My 47th read of the year was Accomplice to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer, the third book in the Assistant to the Villain series
Read my review of Assistant to the Villain and Apprentice to the Villain if you’re interested in the rest of the series.
Obviously as this is a review for book 3, spoilers may be ahead!
A summary attempt
Following the Fate Monster’s prediction, Tristan has gone back to putting some distance between him and Evie, but this time Evie is just letting him do it, which leaves him even more wrong-footed. His magic keeps going haywire and the problem seems worse when Evie is around. Evie mum is still recovering and Evie is shocked by how much resentment she is feeling, after all this time of wishing she would have her mother and brother back. There still seems to be a traitor in the building, Rennadon’s story is causing magic to act strange everywhere, affecting the wards around the Villain’s castle and making it easy for the King to find them. The King still has the pregnant female Guvre and the male Guvre is desperate to get back to her, plus, if they don’t complete Rennadon’s story by the time she gives birth, it might mean the end of everything.
It’s a race against time, and all their enemies, as the group try to figure out how to fulfil the story. All while Tristan switches between wanting Evie and trying to do what he thinks is best for her, something Evie is absolutely not okay with. Evie has a secondary journey of trying to be more assertive with people in her life, asking for what she wants and not putting her needs second, which includes the Villain and his stupid idea of staying away from her.
My thoughts
Although the reasons are a liitle frustrating I will say it again the absolute yearning and pining for the various romantic interests but especially between Tristan and Evie is what makes this series *cheffs kiss* for me, even though the reasons to keep them apart in this book were stupid. Without spoiling it, the way things unfolded at the end?! The truth about the actual villain in Rennadon’s story?! I gasped. Out loud. Yes, this is a silly goofy series where she’s the assistant to a supposed villain but it’s actually so much more than that, the character’s go on actual journeys, plus the plot and the world-building are genuinely interesting and unique. I loved how Evie just takes charge and absolutely disregards Tristan’s stupid idea of keeping them apart, in general I love her character progression.
Also, if they change the narrators for the audio book, I will pitch an actual fit, her voice is just perfect for Evie.
Anyway, in conclusion, these books are a good time, I will absolutely be continuing with the series.
Antonia Bernardin 