This would have been funnier if the Villain had been a floating head, a gross monster, or a talking skeleton... then the joke would be her thirsting for him and seeming totally unhinged.
Yep, and they probably still would've had more chemistry because you just know the author would've been forced to write the best banter to replace the scenes where they would've made out in a typical YA story instead. Since the author can't use physical attraction as a cheat code. And you just know the TikTok girlies would thirst after him anyway. "I want that skeleton up my--" and all.
I think another important factor in villain romences is that the villain isn't actually the realistic type of evil we face in everyday life. They're not rарiѕtѕ, реdоfiIеѕ or child аbuѕеrs. And I know nаzi romances are a thing but they are very much a separate genre
The ironic villain cliche character you described kept reminding me of Dr. Doofenschmirtz from Phineas & Ferb. Now that - that’s a romance assistant villain book I’d love to read
As someone who's not a villain romance fan, what I've noticed is that people are just quick to forgive villains based on even the smallest redeeming qualities, whereas they're unforgiving towards "hero" love interests for the smallest flaws. There's this idea of "well the villain's SUPPOSED to be bad, but the hero isn't." I think this is why authors choose to make heroes less deep because that depth is used against them. Probably also another reason people now write anti-heroes rather than heroes.
Frfr I'm so tired of people bashing heroes for literally the stupidest things, and then complain about how "heroes barely have any depth / aren't as interesting as villains or morally grey character." Probably because they aren't given a chance? Because being "deep" and "good" at the same time is somehow not believable for some people. Absolute bullshit.
Finally I've found my people!!! I don't understand this trend of bashing the hero and the romanticization of villains. The narrative these days is that the villain is misunderstood and the supposed good guys are actually the real evil and while that can be a good storyline it's so overused to the point that that's how people view the entire genre if that makes sense. Like all villains are these misunderstood people fighting the system and all hero's are out here upholding the problematic status quo.
i feel like this line between oh the hero is just unforgivable and oh the hero has no depth is really thin and hard for authors to control. people have different standards: not completely similar morals (though i do know there are universal morals that most people generally agree upon but still) so some specific things would really tick others off even if that thing is relatively minor (for me, stealing a book. i don’t mind stealing in general, but stealing books really ticks me off because of my family) so it’s really hard
I've seen this in got, you'll see people go after like Dany for example for X,Y, Z. But completely ignore how other characters also did the same exact thing. Let alone that Tywin Lannister did that and even worse crimes to kids and even his own family.
People also don't seem to be forgiving of real life people trying to be good. From my personal experience just trying to be polite or seeing an allegedly decent person running for election but didn't get the votes because they were too religious or soft-spoken. I've also seen this aimed at historical figures.
Well now I’m gonna write a story where the assistant actually has to assist the villain, slower burn romance, sexy villain who only emotionally opens up to the assistant, and the assistant who really starts to love not only the villain but villainous things…. Wait… that’s kinda like Hannibal. 😬
I'd really like to read a story where the villain hires this assistant and the assistant is doing the most, to the point where the villain is like "ok, can you actually calm down? I appreciate the enthusiasm but I think skinning someone alive at the princesses masquerade ball is a bit much just to prove a point. like actually please you're scaring me???" and if you want it to be romance, the villain is actually very into the plucky assistant who outdoes him at everything like yeah this 5ft-something, glasses wearing english major with eyebags heavier than my dark childhood backstory is indeed planning several ways to destroy my enemies without me even needing to lift a finger and that is so sexy of her anyway I'm not gonna get on her bad side she scares me
You should read nimona! The central relationship (villain/sidekick) isn’t romantic, but there is a very angsty childhood friends villain/hero romance, and it’s also just really good. The recent movie adaptation is also great, even though they’re pretty different!
