Book Review :: A Stage Set for Villains by Shannon J Spann

A Stage Set for Villains by Shannon J. Spann
ISBN: 1911753150
on 3 February 2026
Genres: Fantasy, Magic
Pages: 530
Goodreads

Eighteen-year-old Riven Hesper is running out of time. Cursed by a Player—a godlike performer whose unnatural allure is as lethal as it is irresistible—she has one shot to infiltrate the Playhouse, the traveling theatre where Players reign supreme, and find a way to break the curse before it kills her.

But inside the Playhouse, survival comes at a steep price. Every season, mortals compete for a single, blood-soaked chance to kill a Player and steal their power. Riven wants nothing to do with the game…until Jude—charismatic, cruel, and captivating—makes her an offer she can’t refuse. Win the competition. Spare his life in the finale. And he’ll set her free.

Navigating the Playhouse means mastering illusions, surviving betrayals, and keeping pace with performers who shift identities as easily as costumes. But the deeper Riven digs, the more she finds this isn’t just a game. The Players are hiding something. And the Playhouse doesn’t want her cursed—it wants her dead.

As the final act approaches, Riven faces a devastating truth. She might not be the hero of this story. She might be the villain.

A STAGE SET FOR VILLAINS is a dazzling, high-stakes fantasy where power is stolen, roles are rewritten, and not everyone is meant to make it to the final bow.

Last updated on 1 September 2026

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What is A Stage Set for Villains by Shannon J Spann about?

A Stage Set for Villains by Shannon J Spann is a fantastical story about the mysterious, magical Playhouse and the Players that perform.

The Players are worshipped and feared by all. They are tall, imposing, and will probably rip out your heart, your mind, or your soul. And Riven knows the dangers. She’s always known.

Riven has a curse that courses through her that was given to her by a Player, one that she has been trying to find before her time is up. So when the Playhouse announces that there is a lifetime opportunity for mortals to enter the Playhouse and get the chance to gain immortality, called the Great Dionysia, … Riven knows this might be her last chance to get answers or win her life back.

So she infiltrates the Playhouse, meeting Jude, the Lead Player, who strikes a bargain with her to save her life. But is that actually a bargain that is worth striking?

“Because the Playhouse doesn’t just tell stories. It rewrites them. And Riven’s might end in blood.”

My thoughts on A Stage Set for Villains

I had seen this book on Instagram, and the first time I saw it it was actually a Reel by the author talking about how she had discovered that people online were impersonating her characters. They all had Instagram accounts, and they were interacting as characters. You can see that initial Reel here and then check out the rest of the story, and it played on Instagram.

But that’s literally why I picked up the book! I hadn’t heard of it before I saw that Reel, and I was in intrigued!

I’m so glad I did read it; I really enjoyed it! It was such a fresh feeling book with magic and systems that I just haven’t experienced before, and the Playhouse setting was stunning! I love the idea of it moving and appearing, and having the juxtaposition of the glamour and glitz of the Playhouse with the dark, dim, impoverished world outside.

“Love provokes the hero as violently as it does the villain, and it’s merely who tells the story that determines which is which.”

The mystery surrounding Riven and her past and how it was mixed up with the Playhouse was also a wonderful puzzle throughout, and while I wasn’t really trying to figure it out … I was unsurprised (but still pleasantly so!) when it all came out.

The characters in the Playhouse are striking. There is Titus, the Tragedian. Mattia, who is the oldest player there is. Arius is the Comedian. Parrish is the childlike, energetic one.

Then there’s the Playhouse director, the Prop Master, the Stage Manager. All of whom are mysterious and lethal.

And it’s excellent.

If you like stories like Caraval, or One Dark Window (I haven’t read it yet, but Goodreads thinks it’s a match), or The Night Circus, then you’ll like A Stage Set for Villains.

Have you read A Stage Set for Villains? What did you think?