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molliesheart 's review for:

Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer
3.0
adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This was vaguely entertaining but by 40% I’d had enough ngl. The premise:

- the villain is referred to as “The Villain” by everyone through the whole thing, couldn’t take it seriously
- There’s little actual insight into his villainy or why everyone is so scared of him or his reputation. He’s just ✨The Villain✨
- The Villain’s super secret and secure headquarters are a non discreet Manor House run like an office with a full set of staff. What is the reason for this? What are the interns doing? Why is there so much admin in his villainy? Nobody knows
- For comic relief there is the frog equivalent of Rattus Rattus from Horrible Histories that stands around holding up signs with jokes on them

That all sounds mildly interesting but the novelty does wear off fast. Didn’t think the characters were written particularly well, didn’t care much about anyone or the way the plot unfolded. Many plot holes and eyebrow raising moments - you can tell this was written around the romance. If you’re looking for something vaguely romantasy and completely unserious then this might be for you