Assistant to the Villain (1&2) - Hannah Nicole Maehrer

Kylee reviews two books in one post, NoT ClIcKbAiT!?!?

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. (link)

Review: 3/5

NOTICE TO STAFF: There has been a disturbing increase in cheeriness, sprightly behavior, and overall optimism of late. Please resume your former dark, ominous terrors at your earliest convenience. ―Mgmt

Evie Sage has never been happier to be the assistant to The Villain. Who would have thought that working for an outrageously handsome (shhh, bad for his brand) evil overlord would be so rewarding? Still, the business of being bad is demanding, the forces of good are annoyingly persistent, and said forbidding boss is somewhat…er, out-of-evil-office.

But Rennedawn is in grave trouble, and all signs―Kingsley’s included―point to catastrophe. Something peculiar is happening with the kingdom’s magic, and it’s made The Villain’s manor vulnerable to their enemies...including their nemesis, the king.

Now it’s time for Evie to face her greatest challenge: protecting The Villain’s lair, all of his nefarious works, and maybe (provided no one finds out) the entire kingdom. No pressure, Evie.

It’s time to step out of her comfort zone and learn new skills. Like treason. Dagger work. Conspiring with the enemy. It’s all so…so…delightfully fun.

But what happens when the assistant to The Villain is ready to become his apprentice? (link)

Review: 2/5

Can I say something mean? I hate-read these books, and I will not finish the series as more come out. This book is the materialization of someone blowing up on tiktok for a trend, and trying too hard to ride the 5 minutes of fame by publishing a poorly planned AND executed book series. Am I saying I could write better? Probably not, but at least I know that and won’t subject others to it. 

My biggest beef with these books is how much they blew up on social media. The writing was so stunningly mediocre and simple, I thought it was YA the entire time. Imagine my face when I found out it WASN’T!? 

The phrase that interested me in this series was comedy romantasy; a combination of ACOTAR and the Office. And boy, was I let down. This will be a long review, but only in bullet format… If I hated reading it, I hate writing about it too.

• Cringe at the pet name “little tornado” 

  • THEN he has a tornado nightlight? This is so stupid and doesn’t make sense… which came first, his nightlight or her nickname? Did he nick-name her after his nightlight? Was he so in love with her, he got a nightlight after her nickname? What does a tornado nightlight look like?

• When speaking to a dragon, someone says “No we don’t eat friends, we talked about this” … Had to take a cringe break. 

• Powers are sometimes passed down genetically from family, but sometimes they’re not? Extremely underdeveloped magic system. 

• Insanely dull reason for The Villain and King to be beefing.

• Trying to be Aelin and Rowan at the end of the first book.. Separation core!!!

• Difference in pronunciation of Guvras in each book… personal beef with the difference in Audiobook narrators.

• Difficult to imagine and keep up in transition between The Office style comedy and intense, Game of Thrones style war, fighting, torture, etc. Folding in a slow burn romance is INSANE work.

• “By the gods…” “oh gods” “what in the deadlands?” These phrases are said constantly and there’s no explanation to what they mean. There’s no development into the belief OR magic system! 

• Is there only one kingdom? Because there’s no real mention of others. 

• “Walking HR violation” talking about the hot animal trainer (picturing Bill Weasley btw) CRINGEY

• As chronically online as my TikTok addicted mother. 

• I’m imagining the scenes of the Ministry of Magic (from Harry Potter) as the office setting, since there’s no description. 

• Unicorn shit = bull shit? Why does everything have to be something different? 

• Why is she so protective over being called his assistant??

• Hint of TOG again with the switch to Rebecka’s viewpoint 

• It’s not even a slow burn, it’s just boring and inconsistent. - now they’re kissing and I’m pissed because anytime an argument is solved by sexual desire, YEAH I’m mad. “Let's not talk about our problems and let's make out!” Lazy writing. 

• “Evie was not one for melodramatics… yes she was” There’s so many “trying to be quirky” quotes that are just overly wordy and confusing. Know when to quit! 

• So many different plot points, I can’t keep track, and it doesn’t feel like it’s all building up to something, it only feels like its busy plot points.

• When there’s a “dramatic reveal” it feels like it's just because there’s nothing else to say, there’s no real backstory or planning to the choices,and that reflects how poorly built the plot is.

• Poor description of Trystan’s magic: it can sense an opponent's weak points, but it can also “feel” other people and tell him if there are people around?

• Trying to end EVERY chapter off with a cliff-hanger is exhausting and overplayed; again!!! LAZY WRITING.

• Confusion of “old speak” and new slang and modern terms… pick one! Are we speaking Shakespear-ian or TikTok brain rot? Because I might pull my eyes out if I have to read a combination of the two.

• “Creature of destiny…” oh please.

• Trying to be casually woke but feels very forced. 

In short, I think this was just too big of a task for this writer; I acknowledge her for trying it, but I didn’t feel it was developed enough to execute well. I read somewhere (in a Reddit encouraged rage) that the author threw out some quotes on TikTok, went viral for combining romantasy with The Office vibe, then wrote these books. If that’s true, it tracks. 

For this playlist, as much as I hated these two books, I set y’all up with a romantasy vibe. Because if you HAVE to read these books, you might as well enjoy the music you’re reading them to. 

Spotify: LINK