# Assistant to the Villain

By Hannah Nicole Maehrer · Assistant to the Villain, book 1

Profile: https://hahafiction.com/books/assistant-to-the-villain-5c6930b9/

Evie Sage needs an income to support her family. Becoming an assistant to Rennedawn's notorious Villain offers one, along with a difficult workplace crush. When someone sabotages his operation, keeping the job means finding the culprit.

## What makes it funny?

The office has an enchanted frog who registers his opinions on tiny signs. Evie also has to find a professional way to deal with severed heads and other objects that most assistants never encounter at work.

### The comedy at work

Maehrer applies ordinary office etiquette to a villain's lair. Evie's polite question about a corpse on her desk treats a grotesque situation as a small matter of workplace procedure.

### Try this if…

Office comedy and a slow attraction to a dangerous boss are the main draws. This may suit readers who like romantic tension developing amid absurd administrative duties.

### Good to know

Content includes torture, severed heads, threats of sexual assault and profanity. The romantic emphasis is on tension rather than explicit sex.

## What to expect

- Genre: Fantasy · Romance
- On the shelf: Romantasy
- Kind of humor: Dark comedy · Situational comedy
- Audience: Adult
- Format: Novel
- Published: 2023

## A few distinguishing details

- Administrative work in a villain's lair
- An office frog with opinions on signs

## Sources & further reading

- Reading sample: [Authorized opening excerpt](https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/books/a44762077/hannah-nicole-maehrer-assistant-to-the-villain-excerpt)
- Review: [Fresh Fiction review](https://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=92636)
- Publisher: [Publisher](https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/459763/assistant-to-the-villain-by-maehrer-hannah-nicole/9781804993385)
- Review: [Common Sense Media review](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/assistant-to-the-villain-book-1)