Book Review: Assistant to the Villain

I finally read Assistant to the Villain by Nicole Hannah Maehrer after hearing great things about it for months and months now!

This novel is so fun, entertaining, and unique. It follows Evangelina Sage or Evie and “The Villain” also known as Trystan Maverine. The Villain is rumored to be completely evil and scary and ghoulish looking. So when Evie runs into him in the forest one day, she is taken aback when she finds out he’s actually not that much older than her and very good looking. Desperate for a new job to help support her sick father and young sister, Evie is shocked when The Villain offers her a job as his assistant. She begins working for him at his huge manor, which the villagers call “Massacre Manor” and helps keep everything running smoothly in his evil operation. Sometimes she even convinces him to not torture people so much! The Villain’s main goal is to do anything he can to bring down King Benedict, his enemy. But when multiple plans of The Villain’s plans get sabotaged it becomes increasingly evident that someone on the inside must be a spy for the king. Evie will not stand for someone trying to hurt The Villain and vows to help him find the culprit.

This was such a fun read and I loved Evie and Trystan! The tension between the two was so good and it’s definitely a very slow burn, but it is fitting for the characters. I’m hoping it ramps up a bit in the 2nd book, which comes out this summer! I really liked the side characters too! I honestly couldn’t tell who was going to be the “bad” guy in the story who was working against them and I was hoping the whole time it wouldn’t be one of the side characters that I had grown to love. I liked that, at least for me, it wasn’t super predictable.

I can’t wait for book 2 and to see Evie, who is such a sunshine-y character, embrace more of her villain side!

Read this if you want a grumpy sunshine romcom.

And with this book, I have completed 1 of the 10 romcoms on my summer tbr!

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