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A review by jessiereadsfantasy
Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer
4.0
It's a fantastic YA book with a grumpy x sunshine trope wrapped in fantasy, family drama, "who done it" mystery, and chuckle-worthy humor.
Enter the world of Rennedawn, where a villain (in which he is named "The Villain" until later chapters and is our MMC) is running rampant, the king is up to his beard in attempting to stop him, and a mysterious ailment plagues various members of the land. Our MFC, Evie, is desperate for a job to support her sick father and school-aged little sister. She stumbles, quite literally, into the Villain who offers her a job. As one can imagine, working for a villain, particularly this one, consists of a lot of dirty work. To add to her already impressive workload, Evie learns that there is a traitor amongst the Villain's employees. The Villain and his ragtag team of employees must snuff out the traitor. And, to top things off, the Villain is very attractive, and Evie struggles to keep her mind out of the gutter.
The story is well-written enough (there are typos and an issue with a character's name changing between chapters) and consists of some chuckle-worthy humor. I found myself very engrossed in the story and came to love all the characters, even the side characters. For me, a sign of a good book is when the reader can get lost in the story and feel for the characters. I hoped everything would turn out okay for the FMC and MMC (and some of the side characters) at each twist and turn.
I loved seeing Evie's evolution throughout the story. As I described it to a fellow reader, even the sunniest of sunshine characters have their dark clouds. She has wit, courage, and above all else, desires to makeout with the Villain repeatedly (the tension was there, folks, but you won't find any spice). In all seriousness, above all else she is relatable. She is dealt blow after blow, but is able to recover albeit with an extra layer of emotional protection. She grows as a character, and you are taken through each step of her metamorphosis.
As for the Villain, my heart went out to him. His villain origin story is, like most villains, unkind. Each character in the book happened upon him differently, and each has their own memories of him pre- and post-villainy. This helps the reader see him from different lenses and helps develop his origin story.
This book does end on a cliffhanger so beware. The humor at times is a bit dry, but much of it is chuckle-worthy. The banter between characters is quite funny, particularly between the Villain and Evie. Like the grumpy x sunshine trope dictates, the Villain is seemingly annoyed at/confused by Evie 99% of the time, but secretly loves every second of it and will unalive anyone who even glances at her the wrong way. She, on the other hand, is trying to make everyone happy and not stare at the Villain's impressive figure.
4/5; outstanding: captivating and well-crafted, a few additional edits would have done it good. Would recommend.
Enter the world of Rennedawn, where a villain (in which he is named "The Villain" until later chapters and is our MMC) is running rampant, the king is up to his beard in attempting to stop him, and a mysterious ailment plagues various members of the land. Our MFC, Evie, is desperate for a job to support her sick father and school-aged little sister. She stumbles, quite literally, into the Villain who offers her a job. As one can imagine, working for a villain, particularly this one, consists of a lot of dirty work. To add to her already impressive workload, Evie learns that there is a traitor amongst the Villain's employees. The Villain and his ragtag team of employees must snuff out the traitor. And, to top things off, the Villain is very attractive, and Evie struggles to keep her mind out of the gutter.
The story is well-written enough (there are typos and an issue with a character's name changing between chapters) and consists of some chuckle-worthy humor. I found myself very engrossed in the story and came to love all the characters, even the side characters. For me, a sign of a good book is when the reader can get lost in the story and feel for the characters. I hoped everything would turn out okay for the FMC and MMC (and some of the side characters) at each twist and turn.
I loved seeing Evie's evolution throughout the story. As I described it to a fellow reader, even the sunniest of sunshine characters have their dark clouds. She has wit, courage, and above all else, desires to makeout with the Villain repeatedly (the tension was there, folks, but you won't find any spice). In all seriousness, above all else she is relatable. She is dealt blow after blow, but is able to recover albeit with an extra layer of emotional protection. She grows as a character, and you are taken through each step of her metamorphosis.
As for the Villain, my heart went out to him. His villain origin story is, like most villains, unkind. Each character in the book happened upon him differently, and each has their own memories of him pre- and post-villainy. This helps the reader see him from different lenses and helps develop his origin story.
This book does end on a cliffhanger so beware. The humor at times is a bit dry, but much of it is chuckle-worthy. The banter between characters is quite funny, particularly between the Villain and Evie. Like the grumpy x sunshine trope dictates, the Villain is seemingly annoyed at/confused by Evie 99% of the time, but secretly loves every second of it and will unalive anyone who even glances at her the wrong way. She, on the other hand, is trying to make everyone happy and not stare at the Villain's impressive figure.
4/5; outstanding: captivating and well-crafted, a few additional edits would have done it good. Would recommend.