Assistant to the Villain

, #1

Kindle Edition, 418 pages

English language

Published Aug. 29, 2023 by Entangled: Red Tower Books.

ASIN:
B0BYM2LJDX
(13 reviews)

ASSISTANT WANTED: Notorious, high-ranking villain seeks loyal, levelheaded assistant for unspecified office duties, supporting staff for random mayhem, terror, and other Dark Things In General. Discretion a must. Excellent benefits.

With ailing family to support, Evie Sage's employment status isn't just important, it's vital. So when a mishap with Rennedawn’s most infamous Villain results in a job offer—naturally, she says yes. No job is perfect, of course, but even less so when you develop a teeny crush on your terrifying, temperamental, and undeniably hot boss. Don’t find evil so attractive, Evie.

But just when she’s getting used to severed heads suspended from the ceiling and the odd squish of an errant eyeball beneath her heel, Evie suspects this dungeon has a huge rat…and not just the literal kind. Because something rotten is growing in the kingdom of Rennedawn, and someone wants to take the Villain—and his entire nefarious empire—out.

Now …

5 editions

reviewed Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer (Assistant and the Villain, #1)

Not as fun as I'd hoped

A young woman lacking better opportunities, goes to work for the local villain.

While the writing is fine, and the premise fun, it's not as amusing as I'd hoped. It feels overly long and the romance is clumsy, relying on misunderstandings. The heroine is meant to be feistier, funnier, and more charming than she actually comes across. If the plot's turns are meant to be surprising it failed, all are telegraphed well in advance, and a certain narrative choice causes the world to feel very small.

Ends on a tiny cliff, I'll probably read the sequel.

reviewed Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer (Assistant to the Villain, #1)

mad that i wasted my time on this

Content warning spoilers

None

She supposed that was why she reconciled her work so easily in her mind. She had no idea what The Villain’s end goal was, aside from doing everything to screw over the king. But Evie knew the important things—he didn’t take advantage of his female employees, he paid all his workers fairly, and he requested his cauldron brew with at least a pound of sugar.
The last fact was not as relevant as his other virtues, but it was Evie’s favorite.


I'll preface by saying that I'm not at all familiar with the TikTok series the novel originated from, so I might be missing out on some of the context. Then again, this is supposed to be a regular book, not a fanfic, so I don't think it should depend on the reader's familiarity with the source!

Overall, I think the story has good bones and a bunch of great …

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Subjects

  • Fantasy
  • Romance
  • Fiction