Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

41 reviews

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

mandalevelsup's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny 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? It's complicated

4.5

This has been one of my favorite reads of the year. It is a glorious deconstruction of grumpy/sunshine, office comedy with an absurdist twist that uses its premise to quietly reflect on how we are shaped by trauma. 

This is a book that would benefit from trigger warnings.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Trafficking, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Gore and Violence

brerreads's review against another edition

funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

Definitely a cute/fun read! There were many cliches (that I love), but also a lot that took me by surprise! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Blood, Murder, and Sexual harassment

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

stories's review against another edition

dark lighthearted mysterious slow-paced

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

3.5

Good fun. Definitely for adults - some swears, quite a bit of lusting. Dual POV: Assistant & Villain. Mutual pining. 

Lots of mysterious backstories. 

Some fun characters, with solid side character development. Bonus points for at-odds lesbians. 

Some fun playing with traditional fairytale and fantasy tropes, alongside office workplace dramas. 

Working for a villain is all well and good, but when there’s a mole in the office, it’s not the *safest* workplace ever. 

Mildly cliffhanger ending, which was not my favourite. (Not least bc my library doesn’t recognise the existence of book 2 & 3 :c )

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Chronic illness, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal cruelty, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Sexism, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Murder, and Alcohol

Villainous deeds (murder, torture etc) occur, but off screen and typically presented in a tongue-in-cheek fashion.

culzean's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Sexual assault, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

andreatypesbraille's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child death, Chronic illness, Sexual assault, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

plainromance's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual content, Torture, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Sexual assault and Vomit

straybutterfly's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted 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? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cursing, Sexism, and Grief

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