars. Partly intriguing. The Sea Witch by Marissa Meyer A story about the becoming of a villain. This was exactly what I was looking for. The characters were vividly described, the world around them as well. Even though we follow our main character in becoming a villain, we sympathize with her; because we know what she has been through, and we know what has driven her to do the “bad” things she has done (or even will do in the future). A lot of times we don’t get to see this backstory of a villain, so it was really nice to see one depicted here. I loved it! I would love to read a whole book about this story, actually. 5/5 stars. Intriguing! Beautiful Venom by Cindy Pon I loved the twist to this otherwise very familiar tale. I won’t talk about the tale itself, since this is revealed late in the story, but overall I actually really enjoyed this one. The pacing was a little slow at times, which wasn’t my thing at all, but other than that I really enjoyed it. This could potentially also be counted as the backstory of a villain, which I’m (as we’ve already established) a big fan of. 4/5 stars. Great. Death Knell by Victoria Schwab BY FAR the best story this anthology has to offer! I loved it so much. We follow two main characters, a young girl living in a town, and Death who is coming for her. It is incredible how many twists reveals the author put into such a small amount of pages. The characters were so lively, the atmosphere surrounding them was just the right amount of creepy. I have no words that could explain how much I loved this story. By far my favorite. 10/5 stars. Phenomenal. Marigold by Samantha Shannon Every story that includes fairies must be a good one, right? Fortunately, this was the case for this story as well. We follow two men, trying to safe a poor maiden that has been taken by the evil queen of the Fey. This story really captures the exploration of good and evil. Who is the good guy, and who is the bad guy? Furthermore, this story even explores the layers evilness has, and who is to say who the actual villain is. 4,5/5 stars. Really good. You, You, It's all About You by Adam Silvera Our main character in this story is just how you would expect a villain to be: intelligent, bad, but they do have their motifs to do bad. This character was the only one who gave me goosebumps when I read about her. I would not want to meet her at any time of day, to be honest. The story has twists and turns that I definitely did not see coming, and that kept me turning page after page. It was ncie to see something so different coming from Adam. And this story just proved how amazing he is at his job. 5/5 stars. Frightening, just how it should be. Julian Breaks Every Rule by Andrew Smith Have you ever wanted to dive into the mind of a psychopath? Well, now is your chance, because that’s exactly what this story explores. I have to be honest, when I first read the story I really sympathized with our main character, even though he constantly talks about killing people. This was probably also the intention of the author, and he did a really good job with that! I have never read anything like this before, and once I got to the end, I had to immediately read it all over again, just because I found it so interesting. 4/5 stars. Very interesting. Indigo and Shade by April Genevieve Tucholke A love story between the beauty and the beast, just with a twist. I really liked this one as well. The only thing that was really confusing for me was the world it was set in. On the one hand it seemed really modern, but on the other (particularly the scenes in the woods) I felt like we were in the 1500s or something. The idea of the story itself though was intriguing, and the execution was interesting as well. I saw the ending coming, but that didn’t lower my enjoyment of the story. 3,5/5 stars. Confusing, but the idea was great. Sera by Nicola Yoon I have very mixed feelings about this one. This story was a gender swapped version of “God of war” which in itself is really interesting. However, I felt like that this type of story didn’t get along with the author’s writing style very well. It is hard to explain, but I just didn’t enjoy myself while reading this story, if you know what I mean. I read all of these stories in one go, except this one; which isn’t a great sign. After finishing it though, I began to appreciate the idea of the story more and more. 2,5/5 stars. It was okay. Rating for the whole book: 3,5/5 stars

