Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - Assistant to the Villain

Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

128 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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loverbot's review against another edition

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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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carlyjoann's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

This was such a fun book! I enjoyed the plot, characters, and humor so much! The MCs had such good banter and chemistry that I fell in love with them quickly. The side characters were interesting and I really liked most of them! Sure the FMC‘s quips and quirks could get annoying at times but I really did like her character. The MMC’s narration was not what I expected going in but I ended up enjoying his chapters a lot. I did want more world building but this isn’t really that type of fantasy book in my opinion so it didn’t bother me much. I did not see the plot twist coming at all but loved how I could see the bread crumbs looking back at the story.

I love that the MMC fell first and SO HARD for the FMC. I know it’ll be a slow burn still from here but I’m okay with that. A hard heart with a soft spot for one person is one of my favorite tropes, plus he’s a morally grey villain! What’s not to love?!

This is just a fun fantasy romp with romance brewing under the surface nice and slow.
Excited to jump in to book 2!

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chapters_and_pages's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious fast-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

This book had everything I love in a series and it was honestly brilliant!

Evie Sage is the main provider for her little sister and ill father. Having employment isn’t just important, it’s vital, so when a vacancy for the infamous Villain opens up, Evie takes the job. After all, she’s just his assistant. Despite their positions, Evie and the Villain can’t help but feel drawn to one another, and with someone out to get the Villain, it’s a dangerous time in Rennedawn.

I absolutely adored this book! Evie and the Villain were so enjoyable. Evie is the epitome of a sunshine character, she’s amusing and selfless, adorable and optimistic. Her humour and rapport she had with the other characters was so lovely. Despite her overall positive and happy persona, we get to see darker and more serious sides to her as well.

The Villain is my favourite kind of love interest. Broody, grumpy and hates everyone but her. He’s stubborn, protective and obsessed with Evie and I love it.

I also really enjoyed the side characters and the relationships that we got to see. Evie’s relationship with Lyssa was the sweetest, Evie and Becky’s frenemy relationship was so entertaining. I also really liked Blake, Tatianna and Clare.

I loved the slowburn between Evie and the Villain, I love when a romance takes multiple books to develop and I can’t wait to continue seeing it grow.

I found the storyline to be simplistic in the best way, oftentimes fantasy books really lean into the complex world building, however sometimes I just want something that’s easy to read and this definitely fits that.

Overall, I loved this book and I’m diving right into the next one!

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