Do you read villainess novels for the FL or the ML? (genuinely curious)

[DinnaQuinn]

I keep noticing the villainess subgenre splits readers very cleanly. Some are entirely there for a sharp, clever, cynical FL with a redemption-coded arc — they don't care who she ends up with as long as she gets to outwit the room.

Others are unapologetically there for a particular kind of ML (cold, possessive, broken-and-rebuilt), and the FL is the lens.

Trying to figure out which one weighs more for the average reader on here, because I'm writing a slow-burn villainess romance and I keep going back and forth on where to put the gravity. Curious which side pulls you in first when you start a new villainess novel — and if anyone has a rec that does both well, I'm all ears. (My own attempt at the lane is in my profile, if you're curious — slow burn, psychologist FL, court intrigue.)

 

[Amrasil207]

The only Villainess novel I read is the one about the FL trying to reverse Japan economy so it won't collapse too badly. The plot is smorgasbord of tells regarding economic, legal gray zones, terrorism, class struggle, and all that.
Oh yeah the MLs aren't annoying, they're just trying to play catch up with an Elementary Girl who happens to play with trillions of yens.

 

[Alski]

This would of been so much better as a poll.

 

[DinnaQuinn]

The only Villainess novel I read is the one about the FL trying to reverse Japan economy so it won't collapse too badly. The plot is smorgasbord of tells regarding economic, legal gray zones, terrorism, class struggle, and all that.
Oh yeah the MLs aren't annoying, they're just trying to play catch up with an Elementary Girl who happens to play with trillions of yens.

Oh that's a wild outlier. I don't think I've come across that one. What's the title? Also, MLs who aren't annoying because they're just busy trying to keep up sounds like such a hard balance to strike, most villainess MLs default to either sulky or possessive. It's interesting that this one solves that by making the FL straightforwardly more competent than them.

This would of been so much better as a poll.

Thanks for the nudge, Alski. I've added a poll to this thread now.