Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

39 reviews

duda_capri's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny inspiring lighthearted mysterious relaxing sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child death, Sexism, and Kidnapping

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, 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

loverbot's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Pertencer era um conceito tão estranho para Evie, algo que ela desejava silenciosamente, mas que nunca descobrira como conseguir, mas aqui estava. O seu momento, as suas pessoas. A espera tinha valido a pena.

(…) A guivre não tardaria a perceber que a única forma de se juntar ao companheiro era deixar-se prender lá dentro com ele.
Quando se trata da coisa que mais amamos, pensou Trystan antes de correr para a grade, com Sage a protestar, aos gritos atrás de si, é sempre melhor estarmos presos juntos do que livres e separados.

Se insistir em continuar a aparecer atrás de mim desta maneira, vou obrigá-lo a usar um guizo.

A ponte gemeu e balançou sob o seu peso, e a escuridão que se estendia para lá dela ameaçava engoli-lo, mas a lua voltou a brilhar nas pedras preciosas do cabelo de Sage. Trystan manteve o seu olhar nelas, sabendo que seguiria aquela luz para onde quer que ela fosse.

Sinto que a vida está condenada a simplesmente acontecer, e não a ser vivida por mim.

Havia sempre alguém que precisava mais dele, e isso fazia-me sentir… sem importância.

Então a destruição é a solução dele? - Evie revirou os olhos, afastando o cabelo solto do rosto. - Homens - bufou.

Tu fizeste-lhe mal a ela - cuspiu Trystan, com o poder a surgir ao seu redor. - E isso é o suficiente para mim.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death and Confinement

Minor: Infertility, Panic attacks/disorders, and Kidnapping

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 

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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

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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

fierygecko's review against another edition

funny lighthearted slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

So, I didn't enjoy this book, but I did find it entertaining. Evie is honestly very witty and funny, however I felt like the author was trying to convince me she's incapable for a good portion of the book? The Villain is a fun character, but I got very tired of him insisting he had no emotions whatsoever very fast. I also had to wait so long to discover his Traumatic Backstory that I didn't care much by the time we got there. The side characters are colourful and have unique backstories that are either explored or hinted at. The plot was very high stakes but somehow didn't feel important, even though it was actually interesting! I liked that the world-building didn't seem to matter that much, so it was simple, but it wasn't very straightforward. The magic system -part of the setting that does matter- is barely explained, except that many types of magic are "incredibly rare". Based on what I know from the second book, my gripes with Evie might be addressed, which is exciting, but I'm not sure if I'll read it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, and Murder

Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual content

abrielleemory's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I originally wanted to read this book because I thought the cover was so cool! But, I genuinely enjoyed the storyline and mystery in the plot. I wouldn’t say I particularly loved any of the characters, but I liked the purpose of all the main characters. 
The twist near the end was unexpected and I didn’t predict it. But, I liked the detective-ish work from Trystan and Evie. 
I hope the next book has more… happen between them. This whole book was a tease of just them admitting their feelings. 

**EDITED from 4 to 3 stars. The romance really fell flat, now that I’ve had time to think. And the magic system really made ZERO sense. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Terminal illness, Torture, Blood, and Murder

baileynoel's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Abandonment

catargena's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

shannnne_reads_words's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Terminal illness, Violence, Murder, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child death, Confinement, and Torture