Magical, dark, and entrancing, A Stage Set for Villains is an incredible debut book from Shannon J. Spann. Step through the Playhouse doors and into a world that will keep you spellbound from the first to the last page in this enthralling and mysterious book.
Book: A Stage Set For Villains
Author: Shannon J. Spann
Genre: Fantasy
Release date: Out now!
Rating: 5 stars
As usual, here is the synopsis for the book, taken from Storygraph:
The gods are dead. All that’s left are the Players…
The performers of the Playhouse are as worshipped as they are feared, their enchanting shows bending hearts, minds, and even reality itself. Vicious, godlike, lethal. Eighteen-year-old Riven Hesper knows the dangers better than anyone, after her own encounter with a Player resulted in a curse that is slowly killing her.
When the Playhouse announces the spectacle of a lifetime—a chance for one mortal to steal a Player’s immortality—Riven sees her last chance to live. Desperate for answers, she infiltrates the competition. There, she finds Jude, the Playhouse’s brilliant, merciless Lead Player, whose charm is as dangerous as his Craft, and strikes a deadly bargain to save her life.
But with time running out and the Playhouse’s secrets unraveling into a disturbing picture, Riven faces a grim possibility: she might not be the hero of her story after all. In fact, she may be the villain.
Because the Playhouse doesn’t just tell stories. It rewrites them.
And Riven’s might end in blood.
There are a plethora of books based around theatres, circuses and spectacles of all kinds, yet A Stage Set For Villains is unique from any others I have read before. A Stage Set For Villains is brilliantly dark, yet Spann has slickly paired the macabre with the marvellous. A Stage Set For Villains takes the dazzling world of theatre and turns it on its head. Having theatre and performers centred as something dangerous and to be feared as opposed to being admired is a new perspective I’ve not read about before, at least not to the extent in A Stage Set For Villains, and it worked superbly. The unsettling feeling that grows throughout the book is equally matched by the wonder and enchantment, resulting in a book that is a rollercoaster of emotions and a wild ride of a read.
From the moment I started reading, this book captivated me. Spann’s writing is so rich and beautiful that even now I can remember so many quotes from the book. The use of flowery writing can sometimes detract from a story, but that is not the case in A Stage Set For Villains. Spann uses this writing style effectively to create a book that is a joy to read. Leading on from this, the world-building is incredibly well detailed, and everything is so vividly brought to life. From the grandeur of The Playhouse to the gritty world outside it, from the politics to the magic, everything has been meticulously thought through. All of the descriptions dedicated to every aspect of this book make it clear that the world Spann has crafted is one that she knows inside out, and it is therefore a world we too become very familiar with when reading. It is this attention to detail that makes this book so easy to immerse oneself in and be transported right into the story.
Riven and Jude are the two lead characters in this book, and what a great pair they are. By the end of the book, they both felt so real that I feel I would be able to recognise them in the street. The journey they both make – individually and with their relationships with each other – is so interesting to read. They both have fantastic character development across the book that feels like a natural direction for their stories to go in. Riven, in particular, goes on arguably the biggest character arc and journey. It brought me so much satisfaction to read such growth written in such a skilled way. Jude’s personality jumped right off the pages, and he captured my heart very quickly. He is so easy to love; there are so many layers to his character that really aided bringing him to life, and with him being the complete opposite of Riven, this all made him so interesting to read about.
Morally grey is a trope thrown around a lot regarding book characters at the moment, but it is in this book that I have truly seen morally grey characters written in such an effective way. To write characters who are not always good but can still capture hearts is a testament to good writing. Similarly to world-building, an author has to intimately know characters in order to write them in a way where we, as readers, can know and connect with them. Spann has perfected this, not just with Riven and Jude, but with all the characters present in this book.
That brings me nicely onto my next point! As is to be expected with a book based around theatre, there is also a cast of characters. As said above, Riven and Jude may be the two leads, but there is also a variety of side characters to meet within the pages of the book. Although there are quite a few characters written into the story, everyone has been thoroughly developed and has their own distinct voice. Each character has been well thought out and adds something different to the book; no one feels like their presence is superficial. Everyone has a vital part to play, and I can say with certainty that there wasn’t anyone I didn’t enjoy spending time with. I loved learning about all of them and felt I could really connect to them all.
The pacing of A Stage Set For Villains is perfect. The tension and excitement are maintained throughout, and although the book is on the chunkier side, Spann has a writing style that is completely absorbing. The plot thickens with every chapter, and in true theatre style, each act becomes more dramatic. At times, I was on the edge of my seat, desperate to know what came next. I actually found myself having to pace myself whilst reading, so I didn’t fly through the book too quickly. There are twists and turns galore, and just when I thought I knew where the book was going…it turns out that I really didn’t. I laughed, cried and gasped at every plot twist, and of course, there may even be some musical theatre references subtly interwoven for the keen theatre fans (such as myself) to spot. When the book ended, I was genuinely sad it was all over, and I wanted to just go back and start again from the beginning. The perfect ending one could want from a book.
It’s always a really nice feeling when you start reading a new book, and at the end of the first chapter, you have that inner thought – “Oh, I am going to really like this”. This was what I experienced with A Stage Set For Villains, and the rest of the book matched up to that opening chapter. I had high hopes for A Stage Set For Villains, and Spann did not disappoint. I feel like whatever I write, words will not do justice to the book Shannon Spann has written. There’s a sort of irony in that – where a book is so good that words fail to explain exactly why.
A Stage Set For Villains, being Shannon Spann’s debut novel, is an impressive feat. Through this book, Spann has quickly and clearly shown what a skilled writer and storyteller she is. I read A Stage Set For Villains back in March, and I have not managed to stop thinking about it since. I feel like my mind is stuck in The Playhouse, the characters are living rent-free in my head, and I can’t stop raving and recommending this book to everyone. That in itself feels like a testament to how much I loved this book and how much it impacted me.
Books are fantastic tools to escape reality for a while, and A Stage Set For Villains is a perfect example of a book that can help to do just that. A Stage Set For Villains is best gone into knowing as little as possible; let Spann’s writing take you on a grand adventure and allow yourself to get transported into this gorgeous world with wonderful characters and surprises at every corner. But be warned, once you’ve set foot in The Playhouse, you may never want to leave!
A Stage Set For Villains is out now.
One Show at a Time 