fantasy romance

Review: Assistant to the Villain (Assistant to the Villain #1) by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

~ megs14malloy

Assistant to the VillainAssistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

I had zero expectations going into Assistant to the Villain. Luckily, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I ended up enjoying it. Vibes: cute and cozy!

The ending was a wee bit of a cliffhanger, so I will definitely be reading the sequel. I can’t wait for it actually. There’s something about this type of Cozy Romantic Fantasy that screams Winter Read to me.

In this story we meet Evie Stage, who due to an ill family member is in desperate need of steady employment. So when a mishap, or perhaps we should call it a Meet Cute, with a local Villain leads to a job offer, she can’t turn it down.

Keep in mind, this Villain is a Fantasy World Villain, so there’s torture, killing, mayhem and chaos involved in Evie’s new work environment. But that’s okay. No job is perfect.

When Evie starts feeling attracted to the Villain though, she realizes she may really in trouble. It’s not just that he is her boss, there are other things to consider.

I mean, who finds sexy, darkly brooding, powerful, quietly sensual and possibly evil men attractive?

There is more to the story than that though. Someone seems to have it out for the Villain and the sabotage attempts seem to be coming from the inside.

Evie is determined to get to the bottom of it and save her crush before it’s too late.

As mentioned before, this is super cute. The pace is energetic and you want more. The synopsis comps this to Once Upon A Time meeting The Office and I think that is quite apt.

There was something so delightful about that mix. The fantastical office setting was completely unique and I can’t wait for more of it. Additionally, there was a great sense of humor to it and I enjoyed watching the chemistry build.

I also appreciated the romance that Maehrer created within this story. It was more about pining, getting to know one another and mutual respect, versus steam, steam, steam. I gotta say, compared to a lot of the things I’ve been picking up lately, it was a nice change of pace.

I think leaving the steam out allowed me to really focus on getting to know these characters. I feel attached to them after a very short time.

I was delighted that we ended up getting the perspective of the Villain, Tristan, as well. Oh my goodness, did I enjoy my time with him.

We definitely spend more time with Evie, but learning about the Villain through his own thoughts and feelings was really sweet. I liked reading what he was thinking about Evie’s presence in his world and watching that change over time.

I did enjoy the mystery, although admittedly, that did play second fiddle to the romance element, but I feel like Maehrer intended it to be that way.

Overall, I thought this was adorable. I’m definitely looking forward to getting my hands on the next book. I am wondering if it will go more in depth with some of the side characters, who I enjoyed, but I didn’t really feel like I got to know that well in this installment.

Counting down the days until Apprentice to the Villain!!!

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Review: Lakesedge (World at the Lake’s Edge #1) by Lyndall Clipstone

~ megs14malloy

Lakesedge (World at the Lake's Edge, #1)Lakesedge by Lyndall Clipstone
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Lakesedge, the first book in Lyndall Clipstone’s YA-Gothic Fantasy Romance duology, World at the Lake’s Edge, delivered the exact vibes I was hoping for.

Dripping with angst, ’tis the season for this kind of story.

This novel released in 2021 and has been sitting on my shelves, glaring at me accusingly ever since. Last year, her sequel joined her on the shelf, and the judgement doubled.

Unable to handle their harassment anymore, and in the mood for a Dark Fantasy Romance that was going to serve Gothic Feels, I decided it was finally time to give it a go.

In this story, we follow 17-year old, Violeta, and her younger brother, Arien, 13. Violeta and Arien were orphaned when they were very young. They fled their original home after the deaths of their parents and were eventually found on a road beside the mysterious Vair Woods.

The woman who found them decided to take them in. Initially, all was well, but when Arien started exhibiting certain dark powers, the woman began to punish him, trying to rid him of these disturbing behaviors.

Leta, trying to protect her brother, would frequently be harmed and punished as well.

Her treatment of them continues getting worse. The night before a tithe day, things come to a head. They’re not sure how much more they can take and discuss running away.

On tithe day, a mysterious young man takes notice of Arien’s powers when they bubble up unexpectedly. The Monster of Lakesedge, Rowan, offers Arien the chance to come live at his estate, to learn how to control his peculiar powers.

It’s an intriguing offer, one the boy can’t and doesn’t want to refuse. Through some prodding, it is agreed that Leta will go along to Lakesedge as well.

Thus, Leta and Arien are able to escape their terrible home life, but what will their fate be now? It seems equally as dangerous. Can they truly trust Rowan?

They’ve heard terrible rumors about him and the estate is dripping with gothic dangers. Will they be better off than they were before, or will they become the next victims of the Monster of Lakesedge?

I thought this was a lot of fun. It definitely delivered me the vibes, drama and romantic angst that I was hoping for.

A dark tone is set within the first pages and just from that alone, I was hooked. It’s a compelling read and I flew through it. It had a great, dark Fairy Tale feel, and I was picking up slight Beauty and the Beast vibes, which I wasn’t expecting; a delightful surprise.

The sexual tension between Leta and Rowan was so dramatic and well written. I loved watching them learn about each other. They were drawn together like moths to a flame and I was here for every minute of it.

