Adult, ARC review, book review

Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer (ARC Review)

Title: Assistant to the Villain
Author: Hannah Nicole Maehrer
Type: Fiction
Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Humour
Publisher: Red Tower Books
Date published: August 29, 2023

A complimentary physical copy of this book was kindly provided by Kaye Publicity, Inc. and Red Tower Books in exchange for an honest review.

ASSISTANT WANTED: Notorious, high-ranking villain seeks loyal, levelheaded assistant for unspecified office duties, supporting staff for random mayhem, terror, and other Dark Things In General. Discretion a must. Excellent benefits.

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.

⤖ My Review ⬻

When I heard about Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer and learned that it was all about a romance between a villain and his assistant, I was all in. I’m one of those folks who not-so-secretly root for the villain to steal the spotlight, especially in the romance department.

My first impression when starting the book was that I found the writing to be quite entertaining—I laughed a few times while even reading the first chapter. As I continued reading, I found myself liking the main characters quite a bit as well as the setting/world. The world-building was done very smoothly—I didn’t even realize it was happening because it was integrated into the writing and storytelling so smoothly.

Something I didn’t realize in the first two thirds of the book, but that became very clearly apparent to me in the last bit, was that Assistant to the Villain is not a standalone but the start of a series! I’m definitely excited to spend some more time with the characters over however many more books there will be, but can’t deny I was thrown off a bit due to expecting everything to be wrapped up by the end of this book.

The romance between the two main characters was just as entertain as the rest of Assistant to the Villain! I just wanted to note that it also wasn’t at the very center of everything all of the time. There is romance, yes, but this story also focuses on relationships between friends, family, co-workers. Lastly, I found the medieval fantasy mixed in with corporate work life to be very unique and amusing. I’ve never found a fantasy novel to be relatable in this way! I had a blast. I recommend Assistant to the Villain to fans of high fantasy, great banter, fun characters and situations, some laugh-out-loud scenes, and the villain as a love interest!

⤖ About the Author ⬻

Hannah Nicole Maehrer—or as TikTok Knows her, @hannahnicolemae—is a fantasy romance author and BookToker with a propensity for villains. When she’s not creating bookish comedy skits about Villains and Assistants, she’s writing to Taylor Swift songs. Her biggest passions in life include romance, magic, laughter, and finding ways to include them all in everything she creates. Most days you can find her with her head in the clouds and a pen in her hand.

⤖ Get Your Copy ⬻

⤖ Let's Chat ⬻

Thank you for reading my review! Have you read this book? What did you think? And if you haven’t read it yet, do you plan to? Let me know in the comments!

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