Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

While this might be a young adult series, the story is a fun get away from the stress of daily life for adults too. Evie Sage is just having bad luck all around, she needs a job after an unfortunate event with her last employer and her father is sick and with her mother gone she is raising her younger sister and trying to keep the family in their home. When she wonders into the enchanted forest and runs into the Villain, while running away from the King’s guard Evie mentions she is in need of a job. The Villain is in need of an assistant and offers her a job. Evie confides that her father had been a member of the king’s guard, and the Villain makes her swear a special oath that creates a magical bond that would kill her if she betrays him (at least that is what Evie thinks). Of course these two fall in love with each other over the course of this book. However, there are some that do not like the Villain and his work starts to be sabotaged, and he asks Evie to try and figure out who on his staff are doing this. What Evie discovers is far worse, and breaks her heart. The Villain proving that he is not all evil shares his story of how he became the Villain and shows kindness to Evie’s sister when Evie’s world collapses. Evie learns that the Villain has actually shown kindness to many on his staff and even some magical animals, which makes his kidnapping at the end of the book even more heartbreaking. The book leaves the cliffhanger of the Villain being kidnapped and Evie vowing to find him and set him free. 

The sweetest moment might be the Villain hugging Evie in her kitchen after she learned the truth about who has been sabotaging the Villain. No character list so that the reader can discover the Villain’s secret kindness as Evie learns them. 

 

https://bookshop.org/widgets.js https://bookshop.org/widgets.js Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.