Reviews with content warning for Torture - Assistant to the Villain

This book felt like it couldn't decide if it was a cozy mystery or a high stakes fantasy.
For a lot of it, I could forget the underlying murder plot, but when the stakes get raised, people have their skin being melted off. I also did not care about this couple. They didn't really have chemistry and were just a hot guy and a girl.
There were also a bunch of loose ends that were never tied up. Including the literal main plot! It makes me not want to read the next one because the author couldn't write a complete plot in over 400 pages.

Not only do we finish this book with no idea what has happened to the Villian. But we also don't know what was up with her mom besides the fact that she is alive somewhere,and it seemed like her dad wasn't telling the whole truth. The reason that the Villian and the King have this murderous feud was also underwhelming. It's the equivalent of an English teacher telling you you can't write, so you become an author, but it's an author that murders your critics.

Overall, I just didn't care about these characters and I wasn't invested in their story. Everything was just okay. I was never on the edge of my seat or needing to turn the next page.
It was fine. Not great. Not the worst thing.

Content Warnings

snakebyte180's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

Content Warnings

katenovah's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious tense slow-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

4.25

Content Warnings

misshoney's review

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adventurous funny inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.0

Was much more high fantasy than I anticipated, but still kept in alot of modern office drama. Loved the book tho! Very funny and indulgent.

The sloooow burn!!! Very good.

Content Warnings

ofelias's review

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adventurous emotional funny fast-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? No

4.75

Content Warnings

geno's review against another edition

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The book is not working for me. Great and fun idea but not well executed.
The tone is all over the place, and I can see some twist coming for a mile.
It's not for me, but I can see younger readers enjoying it.

Content Warnings

apersonfromflorida's review

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adventurous funny lighthearted 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

Content Warnings

abby_can_read's review

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lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.0

📖
I have mixed feelings on this book. This book was better than I expected. I think Maehrer tried to hard to be funny in places. There was some character development and in-development.

Overall, this book kept me interested. I found the plot to be predictable, and the writing style got annoying in places. The worldbuilding was lacking in areas. The characters were fine.

I do plan to read the sequel.

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