Came here to say this! Nimona is so good, I adore it. It's one of those ATLA style kids stories that have so much more complexity that unwraps as you get older. It critiques power, imperialism, propaganda, all the while being an incredibly wholesome feral daughter adopts tired dad story 😭💜
I would actually like to see more villain romances that aren't about fixing the villain and are just about the love interest spiraling along with the villain's insanity, tbh tbh. Bonnie meets Clyde kinda thing. Let me feel like it's okay to actually be a villain fangirl Recommendations welcome
Not villain but Villainess who the male lead supports without question. The Villainess Turns the Hourglass. It's also a comic which I definitely suggest reading because the drawings are beautiful. Genres: fantasy, romance, revenge, regression/time manipulation It's about a girl who was a wretched villainess who tried to poison her stepsister (who is seen as a saint because she is so kind and benevolent *bleh*) and gets executed because of it. But she finds out just before her execution that her stepsister instigated it all and actually was pulling the strings behind the main girl's plots in order to ensure the main girl's death. But as she dies, she gets a second chance and goes back in time about 10 years before and she resolves to get her proper revenge on the stepsister, starting by actually becoming well-mannered unlike in her past life where she was seen as vulgar. Her aim is to be seen as the saint whilst her stepsister is seen as the wicked Villainess when actually the main girl is the one who has been pulling the strings this time around. Then comes in the main guy (who is one of my favourite male leads ever) who just so happens to be enemies with the stepsister's allies and the two join forces and become a greater power than anyone ever expected. I'm trying to be as vague as possible because I don't want to spoil anything because this is genuinely worth the read. Though I wouldn't really say the main girl is spiralling to insanity or this is a bonnie and Clyde type of situation. Moreso than anything she is very manipulative and is able to use her knowledge of the future to her advantage to surround herself with the right people and use them as well as gain the upper hand in situations where she couldn't have without her knowledge. One more thing, the hourglass. This is probably the most important thing of the story. The hourglass is what allowed her to go back in time in the first place and it is a magical object which is very important to how she is able to manipulate the people and situation around her for her benefit. I will be honest, she is not the darkest villain ever, but she is definitely morally grey. It depends on the perspective you see her really. She wants something, she gets it no matter what. And the main guy will gladly help her get it. Woah long explanation but I really love this story.
Your villain studies class made me think of something. I don't think we have a lot of 'enemies to lovers' books where the villain is female the righteous male hero slowly fall for? I'm not even exactly a fan of the trope in general, but that would be interesting. As always, love your review.
@@neojuns3852 If you are fine with sexually explicit content, you could check if Wretched by Emily McIntire is for you. It's a really great book, and it's inspired by Wizard of Oz. It is contemporary though, and Dark Romance-y. Do check the trigger warnings. :)
Not sure if this exactly fits what you’re looking for but renegades by Marissa Meyer is a villain/hero enemies to lovers, where the female is a villain. She was raised by villains and the main guy character was raised by superhero’s, and just has a great plot exploring good and evil. Definitely recommend!
20:20 I also feel this way about fanfictions that get adapted into original stories. It works as a fanfiction because we project all the lore of that character onto the characters, but once you make it an original story, you also need to write the background story you ripped off them when making it an original story in order to make it cohesive. Otherwise I have no reason to get attached to the main couple
This is why as a fanfiction writer I have not published anything... because I would need to build an entire new world for the characters and make them fit into it. You're not supposed to just Find & Replace the names and a few setting details then call it an original work.
What usually draws me into villain romances - and maybe villains in general - is that villains don't necessarily have morals. It's that quote about how a hero will give up their loved one for the world, but a villain will give up the world for a loved one. A villain can torture and murder whoever they want, but a hero will usually take the high road to save the people they love. Which actually tends to go wrong for them and get their loved ones in more trouble. That's fun sometimes, but I prefer to watch them go feral. Although that quote certainly isn't true all of the time. If we expand the range to more than just love interests - spoilers for Spiderverse 2, like massive spoilers, like stop reading oh my god - Miles Morales gets to risk _all of existence_ for his dad and still be literal Spiderman. That's great! I love that! Give me more of that please!
