Review: The Bad Guy by Celia Aaron

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Standalone
Release - May 19, 2017
Genre - Pseudo-dark Romance
Multiple POV - 1st person
Heat - 4 out of 5
Length - 415 pages

My name is Sebastian Lindstrom, and I’m the villain of this story.
I’ve decided to lay myself bare. To tell the truth for once in my hollow life, no matter how dark it gets. And I can assure you, it will get so dark that you’ll find yourself feeling around the blackened corners of my mind, seeking a door handle that isn’t there.
Don’t mistake this for a confession. I neither seek forgiveness nor would I accept it. My sins are my own. They keep me company. Instead, this is the true tale of how I found her, how I stole her, and how I lost her.
She was a damsel, one who already had her white knight. But every fairy tale has a villain, someone waiting in the wings to rip it all down. A scoundrel who will set the world on fire if that means he gets what he wants. That’s me.
I’m the bad guy.

Find your copy of The Bad Guy here:
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MY REVIEW

3.5 "I loved Sebastian" stars!

One of the things I love most about reading is finding something to love despite not absolutely loving the story itself. Celia Aaron has a quirky and slightly dark way of looking at love in THE BAD GUY. For all intents and purposes, we should want to see her hero suffer, but I couldn't help but root for him to have a happy ending. Diagnosed as a psychopath, Sebastian has spent his life mimicking "normal" behavior, until he comes across Camille. He becomes obsessive and possessive and not even her boyfriend can keep them apart. Taking a page from one of my favorite tropes, Sebastian was the benevolent captor to his captive, Camille. Surely, given enough time, she too would see how perfect they were for one another.

And there lies my problem with this book. I was expecting it to be darker. This was more dark-lite. Sebastian, although crazily, insanely controlling and dominant, wasn't crazy or insane enough. I still really liked him. I liked that when he was with Camille he was finally able to experience what "normal" was. I truly enjoyed how he described how he was feeling, especially after never feeling anything before, whether it be love, hate or jealousy. The author created a wonder in Sebastian and maybe I wish there was more to the story so that it could develop into something darker.