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A review by toastyghosty13
Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
3.5
This book was very lighthearted, emphasis on lighthearted. I picked this up after seeing it on social media about being a cute book where a woman goes to work for the villain of the story and starts to fall in love with him. It's exactly as described.
Something that slightly bothered me about this book is that a majority of it reads like it is for middle grade/YA. It was giving me flashbacks to reading the Septimus Heap series, except the characters were all in their mid-twenties instead of being 12 and in Assistant to the Villain there are minor mentions of sex (very minor, I almost wonder why it was even included considering how the book is written). I think it would have been better if the author had either leaned into just keeping it middle grade or leaned into making it for an adult audience rather than a strange mix of both.
Despite that dislike, I did find this to be a cute story and I like the main character Evie. She is a klutz and trips on everything, but it is kind of endearing and she doesn't try to change that about her. She still gets things done and it fully shows within the story that she is the central cog in which the Villain's machine functions around. At the base of it, the Villain is just a man that grew up quite lonely and was spited by others around him. I enjoy that Evie becomes that sunlight for him without pinning her to the manic-pixie-dream-girl trope, since he very much thinks he doesn't deserve someone as amazing as her.
There are some mysteries to solve and character backgrounds to unfold, but it isn't super deep. I liked the 2 main characters and want to see more of them. Some of the plot twists were a bit predictable but it was still fun to read and a nice change from what I normally read.
This book ends on a cliffhanger, and the sequel does not come out until later this year. I will definitely be reading the sequel since I am sold on the story.
Something that slightly bothered me about this book is that a majority of it reads like it is for middle grade/YA. It was giving me flashbacks to reading the Septimus Heap series, except the characters were all in their mid-twenties instead of being 12 and in Assistant to the Villain there are minor mentions of sex (very minor, I almost wonder why it was even included considering how the book is written). I think it would have been better if the author had either leaned into just keeping it middle grade or leaned into making it for an adult audience rather than a strange mix of both.
Despite that dislike, I did find this to be a cute story and I like the main character Evie. She is a klutz and trips on everything, but it is kind of endearing and she doesn't try to change that about her. She still gets things done and it fully shows within the story that she is the central cog in which the Villain's machine functions around. At the base of it, the Villain is just a man that grew up quite lonely and was spited by others around him. I enjoy that Evie becomes that sunlight for him without pinning her to the manic-pixie-dream-girl trope, since he very much thinks he doesn't deserve someone as amazing as her.
There are some mysteries to solve and character backgrounds to unfold, but it isn't super deep. I liked the 2 main characters and want to see more of them. Some of the plot twists were a bit predictable but it was still fun to read and a nice change from what I normally read.
This book ends on a cliffhanger, and the sequel does not come out until later this year. I will definitely be reading the sequel since I am sold on the story.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Child death, Alcohol, and Sexual assault