Book Review: Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

Developed from the author's TikTok series - Assistant to the Villain (ATV) has the potential to be a fun, quirky, fantasy with plenty of adult humor, and unique personalities, taking place in a land where magic is banned and magical animals get auctioned for money.

Evie unexpectedly crosses paths with none other than the infamous Villain of Rennedawn. Hardly afraid for her life, she finds herself accepting an offer of employment to work as the Villain's Assistant. Keeping her new job a secret, she commutes to the Villain's hidden lair and does evil assistant things. Things start to go awry for the Villain's operations when he suspects a traitor lying in wait and he entrusts Evie with helping him find out who and why.

For my first book review in months - Assistant to the Villain! I read this one last November, which feels like a lifetime ago. Lucky for me I take notes and I have quite a backlog of books to review - so here goes:

There are some charming elements to this story but there are just more things about this book that didn't sit well with me. I always try to see the potential in a book and even though I wasn't enjoying this entirely I did persevere and read until the end. I was convinced I would not even consider reading the next book in this series, however, it's more likely going to happen with the ending this one delivered.

My first thought was questioning the length of the prologue. This could have just been a regular chapter - especially because the book time jumps 5 months and that felt like an unnecessary detail. I did enjoy the fairy tale aspects and think it could be fun for a lot of people, I found some of the dialogue cringe and childish, but the vibe was nostalgic to the Shrek franchise.

One of my biggest gripes was how frequently Evie was talking, more like obsessing, about the Villain and his looks. It always came at a random time and felt forced. I also don't recall any real description of the Villain that could even make her swooning believable, I just picture a blank face. If you can push past minor annoyances like that - the plot twist was halfway decent and all the connected dots at the end improved the mood.

Apprentice to the Villain is due August 2024 - if we get more world-building and less inner monologue from Evie, it could be something I'm looking forward to.

Rating: 2

Mood: Fantasy, with a sprinkle of humor, and an afterthought of romance