THE ASSISTANT TO THE VILLAIN is part fairy tale, part workplace comedy and a tiny dash of romance along the way. 

Evie Sage is a down-on-her-luck job seeker on her way through the dark woods after another failed attempt at finding work in her village when she encounters The Villain, a man so deemed because he is at odds with the king of the realm – King Benedict.  His propensity for actual darkness is almost immediately lessened by his compassion for Evie, not to mention his staggering good looks. 

He offers Evie a way out of her struggles - with a job as his assistant, so she can support her ailing father and her younger sister.  Despite her frequent clumsiness and her often self-deprecating internal monologue, she eventually becomes The Villain’s true right hand – she knows everything from how he takes his cauldron brew to how to deal with his dark moods, and how to handle the severed heads that often show up on her desk or hanging from the ceilings. 

Evie and The Villain (whose real name is eventually revealed) become engrossed in a mystery – someone has been sabotaging all their schemes and intercepting all their supply lines.  They set out to find the mole – and reveal the cast of characters that make up the office as they question everyone's loyalty.  Interns, forced to participate in a variety of harrowing tasks and challenges, a healer, a beast trainer, and a couple of mythical creatures that they have stolen from King Benedict.  Also, a dragon named Fluffy and an enchanted frog that wears a crown and holds up tiny signs, mostly when he is disgusted, named Kingsley.

It's a fun read – not overly complicated – just a journey with a lot of humor.  The story really turns the idea of a true villain on its head.  What is true evil?  How can it hide behind a person’s assigned role in society? Like any good mystery, it has the reader pointing fingers all the way through – until the traitor to the cause is revealed. 

I found ASSISTANT TO THE VILLAIN to be a lovely story, a sweet, burning romance and an enjoyable fantasy escape.