Kiss the Villain

While Kiss the Villain is written as a standalone novel, it falls within Rina Kent’s newest series, The Villains, a series that ties in to her larger narrative universe, commonly called the “Rinaverse.” To date, Kent has finished six series, with two, including The Villains, still ongoing. All eight of these series are interrelated, as, for example, the Kingdom Duet series (Reign of a King, Rise of a Queen) chronicles the romance between Jonathan King and Aurora Harper, while the first three books of the Royal Elite series (Deviant King, Steel Princess, Twisted Kingdom) follows the romance of Jonathan and Aurora’s son Aiden with Elsa Steel. Likewise, the three books in the Legacy of Gods series feature Aiden and Elsa’s children, namely their daughter Glyndon in her romance with Killian Carson in God of Malice; their eldest son Landon in his romance with Mia Sokolov in God of Ruin; and their youngest son Brandon in his romance with Nikolai Sokolov in God of Fury. 

Kiss the Villain, however, is somewhat exceptional in the sense that the second protagonist, Kayden, and his family members are relatively new to the literary universe. Though Kayden’s nephew features in Kent’s new series, The Vipers, readers do not have a pre-established family history with Kayden and must discover his nuances and origins through the novel itself. Gareth, however, belongs to a well-established narrative history, given how his brother is one of the central characters in God of Malice and his parents, Asher Carson and Reina Ellis, are central to the Lies & Truth Duet series (All the Lies, All the Truth).

This extensive narrative universe adds depth and complexity to Kiss the Villain through references to other novels and characters and even recurring scenes. One such notable scene is when, after the Heathens have their initiation and Gareth returns from his encounter with Kayden in the woods, he finds Nikolai with a masked and terrified Brandon King on his lap. Though Gareth pays the couple little attention, readers of the “Rinaverse” will remember this scene as a pivotal point in God of Fury, where Nikolai first takes an avid romantic interest in Brandon despite being at odds with his twin brother, Landon. 

Kent similarly uses this overlapping plotline to foreshadow stories and characters, like Vaugn Morozov, that have yet to be unveiled. Though Vaughn plays an instrumental role for Gareth as he works through his feelings for Kayden and his newfound sexuality, little is otherwise known about him other than his being the fifth Heathen founder. His appearance in the narrative, however, uses Kiss the Villain to foreshadow her forthcoming sequel, Hunt the Villain, with Vaughn’s brief, heated exchange with Yulian, leader of the Serpents and the Heathens’ archnemesis, that hints at an eventual tumultuous relationship. Likewise, she references Beautiful Venom by featuring an exchange between Gareth, Kayden, and Kayden’s nephew Kane in an epilogue. Though Gareth and Kayden’s romance story may be complete, therefore, Kent deliberately uses her interwoven narratives to usher her readers into her new projects to discover new characters, rediscover familiar ones from a new angle, and continue to evolve her fictional world.