Reviews with content warning for Physical abuse - Asistente del villano

I am not a fan of fantasy books, but this one had me captivated with the wit, humor, flirty romance and mystery. I look forward to reading the second book to continue from the cliff hanger ending!

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elcanaldevenecia's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

4.5

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noor_sidhu's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious relaxing sad tense fast-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

4.75

I was debating on giving this book 4 or 5 stars, but honestly, the banter alone deserved the extra push. This book was so fun and goofy; it was everything I could hope for in a light-hearted fantasy about a "villain" failing to remain cold around his raucous cabal of office workers - an underqualified himbo, a heavily starched ringleader, a gossipy lesbian, and best of all a terrifyingly unfazed ray of sunshine. I'm really happy that this book proved me wrong and that I went into it completely blind because I hope it stays this funny and fast-paced for the rest of this series. The tension was also absolutely PERFECTION, and we need more books with the not-so-grumpy love interest's POV. All in all, I need more of The Villian and that flirty Himbo. 💀💞

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turrean's review against another edition

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Made it about half of the way through and skimmed the rest. The two main characters are very enjoyable, but the action dragged interminably in the middle. A few of my least favorite fantasy tropes were trotted out (lust at first sight, she’s not like other girls, traitor in our midst, the secret everyone knows, and of course…the heel of one of the stiletto boots I wear to the office gets stuck in a crack a few feet away from a ticking bomb but I’m too stupid to TAKE OFF THE BOOT.)

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indieandajean's review against another edition

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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

4.0

Assistant to the Villain is an adorable fantasy rom-com with more emphasis on the "com". The slow burn in this book will be of no surprise to anyone who enjoyed watching the tiktok series it was based on, and it makes for a lot of exasperation from a reader's perspective when you read many chapters of pining and them "almost" getting to the point. This is a feature, not a bug.

The characters are lovable, the plot moves along at a decent pace, and it has just the right amount of tropes that one would expect from a slow-burn, mutual pining, workplace rom-com. It also has a dragon, which is always a positive.

My only complaint is that at times the book was a little too slow. There were unnecessary scenes that did little to move the plot forward or deepen the reader's understanding of the characters. I understand that the author was given a three book deal and that where there is a three book deal about a single romance, there is going to have to be some filler. That said, the story never dragged, even through these filler moments, and it was always fun to pick back up to read.

My review is probably somewhat biased as I fell in love with Evie Sage played by Hannah Nicole Maehrer in her Tiktok videos that were the catalyst for the books, but I challenge anyone who loves a good underdog to watch the videos or read this book and not also love the character. She, the Villain, Blade, Tatiana, and yes, even Becky, are great characters and it was fun to see them more fully fleshed out in this book.

I am very much looking forward to book two which is coming out this fall, particularly because of the cliffhanger ending!

I recommend this one for anyone who enjoys a bit of humor in their romances, morally grey fantasy villains, dragons, and strong female characters who overcome obstacles and earn the respect of people around them.

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