With the Villain unravelling and a traitor in the manor, his far-too-cheerful assistant has to hold the whole operation together.
- Score
- 79.8
- Spice
- 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️Sweet
- POV
- third
- Ending
- HEA / HFN
Tropes
Content warnings
Curated signals, not an exhaustive guarantee.
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What readers think
Readers who loved book one generally enjoy the expanded world-building and Evie's growth from bumbling assistant to someone with genuine bite and agency. The supporting cast — especially Kingsley the frog and the new knight character — earns consistent praise for comedic timing and depth. The romantic tension is almost universally acknowledged as genuine and emotionally satisfying even while being slow to progress. Critical voices centre on two issues: the romantic momentum actually regresses from book one (mutual feelings are obvious but nothing advances), and the plot has a repetitive structure described as retrieve-someone/encounter-trouble/escape/repeat. Readers wanting spice or meaningful romantic escalation will be frustrated; readers who enjoy pining and workplace banter will be charmed.
Read it if
- · Fans of book one who want more of the same wit, found-family warmth, and sustained pining without physical escalation
- · Readers who enjoy dual-POV banter-driven romantasy where the tension is entirely emotional and the villain has a soft underbelly
- · Anyone who reads for ensemble casts and comedic side characters rather than plot momentum
Skip it if
- · You need romantic progression — the main couple barely advances despite obvious mutual feelings
- · You want plot depth or a non-repetitive structure — the book cycles through similar beats across its length
- · You came for genuine villain darkness — Trystan reads as a tender anti-hero, not a morally threatening antagonist
If you liked this
- · For fans of Assistant to the Villain — direct sequel, same energy, same leads, slightly more world-building and slightly less romantic payoff
- · For fans of The Cruel Prince by Holly Black — morally grey love interest and slow-burn tension, but played far lighter and with workplace comedy replacing court scheming
- · For fans of Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree — cozy found-family fantasy with low stakes and warm ensemble dynamics, though this is more romance-forward
In this series
Part of Assistant to the Villain — read in order:
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