Join us Thurs., July 11, 5:30 pm for an evening with local author Laurie Devore to celebrate the release of The Villain Edit (HarperCollins, 336 pp., $28). Devore will be joined in conversation by fellow author Victoria Benton Frank (My Magnolia Summer).
About the book:
Emily Henry meets Fleabag…and The Bachelor! An irresistibly sharp and sexy dramedy about a cynical romance novelist who goes on a Bachelor-like reality show to revive her flagging career, only to discover that while she may have just met the love of her life, the producers have turned her into the show’s villain.
Good villains make good TV.
Romance novelist Jacqueline Matthis’s big career has gone bust and she’s ditched the bright lights of New York City for her more affordable South Carolina hometown. Desperate, Jac dreams up a comeback plan—she is going to be a contestant on the 1, the most obsessively watched reality dating show in the world. After all Jac is a romance writer—she knows how to pull off a meet-cute and create a spicy plotline.
On set, Jac quickly establishes herself as a front-runner for bachelor Marcus’s heart, but she’s shocked to discover who’s actually pulling the strings. How was she to know that Henry Foster, her last one-night stand before the show, was actually a longtime producer on the 1? Henry is just as horrified…but they can’t seem to keep their hands off each other. As Jac plays the game and the show unfurls, she slowly discovers that she’s getting the villain edit. They say there’s no such thing as bad publicity, but as Jac’s secret plan begins crumbling around her, she’s not so sure. What happens if Marcus chooses her? Worse, what happens if her affair with Henry comes to light? What if, in trying to save her career, Jac has ruined her life?
Heartbreaking, smart, and sexy, this novel is for anyone who has ever secretly rooted for—or felt like—the villain.
About the authors:
Laurie Devore is a graduate of Clemson University and can be found, from time-to-time, yelling helpful advice at Clemson sporting events. In her spare time, she enjoys reading at the beach, watching too much TV, and spending time with her dog, Wrigley, in their home of Charleston, South Carolina. She is the author of the YA novels A Better Bad Idea, Winner Take All, and How to Break a Boy. The Villain Edit is her first novel for adults.
Victoria Benton Frank was born in New York City, raised in Montclair, New Jersey, but considers herself to have dual residency in the Lowcountry. She is a graduate of the College of Charleston and the French Culinary Institute. Victoria worked in restaurants in New York before returning to Charleston, South Carolina, which she considers home, with her husband, two kids, and a giant mutt. When she isn’t writing, she is reading, cooking, or chasing her children.
