Synopsis:
ASSISTANT WANTED: Notorious, high-ranking villain seeks loyal, levelheaded assistant for unspecified office duties, supporting staff for random mayhem and 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.
Review:
Listen, was this the best written book I’ve ever read? No. Am I giving it a four star rating anyway? Yes. I absolutely loved Assistant to the Villain. It’s not at all what I was expecting but I’m very happy about that.
I’ve only just found out that this book started as a TikTok series. As someone that isn’t on that platform, I have no idea what that means – anything to do with TikTok and books does leave a sour taste in my mouth though. It’s the worst thing to happen to books in a very long time (well most of it, I’m sure there are a lot of great creators on there).
I love a man who is “hates everyone but her” it’s up there as trope of all time. Especially when in this case he’s literally known as The Villain but she’s the only one that calls him by his name – well after some real build up of connection.
Evie was an effortlessly funny character, I know a lot of people will disagree but I enjoyed her humour “Can someone own a bee?” “No, but I think you can rent them.” was my favourite. She was very deadpan and this worked so well with The Villain. It was easy to see why they’d work together as a romantic pairing, even if that doesn’t happen in this book.
The way in which The Villain (Trystan) lets his walls down around Evie was my favourite part of this book. Every interaction they had was either hilarious: “What could he have possibly done to deserve such wrath?” “He stepped on my foot once. Never got over it,” Trystan deadpanned.” or his thoughts of her were swoonworthy: “This was a different sort of torture, one he’d never experienced before. He’d become so good at not wanting anything above what he could take—but this woman was not a possession. She was a person he greatly admired and respected. Someone he relied on more than he’d ever thought possible.”
He also literally got a tattoo that would tell him if she was in danger “He’d had the same gold ring placed around the circumference of his biceps, so that when she faced any true threat of death, it would tell him one way or another.”. Evie has a golden band around her pinkie finger as a work contract and a way to ensure she cannot harm The Villain, well that’s what he tells her anyway. Clearly that’s not the actual reason.
I did love moments like this “She wasn’t light; she was color. Every single one, dancing otherworldly and bright over his unworthy eyes. She was the explosion of the vivid gleams and glows of the world around him, like a constant rainbow, shining not after the rain but during.” As a sucker for romance, yes please, yearn away. However, there were quite a few instances of overwriting like this. This is probably my one negative for Assistant to the Villain.
There is still a lot left to be desired character-wise, however, as I know this is a multi book series there’s plenty of time to learn more about who they are and their motivations. Plus, you do get a good insight into who The Villain is and why he does such nefarious things.
The ending of Assistant to the Villain has left me eager to continue the series. Although marketed as romantasy, the romance took quite the backseat. I liked seeing The Villain’s evil plots play out and the adventures to find out who was working against him were fun.
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