Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

55 reviews

btg's review against another edition

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

3.75

Oh this was a ride. I had so much fun reading this. What an enjoyable grumpy-and-sunshine romance with some hurt/comfort thrown in for good measure. Bonus points for the enemies to begruging ride-or-die friends arc I was not expecting to love.

Look, is the book well written?  It depends on your definition of "well-written." There are noticeable issues that are probably the result of this being a debut novel. I felt bored in places, Evie's characterization in early chapters was inconsistent, and there were a lot of infodumps throughout the book that dragged the pacing. Was it extremely fun to read anyway? Oh, very much so. It follows fanfiction/emotional character beats as opposed to traditional plot structure beats, which means readers of fanfic or romance novels will likely be the target audience. Luckily that includes me. I fell in love with Evie and Trystan's dynamic, the wacky world building, and Maehrer's absolutely gut punching raw lines that come out of nowhere. Think of this book as the Fourth Wing of workplace comedy. It will not be everyone's cup of tea, but I will be back for the sequel.

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mzquirk's review against another edition

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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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lilavati's review against another edition

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

3.0

This book shouldn't work. I found the narrator's tone vaguely irritating for most of the book, and the writing hits me as trite. I swear I heard my old creative writing teacher's voice saying "show, don't tell" every few minutes. 

But Yet. 

Could I stop listening to this book? Also no. Why? I don't know! Despite all the reasons it shouldn't work - it does. 

Excellent for someone in the mood for a slow-burn romance, but that's still a light read. But I mean slow - I think they kiss twice. It also ends on a bit of a cliff-hanger. I'm sure there'll be a happy ever after at the end of the third (yet to be released) book, but you don't hit it in this one. 

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ellawatwat's review against another edition

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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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lemonwrlds's review against another edition

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

3.5


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abrielleemory's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I originally wanted to read this book because I thought the cover was so cool! But, I genuinely enjoyed the storyline and mystery in the plot. I wouldn’t say I particularly loved any of the characters, but I liked the purpose of all the main characters. 
The twist near the end was unexpected and I didn’t predict it. But, I liked the detective-ish work from Trystan and Evie. 
I hope the next book has more… happen between them. This whole book was a tease of just them admitting their feelings. 

**EDITED from 4 to 3 stars. The romance really fell flat, now that I’ve had time to think. And the magic system really made ZERO sense. 

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baileynoel's review against another edition

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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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catargena's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted 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


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avacyn731's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful 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? No

5.0


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coldheartedbirch's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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