Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

246 reviews

owl_eerie's review

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adventurous 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? Yes

3.5

This book needed another round of edits; there were a few places where the prose simply pulled me out of the groove, or plot points were thrown in randomly. The pacing was quite slow until it sprinted the last 80 pages. It felt like we just needed to get through the big plot reveal all of a sudden because the book needed to end.

Other than that the characters were nicely done. Space cadet FMC finds her teeth. MMC pines well, but he felt sort of inconsistent. Like both he and the author are trying really hard to convince the reader he's scary and evil but neither believes it. Which... Idk maybe is the point.

Try not to think too hard about the over-competent secretary tropes.

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simmonsj's review

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adventurous 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? Yes

3.25

A middle-of-the-road fantasy romance with a fun twist - the side of the Villain. Evie Sage needs a job to support her sister and I'll father. Serendipity lands her a job as The Villian's assistant, hired to help manage his nefarious plots to damage the King. 

It was fun to see how the author made gore, torture, and murder light hearted, but that's really how it read. I actually liked those parts, that this is just the daily life of a Villain and it's all a little hum drum. I liked Evie Sage, she doubts and debases herself at times but does grow through the novel and has moments of fun feminist bad@$$ery. She stands up to people just fine and can disarm through her supposed innocence. She's also learning that she really doesn't mind the torture and villainy like she knows she's supposed to. 

The plot is fine, it leans more towards romantasy than anything else. The romance is very, very slow burn but kind of cute. Many of the thoughts of the two characters got repetitive though. The backend plot is finding a traitor - without the relationship/romance/Evie growth pieces, this plot would have been drawn out way too much and been disappointing. The ending was good as far as learning the identity of the traitor, which was a surprise for me, but it also leaves several unanswered questions, wide open for the sequel coming in August. 

The writing lets the book down some. I lost track of how many heads "whipped back" and how our Villain had muscular thighs, a strong chest, and eyes to fall into. We get it, he's lovely, move on. The last quarter of the book picked up speed and had less repetitions.

Overall it was a fun little foray into the world of Villainy and a little romance. Nothing too striking but an easy read and a little getaway book. While one should note there is torture, gore, and murder in this book (and talk of it. A lot), it is treated rather lightheartedly. Oddly, it reminds me of something Mel Brooks would write a movie of - quirky murder in a fantasy village and with a love story tied in.

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fayyy's review

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adventurous funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

A super fun read! The world building is simple and easy to pick up which works with the premise of the book. The characters are fun, colourful and loveable gives a similar vibe to a cast of friends from a sitcom. The main romance couple are super cute with the classic sunshine/grumpy trope and you get to enjoy a few chapters from the Villains POV so get to experience the romance build from both sides.

Was surprised by the cliffhanger ending, looking forward to the next book!!

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jj_xx's review

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adventurous 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? Yes

3.75


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callidoralblack's review

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adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0


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honeycupreads's review

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adventurous funny fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5


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kristannereads's review

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adventurous funny hopeful 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

4.0


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dinahquinn's review

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

4.25

I actually didn’t guess the twist until close to it happening which a nice change up. There’s definitely hints before, but not the “hints” that are really a brightly lit billboard.

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maggiespages's review

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adventurous funny 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? Yes

4.25


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molliford's review against another edition

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funny 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? It's complicated

4.0


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