Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer
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.
~~~~~
Assistant to the Villain is one of the most unique storylines I’ve ever read. I’m not into cozy fantasies but I would definitely describe this as one and I think it won me over completely. It had humour, romance, and best of all, an actionable plot with at least mid-level stakes (I cannot do the fantasies that don’t have risk of bodily harm). I’ve had the pleasure of watching this story unfold on TikTok over the years and was as excited for this book release as I’d be for a close friends. Seeing its success has been such a huge part of the journey in enjoying this book but the story itself was so much more than I expected. Going into this with the cartoonish cover and the funny map etc. (and the TikTok videos) made it seem like a bit of a parody of an office romance between a “little-too-bubbly” assistant and a somewhat ditzy villain. I expected Megamind type villainy. Instead we got one of the most relatable female main characters and an actual Rhysand/Kaz Brekker-esque morally grey villain…. who is actually good at his job? Fantastic. If you’re in the need for something light but that still has excitement (ie if you’re like me and need cozy fantasy with high stakes) you should definitely pick this one up.
We mainly follow our main characters point of view, Evie, as she navigates her new job as assistant to The Villain. A man whose evil has plagued her homeland for a decade. But no one has ever seen his face until Evie, on her way home from another failed job opportunity, runs into him. Literally. And he doesn’t seem to be quite as dangerous as she’d assumed… at least not to her. She needs a job, he needs an assistant. It’s like it was written in the stars. As we follow Evie in getting used to the more gruesome side of life, someone begins to foil all their plans and they must find who in their midst is betraying them. I loved this concept. Mainly because we got a nice/kind/empathetic MC who was also somewhat morally grey. Those two sides of a person never seem to go hand in hand in fantasy novels. If she’s morally grey, she’s also cool and unaffected etc. If she’s bubbly and kind, she’s usually morally good. Evie was definitely morally corrupt but in ways where the ends justified the means and I loved getting insight into that. What wouldn’t we do to protect our family? If it means fighting a corrupt government all the better no?
The dynamic between Evie and The Villain was great and the initial draw to the book for me (all the skits the author did of them made me feel like they were already familiar before I met them on the page). The Villain, though being villainous and prone to resorting to torture and scaring the interns, was also a very fair and layered character. I love that we got background to him and reasoning for his villainy without actually redeeming him or his actions. Unlike a lot of other books, he remained morally grey, which is exactly what we want. Evie was never fully good and seeing her growth into a hardened adult who can still see the silver lining was extremely fun and I can’t wait to see how her character arc goes further into the series as I feel there’s so much potential for her to grow in so many different ways. Their interactions with each other had chemistry leaping off the page. The banter, the inside jokes, the mutual crushing, everything you’d want from a romcom was present and accounted for. Also can I just say, him calling her “Little Tornado” whenever she’s an absolute clutz?? My heart.
The plot and world building in this was one of my favourite parts. We had small climactic moments throughout the book that built and built until the grand finale. We got to see so much of this fantasy world even with most of the book taking place in the villains castle. It was a great blend of fantasy and modern day capitalism. I applaud the effort the author went through as well to describe modern day things that are common and needed in an office setting without destroying the setting of a medieval fantasy land by giving them quirky fantasy names like “magic bean drinks” for coffee. It made for such a cute addition to the story. My only holdback on this book was that the pacing was a little slow for me. Once I realized it flowed in a lot of the same ways as a television series, it made a lot more sense. Every few chapters we began a new day where our characters were comfortable and bantery with humour and then a new mystery would be afoot, they’d slowly solve it, which would eventually lead to the larger mystery, and rinse repeat, just like cyclical episodes in a 24 part tv series, slowly building to the grand finale but still giving filler time to allow us to get to know the characters, their dynamics, and have a fun glimpse into daily life when not in immediate danger.
I highly enjoyed this book and I cannot wait to see the second. I did think this was a standalone so I was surprised that there was a cliff-hanger but I also feel like there’s a lot more to explore in this world and I can’t wait to see it. I gave this 4 stars as I really liked the characters, the plot, and the world building, I just wish it could have been a little faster paced.