Since we are questioning that phrase of the hero and the villain, I want to say that personally I never liked that phrase of the villain will sacrifice the world and blah blah blah; I always thought that the hero would be like "Fxck off, I won't submit to you making me choose one" and find a way to save both the loved one and the world, and succeeding.
Morals doesn't mean good. This means that villains usually have morals, but they're very different to normalcy. A truly immoral being is probably impossible
Yeah, I've always taken umbrage with that quote. I don't think the type of hero who would bend/break their morals for a loved one's safety is even that uncommon! I think a better version of the same idea is like... a villain would kill a dude to get you your favorite chocolate. A hero would maybe decide the chocolates aren't worth it, lol. If you want that *intense* "no one but you matters to me in this world" devotion, that's what you can get from a villain romance
This made me reflect a little on what I want in a villain romance and I think the idea of the villain slowly corrupting the hero to the point where they are willing to destroy the world for the villain is just 😙👌
So if I got this straight, it’s based on a TikTok series commenting on clichés, but now as a book it *is* just the clichés. Also when I read “villain romance book” I thought it was an enemies-to-lovers but villain edition, basically two villains falling in love. Which could be interesting.
A villain and a hero automatically have tension as antagonists - just like rivals - and that is immediately sexy. Also, a villain definitely appeals to our "I can change him"-complexes
If you want a *villain* story, read Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots. It's not cozy, it's not *really* a romance, but it's definitely evil and fantastic.
I just finished this book last week! I have a variety of criticisms that I give a lot of grace for: i.e. the Villain is hot, the main character thirsts immediately but she does kind of do the 'yeah but he's bad so I shouldn't' - I can get behind that lusty behavior even if it's unhinged. What I can't get behind is we completely lose any 'villainy' after the first third. Bodies in the entryway, screams in the halls - only in the setup. It's like the author decided 'okay and now we've reached the point in which we reveal he was Villain-in-name-only and the Villain now needs to be the Hero. The audience and Evie needs to forget about all the torture and murder because I don't actually want to address the moral conundrum or gray areas.' We lose all chance at getting villain depth.
I'm listening to a reaction-read of 'Heaven Official's Blessing' right now (which I've read before) and it really hits this wonderful sweet spot where ALL the characters have a certain level of moral greyness where you're going "I love you, but...hmm" or "Yikes, girl! But also, I get it!" Even the cinnamon-roll Taoist god main character, who is overall as pure of heart as you can get, had a point in his backstory where he almost went SUPER dark. The love interest is a ghost king who is thought of by the other heavenly officials as this absolute villainous menace...and from their perspective, he kind of is! Mainly because he doesn't like how they treat the MC. But he does genuinely cause blood rains and rule over a ghost city where some...questionable stuff happens. At the same time, while he doesn't usually go out of his way to help anyone but the MC, he also doesn't tend to harm any innocent mortals, and might actually help sometimes (because that's what his BF would want!). They're all interesting complex characters, is my point!
So to conclude... it's just a Wattpad romance 😂 (nothing wrong with that, I enoyed my share of those back in the day, but they're not published books for a reason. They narrative is often so episodic and doesn't tie together very well.)
I wasn’t able to answer it when you first asked so I’ll give my opinion here: Villains are interesting because they are usually very conflicted. It makes more for a fun time to dissect them and psychoanalysing them. And it’s just fun to have a morally dubious romance (granted it should be reasonable).
I just can't believe that the book isn't about a villain going around doing funny villainy! Like what? Isn't that the story that title, cover and map were actually made for? 😶
I did the exact same thing. I’m kinda tired of hot villains, I just want a cute/funny story about em, so I’m making one, it’s gonna be a comic and the plot is basically “villain accidentally adopts the hero” the hero is like, 7. Haven’t actually gotten anything except character designs finished yet but I’m working on it.
I absolutely loved and devoured this book, like could not stop reading, completely obsessed. I thought it was so fun and I loved the characters, but it was also a book I knew wouldn't hit for a lot of people so all your points are valid. But I just wanted to comment to encourage people who were interested in picking it up to give it a try
I really enjoyed it too, but was not prepared for the fact that it wasn’t a complete story. So I was really annoyed at the ending, or more accurately, the way the story stopped.
