Scan barcode
A review by talor_madison
Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer
2.0
I understand this book is popular and to a degree I understand why. It isn’t that this book is bad. The writing isn’t terrible and it has potential to be a good story. Honestly, that is why I kept reading it because of its potential. I wanted it to be better than what it is, but unfortunately it falls flat. It gives the bare minimum.
Somewhat grumpy character? ✔️
Somewhat overly eager and sarcastic heroine? ✔️
Somewhat romantic? ✔️
Everything is almost there but not quite fully developed. It’s a books full of almosts and not of absolutes. A book that is trying to come off as smart and a little bit quirky but doesn’t quite hit the mark. The choices that are made are not confident and the characters are not likeable or unlikeable, but somewhat in between. Everything falls into the void of mediocrity, which seems to be the the pattern for a LOT of popular, BookTok viral books. I’ve seen the TikTok’s this idea came from and while I was entertained by them, it is clear that the book was trying to be built around these ideas instead of coming up with idea and incorporating what is already there into a solid story.
The main issue I have with this book is that everything is half baked. There is no foundation for a romantic relationship between Evie (the assistant) and The Villain that we see being built. We know what they are thinking. There is a lot of inner monologue. But there is no action being put into these thoughts. There is no depth or connection. It’s just thoughts. A look into their inner selfs without anything moving the plot forward or building a strong foundation for a romance. They have little moments here and there but nothing that is more than just flirting and light banter. They don’t know anything about each other. Every single time Evie would learn new information about him she didn’t know before she would get offended and I didn’t understand why? We do not see a meaningful relationship develop. We do not see the Villain confiding in her more than anyone else. We do not see them connect on a deeper level and that is this books biggest flaw. A lot of the connection between them happens off page due to a time jump after the prologue of five months. I do not buy that The Villain would be in love with Evie or even remotely interested in her. Which makes me not invested in the romance to begin with.
I know this is a popular book. I understand why. However, just because you can come up with a good premise in short one minute videos does not mean you should write a book. It takes more than humor to write a good story. This story is not good. It is not bad. It’s mid. Which is severely disappointing. Yet another mediocre book being overhyped in a market that is slowly filling up with mediocre books with no substance. It seems like writers are just attempting to go viral instead of writing a solid story, with solid characters who make you feel something.
Somewhat grumpy character? ✔️
Somewhat overly eager and sarcastic heroine? ✔️
Somewhat romantic? ✔️
Everything is almost there but not quite fully developed. It’s a books full of almosts and not of absolutes. A book that is trying to come off as smart and a little bit quirky but doesn’t quite hit the mark. The choices that are made are not confident and the characters are not likeable or unlikeable, but somewhat in between. Everything falls into the void of mediocrity, which seems to be the the pattern for a LOT of popular, BookTok viral books. I’ve seen the TikTok’s this idea came from and while I was entertained by them, it is clear that the book was trying to be built around these ideas instead of coming up with idea and incorporating what is already there into a solid story.
The main issue I have with this book is that everything is half baked. There is no foundation for a romantic relationship between Evie (the assistant) and The Villain that we see being built. We know what they are thinking. There is a lot of inner monologue. But there is no action being put into these thoughts. There is no depth or connection. It’s just thoughts. A look into their inner selfs without anything moving the plot forward or building a strong foundation for a romance. They have little moments here and there but nothing that is more than just flirting and light banter. They don’t know anything about each other. Every single time Evie would learn new information about him she didn’t know before she would get offended and I didn’t understand why? We do not see a meaningful relationship develop. We do not see the Villain confiding in her more than anyone else. We do not see them connect on a deeper level and that is this books biggest flaw. A lot of the connection between them happens off page due to a time jump after the prologue of five months. I do not buy that The Villain would be in love with Evie or even remotely interested in her. Which makes me not invested in the romance to begin with.
I know this is a popular book. I understand why. However, just because you can come up with a good premise in short one minute videos does not mean you should write a book. It takes more than humor to write a good story. This story is not good. It is not bad. It’s mid. Which is severely disappointing. Yet another mediocre book being overhyped in a market that is slowly filling up with mediocre books with no substance. It seems like writers are just attempting to go viral instead of writing a solid story, with solid characters who make you feel something.