Villains Are Destined Vol. 3 out now from IZE Press; 331 pages
Content Warning: Blood, profanity, depression, death, suicide, violence, kidnapping
About the Author: “Gwon Gyeoeul is a South Korean author who published their first series in 2017, Red and Mad. They have deliberately kept out of the public eye. Gyeoeul ‘does [their] best to provide variety and challenge [themself] to cover uncharted territory when [they] write. This is because [they] believe that [they] need to explore new worlds in [their] mind to retain [their] interest and finish [their] stories. For Villains Are Destined to Die, [they] tried to create a cool-headed, rational character who wouldn’t be swept away by affection and would continue to run toward her destination, the polar opposite of the heroine of Red And Mad’” (Bio from Gwon Gyeoeul Tapas Interview).
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The first two volumes follow a girl who wakes up as Penelope Ekhart, the villain of an Otome game—a video game where the player must target specific male characters to fall in love with her in order to achieve a happy ending. Penelope’s goal is to get one of the love interest’s affection meters to 100% before the beginning of normal mode, where the heroine makes her appearance and starts winning over the male leads, which is less than a month away. Here, in Vol. 3, Penelope has placed everything on Eckles, an enslaved knight from an enemy kingdom. With less than a month until normal mode, and Eckles’ affection nearing 100%, she plans to charm Winter, an information guild master and secret sorcerer, as a last resort. After an outing with Winter goes sideways with the reappearance of a magic cult, Winter and Penelope get separated, causing her to run into another love interest, Callisto. Knowing she is almost out of time, Penelope tries to stay on track and not think about what could happen if she is unable to reach 100% with any of the love interests.
This has been one of my favorite series since I first read the ongoing web manhwa (Korean comic) based on it. Ever since reading the manhwa, I was excited to learn that the original novel was being translated and published in the U.S. This volume did not disappoint. Despite Penelope’s emotions feeling scattered, they accurately fit her situation. Her feelings involving Callisto and Eckles are complex as she tries to suppress them and think logically, remaining emotionally distant. I feel like her trying to remain distant makes the story more interesting for me because while we need characters to make “mistakes,” when she does, they are because she is reacting emotionally for once. It also hurt more when she accepted how bad things happened, thinking it was inevitable, a part of how the game was set to go. I have mixed feelings on each of the love interests, especially Callisto, but out of all the possible male leads, I’m still rooting for him despite what he has done, which is a testament to Gyeoeul’s writing. So much has happened in this volume, but it did not push me away; instead, pulling me deeper as I continue to get invested in Penelope’s story.
Natalia Williams, Pine Reads Review Writer