Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer Narrator: Em Eldridge
Published by Tantor Audio on August 29, 2023
Genres: Fantasy Romance
Length: 12 hours, 30 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
Amazon, Audible, Libro.fm, Barnes & Noble
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.
Assistant to the Villain looks like a stand alone novel. It isn’t; it is definitely book one of some larger series. It is also is being marketed at as adult, this is MG or YA at best really. But if you keep those things in mind, I think there is some fun to be had.
Evie was down on her luck and the sole support for her family. After losing her job at the blacksmiths, she is almost at her last bit of money and soon there will be nothing for her family to eat. After tripping over the notorious villain on her way through the woods, she accidently helps him keep his magical frog safe and he offers her a job. This is the weirdest office she has worked in. There are severed heads as she walks through the door and that is her indication of how upset her boss is. The staff around her are strange indeed, interns that don’t mind having to run for their lives occasionally, a healer with a bit of history with the boss’s family, the dragon tamer who has never actually tamed a dragon and every good office needs a nemesis to fight with.
It has been a bit of a mind field to get used to and Evie also has to remind herself that her boss is evil. He is so handsome and a bit broody but she finds herself being utterly attracted to him and needs to remind herself he is not the good guy; he is the bad guy. Stop being attracted to evil Evie runs through her head from time to time as a mantra to remember. Not everything is going great in the office. There is a rat among the selling out their evil plans to hijack shipments and where the stashes of stuff is hidden. The Boss and Evie will team up to look for the rat and find out who is selling him out to his nemesis the king.
While the concept of this book was fun and there are some funny moments it is definitely more of a MG or YA story overall. The pacing is decent but the characters are not really developed. I did enjoy most of the story as a cozy little mystery with some situational things in it but was disappointed to see at the end this is book one of series, it seems as it ends with the set up for the next book and a mini cliff hanger. The budding romance between Evie and her evil boss Tristan is cute and I had fun with it but it was definitely on a YA level with all the longing looks and such.
Overall this is a cozy mystery / romance with some funny moments and cute situations. However if you are looking for something that would read more like an adult novel you might need to look elsewhere as not everyone reads YA.
Narration:
Em Eldridge is a new to me narrator. I usually listen at 1.5x speed but needed to bump up to 1.75x due to the way she paused in her narration. She has a pleasant voice overall and did most of the voices in a way they could be differentiated from but her narration was a lot slower than other narrators I listen to especially in the beginning. After increasing the play speed, I was able to better enjoy the story.
Listen to a clip: HERE
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My take on this book is completely different. I felt like the story had a cartoon-like setting but I would definitely not say that it would be a middle-grade book. The reasons that Evie left her former employer were very adult. I loved the book for the cozy fantasy that it was and thought that it was just a ton of fun. Sorry that it didn’t work as well for you.
Fair MG might be a little young but it did remind me of YA.
So glad you liked it. I had a good time, I was disappointed that it wasn’t a standalone though. Just because I wasn’t prepared for it to be a series set up. But I will definitely read the next one to see where the story goes.
Great review. The title caught my eye and I plan to read it, but you’ve given me some things to think about now.
It definitely sounds YA to me, and I’ve been seeing it blow up on the Entangled Facebook group. Need to get my hands on it. Great review!