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Not Your Villain by C.B. Lee
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is probably the fifth time that I'm writing a review for this book and I still don't know if I can do this beloved superhero/villain story justice. Let's start with the fact that we have a black trans guy on the front cover, which is an incentive for anyone to pick this one up from the bookstore.

Bells is definitely the most fascinating character, one that encroaches on the morally gray side which is what I love to see. He is just such a dedicated friend and he has such a big heart for those people he loves, and I love that about him. That’s what made this book so delightful, making me grin from ear to ear the whole time.

My favourite scene as a non-binary person was the normalisation of preferred pronouns; the constant use of him/his pronouns for Bells as well as the usage of the they/them. In fact, there was one scene where there was an introduction and everyone went around the room and just simply stated their pronouns. This made my heart so happy to see such in accepting save space for all of the characters.

Emma is the most relatable character in this whole series, because she is definitely ace and most possibly aroace; and that made me cry actual tears. I just want all the happiness from a fierce cinnamon roll whom I can strongly identify with. I have a feeling that the next book is going to be the best one yet, because it contains the queer of that I'm so desperately thirsty for.

Throughout this book Jess and Abby's relationship just grow stronger and more communicative like most long-term relationships tend to. I love how well they could read each other’s body language and how they adorably took care of each other through the ups and downs of their upsidedown life.

Nothing can live up to the first book in the series “Not Your Sidekick”, as that was the stellar five stars and my current favourite of the series; which is the only reason I gave this for starters. Still, this is a worthy sequel of the best,most action packed,epic, and diverse superhero story out there on the market.

**Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a copy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own**

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