Assistant to the Villain - Hannah Nicole Maehrer

[goodreads]

Title: Assistant to the Villain
Author: Hannah Nicole Maehrer
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4/5
# pages: Audiobook ~14 hours
Date read: January 2025

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.


Very charming read! I was hooked almost from the get-go, and my interest never wavered.

It's one of those books that's hard to review without revealing too much though, so I'm having a hard time figuring out what to write. I really loved the characters, and loved seeing Evie and the Villains interactions. There were definitely some twists and turns I hadn't seen along the way.

One thing I will say though, is that I would have liked to know ahead of time just how open the ending is. Fortunately, I have the sequel readily available, so it's not an issue, but I was very puzzled how they intended to wrap everything up within the last 15 minutes of the audiobook.

Turned out - they didn't! So onwards with the sequel! Hoping that its ending is less open, considering that the next one isn't out until August this year!!!