Nemesis Mine: A Romance of Nemeses to Lovers

I like the idea that hero and villain are formal jobs, but I didn’t love this book the way I hoped. That’s on me, probably, because this is meant to be a funny fantasy romcom. In the immortal words of Megamind: the different between a villain and a supervillain is presentation, and Cyrus 100% knows how to do that.

Minor villain Cyrus who can’t really live up to his evil reputation teams up with hero Maximilian who fears dropping from the public eye. They plan some fights to get media attention, but obviously they fall in love. The writing is light, funny and contemporary, and I really liked the way publicity was shown to be important through news reports and depictions of both heroes and villains maintaining their reputation.
Yet I show more wasn’t sure whether this was meant to be a tense enemies to lovers romance or an comedic homage to heroes and villains. It was not serious enough for the former and not fully parodic enough for the latter.

If it wanted to be a tense romance, I wished there was more to the world to make them true enemies. I didn’t get the feeling that there was any real animosity beyond the fact that their jobs demanded it. It felt more like two celebrities than an actual villain and hero. Plus, the world is a vaguely historical fantasy with churches and sprites and peasants…. So medieval Europe? I think if this world was more serious and elaborate, there would have been more reason for them to genuinely despise each other and then fall in love when they start to see each other’s point of view.
If it wanted to be an funny homage, then I wished it went a little more into the ironic parody direction. The idea of heroes being praised in the news and endorsing brands through a ‘good’ and affable public persona was amazing! They’re basically public ceremonial figures and influencers, and I wished the book did a little more with that. I love the idea that capes are bought for swishing and Cyrus’s villainous activities include failing to send hate mail! The writing funny enough, but in the end it felt more like a romcom with some fantasy sprinkled on top than a story which truly plays with the concept of heroes and villains, which was what I hoped for. show less

I recieved a copy of this ARC thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager. The review below is fully my own opinions.

This was such a cute enemies to lovers. I loved the banter and the relationship. The two main characters were cute and an interesting balance of cliche and fun.

I do have a couple of minor gripes, though. There was a lot of attention brought to Max and Cyrus's past interaction, but it was never really important to the story, or brought up between the two characters. Another issue was that the background story felt kind of flat. I needed more world-building and interactions outside of our two main characters to really make this story feel flushed out.

Nemesis Mine by Amy Archer
Fantasy, M-M Romantasy.
Cyrus rules his town with all the villainess he’s learned to control. A bit of malicious mischief in the morning will get him through the day.
Maximillian rules his city like the champion he is. Awards and rescues abound. But Max also needs some good PR for his future so creating fake battles with Cyrus can increase his visibility and popularity for the future.
Fighting is more fun than either expected and attractions soon bloom.
Can a villain and a champion be friends? Or more?

🎧 I was able to alternate between an ebook and audiobook. The narration is performed by Will Watt who has recorded almost 400 books. A true professional with a catalog across many genres and strong accents. show more In this book, the villain and champion come to life to tell their story. The performance is engaging and a bit breathtaking as the villain does things maliciously around his town with glee for the most part, and the champion is more civic minded in his own town. Listening to the story, I had clear impressions of them both and felt them falling for each other during their mock battles. It was kind of adorable. Their emotions and struggles were clearly expressed as the story progressed.
A favorite narrator and a fantastic way to experience this fantasy romance.

Reading their story, I did get shades of the Assistant series and Legends in terms of the fantasy world building. It’s a realm where a villain or a champion will rule the town, kind of like a mayor. Plus it’s set in a historical setting where traveling is done on horses. The contrasting leads were unique as well as their power sources so not too close to these comparisons.

Sweet and steamy contrasts just like villain and champion. I loved the sprites and how they showed up all over. I loved how the two understood each other and played off one another, even when they didn’t know it.

Engagingly adorable with a bit of spice and emotional growth.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley and HarperAudio Adult. show less