4.5 stars First off, all a huge shout-out to Ameriie and that introduction to the book! How awesome was it! My god, sooooo good! (I kept thinking of Loki, and maybe I was not the only one?). Well, I’m sad to say that the first tale, by Renée Ahdieh, was nothing special for me. It was good, but I was expecting more, I guess, from the author of one of my favourite books (The Wrath and the Dawn duology). The concept was very good and the story was interesting, but not so much that I loved it, unfortunately… Then Cristina’s “list of evil symptoms” was really funny and entertaining. I loved it! The second story, by Ameriie, was just awesome! It starts out sounding so sweet and it continues to be so so so sweet…! Until the very end! It left me wondering when the story would turn, but it only turns in the last page or so. And it’s not out of villainy, it’s out of courage and doing what needs to be done (for her people, I mean) and it was so amazing! I loved it!!! And the comment by Tina Burke was to the point. It captures the whole story beautifully, especially how the reader will be caring for and rooting for the giant. And the brutal twist that is practically forced on her by the simple fact of tradition. The third story was amazing. There was no “hardcore” (let’s put it this way) villain, but they were all some kind of villain in this story… Well, the main three, Art and Lance and Gwen. Gwen for pushing apart two best friends and for creating that Joust fake account that just ruining Art a little (and for pushing him so much to take her to prom). Art simply for believing Gwen when she said that Lance had created the Joust account mocking him. (Anyone else got the feeling that Art and Lance were hooking up? No? Just me? Alright then, I’ll go back to my dark corner.) And Lance (who was not a villain per se) for not letting the girl he loved going with who she thought she wanted, for pressuring her to go to prom like she was doing to Art. Gwen was the worst of the three, though… Overall, it was a really good take on two amazing stories/myths and I loved it! And Samantha’s comment was just on point! It makes the reader confront his/her ideas of what is good or evil for him/her. I love it! Susan Dennard’s story was just… God, how do I put into words? It was so amazing! It teased the mind to think about social constructs and what we perceived as justice and right (which may not always be easy, may not always be right and are different concepts for different people). It was not the story of two kids in love, but it was also not the “origin story” of a well-known “villain”. It was a story about a boy and a girl with different perspectives and how different people are. How you can do something unwittingly and be confronted by other people’s thought about you and your beliefs. It was really good, really interesting and I truly loved it! It was so different! And Sasha’s back and forth with criminal masterminds, and a little something from Professor James Moriarty himself, is just as awesome, hilarious actually! The fifth story, by Sarah Enni, was interesting and was full of twists. I liked it, but not as much as the previous two… It had the magical element and the whole “magic is a precious resource that must be saved”. It had a very ambitious “villain” who made up an entire person. It had internal conflict, that most of us also experience, especially about the future. It was interesting to read, but I can’t say that I loved it, unfortunately… Sophia’s commentary brings to light everything about this story. How it’s not always easy to distinguish between hero and villain (just like her, I was left wondering if Sigrid was actually a villain. She was determined, wanted to see how far she could go, like Sophia says, and aren’t we all like that? Okay, yeah, we don’t kill anyone in that quest, but that just helps the line between hero and villain to get more blurred. We can be a hero in our own stories (always trying to be the best, to be good, and all that), but we can be someone else’s villain. And Sigrid represented that, I think. In a colder way than most of us find in life, I think, but that was it. Marissa Meyer’s story is just AMAZING, beautiful, enthralling! It was everything I never knew I wanted! I love faerie tale retelling, I find them amazing, and Marissa’s The Lunar Chronicles is one of my favourites. So well written and such a beautiful plot and characters. And this one was just like that! The villain we know so well from The Little Mermaid with such a plausible backstory! A girl who was once too good, too trustful and so full of hope, turned evil because the world is horrible to her and doesn’t understand her, doesn’t care for her differences. This is a cautionary tale in my opinion. It serves to warn that we have to take care that others are feeling and we must pay attention to them, be kind and good or we can be “creating” a villain. Or worse, shape someone’s thoughts into such an ugly mess that they are their own villains. It was a beautiful story, well written (as all the works of Marissa Meyer I have read) and it’s a compelling tale. Simply beautiful! And, once again, Zoë’s comment, like others before, put in stark contrast what it takes for a character (or a person, maybe?) to be labelled a “hero” or a “villain”. And the line is not so defined as one might think, it’s more about morals. And in this tale’s case, who’s to say that Samuel and Lorindel were not the villains too? Because to me, they were, they shaped Nerit as a person. Yes, she was the only one to make the decisions she made, but she made them out of desperation, out of a hope for a better