Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer is a book I was sincerely looking forward to reading.  Hannah came to popularity on TikTok with her Assistant to the Villain skits, and then was picked up by Red Tower Books to officially publish her novel.

I had preordered this book, because I was excited about the premise of it.  Evie, a down on her luck woman looking for work meets the Villain of the world she lives in and ends up being offered an assistant position.  After taking this position “hilarity” ensues, as Evie tries to make her place in this new world.

I have to say it.  Red Tower Books did Hannah dirty. 

I wanted to like this book.  I REALLY wanted to like this book.  Not only do I think Hannah is interesting, but I loved the idea of the morally gray villain getting the girl in the end.  I enjoyed the idea of the Villain and Evie being polar opposites from each other and then getting together, their personalities complimenting and bringing out the best in each other.  But this book, sincerely, had so many problems. 

To start with, this is a book for adults.   As in, this book is aimed at a more mature audience.  Yet reading this book, it feels like a YA book.  In addition, this book is supposed to be hilarious, and yet half the time I just sat there reading going “oh, ok”, before I would turn the page.  I almost did not finish this book quite a few times. 

As fun and carefree as Evie is, the Villain is completely the opposite.  He is written with a dry sense of humor which I appreciated, and I loved that we got to read chapters in his point of view.  My problem with the Villain (and Evie honesty), is he is entirely one note.  He is just, a Villain.  Hannah advertises him as morally gray, but that is not what happens. He truly has as much depth as a puddle.

The thing I really hated about this book is that to fully understand it, you had to have watched Hannah’s TikToks.  I had watched a few of them here and there over the years, but did not stay up to date watching each and every one of them.  This book instantly became a bestseller, and not everyone who is reading it is on TikTok.  It is a shame that Red Tower Books did not take the time to fully edit/pay attention to that issue in this book.  Quite a few times I found myself confused wondering why I didn’t understand what was happening.  In addition, this book heavily relies on the miscommunication trope and it ends up getting tedious.  Every time you think Evie and the Villain are going to finally start communicating and getting together, MORE MISCOMMUNICATION HAPPENS!!!

Overall – This was a fun book, but it was not a good book.  I really wanted to like this book.  I was looking forward to it, I had preordered it, and when I finally got the opportunity to read, I was incredibly disappointed.  I appreciate the attempts at humor, and I love the idea of the storyline, but I truly wish it had been better edited.  I should not have to watch a series of TikTok’s to fully understand the book I am reading. In addition, if this is a book geared towards adults it shouldn’t feel like a YA book in my hands and I stand by the statement that Red Tower Books did Hannah dirty.  This book had the potential to be so much better, so much more inviting and fun and carefree, and instead of that it was a mediocre book that I will not be reading the sequel too.

Assistant to the Villain – Hannah Nicole Maehrer

Cost* – eBook is $11.49 and Paperback is $13.99. 

*Cost is based upon what the book cost when book review is published