@@CoreenMontagna that's so valid! I thought it was a standalone for half the book but then I saw someone post something about how crazy the cliffhanger was and realized it's part of a series. I'm really glad I knew beforehand bc otherwise I probably would have been upset too
I like to think the reason we all like villain romances is because, in a sense, they're truly optimistic about humanity. It's the ultimate version of "love conquers all"-- evil is literally purged from this person for YOUR sake, and that's on top of it feeling forbidden and edgy in the first place. That, I daresay, is sexy.
i like villains because of the 'i can fix him' thing but im like dead serious about that. Like can you imagine the immense like... joy or w/e to see someone who has been through so much, felt that their life was over, and then they get better and they're happy? idk. i dont love the idea of love curing illness or w/e but it is scientifically proven that having people who support you increases the likelihood of recovery. Also when the villain tries to do something nice or normal but its awkward but theyre trying their best? that is the cutest shit. also to reiterate on my first point: if the person who hates you the most can turn into the person who loves you the most? i feel like thats the biggest win, like how could you ever feel bad about yourself again at that point. i think maybe the reason why i feel this way is that i dont think that 'evilness' or whatever is like. a real thing. like an innate trait someone can have. If someone is a bad person they can still get better without changing their core values. Like, revenge isn't a core value, but justice is, and they could get that in a healthier way. I think this just comes from me wanting people who have been shitty to me to apologize and do better. the most unrealistic fantasy lmao but what a thrill it would be
If you want to read a very good villain assistant read Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots. It's not a romance, but a very very good portrayal of good vs bad and villains vs hero
I recently read that and loved it! It does have some romance but it’s not a focus. It’s the protagonist having feelings but not necessarily acting on them. Also the protagonist is bi which I love!
You NEED to read Starter Villain by John Scalzi! It is wild, but does exactly what you were expecting in this: plays on all the villain tropes with humor and tongue-in-cheek references and over-the-top antics. Talking cats, lasers, and absurdity done right.
Hey Leonie! I’m currently in high school and you single-handedly made me get back into reading. Your reviews and recommendations are so well thought out and not just like “omg everyone will love this book!” I love how you recommend some books I’ve never heard of that gives me a different perspective into reading. I’m currently reading The Hawthorne Legacy (second inheritance games book) and I wouldn’t have been invested in these wonderful stories without your perspective into reading! Just wanted to say this because I’ve watched you for a while and never really commented so thank you ❤❤
@@jiminici3351replying a year late but guillermo and nandor, probably - guillermo served nandor with the hopes that he’ll turn him into a vampire one day, there’s a romantic non-subtle subtext to it, v goofy cuz guillermo is a pretty nice dude who’s just accepting that disposing corpses is part of his job lol
@@kjarakravik4837i wouldn't really call dorian gray a romance novel though. it has hints of queercoding but overall, it's just a story about the protagonist spiralling into a corruption arc.
I see that shot and lighting design Leonie! That purple accent with the orange practicals was such a nice look I love how you keep changing your setup its very fun
I am a plot-driven reader and did not think this was a plot-driven book, lol What I _did_ think was that I was expecting an NA Romantasy, but I felt like I got a middle-grade. There was nothing about the vocabulary, grammar, depth, nuance, characters, nor themes that gave anything I wouldn't put in front of a ten year old. And given that it has a really similar setup to Nimona (a YA graphic novel turned into a Netflix movie), I was honestly surprised to find that Nimona had so much more depth and nuance and social commentary despite being less than half the length and literally for children.
