Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

129 reviews

aryelee's review against another edition

funny tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

For once, a Booktok work was not the bane of my existence lol. I usually have terrible luck finding books that I enjoy that have blown up online, but this is one of them! It's decently written, I adore the way the dialogue flows and the different relationships between all the characters, and the mix between work and personal that propels the plot forward. 

This isn't a stand out novel, but it's a fun and engaging read. I'll be honest, when I saw the premise was 'sunshine character ends up working for the villain' I was expecting more.... comic book superheroes and villains, not fantasy. And I feel like this would have worked better in a more modern setting (though I am biased as a comic book fan); the mix between medieval fantasy world and modern company structure (including mentions of HR) felt jarring. Other than that, I enjoyed the world that was created and the little details we learned of the wider world while we stayed with Evie in her village or at her workplace. 

Some aspects of the romance felt very repetitive -- 'little tornado', constant thoughts from Evie about how attractive the Villain is, the Villain's constant thought of 'I can't fall in love/admit I have feelings' -- but the banter between them was so fun. Evie is sooo funny when talking to the Villain, and I love how baffled he is by her, because she does say the strangest, most out of pocket things. 

The side characters also got plenty of love, which I adore! I'm very happy that this novel didn't ignore the other characters to focus entirely on the blossoming romance between Evie and the Villain. Becky is fascinating and I've love to learn more about her, Bane is such a fun guy, and Lyssa is a fun sweetheart of a little sister. The family and sibling conflicts in this novel are deeply interesting too; I loved sinking my teeth into them and seeing the complicated dynamics happening on page. Rant about the main antagonist for this novel:

I truly despise Evie's father. Like the working for the king and spying on her thing is bad, yes, as is placing a bomb in her workplace knowing it could kill her. But as a father, the fact that he 1) faked a magical illness that has hurt so many people, 2) played up being sick to make it convincing and stressed out his two living children, 3) made Evie parent Lyssa and be the breadwinner when he HAD SO MUCH MONEY FROM THE CROWN THAT HE COULD HAVE EASILY MADE UP AN EXCUSE ABOUT FINANCIAL SUPPORT FROM HIS DAYS WORKING AS A KNIGHT AND SPARED HIS TWO DAUGHTERS THE STRESS OF WONDERING IF THEY'LL HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO EAT DINNER??? 4) and agreed to pimp out/sell his daughter to the blacksmith -- all of that made him so much worse and I actually got so mad at him. Let that POS choke forever please <3

Anyways. This was a decently fun book that exceeded my expectations because I had set them so low, but I'm intrigued enough by all the characters that I'm going to pick up the sequel and see how that goes. This is definitely a novel that will be enjoyed by someone who loves simple fantasy, mystery, lots of banter between the FL and ML, and slow burn romance.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Violence, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child death and Death of parent

loverbot's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Pertencer era um conceito tão estranho para Evie, algo que ela desejava silenciosamente, mas que nunca descobrira como conseguir, mas aqui estava. O seu momento, as suas pessoas. A espera tinha valido a pena.

(…) A guivre não tardaria a perceber que a única forma de se juntar ao companheiro era deixar-se prender lá dentro com ele.
Quando se trata da coisa que mais amamos, pensou Trystan antes de correr para a grade, com Sage a protestar, aos gritos atrás de si, é sempre melhor estarmos presos juntos do que livres e separados.

Se insistir em continuar a aparecer atrás de mim desta maneira, vou obrigá-lo a usar um guizo.

A ponte gemeu e balançou sob o seu peso, e a escuridão que se estendia para lá dela ameaçava engoli-lo, mas a lua voltou a brilhar nas pedras preciosas do cabelo de Sage. Trystan manteve o seu olhar nelas, sabendo que seguiria aquela luz para onde quer que ela fosse.

Sinto que a vida está condenada a simplesmente acontecer, e não a ser vivida por mim.

Havia sempre alguém que precisava mais dele, e isso fazia-me sentir… sem importância.

Então a destruição é a solução dele? - Evie revirou os olhos, afastando o cabelo solto do rosto. - Homens - bufou.

Tu fizeste-lhe mal a ela - cuspiu Trystan, com o poder a surgir ao seu redor. - E isso é o suficiente para mim.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death and Confinement

Minor: Infertility, Panic attacks/disorders, and Kidnapping

katsudon's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I read this as if it was a fanfic, so I was able to get thru it even if it wasn’t as quickly as I hoped. I’m not a fan of the writing, but the villain concept is always fun. I will likely attempt the next book in the series. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Blood

Moderate: Death and Sexual assault

Minor: Bullying, Child death, and Sexism

yilliun's review against another edition

funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child death, Confinement, and Death of parent

kirby_reads0302's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious slow-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Gore, and Blood

Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

lkzland_97's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, and Medical trauma

Minor: Child death, Terminal illness, and Torture

lspettel's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

What a silly ride! It was all the chaos of the series brought to life in book form! The ridiculous amount of tropes will satisfy the heart and make you squeal like Hannah herself! It’s got more darkness in it than you would think, but absolutely enjoyed it as a fan before the book!

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Content Warnings

Minor: Child death, Cursing, Gore, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, and Murder

hasha's review against another edition

Notes to self: I enjoyed the story. Sometimes (a lot of the time) found myself cringing - ie. “she scrunched her nose” so many times and lots of adjectives that felt a bit too much sometimes. Very trope-y. But an enjoyable listen! And the actual story in itself was interesting. 
The storyline with the blacksmith made it dark too - and made the story not as “fairytale”-like, which was good / gave some more substance(?). Idk if that’s the right word.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Misogyny, and Blood

Moderate: Sexual assault, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

mzquirk's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness and Death

Moderate: Body horror, Chronic illness, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Torture

ellaraeread's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic