By: Hannah Nicole Maehrer
“It was a hard lesson to learn that sometimes it was better to remain lonely than to waste companionship and energy on someone undeserving.”
Assistant to the Villain
*This post contains spoilers for Assistant to the Villain
Overview:
ASSISTANT WANTED: Notorious, high-ranking villain seeks loyal, levelheaded assistant for unspecified office duties, supporting staff for random mayhem and terror, and other Dark Things In General. Discretion a must. Excellent benefits.
Assistant to the Villain
With ailing family to support, Evie Sage’s employment status isn’t just important, it’s vital. So when a mishap with Rennedawn’s most infamous Villain results in a job offer―naturally, she says yes. No job is perfect, of course, but even less so when you develop a teeny crush on your terrifying, temperamental, and undeniably hot boss. Don’t find evil so attractive, Evie.
But just when she’s getting used to severed heads suspended from the ceiling and the odd squish of an errant eyeball beneath her heel, Evie suspects this dungeon has a huge rat…and not just the literal kind. Because something rotten is growing in the kingdom of Rennedawn, and someone wants to take the Villain―and his entire nefarious empire―out.
Now Evie must not only resist drooling over her boss but also figure out exactly who is sabotaging his work…and ensure he makes them pay.
After all, a good job is hard to find.
Is this a great Fantasy epic to rival the classics? No. But is it a quirky and fun story? Sure.
I have read quite a bit of fantasy books over the years and Assistant to the Villian melds into the genre well. One of the things I like about fantasy books is that a lot of the story is the depiction of daily living. So, if you are not used to the genre you may feel as if the story is dragging. It is very common to talk about the daily life of the main character and descriptions of village life.
For example The Name of the Wind is a favorite of mine and there are some stretches where the main character is just studying or working on a project for school. The act is important to the story but it’s not all magical duels and epic quests.
I think this can lose some readers, especially with this book. Where the book is lacking is that it is marketed as a romance book (which it is) but mostly it is a fantasy set in a medieval village. Also, nowadays we hear romance and we think that it is all spice. This book has no spice. Just two people building a fondness for one another while dealing with a mutual opponent they must best.
I do wish that the story leaned more into the quirkiness. There are almost modern things that the main character thinks or does but it doesn’t fully go there. It would have been fun for the story to be characters that act more modern but in a medieval setting. The book seemed to be leaning towards that but never fully went there.
Overall,
I liked this book and I think I will continue the series. It does lack a little in not fully embracing its own story. I hope in the next few books the author is more comfortable and fully goes there. This series has a lot of potential and I would like to see it reached.
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
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