Series: Assistant To The Villain #1
Source Purchased
Published by Entangled Publishing on August 29, 2023
Rating:
Once Upon a Time meets The Office in Hannah Maehrerβs laugh-out-loud viral TikTok series turned novel, about the sunshine assistant to an Evil Villainβ¦and their unexpected romance.
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 Rennedawnβs most infamous Villain results in a job offerβnaturally, 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. Donβt find evil so attractive, Evie.
But just when sheβs 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 ratβ¦and not just the literal kind. Because something rotten is growing in the kingdom of Rennedawn, and someone wants to take the Villainβand his entire nefarious empireβout.
Now Evie must not only resist drooling over her boss but also figure out exactly who is sabotaging his workβ¦and ensure he makes them pay.
After all, a good job is hard to find.
Something about this premise called out to me. I loved the idea of a villain story in the vein of ‘The Office’, and I was intrigued by the romance hinted at in the synopsis.
In execution, this was not as fun as I’d hoped. It felt very juvenile to me, and the humour didn’t land. The romance also felt pretty non-existent. I am confused about this being described as a romance or romantasy, because I just didn’t get major romance vibes. Also, this ended on a pretty big cliffhanger, which I didn’t love.
And yet, despite all of the above, I could not DNF. Despite my semi-disinterest, I wanted to finish reading. It was kind of a comforting book to read and it didn’t challenge my brain. It was good for the nights I wanted to read something easy before bed.
Will I check out the sequel? Possibly, but I would borrow from the library rather than purchase a copy this time around.