A review by annaaugustineauthor
Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

This book and I have a complicated relationship.

Slight spoilers ahead! 

On one hand, I loved the plot, the characters, and the office-in-a-fantasy-land setting. I thought the motives for why The Villain is who he is was relatable. He wasn’t evil for evilness sake, and it actually seems like the “good guy” is the reason he’s doing what he’s doing. 

Evie Sage was a little bit of an air head at first? But the more you get to know her, the more you understand why she’s the way she is. And the TWIST in her arc is golden. 

The cliffhanger was also really fun. 

However, I don’t love the obscene amounts of LANGUAGE in this book? I’m not one who makes a huge deal out of language in books as long as it’s not the Lord’s name. However, they didn’t make sense either for a fantasy land. I think it could have benefited from its own set of curse words instead of f***, a**, b****, b*****d, and s*** among the most common used. It rubbed me the wrong way, and honestly jarred me out of the story. 

The pacing was also odd, and I began to notice that a lot of the chapters started with short, 4-8 word sentences that sort of set up the chapter. It’s not a huge deal, but noticing it was a little jarring. 

Other content: there was a same sex couple, but not a huge deal in the book, decapitation and some other gruesome descriptions, murder, inflicting pain, kidnapping, sexual assault, and parental abandonment. 

Despite all this, I need to know what’s gonna happen 🤣 I’ll probably read Apprentice of the Villain, because THAT ENDING 🤯

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