3 stars
This was…bizarre. More bizarre than I was expecting even given the screwball pitch. But it was fun? Concept: ★★★★★ Pacing: ★★ Actual plot: ★★ Humor/Shenanigans: ★★★★ Sometimes, you read a book for the vibes. Assistant to the Villain is that book. Evie Sage needs a job. Her father is ill, her sister is young, and they have no money. So when she encounters The Villain—the land's most notorious criminal and murderer!!—in the woods on the run from the king's guard, Evie finds herself in the bizarre position of accepting The Villain's offer of employment. Evie handled herself well in the crisis of escape, and The Villain wants her to handle his office. It turns out Evie is the perfect personal assistant to The Villain. From office drama to document filing disasters, Evie has The Villain's lair in tip-top shape. Her drama with the office manager, dastardly Becky, is a prick in her side, but Evie won't let that get to her. She is a professional. (Even when the severed heads of The Villain's enemies drip blood on her when she's trying to get to her desk.) The Villain has no idea how he came to have Evie in his employ. She's fearless, she's clumsier than any human ought to be and make it alive to adulthood, and she's determined to succeed in her profession. (The Villain refuses to acknowledge that he would do a great many things to keep Evie's mood happy and content. Her smile and twinkling personality do absolutely nothing to the odd flutter in his stomach when she's nearby.) But like all evil overlords, The Villain has those who wish him dead. And as a plot to end his reign of terror unfolds, Evie and The Villain find themselves trying to find a hidden culprit before its too late... My thoughts: From that pitch, you know this is an odd satirical tale. It's like The Office mixed with medieval villainy, and it's a screwball pitch on a good day. Mix in a dash of romantic drama, some very iconic yet limited side characters, and you've got quite a narrative setup. And I'll be honest... it was fun. Was it my favorite though? No. This concept was fantastic, and the author clearly has a talent for the odd mix of Monty Python energy mixed with grounded plot. But in full transparency, this book was a lot. It was both easy to put down and very exhausting to try to read in large chunks. With a lot of sameness in the humor and some interesting turns in the plot that lost me rather than gripped me, Assistant to the Villain was a book that I found myself enjoying but not loving. I also assumed this novel was a standalone, but it VERY clearly is not. So be warned for an unresolved ending that apparently has two more books... However, all that being said, I am intrigued enough to continue and see where the author takes us.
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5 stars
This hit all of my buttons—smashed them, really. When Harry Met Sally with some twists, and set in the present day?? Give it to me. Plot Setup: When Harry Met Sally, literally, just more modern Characters: ★★★★★ Pacing: ★★★ Emotional damage: ★★★★★ Let me preface this review with an obvious caveat: I'm a huge fan of the 1990s hit movie, When Harry Met Sally. I love it. I've seen it way too many times. So when I received this early reader copy of You, Again and it said the magic words, I was all over it. And it delivered all the vibes I wanted, plus a whole bunch of other ones that I didn't know I needed. You, Again is a love letter to the messy ties that bind us to other people, the intricate ways we self-sabotage our needs, the fierce desire that we all have in our hearts for connection and purpose. It felt like a manifesto for the late 20-somethings and an intense mirror held up to our fault lines, our fears, and the worst authentic versions of ourselves. It's a romance, sure, but it's more so a novel about human connection and enduring bonds. And I loved every minute of it. When Ari and Josh first meet, the wrong kind of sparks fly. They hate each other. Instantly. Ari's a hot mess. An aspiring comedian working the roulette wheel of temp jobs, sleeping in spare closets called rooms, and guarding her emotional core with spikes made of steel, Ari's the kind of modern-day female protagonist that we don't often see in novels.... but she's real. Uncomfortably real. (I felt called out, let's be honest.) Josh is extremely put together on the outside. He's a talented chef, he's got inherited money and is employed well. He's talented, he's austere, he's witty and sharp. He's also a tangled mess of repression and self-loathing and anxiety spiraling and—okay, yeah, he's a mess too. And fate keeps colliding these two messes together over time. Ari and Josh meeting in an apartment. Ari and Josh running into each other at a drunken New Year's Eve party. Ari and Josh running into each other on the literal streets of New York City. When they both meet at their rock bottom worsts, the two give in to fate. They become friends. And then, eventually, they messily collide into versions of themselves that realize that maybe it's time they became more than that. Y'all.... You, Again gave me emotional damage. In the best way. Heartfelt, devastating, disturbingly real, and grounded in the "now" to the point where I felt like the author was just filming this poor couple in New York in secret—this novel was everything I was hoping to find. I loved it. Will you love it? I don't know. It's not a stereotypical romance. It also relies too heavily on the When Harry Met Sally structure for the first 25% of the novel, so you've got to acknowledge that and keep going. But if none of the above turns you off, you've got to try it. Eagerly looking forward to more from this author, who in my head is a messier, not-STEM-focused version of Ali Hazelwood. 4.5 stars
