TL;DR: From start to finish, Assistant to the Villain was an entertaining read. It was amusing, witty, and simple, and I honestly didn’t take it very seriously. This book didn’t try to be more than it was, which is a simple story with silly characters and a slightly meandering plot, but that made it all the more enjoyable to me. It was the perfect no thoughts mostly vibes read that I was in the perfect mood for, and I think that that’s key to enjoying this story. You need to just vibe and go with it to see where it takes you!

I honestly have no idea how I want to rate this because I’m having a hard time trying to explain how I felt and what I thought about it. I’m teetering on 3.5 rounded up! I started this with more than a little trepidation because some of my favourite reviewers didn’t love it (or even finish it) but others loved it to bits. I’d say I fall in the middle of that scale but I can see why people wouldn’t enjoy it and I can see why people would love it. I’m happy/sad that I liked it enough to want more even when it didn’t blow me away but damn that cliffhanger cos the second book can’t get here soon enough!

There are two POVs but the main one is from our FMC, Evie. She’s a glass-half-full bit of sunshine who is also more than a bit of a hot mess! 😂 She comes from a family that has been torn apart by death and magic, and she hasn’t had an easy time growing up and had to take on the mantle of adulthood much too young. She’s gullible and clumsy and has a very forgiving and kindhearted nature which makes her easily loved but also easily ridiculed by her peers. I liked Evie! It was fun to see this world from her pov and my heart went out to her and the situations she had to endure out of fear that her community would look down on her when she wasn’t at fault. Her sweet yet mischievous personality was a great complement to The Villain, who wasn’t much of a villain at all! Now, some might feel this counts as a negative towards this book but I loved that he wasn’t as villainous as his reputation makes him out to be!

The extremely grumpy, evil, morally grey characters who are at heart generous, loyal, and caring, might be one of my favourite micro-trope thingies. Gimme all of that all the time and The Villain fit the bill! I wished we got more of his POV because I enjoyed seeing him fight the feelings that Evie stirs up in him and which he thought were long dead. There were many elements to his character that I enjoyed discovering but I wanted to learn even more about him! There is a romance subplot and while their secret feelings for each other play a big role in their monologues and some of their actions, I wouldn’t necessarily classify this as a romantasy. It is a fantasy with romance although I hope that changes in the book(s) to come! It is quite the slow-burn though and I hope it doesn’t take much longer for these two idiots to realise just how much they mean to each other in a non-platonic way. 😂

As I mentioned earlier, there is also a lot that happens throughout the book and the plot meanders here and there as the author tries to fit in all the things while still having the main plot make sense. This would usually irritate me but I grew to care for the characters and their stories enough that I didn’t mind it! Overall, this was a simple and enjoyable read that I would recommend if you’re looking for a “mostly vibes and fun” book to read.

Have you read Assistant to the Villain or is it on your TBR?

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