A review by aryelee
Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

funny tense 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? Yes

2.75

For once, a Booktok work was not the bane of my existence lol. I usually have terrible luck finding books that I enjoy that have blown up online, but this is one of them! It's decently written, I adore the way the dialogue flows and the different relationships between all the characters, and the mix between work and personal that propels the plot forward. 

This isn't a stand out novel, but it's a fun and engaging read. I'll be honest, when I saw the premise was 'sunshine character ends up working for the villain' I was expecting more.... comic book superheroes and villains, not fantasy. And I feel like this would have worked better in a more modern setting (though I am biased as a comic book fan); the mix between medieval fantasy world and modern company structure (including mentions of HR) felt jarring. Other than that, I enjoyed the world that was created and the little details we learned of the wider world while we stayed with Evie in her village or at her workplace. 

Some aspects of the romance felt very repetitive -- 'little tornado', constant thoughts from Evie about how attractive the Villain is, the Villain's constant thought of 'I can't fall in love/admit I have feelings' -- but the banter between them was so fun. Evie is sooo funny when talking to the Villain, and I love how baffled he is by her, because she does say the strangest, most out of pocket things. 

The side characters also got plenty of love, which I adore! I'm very happy that this novel didn't ignore the other characters to focus entirely on the blossoming romance between Evie and the Villain. Becky is fascinating and I've love to learn more about her, Bane is such a fun guy, and Lyssa is a fun sweetheart of a little sister. The family and sibling conflicts in this novel are deeply interesting too; I loved sinking my teeth into them and seeing the complicated dynamics happening on page. Rant about the main antagonist for this novel:
I truly despise Evie's father. Like the working for the king and spying on her thing is bad, yes, as is placing a bomb in her workplace knowing it could kill her. But as a father, the fact that he 1) faked a magical illness that has hurt so many people, 2) played up being sick to make it convincing and stressed out his two living children, 3) made Evie parent Lyssa and be the breadwinner when he HAD SO MUCH MONEY FROM THE CROWN THAT HE COULD HAVE EASILY MADE UP AN EXCUSE ABOUT FINANCIAL SUPPORT FROM HIS DAYS WORKING AS A KNIGHT AND SPARED HIS TWO DAUGHTERS THE STRESS OF WONDERING IF THEY'LL HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO EAT DINNER??? 4) and agreed to pimp out/sell his daughter to the blacksmith -- all of that made him so much worse and I actually got so mad at him. Let that POS choke forever please <3


Anyways. This was a decently fun book that exceeded my expectations because I had set them so low, but I'm intrigued enough by all the characters that I'm going to pick up the sequel and see how that goes. This is definitely a novel that will be enjoyed by someone who loves simple fantasy, mystery, lots of banter between the FL and ML, and slow burn romance.
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