future for herself! Like Zoë said: Nerit is fearless, she did everything she could to achieve her goal (failing in each end) and that is what makes one label her as a “villain”. And her quiz also illustrates what one thinks they would do in each of the five scenarios, but feelings may make us act without thought, and that may be all it takes for one to be considered a “villain”. I liked this take on Medusa, it’s always interesting to read origin stories of villains, like the Sea Witch previously. But I hated that part where she was raped and the Goddess of Purity made it her fault. This right here shows how society views rape victims and it couldn’t make me angrier. It’s cruel and ridiculous and plain wrong. Such as it is, it was precisely what made Mei Feng a villain. Here in Portugal we have a saying “A ocasião faz o ladrão.”, which can be translated to “The occasion makes the thief.” And in this case, it can be taken to mean that it is what happens to us in our life determine if we are good or bad, how we react to what life throws you. It was more or less what happened here: Mei Feng, a sweet and innocent girl, who seemed to have done everything right and by the book until the story began, had the misfortune of meeting a man who took whatever he wanted no matter what anyone else said. The first time she met him, I believe that she was too stunned and bombarded with new feelings to do anything. The second time, he actually immobilized her so she couldn’t do anything. The last time, she said no, tried to run and the bastard took her by force. And then comes this Goddess, to whom she had been praying forever, telling her that she didn’t say no. That she didn’t stop him. That she didn’t refuse him. And I’m so angry at this! With how a girl’s life was completely ruined because a Goddess “pulled the Fates strings” to make her so beautiful and marry the emperor but instead Mei Feng attracted the attention of an immortal! And then said Goddess punished her by turning her into what we know as Medusa! Because that’s fair! Because she’s not the victim! I’m not saying I disliked the story with all this ranting, I’m trying to say that this is exactly how our society works and it’s so wrong and ugly! And Benjamin’s comment of the story goes along the same lines are my thoughts about it, and he says very important things about the story and the issues it deals with. I honestly have no words for the beauty of this story. I’ve been meaning to read Victoria Schwab’s books for some time, but this was the first one I read. And I couldn’t be more pleased! The writing is marvellous, the characters so near and dear, even if they are Death and a girl that is going to die. For this story, we can think that the obvious villain is Death, but reading it I didn’t feel it. Death is just a natural part of life, an inevitable fact. And no one wants to die, especially if they are young or have things they still want to do. So they fight and manage to escape situations that would lead to their death. But just as this story shows, Death finds you, even if you don’t want to take his/her hand. And even if you kill Death, it will catch you and make you his/hers. And this story was amazing, sweet and sad and perfectly written. I loved it so damn much. My favourite tale in this book so far, and by far! There have been some beautiful stories in this book, but Victoria Schwab wins the prize (at least up until now she does). Jesse’s idea was just amazing. And Jesse’s “letter to Death” is so beautiful too, and actually brought me close to tears (had to blink rapidly not to let them fall), it just hit that close to home. This entire part (author and booktuber writing) was just perfect. It makes me want to re-read it, even though I just finished reading. I think that Samantha Shannon’s story had real potential but most of it seemed dull to me… I love faerie tales and myths and folklore, but this story didn’t do it for me… Too dull most of the time, and even the interesting part was not amazingly interesting… Regan’s comment was interesting. I want so badly to know more about Adam Silvera’s villain! She is complex, she has a tragic backstory and she is pure, undiluted evil. I loved this girl! And the way this story is told, in the second person, I wouldn’t have imagined me loving it so much! But the writing is amazing and the plot is über fantastic and the world is intriguing, just like the main character is! And what a character she is! She is a villain with a twisted sense of good (that is not so twisted as that, mostly it is twisted when she calls herself an angel, but still…). And she is unrepentant! She is badass and horrible and I actually love her because of that. She is terrifically well written and I just want more, I want to know her past and her future and more about what she wants to do with Karl! Gods above, I need a full book, at least, dedicated to Slate! And I was also very interested in reading Adam Silvera’s books, especially given that he wrote a book with Becky Albertalli, and now I just want to pick up