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ashleyj_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book absolutely destroyed me. I need more of Evie and The Villian, now.
I wish I could go back in time and tell myself not to take so long getting into this book! Once I got past the exposition (it was slow for me, but that could’ve been the mood reader problem), I was HOOKED and couldn’t put the book down!
I wish I could go back in time and tell myself not to take so long getting into this book! Once I got past the exposition (it was slow for me, but that could’ve been the mood reader problem), I was HOOKED and couldn’t put the book down!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Torture, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
kris_tea516's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Evie Sage is the only source of income for her family. Her brother died, her mother left, her dad has a terminal illness, & her sister is very young. So they all rely on her. She looses her job and isn’t sure what she will do when she literally runs into The Villain. After saving her life, The Villain offers her a job as his assistant. Evie is constantly disarming The Villain with her irreverance & cheerful attitude.
Review: I usually do not like these types of books but this one is very well-written and doesn’t take the fantasy genre too seriously. I enjoyed the dual perspective and the lack of smutty scenes. This book is a bit “dark & brooding evil villain” meets “The Office.” It’s modern day corporate office with payroll, fire suppression installations, and file systems set in a medieval castle with dragons and magic.
I’ll warn you that you will immediately want to grab the next book in the series. Unfortunately, I have to read another book first for book club but then I’ll probably jump into “Apprentice to the Villain.”
Content warnings: gore, violence, magic, death of a sibling, attempted rape, abandonment of a parent, talk of torture, some crude language,
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
browniel14's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Chronic illness and Abandonment
Minor: Child death
julesadventurezone's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
I was captivated by the bizarre tone and nonsensical worldbuilding but it did drag on a bit towards the end.
The fairytale/generic dnd campaign fantasy vibes and corresponding whacky hijink clashed oddly with the very real theme of sexual violence. The latter wasn't handled poorly it just felt jarring.
The mystery of who is betraying The Villain was interesting, though i did think it was a bit much that not only did Evie's dad betray her and make her carry the burden of caring for the family, he also tried to sell her off to a man without her consent. That just made him cartoonishly evil and cheapened the reveal .
The characters were fine with pretty predictable arcs. The romance was cute enough but a bit tedious.
Don't think I'll read the sequel.
The fairytale/generic dnd campaign fantasy vibes and corresponding whacky hijink clashed oddly with the very real theme of sexual violence. The latter wasn't handled poorly it just felt jarring.
The mystery of who is betraying The Villain was interesting
The characters were fine with pretty predictable arcs. The romance was cute enough but a bit tedious.
Don't think I'll read the sequel.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, Confinement, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, and Medical content
mageoflovenlaughs's review against another edition
dark
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Torture, Murder, and Abandonment
kimblah's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Evie Sage is trying to figure out what she’s doing with her life when she stumbles across… The Villain & he… offers her a job? Oh, alright, well, okay then! Evie needs the money to take care of her father & sister, so she’s gunna do what she needs to do.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I thought Evie’s character was fun & really likable. I appreciated the dynamics between all of the characters, & thought that they all balanced each other out quite nicely.
The end surprised me!! I really was not expecting any of what happened in those last few chapters, so I encourage those that easily DNF to continue on to get the full experience of the book!
I loved this book, honestly. The reason it lost half a star to me is because it’s noted to be “adult” & I would have pegged it as “YA” so that’s really it & if it wasn’t for that, I would have given it 5 stars — in fact, I had until I noticed that.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Violence, and Blood
Minor: Torture
katew726's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Cursing, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
0tter_a's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Great story but an incredibly slow burn
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Violence, and Grief
Moderate: Confinement, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Torture, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
lkzland_97's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, and Medical trauma
Minor: Child death, Terminal illness, and Torture
btg's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Oh this was a ride. I had so much fun reading this. What an enjoyable grumpy-and-sunshine romance with some hurt/comfort thrown in for good measure. Bonus points for the enemies to begruging ride-or-die friends arc I was not expecting to love.
Look, is the book well written? It depends on your definition of "well-written." There are noticeable issues that are probably the result of this being a debut novel. I felt bored in places, Evie's characterization in early chapters was inconsistent, and there were a lot of infodumps throughout the book that dragged the pacing. Was it extremely fun to read anyway? Oh, very much so. It follows fanfiction/emotional character beats as opposed to traditional plot structure beats, which means readers of fanfic or romance novels will likely be the target audience. Luckily that includes me. I fell in love with Evie and Trystan's dynamic, the wacky world building, and Maehrer's absolutely gut punching raw lines that come out of nowhere. Think of this book as the Fourth Wing of workplace comedy. It will not be everyone's cup of tea, but I will be back for the sequel.
Look, is the book well written? It depends on your definition of "well-written." There are noticeable issues that are probably the result of this being a debut novel. I felt bored in places, Evie's characterization in early chapters was inconsistent, and there were a lot of infodumps throughout the book that dragged the pacing. Was it extremely fun to read anyway? Oh, very much so. It follows fanfiction/emotional character beats as opposed to traditional plot structure beats, which means readers of fanfic or romance novels will likely be the target audience. Luckily that includes me. I fell in love with Evie and Trystan's dynamic, the wacky world building, and Maehrer's absolutely gut punching raw lines that come out of nowhere. Think of this book as the Fourth Wing of workplace comedy. It will not be everyone's cup of tea, but I will be back for the sequel.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness, Confinement, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment