Scan barcode
mzquirk's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This. Was. Delicious.
I was nervous going in bc I saw a few reviews of it being the sequel curse, or the slow burn was TOO slow and so on. Nope. I ate this book up. Loved it. The tension is insane!! This! This is what I want when the romance is slow burn! Push and pull them apart. Make us work for it. Then in that 3rd book, give us ALL the satisfaction!
Can’t wait for next year.
I was nervous going in bc I saw a few reviews of it being the sequel curse, or the slow burn was TOO slow and so on. Nope. I ate this book up. Loved it. The tension is insane!! This! This is what I want when the romance is slow burn! Push and pull them apart. Make us work for it. Then in that 3rd book, give us ALL the satisfaction!
Can’t wait for next year.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Sexual content, Violence, and Grief
Minor: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Torture, Vomit, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
ellawatwat's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
bear_ridge_tarot's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
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? Yes
4.0
Evie Sage, Assistant to the Villain, is the happiest she’s ever been. She’s working for The Villain. The outrageously handsome outlaw of Rennedawn, and being in the business of being bad is seriously rewarding. Yet those good guys won’t let things be and even Kingsley’s signs are pointing to catastrophe. There’s something happening with the kingdom’s magic, and Massacre Manor is being exposed. Evie must learn the subtle arts of conspiring with the enemy, treason, and dagger work. What happens when the assistant is ready to become the apprentice?
If I had picked up the books out of order, this would have been a flop. But because I was desperately invested in how things played out between Evie and The Villian, I listened to the books back to back (in order). I loved it, and am slightly upset with myself for not getting through the first book as fast as I got through this one, just so I could read them again in the time I had them on loan! Hilarious, witty and full of innocent bungling by Evie. Not even The Villain can save her from herself.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Minor: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, and Grief
kassidyreads's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
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
2.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, and Violence
Minor: Misogyny, Torture, Blood, and Death of parent
boba_nbooks's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
tense
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
4.25
Spice Rating: 🫑 / 5 🌶️
Apprentice to the Villain takes the romantic tension, world-building, and emotional vulnerability from Assistant to the Villain to the next level.
Evie and the Villain are back in the much-anticipated sequel to Assistant to the Villain. The tension between the two is palpable to everyone but the two of them, but they have to put their feelings aside to do what's best for Rennedawn. Through it all, Evie has leveled up in the world of evil and has even earned the promotion from Assistant to the Villain to Apprentice to the Villain. Will she be able to maintain her composure and the wonderful things that make her herself and still do what she has to do to help the Villain and save Rennedawn? Will the Villain be able to accept this new side of Evie?
I love how endearingly unserious this series is. It mixes fantasy elements with a tension-filled grumpy/sunshine romance with a huge dose of comedy. This book also brings depth to many of the side characters we met in the first book. Seeing more of Becky from H.R. was probably my favorite part.
Evie grew so much throughout the course of this book, becoming more confident in herself and in her relationship with others. She is so multifaceted: clumsy yet strong, vicious yet kind, and spicy yet sweet. I love how easily she cares for and loves others and brings them into her found family.
I can't wait to see what happens to this fun and quirky cast of characters in book 3.
Apprentice to the Villain takes the romantic tension, world-building, and emotional vulnerability from Assistant to the Villain to the next level.
Evie and the Villain are back in the much-anticipated sequel to Assistant to the Villain. The tension between the two is palpable to everyone but the two of them, but they have to put their feelings aside to do what's best for Rennedawn. Through it all, Evie has leveled up in the world of evil and has even earned the promotion from Assistant to the Villain to Apprentice to the Villain. Will she be able to maintain her composure and the wonderful things that make her herself and still do what she has to do to help the Villain and save Rennedawn? Will the Villain be able to accept this new side of Evie?
I love how endearingly unserious this series is. It mixes fantasy elements with a tension-filled grumpy/sunshine romance with a huge dose of comedy. This book also brings depth to many of the side characters we met in the first book. Seeing more of Becky from H.R. was probably my favorite part.
Evie grew so much throughout the course of this book, becoming more confident in herself and in her relationship with others. She is so multifaceted: clumsy yet strong, vicious yet kind, and spicy yet sweet. I love how easily she cares for and loves others and brings them into her found family.
I can't wait to see what happens to this fun and quirky cast of characters in book 3.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Minor: Cursing, Sexual content, and Grief
kbairbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
mysterious
relaxing
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Delightful! Fun, funny, fresh. There was probably the most slow burn tension I've ever come across but oooooooh this author knows how to string along her readers! I can't WAIT for the next book. This is torture! But it's so delicious I want more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
chanlo1994's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
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? Yes
4.75
Another great read. It was lovely to read about Evie and Trystan even though I want to shake him angrily!!! . When is book 3???
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Vomit
Toxic parent/family membersbeckyyreadss's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
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
3.0
I wanted to read this book because I enjoyed the first and debut book of Hannah’s and loved her videos long before. I loved the idea of a bad guy having a fluffy assistant and how the bad buy was getting feelings for her even though he shouldn’t be. I was wondering how she was going to carry on with this book and I enjoyed it but felt like it was a bit more slow-paced than the last book.
This book has two points of view. The first is Evie Sage and she has never been happier to be the assistant to The Villain. Who would have thought that working for an outrageously handsome evil overlord would be so rewarding? Still. The business of being bad is demanding. The forces of good are annoyingly persistent and said forbidding boss is somewhat out-of-office. The second point of view is The Villain, AKA Trystan and he has been captured by the King Benedict and has no hope of getting out and now Evie is apparently dead and now Rennedawn is in grave trouble, and all signs – Kingsley's included – point to catastrophe. Something peculiar is happening with the kingdom’s magic, and it’s made The Villain’s manor vulnerable to their enemies. Now it’s time for Evie to face her great challenge: protecting The Villain’s lair, all of his nefarious work, and maybe the entire kingdom. It's time to step out of her comfort zone and learn new skills. Like treason. Dagger work. Conspiring with the enemy. But what happens when the assistant to The Villain is ready to become his apprentice?
This book is still a cute and funny read. I was still squealing and kicking my feet at Trystan and Evie. I love that the whole office knew that there was tension between them and just let them play out their moments. I loved the character development of Becky and why she liked control and order. I liked that Becky and Evie are now showing support for each other and actually becoming friends. Especially when Becky told Evie that there was no assistant job that was needed but he just hired her. I love how Evie is becoming so confident and how she is wanting to become an apprentice and not just an assistant.
The thing I struggled with the book compared to the first one is the repeated information. I lot of things we already knew was stated again and again. The first bit comes out with all guns blazing and you are in the driver's seat, and you know it’s about to be a fast-paced book with a lot of action and then it just lost its momentum. I was just sort of skimming over the repeated information and the slow bits in the book because I was getting bored. Then within the last five pages, it went up a notch so that it ended on a cliffhanger. It just felt like a filler book at times – introduce the brother that we can’t trust, build the ever-growing tension between Evie and Trystan, some fight scenes and then done.
I have a feeling that the next book in the series is going to be better because of the cliffhanger and how everything has led up to this book. Hopefully we get Evie and Trystan skipping off into the sunset, but I have a feeling it’s going to take a while to get to that point. Also, I don’t trust Evie’s family like any of them besides Evie.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Minor: Cursing, Sexual content, and Grief
bzliz's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
I had a fun time reading this but, oh boy, it had just as many issues as the first book. The pacing was super off and oftentimes it felt like we were retreading the same ground without the characters learning anything. The chapters are so short and there’s way too many for a book of this length. I couldn’t find a rhyme or reason for the separation of one chapter and the next, other than it being concluded by a zingy one liner that was for sure the inspiration for the whole scene and probably a TikTok. There were also too many points of view at often unnecessary times.
We’re also hitting unnecessary levels of slow burn. The miscommunication was working overtime to keep Evie and Trystan apart. They each possess an astounding amount of naivety when it comes to the other person. I just wanted them to use their words for once but I didn’t get my wish.
We’re also hitting unnecessary levels of slow burn. The miscommunication was working overtime to keep Evie and Trystan apart. They each possess an astounding amount of naivety when it comes to the other person. I just wanted them to use their words for once but I didn’t get my wish.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse
Moderate: Violence
bookedandbusy's review against another edition
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I absolutely love this! Such a fantastic sequel and I loved the character development and relationships and friendships!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Minor: Cursing, Sexual content, and Grief