Hot billionaire with issues + classy career woman + drama = a good time. Need a say more??? Setup: ★★★ Plot/Pacing: ★★★★ Characters: ★★★★ Enjoyment: ★★★★★ Elsa Cohen is a celebrity journalist in New York City with an up-and-coming news segment and a social media follower base on the rise. She covers the real stories, she steers clear of the drama, and she's determined to succeed to the top. There's just one small snag in her setup: Hale Wheeler. Billionaire Hale and his famous family are often on Elsa's radar—it's hard to avoid them as their beautiful family is mired in drama and involved in everything. But Hale's been burned by Elsa's news before, and he refuses to allow for a repeat. So Hale and Elsa made a deal: Elsa wouldn't report on Hale's family, and Hale would break his reclusive media silence and give Elsa a one-of-a-kind interview. But like every conflict, there's more than one side to the story... And when sparks fly between Elsa and Hale during their interview, Hale's promise of eternal bachelorhood and Elsa's need to protect her heart are going to be tested. AHHHHH this was a lot of fun, y'all. Fighting the Pull had all of those city-vibes, billionaire lover, and family drama ingredients that you could ask for in a contemporary romance. And it delivered in the heat and feels too, like every good Kristen Ashley book. Now, in full and complete transparency, this was my first dip into the River Rain series. (I know!! This is book five!!) But I couldn't resist reading it when I was given an early copy as a member of the author's ARC team. So, to my potential fellow new readers, I'll say that this book was a satisfying entry novel to the series. Hale and Elsa's backstories were fully fleshed out in this novel and I didn't feel like the late person to the party like other romances. This vibe did get... harder... as the book reached the 75% mark as the references to past books' relationships/dramas came to the forefront as the drama started to involve Hale's past and the side characters more. But even then, for me as a reader I felt that this book was its own complete story, and the references just made me curious to go back and read the other pairings. This might not be the case for all readers, but I'm game for pretty much anything so it didn't bother me a bit. Elsa was my queen in this book. I loved her, I loved cheering for her in her dramas, and I loved her complex dynamics with Hale. She was my favorite part of this book. Hale... was interesting. Would I date him myself? Absolutely not. Not a chance, even if he asked (which he wouldn't). His daddy issues mixed with an ego the size of a small country was kind of a lot to take in for this reader. I know this comes with the territory for billionaire romances in general, so let me just say that I'm also not a frequent reader of this trope... I came here for KA, and found myself warming up to the billionaire thing as the story unfolded. However, the two of them were perfect for each other and it obviously sorted itself out—to the point where by the end, I did come around to liking Hale! Another banger from KA! Don't miss this one if you're a fan of these tropes. 4.5 stars
It's a rare thing to find a high fantasy that takes a familiar playbook and shakes something fresh out of the dust. This one does it, and she does it WELL. Don't sleep on this indie fantasy series. World building: ★★★★ Plot/Pacing: ★★★★★ Characters: ★★★★★ Enjoyment: ★★★★★ When you start Daughter of No Worlds, you're likely going to think about its similarity to a few very popular fantasy and young adult fantasy popular works. That's okay, because this novel does start in a somewhat familiar setting: it's a girl in a world against her, with some unique traits that make her a target who starts at the bottom of the ladder in an oppressed way—and she's going to do something about it. That's a template that we know. Especially when it is paired with the older male, world-weary yet powerful, who finds himself drawn into the young woman's powerful, world-shaping energy. But once you move beyond that surface-level introduction, Daughter of No Worlds begins to shine from the deep and grow with intensity with each reveal and new element. This author is playing the long game, and the further you dive in, the prettier the pearls. A formerly enslaved woman with a need to succeed. A former warrior captain with scars and a weary acceptance of power corrupts. A world on the brink of war. A change in the air. Enter the world of Daughter of No Worlds. I promise you won't be disappointed, and I promise that the bland blurb that you read—which, yes, I agree is like many a blurb for many a romance fantasy--is hiding some really cool and very unique things. Tisaanah is a female protagonist that I understood on a deep level. She's not the best at everything, but she doesn't have to work for everything overly hard either. Her passion is deep but her capacity for brute force and single-minded focus allows her to make the difficult calls when others would balk. She's aware of her place in the world, and she's aware that everything between her and her goal is a fight that she needs to strategize to win. Max is a male love interest/mentor figure who REALLY surprised me. He is no Rowan Whitethorn with his past battles and trauma. (I am the biggest Rowan stan, so let's not slander my man here either, Rowan is great and has his place.) Max is a soft boy with hard edges, less than 10 years older than our protagonist, and he'd rather garden all afternoon than train Tisaanah in the art of magic and power plays—until, of course, push comes to shove and his claws come out. His arc was one of the freshest I've read for this kind of fantasy and I loved that. And there's a third intriguing character here that stands apart from our two mains and slightly off from our side characters... I won't spill the secret, but let's just say that element took me COMPLETELY by surprise and immediately catapulted this series into another unique level for me. This is where the series deviates dramatically from others you've read before and cracks open into something fresh. I can't wait to see how this all plays out in the trilogy. Time for book two! |
Amy Imogene ReadsJust someone looking for her own door into Wonderland. Categories
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