A review by bribreez
Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

adventurous emotional funny hopeful 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

4.5

4.5⭐️

We’re all familiar with fairytales right? There’s always the good and the bad, the hero and the villain, but never before have I ever heard of someone being an assistant to the villain. Evangelina Sage or more commonly known as, Evie was a young woman who was in desperate need of a new job. A job that would support her family and continue helping them however she could, even when it meant being offered the position of becoming the villain’s assistant. This story had all the elements of a fairytale, but with a twist. A morally gray man who literally was the bad guy, a sunshine young woman who ironically found enjoyment in her new job, and a bunch of shenanigans that took place in Evie’s new employment. 

I had heard a lot about this book for quite some time, and I was eager to read it for myself! This story was written with elements of magic, magical creatures, knights, heroes, villains, and much more. I quickly found myself enjoying Evie and the Villain’s (a.k.a. Trystan) dynamic. For every villain, there’s an assistant at his side as seen with Evie. I feel like if you’re a fan of fairytales, stories with magic, or the well beloved trope of grumpy/sunshine, I think you’ll like this story since I enjoyed it. I was in the mood for something along the lines of a fantasy, and this book not only piqued my interest, but also gave me what I was hoping for and more.

When meeting Evie at the beginning of the story, she immediately struck me as the last person you would imagine working for a villain, but looks can be deceiving after all. 

I don’t know where I heard this, but someone had mentioned there was barely any romance at all in this book, and I disagreed with that. While this story didn’t overtly show the kind of romance most people had hoped for, it was more understated in the way Evie and Trystan were around each other. The way Evie was literal sunshine who wholeheartedly enjoyed her job in being Trystan’s assistant was great, but also she couldn’t help the attraction she had for him. At first I thought it was more of a one sided thing on Evie’s part, but when it came to Trystan’s chapters (*told in 3rd p.o.v.) the little ways he reacted to her or even the subtle ways he behaved around her spoke volumes to me about how much Trystan truly cared for Evie. Here we had a morally gray villain, but was secretly a softie for the girl a.k.a. Evie. There were a couple of moments that made me giggle in the way Trystan was towards Evie or even how this man was LITERALLY THINKING ABOUT CHOPPING A MAN’S HAND FOR GREETING EVIE IN A CHARMING WAY!!! OMG! Talk about lowkey obsessed/ possessive about Evie! Phew! Suffice it to say, at least in this first book, the relationship Evie and Trystan had was subtle, but I was literally enjoying every single moment they had together. 

Evie and Trystan not only had their hands full with maintaining the day to day works of the evil business, but there was also a subplot of mystery and deceit that played a role in the story. You can imagine that Trystan being a villain not only entailed him doing lots of evil things from torture, maiming, stealing, etc. Although, at the root of Trystan’s plans it came back to King Benedict. For most of the book, not much was revealed as to why Trystan was so dead set on taking revenge against King Benedict and ensuring that he took everything from him. All the while, Trystan and Evie come to find out that there was a traitor amongst them at Massacre Manor. I liked the bit of mystery that was included in the story as it created a bit of drama as to who the person was that was giving King Benedict information, but also in the small excursions that Trystan and Evie would go on in order to piece the clues together. Plus, there was some interesting things that were revealed like meeting Trystan’s siblings and more hints to Trystan’s backstory. 

THIS WAS SUCH AN AMAZING BOOK! I grew up reading and loving fairytales so, to read this book that had an interesting take from the villain’s perspective or more accurately the assistant to the villain, I really enjoyed it. Evie did what was necessary for the sake of her family, but along the way she became stronger, and defied the rules she normally would have adhered to. There was a lot of magic, intrigue, plot twists, and the occasional bloody gore that surrounded Evie’s line of work. I personally loved the subtle hints of romance between Trystan and Evie. I have a feeling with the next book (*fingers crossed) Evie and Trystan’s romance will become a bit more pronounced and hopefully some romantic confessions will happen! I loved the protective nature of Trystan, but in his way that resulted in unhinged mayhem when it came to Evie. Again, the romance wasn’t a big plot point in this book specifically but in the small moments between Evie and Trystan, I was loving every second of it. I was never bored while reading, I was constantly on my toes, eagerly waiting to get to the next part of the story! Towards the end of the story, things ramped up even more with the plot twists, reveals, and betrayal I wasn’t expecting! For this being Hannah’s debut novel, I think she did a wonderful job writing the elements of fairytales we’re familiar with, but putting a new spin on it. I want to read the book a.s.a.p. ESPECIALLY WITH THAT ENDING?! COME ON! I NEED MORE OF EVIE AND TRYSTAN! I don’t know about others who have had mixed reviews about this book, but I personally enjoyed it, had fun, and loved it. 
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