The Villainess Turns the Hourglass, Vol. 1

Gr 8 Up–At the moment of her death, notorious villainess Aria finds out her whole miserable life has been manipulated by her younger sister. But thanks to a mysterious force, she time travels back to her childhood, returning to her 14-year-old form, but with her memories intact. This time around, she’s decided to live every moment to spite her sister in order to make her turn into the villain instead. While Aria embraces her villainess calling in the second living of her life, she discovers the hourglass that came back in time with her may have some other time-manipulating powers that could help her fully realize her devious plans. This story is set in a fantasy kingdom and centers around the nobility, so all of the characters are lavishly dressed and beautifully illustrated with pastels and some jewel tones in full color. Occasionally, Aria and her sister Mielle are hard to tell apart with their same blonde tone for their hair color, but readers can take cues from the sisters’ different hair designs.