all of his books and bask in the glory that is his writing! This is a Villain, with capital V! And Catriona’s comment was on point, of course, highlighting some of the most important aspects in the tale. Andrew Smith’s story was just the funniest! And it was so relatable in most aspects. Okay, maybe we will think it’s more of a coincidence that someone we hate dies just because we wished that. But still! I saw myself in Julian! Who has never wished someone dead (meaning it or not, just a hotheaded thought)? Because we all can hate people and sometimes people make us wish bad things were to happen to them. But it is all right because nothing happens. Here though, it does. And Julian turns it all into another funny story! And he is like me in some aspects, like when he just wants to stay home with his best friend playing video games instead of having a party with people he doesn’t like or even knows. I really like this tale! Because I can’t say for certain that he is a villain (maybe at the end, when he “foreshadows” that he is going to kill Steven Kemple) because it can be attributed mostly to coincidences and that is the fun of it! And yeah, rooting for a psychopath may not be the best this or show the sanity of a mind (like mine, for example) but Raeleen highlighted the story and key-points and thoughts beautifully. I loved everything. April’s tale was amazing! I have to say I started the story rooting for Brahm, then he showed his “Adonis” male side (which I really didn’t like) and then I liked him again. This story was very compelling, sad and beautiful. You know how the Beast is as soon as you meet her. And maybe you think Brahm is going to understand that too (with his whole macho thing where he is the only one who will kill it), but no. He does not! Instead, he falls in love with her, and it’s beautiful and he does not betray her! No! He just happens to find out that she is the Beast and does what he can to protect her. Which in the end means killing her, but that was her wish… It’s sad, so sad! Especially because in the end, we can see how broken he was about her death and the lengths he is willing to go to protect the next Beast. Overall, it was an adorable story! I loved it! And in this tale, you can see different villains depending on the point of view you choose. And, once again, Whitney shows us that heroes and villains are not so different, they struggle with the same issues. The main difference between the two is in how they deal with those issues and how they face them, their actions. Like she said, heroes have the fairy tale ending and villains get the realistic one. And her “inside view/thoughts” about Gaston are amazing and complement perfectly what she said and what many other booktubers said too. I loved Nicola Yoon’s story. It was intriguing and so different! You see it from the mom’s perspective, someone who doesn’t understand her daughter and desperately wants to. Someone who had hopes for her but ended up neglecting her because she didn’t meet those hopes and she didn’t know what to do with her daughter, who was different from her older sister. The small part we get from Sera’s perspective is so powerful! She wants to be good, for her mother and sister to love her, for her father to come back! And she desperately tries to contain what is “wrong” with her, her differences, all to make the people she cares about angry. It’s similar to what we do sometimes: we try to fit (if not all at least some) expectations society has for us, as people, because otherwise we are labelled different and people will judge us for that. With that little insight into Sera, I felt pity for her, I felt bad for her, because no one saw the difference within her and they judged her for it. I mean, her own sister tried to kill her and her mother was letting it happen! And Steph’s and Kat’s ending of this book is just perfect! It empowers women but it also lets people who struggle with their image and/or selves that however you are or look or whatever is amazing! You can rule the world anyway! And it ends up being a very positive message (just don’t bring mass destruction to the world, I live leaving in it and as far as I know it is the only planet with books). So be brave, be confident and f*@# what other people say!!!! To conclude this very long review, I can’t say that I loved the book too much. It was very good, had incredible stories, but it also had two (if I’m not mistaken) that disappointed me. It was a very good book and I loved it, but it was not an all-time favourite. I think it’s easier to consider the individual stories rather than the book as a whole in this case since it is made up of short stories. Victoria Schwab’s is definitely a favourite of mine, Adam Silvera’s was amazing too and Marissa Meyer’s and Cindy Pon’s and well every story other than those two (Renée’s and Samantha’s, unfortunately, and Sarah’s didn’t blow me away either…) was really good. I really enjoyed reading this book for the most part and I would definitely recommend reading it if you haven’t!

