Book Review: ‘A Stage Set for Villains’ is a Unique YA Romantasy Debut That Pays Homage to all the Theatre Kids
Another great YA Romantasy standalone debut?! What a treat. A Stage Set for Villains by Shannon J Spann, had such a unique premise, which was so refreshing for the YA Romantasy genre that sometimes feels like you’re reading the same story in a different font. “Players” are essentially gods, but not benevolent ones. And they’ve been kept at bay for a long time, by special gold bands that can protect you from a Player’s influence, but the Playhouse is still coming, and the Director’s determined to have everyone as an audience. At first I wasn't sure this whole plot was going to work, but then the TWIST was kind of brilliant. I'd definitely recommend this to readers who read for vibes, or were former theatre kids. Even the formatting of the book was unique, written in different Acts and Scenes. And just when you think you’ve kind of got it figured out, you realize you don’t. Yes, there’s a romantic subplot, and a bit of found family. Part of the time, it feels like you’re reading a play script, and it’s definitely one of those books that will keep you thinking about it long after you finish. There are a lot of secrets to unravel…I won’t give any spoilers below, but more thoughts below on if you should add it to your TBR.
Things to Know:
YA Fantasy
Unique magic and worldbuilding
Curses
Enemies to Lovers
Standalone
For Theatre Kids
We start off with the FMC, Riven, being cursed by one of the captured Players as a young girl about to go through her protection ritual. And from there, she begins withering away before her family’s eyes. By 18, she’s an outcast in her community, and she’s determined to figure out how to change her fate. When the Playhouse arrives with its revelers, and she has the opportunity to potentially rewrite her story, she jumps at the chance. She’s dying anyway.
At first I was a bit confused the the Players and the Playhouse worked, or why they were considered gods, and the format took a bit to get used to. But this is a world that has basically outlawed storytelling and singing. The Players are across a wall and have stayed there as a result of a treaty brokered by the FMC’s father, who died a hero.
No spoilers, but not everything is as it seems.
The MMC, Jude, is your typical ideal book boyfriend. Kind of lethal, grumpy, and definitely doesn’t have any ulterior motives (insert sarcasm). I still liked him though, and loved him by the end. There’s some great banter, and he doesn’t overshadow the FMC and her journey.
I’ll just say it, I was NOT a fan of the brother. And I wish we would have gotten a bit more depth to the other Players, because their backstories were all so interesting. And what about the Director?! I’m definitely glad we got the Encore aka Epilogue, but I could have loved a bit more from the ending.
This has been compared to Caraval and One Dark Window. Now I haven’t read Caraval, so I can’t speak to that comparison, but at first I didn’t understand the One Dark Window reference at all. I somewhat get it after finishing it, but I wouldn’t say they’re similar stories at all, so definitely don’t get misled.
I did an immersive read with my physical ARC (thank you Mayhem aka Entangled Teen’s new YA imprint) and the audiobook, and if you’re an audiobook reader you can find the audiobook on Audible or Libro.fm (ProTips: Audible is 99 cents/mo for three months (99 cents/book) right now AND you can get two free audiobooks on Libro.fm with the code SWITCH right now).
Favorite Quotes:
“Dear heart, I think you’ll ruin me.”
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“All that stands between a hero and villainy is proper motivation…Love provokes the hero as violently as it does the villain, it’s merely who tells the story that determines which is which.”
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