I'm in Love with the Villainess Volume 4

The volume feels like the author quickly clearing the board to make space for the reveal they’ve been hinting at for two volumes now. It's clear that the goal was to tie up all the new dangling plot threads and character arcs brought up by the previous volume. Some of these moments feel a bit rushed at times, but I’m glad that the new characters all got to have their moment in the sun, so to speak.

I still enjoyed this volume, but it felt like the plot progression had odd pacing and organization. A huge chunk of the book is taken up by random events like a cook-off, and some pretty big moments are shoved into interludes. We leave off at a point that seems like a good ending point at a glance, but we've had so many questions pop up over the last couple of volumes that it's not super satisfying.

I still love the characters—Rae and Claire especially are fantastic to follow around, even when they're not doing much—but the overall narrative of this volume felt like it was both drawn out and didn't do enough.

Still going to keep reading, though. Obviously.