Assistant to the Villain & Apprentice to the Villainby Hannah Nicole Maehrer — A Dual Review🎧 Em Eldridge

Summary for Assistant to the Villain via (Goodreads): Once Upon a Time meets The Office in Hannah Maehrer’s laugh-out-loud viral TikTok series turned novel, about the sunshine assistant to an Evil Villain…and their unexpected romance.

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.

This is a dual review of Assistant to the Villain and Apprentice to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer. I kept seeing this series pop up around the blogosphere and on Instagram, so I decided to give the audiobooks a try—and I’m so glad I did. Em Eldridge, the narrator, was amazing. I loved her voices for all of the characters and thought she really brought them to life. Her delivery of Evie’s and Tristan’s sarcasm and witty banter was perfection, and I laughed out loud on several occasions.

I will say that I enjoyed the first book more than the second. I can understand—and even appreciate—a good slow-burn romance; however, about halfway through the second book, it started to feel forced and a little unnecessary. The two main characters finally share a kiss, only for one of them to immediately decide to ignore those feelings and push the other away. I hated that their sweet moment was followed by repeated denials of affection and later derailed by a prophecy or some such nonsense. I found myself losing interest in their relationship because of it.

The story also started to feel repetitive and sluggish in the second book. It didn’t progress as much as I would have liked, and I thought the author could have done more with the plot.

That being said, I did enjoy Apprentice to the Villain. The secondary character development is fantastic, and I loved that we get to jump into their POVs in addition to Evie’s and Tristan’s. It’s fun seeing how they think and feel about certain people and situations, and I think the author has truly outdone herself when it comes to creating engaging, likable characters. I definitely plan on continuing the series to see what they get up to in future installments.

Assistant to the Villain (★★★★☆)
Apprentice to the Villain (★★★☆☆)