Society of Villains · 2025
Bad BishopSpice level, tropes & is it dark romance?
by L.J. Shen
Spice 4/5 (Explicit) · Darkness 5/5 (No light) · 9 trigger warnings flagged · Series: Society of Villains, book 1 of 7
From L.J. Shen, 2025: Bad Bishop, book 1 of Society of Villains. The pull here is mafia, enemies to lovers, war and arranged marriage. We score it spice 4 (explicit) and darkness 5 (pitch black). The heaviest flags readers report are sexual assault, violence, murder. Our scores lean on what readers report, not on a full reread, so treat them as a guide. This note is ours. It is not a publisher blurb.
First published: 2025. Book 1 of Society of Villains.
Bad Bishop tropes
On this shelf, Bad Bishop is filed under Mafia dark romance, Enemies to lovers, War romance and Arranged marriage. Each tag opens more books with that trope.
Bad Bishop spice level
Is Bad Bishop dark romance?
Yes, at the very dark end. Bad Bishop scores 5 of 5 on our darkness scale (No light).
Spice and darkness are separate scores. More no light books. How we rate.
Bad Bishop trigger warnings
Book-specific flags taken from reader-submitted content warnings on The StoryGraph (top flag reported by 202 readers), grouped by us. Also on that list: pregnancy, gun violence, sexual content, suicidal thoughts, car accident, injury/injury detail. See the reader-submitted list.
Graphic (9) — open before you read
Open this before you read. These are the flags most likely to be a hard stop.
Moderate (0)
Harm, control, or obsession that is common in this lane.
None flagged in this band.
Minor (0)
Present, and usually not the reason someone puts the book down.
None flagged in this band.
Full Bad Bishop trigger warnings
Society of Villains reading order
Bad Bishop is book 1 of 7 in L.J. Shen's Society of Villains series. Start here.
- Book 1 Bad Bishop (this book) · 2025
- Book 2 Twisted Pawn · 2026
- Book 3 Fallen Rook · 2026
- Book 4 Heartless King · 2027 upcoming not on our shelf yet
- Book 5 Wicked Queen not on our shelf yet
- Book 6 Corrupt Knight not on our shelf yet
- Book 7 Devil's Gambit not on our shelf yet
Order checked against the Goodreads Society of Villains series page on 9 October 2026. The Society of Villains series in order.
Who it's for
Shelf note written for this site. We do not copy reviews or publisher blurbs. Outbound links are search pages, not quoted ratings. Kindle Unlimited and endings are only flagged when we were willing to mark them. How we rate.
Missing a book? Suggest it.
Books like Bad Bishop
Matched on shared tropes, then the closest spice and darkness scores. Other books in the same series are listed above, not here.
- Deviant Hearts
Deviant Hearts
Jagger Cole
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Mafia dark romance, Enemies to lovers
- North of the Stars
North of the Stars
Monica James
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Mafia dark romance, Arranged marriage
- Passion & Venom
Passion & Venom
Shanora Williams, S. Williams
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Arranged marriage, Mafia dark romance
- The Foiled Plan
The Foiled Plan
Veronica Lancet
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Enemies to lovers, Mafia dark romance
- Dante
Dante
Sadie Kincaid
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Mafia dark romance, Arranged marriage
- Dangerous Innocence
Dangerous Innocence
Cora Reilly
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●○
Shared: Mafia dark romance, Arranged marriage
- Anastasia
Anastasia
Sophie Lark
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●○
Shared: Mafia dark romance, Arranged marriage
- Bloody Heart
Bloody Heart
Sophie Lark
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●○
Shared: Mafia dark romance, Arranged marriage
Books like Bad Bishop, with a reason for each
Questions readers actually ask
What is the spice level of Bad Bishop?
Bad Bishop spice level is 4 of 5 (Explicit). On-page sex, clearly written. Darkness is a separate score: 5 of 5 (No light).
What are the Bad Bishop trigger warnings?
Graphic: Sexual assault, Violence, Murder, Torture, Blood, Death, Abuse, Gore, Cheating. Moderate: none flagged. Minor: none flagged. These are book-specific flags reported by readers on reader-submitted content warnings on The StoryGraph (top flag reported by 202 readers), grouped by us. The author's own note may list more. Read it before you start.
Is Bad Bishop dark romance?
Yes, at the very dark end. Bad Bishop scores 5 of 5 on our darkness scale (No light). The book is not interested in pulling the punch.
What tropes are in Bad Bishop?
On this shelf Bad Bishop is filed under Mafia dark romance, Enemies to lovers, War romance and Arranged marriage.
Who is Bad Bishop for?
Pick this up if you want mafia and enemies to lovers with explicit spice. Look at the warnings before you commit.
What are some books like Bad Bishop?
Matched on shared tropes and similar spice and darkness: Deviant Hearts by Jagger Cole; North of the Stars by Monica James; Passion & Venom by Shanora Williams, S. Williams; The Foiled Plan by Veronica Lancet; Dante by Sadie Kincaid; Dangerous Innocence by Cora Reilly. More read-alikes, each with a reason, are on zademasked.com/like/bad-bishop.
Is Bad Bishop a standalone?
No. Bad Bishop is book 1 of 7 in the Society of Villains series by L.J. Shen.
What order should I read the Society of Villains series in?
1. Bad Bishop; 2. Twisted Pawn; 3. Fallen Rook; 4. Heartless King; 5. Wicked Queen; 6. Corrupt Knight; 7. Devil's Gambit.
How many books are in the Society of Villains series?
The Society of Villains series by L.J. Shen has 7 main books. Still to come: Heartless King.
What is the Bad Bishop age rating?
We'd say 18+. Spice sits at 4/5 (explicit) and darkness at 5/5 (no light). That's our recommendation, not an official rating, so read the trigger warnings as well.
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