Assistant to the Villain
Hannah Nicole Maehrer, 2023
Fantasy Graphic novels & humourRomanceMystery, thriller & crime
A young woman takes a job assisting a supervillain and finds the office politics nearly as dangerous as her boss. A romcom with daggers, grumbling and paperwork. A light, witty office comedy with romantic sparks, grumbling villainy and a brisk, playful voice.
Feels like humor and serenity. About love and identity.
Who it’s for
You may like it if you enjoy romcom banter, workplace jokes and a villain who is more grumpy than terrifying. If you want grim, serious high fantasy, the constant office humor and paperwork gags may feel too light.
Why read it
It gives you a funny, romantic escape into villainous office politics, with daggers, grumbling and paperwork instead of epic battles.
A page from the book
The moment you stop waiting for sunshine and start hoping for a storm.
Granted, she didn’t want to become evil, but when you spend most of your life trying to see the sun, you begin to wish for rain. Hannah Nicole Maehrer.Maehrer's story began as a TikTok sketch series about a villain's put-upon assistant; the videos went viral and the skits became her debut novel.
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Where to get it
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Questions readers ask
- Is Assistant to the Villain for me?
- You may like it if you enjoy romcom banter, workplace jokes and a villain who is more grumpy than terrifying. If you want grim, serious high fantasy, the constant office humor and paperwork gags may feel too light.
- What is Assistant to the Villain like?
- A light, witty office comedy with romantic sparks, grumbling villainy and a brisk, playful voice. Feels like humor and serenity. About love and identity.
- What should I read after Assistant to the Villain?
- If you liked Assistant to the Villain, try The Ex Hex (Erin Sterling), Great Big Beautiful Life (Emily Henry) and Yours Truly (Abby Jimenez).
A taste of the feed
The kiss that makes the years before it feel like sleep.
What Rhys knew was that kissing her had felt like waking up. Like he’d been drifting sleepily through everything for the past nine years until he tasted her mouth again and remembered what actually being alive felt like. Better than any magic, Vivienne’s kiss.
The Ex Hex · Erin Sterling
The compliment that sounds like an insult until it isn’t.
I think you live in a world that’s more interesting than the one most people live in,” he says, and just as my heart starts to sink with disappointment, with a kind of loneliness, he adds, “and I wish I could live in it too.” I feel myself beaming. “I’ll take you sometime.” “I’d like that,” he says.
Great Big Beautiful Life · Emily Henry
Being loved not despite the damage, but including it.
We’re all a little broken, Briana. We are a mosaic. We’re made up of all those we’ve met and all the things we’ve been through. There are parts of us that are colorful and dark and jagged and beautiful. And I love every piece of you. Even the ones you wish didn’t exist.
Yours Truly · Abby Jimenez
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