Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

16 reviews

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

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious medium-paced

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

2.75

This was not for me. The writing felt a little unedited. And I'm really not a fan of the female character who is too clumsy to function. Portions of the plot were well-done and

I was extremely surprised by the ending

. But parts kind of felt clunky. Like

the major plot points were essentially meeting each of the villain's family members in order.

The ending was quite a cliffhanger, and I admit that I'm interested in what's going to happen next. I do have a question though - I know good pay is hard to come by, but you constantly see dead people and never try to find out why your boss is killing them??? Also, the narrator was not my cup of tea. Really choppy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Murder, and Abandonment

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Sexual assault, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, and Toxic friendship

baileynoel'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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Abandonment

shinyfox'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

5.0

Quirky, funny, light hearted while still being dark in its own way.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Gore, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Child death and Pandemic/Epidemic

indieandajean's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Moderate: Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

erinkellyreads's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted 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

4.0

Based on the viral TikTok videos, this comic romantasy stars Evie, The Villain's assistant, along with a cast of other villainous teammates as they try to discover who is trying to kill the Villain (while continuing to try to cause problems for the king). 

This book was so cute and funny! I went into it knowing to not take it too seriously, and I'm glad I did. Going in knowing this was going to be goofy and fun allowed me to really enjoy the stock character nature of Evie and the others at the beginning, which evolved into more nuance throughout the story. The world of the book is interesting (reminding me often of a DnD cartoon), along with the creatures, and I'm curious to see what comes next in the sequel!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Sexual assault, Grief, and Abandonment

Minor: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

wickeddelights's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted relaxing slow-paced

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

2.75

This book suffered from a lot of editorial drawbacks.  There were inconsistencies that started from  the get-go and moments where little things like the severity of ailments or a characters stance on whether or not they would reveal something would change in the space of 1-2 pages. 
Some of the names of characters felt very out of place in a fantasy environment. And the characters could act downright cartoonish at times (ie, waving their arms wildly around, or quite literally rolling on the floor laughing) 
I don't think it is meant to be taken too seriously, but there were so many instances where it felt like there should be a Disney sitcom laugh track playing in the background. 
It just wasn't for me. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism

crownoflaurel's review against another edition

funny lighthearted slow-paced

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

2.5

Fan-fiction style writing, made up of a series of scenes indulging in the more annoying character behaviors, and it ends in a cliffhanger? 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Bullying, Sexual assault, and Gaslighting

wickedgrumpy's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad slow-paced

2.5

It had promise but ended up lacking.  The pacing felt awkward, the pining was uninspired, the world building was confusing..  I could go on, but it wasn't a bad book.  Doubt I will continue the series.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

tbrplaylist's review against another edition

dark funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Blood