I also enjoyed the Elemental Magic system, which involved drawing sigils on the users body to control the elements and channel the spell. There were a couple of other women, Florance and Clover, who lived at the estate with Rowan, sort of like domestic help, and Clover, in particular, helped teach Arien and Leta about magic.

We love supportive teacher/student vibes.

The main drama focuses on a sort of curse that Lakesedge has on it, called the Corruption. It has poisoned the grounds and lake. Rowan has been searching for a way to clear the Corruption and he believes Arien can help.

Both Arien and Leta begin to fall in love with their life there. They begin to feel like they’ve finally found a home and they’re committed to helping Rowan any way they can. I loved that for them; how attached and comfortable they began to feel at the estate.

The concluding events were intense. There’s a dark spirit involved, the Lord Under, who seems particularly drawn to Leta. Through negotiations with him, Leta may be able to break the curse, but what will it cost her?

This wasn’t perfect. There were some aspects I felt could have been more clear, particularly towards the end, or some repetitive things in the middle section, that could have been taken out, but overall, I feel like this was a solid story.

It does end after a fairly large, life-changing event for Leta. While I wouldn’t necessarily call it a cliffhanger, it definitely leaves you wanting to know more; where the story will go from here.

Luckily, as mentioned above, I have the sequel at the ready and plan to be starting it very soon.

I would recommend this to YA-Fantasy Romance Readers, particularly if you enjoy a Gothic atmosphere, an engaging magic system and angsty romance.

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Review: A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft

~ megs14malloy

A Fragile EnchantmentA Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

…like I wasn’t a big enough fan already!

A Fragile Enchantment is the third full-length novel from Allison Saft. It is set to release on January 23, 2024, but I couldn’t wait any longer to pick it up.

I have read all of Saft’s novels now and IMO, they just keep getting better and better. I’m so drawn in by her writing and dazzling, gothic-feeling atmospheres.

In this story we follow a magical young seamstress, Niamh, who gets called to the castle to create the wedding day wardrobe for the Prince and his bride-to-be. This is putting it simply, but that is the basic set-up.

As Niamh arrives at the castle and is introduced to court life, it’s clear she’s a fish-out-of-water. Coming from the country, she’s never experienced court politics close-up.

Nevertheless, she feels blessed to have the opportunity and even though her people aren’t big fans of the monarchy, she’s determined to make the most of it.

The Prince, Christopher, Kit to his friends, is the younger of two Princes. His brother, Jack, is functioning as monarch. It was actually Jack who arranged Kit’s engagement, as well as Niamh’s services.

When Niamh meets Kit, she’s a little surprised by how abrasive he is. It’s clear he’s not overjoyed about his upcoming nuptials. The wedding isn’t one that will be based on love, but rather on political advantage. So’s the way of court life, Niamh supposes.

The bride-to-be has now arrived at the kingdom, along with her father, and it seems she is just a pawn as well. With a dark personality and darker fashion sense, Niamh finds herself puzzled by the Princess, Rosa.

Nonetheless, she finds herself drawn to her and her charismatic lady’s maid, Miriam. Along with Kit’s childhood best friend, Sinclair, the five unlikely allies end up forming an entertaining friendship group.

Niamh is starting to feel like she belongs, though she never would have thought it possible, and the more time she spends with Kit, the less she is able to deny the chemistry crackling between them.

Unfortunately, she’s not the only one who has noticed the sparks and soon Niamh and Kit are the fodder of the anonymous gossip columnist, Lovelace. Will Lovelace’s rumors and insinuations ruin everything for Niamh, or will she be able to survive the scandalous court life unscathed?

Y’all, I thought this was fabulous. It kicks off so quickly. Saft wastes no time getting Niamh to the kingdom and enmeshed in the complicated palace lifestyle.

I loved that she was an outsider taking it all in for the first time. Additionally, I really loved Kit as a character. He had some depth to him and I feel like Saft spent enough time building-out his character, so that his caustic personality truly made sense.

I love a prickly, abrasive man, so his entire demeanor definitely worked for me. I enjoyed watching Kit’s relationship with his older brother, Jack, and learning a bit about their family history as well. I was definitely picking up William and Harry vibes there.

Further, I enjoyed the friendship group that formed between Niamh, Rosa, Miriam, Kit and Sinclair. I was able to glean a lot of insight from their interactions and I felt it helped to better develop each character.

The political intrigue really amps up in the second half and I felt that was exciting and extremely well written by Saft. There were some scenes, as we raced towards the conclusion, where I was at the edge-of-my-seat, biting my fingernails, just hoping for the best for the characters I had come to love.

Speaking of characters I loved, Kit’s betrothed, Rosa, was such a fun character. All I could picture when reading about her was Wednesday Addams. She was bringing all that morose, gothic energy.

As mentioned above, I started getting really tense towards the end. I figured, objectively that things would probably work out okay, but getting there sure was emotional!

Overall, I had such a great time reading this. Saft’s writing is accessible and fluid. It’s magical and enchanting, but without feeling over done. The plot never gets drowned out by flowery writing. It’s easy to follow along and become emotionally attached to her characters.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Wednesday Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review.

Saft has quickly become a go-to YA Fantasy author for me. I look forward to following her career for a long, long time.

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