"Because You Love to Hate Me" was a fun little read. 13 authors challanged one another to write a tale of villainy and as I have a weak spot for villians, I was so looking forward to reading this book. As with every story collection, I did not enjoy every story equally. Approx. half of them weren't exactly my cup of tea, however, here is a list of the stories I LOVED: *'Jack' - where a vegetarian giant and a human become friends. * 'Shirley and Jim' - a retelling of Sherlock Holmes, set in an alternative universe * 'Beautiful Venom' - where the author deals with rape culture * 'Mariogold' - a story of (not so) true love? * 'Julian breaks every rule' - where I didn't quite get the point of the entire story but LOVED Julian * 'Indigo and Shade' - oh, well ... Personally I think that 6 out of 13 stories is quite good, therefore it's probably 3.5* overall.

Because you love to hate me I really do not know what to say about Because you love to hate me, specifically. Well you know how it is with books that have short stories, some you like, some you don't, some are okay which makes your relationship with the book sour and sweet both. I had the similar kind of relationship with Because you love to hate me. This review wouldn't be as detailed one and I wouldn't be talking about all the stories here because They are short stories, giving synopsis will ruin the whole experience for you 13 stories and essays along with it, nobody got time to read all about it, right? I don't feel like talking about this book as much. xD I mean did like some stories but it took me over a month to make me go through the whole thing- I have realised one thing for sure, short stories aren't my thing. Anyway. For people who don't know about Because you love to hate me. Because you love to hate me is a collection of thirteen short stories by thirteen acclaimed, bestselling authors team up who have teamed up with thirteen influential BookTubers to reimagine fairy tales from the oft-misunderstood villains' points of view. - Yep, sounds interesting, also you get to read something from your favourite booktubers. My thoughts. Not much to say, only that it is not one of those books you would want to buy for your personal collection but borrow from the library, read once, enjoy it and give it back, having said that, I would also like to say the book wasn't any less than heaven, like best of the authors came together, and you have the best collections of stories. I even read some authors for the first time and have decided on to read more of their work, such as Soman Chainani & Susan Dennard. To be fair, I didn't read every single page of this short story collection and by that I mean the booktubers essays. I only went through Christine's because Favourite I found her's to be actually really interesting, others were just so boring. Anyway, the stories in there are unique & well written but somehow this is what I felt personally- the stories were forced to meet the challenge and take that twist which could have been avoided. My favourite story from the book was from Jack by Ameriie. Rating and recommendation 3/5 stars I would recommend this to people who highly enjoy short stories and anthologies. Also to the biggest fans of the authors and the booktubers involved in this book. Mridu

gli do una possibilità in seguito

1. The Blood of Imuriv by Renée Ahdieh - 4.5/5 stars 2. Jack by Ameriie - 2/5 stars 3. Gwen and Art and Lance by Soman Chainani - 4/5 stars 4. Shirley & Jim by Susan Denard -3.5/5 stars 5. The Blessing of Little Wants by Sarah Enni -3.5/5 stars 6. The Sea Witch by Marissa Meyer - 4.5/5 stars 7. Beautiful Venom by Cindy Pon - 4/5 stars 8. Death Knell by Victoria Schwab - 4/5 stars 9. Marigold by Samantha Shannon - 5/5 stars 10. You, You, It's All About You by Adam Silvera - 3.5/5 stars 11. Julian Breaks Ever Rule by Andrew Smith - 1/5 stars 12. Indigo and Shade by April Genevieve Tucholke - 4.5/5 stars 13. Sera by Nicola Yoon - 3.5/5 stars Overall: 3.6 stars

It was awesome!

3,5 ⭐ A fun, great collection of villainous short stories. While u enjoyed some of them more than others I would be intrigued to read a full novel version of most of them. Also I loved the insight on all these villains!