I love when villain characters admire the hero for a trait that no one else appreciates/sees. I also love when they’re character foils. Or when the villain is pretending to be good as part of their plan, and they fall in love with the hero. But they still end up betraying the hero because they’ve come this far and they can’t just stop now
I was actually on board with the humor in this book you described and I do love plot over romance, so I was just about to add this book to my list, but when I heard about your main gripe with it, my excitement fell. A story about a villain but no fun villainous activities??? Aw man... what a missed opportunity... Love your villain studies list!! I will use it as an exercise! I have been casually writing in google docs about a silly idea from a dream I had, where there's a sidestory of a hero who constantly banters/flirts with the villains' DOCTOR. The doctor only treats villains of course. It was such a fun little writing exercise for me to have this unhinged doctor who lacks apathy and wishing others wrath, but has a gift in healing others instead. Meanwhile, the villains themselves behave in such a hammy, over-the-top, ridiculous, monologue-driven way, I was laughing so much as I wrote it. Very fun exercise!!
The author originally got started on TikTok by making videos that were along the lines of I love blank trope and then the series was built on that foundation so it was always just a funny series that showed off different tropes. The book definitely reflects what the author's original intentions were with creating the TikTok series as opposed to someone who just decided to write a book because they had an idea for a story. I say this as someone who has watched almost all of Hannah's Assistant to the Villain series and has thoroughly enjoyed it.
I loved the Uncle Iroh reference at the end 😂 it annoys me as well when I get to to the end of a book that I wasn’t fully invested in and thought it was a stand-alone, only to realise it’s part of a series 😒
Your initial hopes for this book remind me of two I've read and enjoyed! *Between* by L.L. Starling and *Throne in the Dark* by A.K. Caggiano. They were both so charming: Quirky, cozy, banter-y, and with characters that challenge the tropes of good and evil. Plenty of fun side quests and delightful supporting characters. Edit: I realize these are not villain romances per se. But since they dabble in the shadowy parts of the love interests they could be a good read for others looking for not-so-squeaky-clean leads.
I'll share my main gripes: *Between* really is a behemoth tome and it takes a bit to get to the good stuff, but I really think it's worth it. This story has imperfections that feel like reading a new-ish writer's work but the author really had a special story here that I have actually re-read to visit with all the characters I'd missed. With *Throne in the Dark* I felt the author stretched the story across multiple installments to the effect of putting off some very necessary resolutions in order to keep the adventures going, rather than letting things fall where they naturally should, ya know. Some of the hero/heroine interactions ended up feeling a bit flat, but I was still charmed enough by the world to recommend it for light reading.
I strongly recommend Hench by Natalie Zina Walschotts. It's a great villain assistant story with critiques on the collateral damage of superheroes. Thanks for making this review!
I missed these videos SO much!!! Leonie’s TENTACLE ENTANGLEMENT and GOTHIKANA videos are my all-time faves lol I’ve been praying for an addition to the collection.
I love, funny romances, I’m also into, assistant/ boss, grumpy/ sunshine trope, romances. Not into villains, but I don’t hate them either. I checked goodreads to see how good it was, and it has a high rating, plus I think it won a goodreads award. I read the comments there, and now I don’t wanna read the book, cuz they said there’s not enough romance. 🤷🏼♀️🤷🏼♀️🤷🏼♀️ 9:10 #6 is definitely my thing. If the main character doesn’t want to burn the world for their love, then they’re useless imo.
"Which honestly would be a funny villlain, just a floating head" Me, remembering my D&D party's fight with a demi-lich "Sure sure sure, very funny, big laughs"
⚠️Deep thoughts⚠️ [6:50] I do think that 4th point was interesting though because for main characters it’s like being “good” is the default therefore a lot of times there’s not much depth or layering, whereas for someone to be “bad” they have a lot of things that brought them to that point, so it would be nice if more main characters especially ones who are extremely idealistic and virtuous had backstories that explained why they’re on that path, sometimes it can even be something bad or traumatic but those kinds of events can turn some people into villains and some people into heroes
Ok…I can’t believe I’m doing this. But if you want an ACTUALLY SATISFYING villain romance, with deep understand of the villain’s backstory and unforgettable characters, please check out the book, The Cave and the Houseboat by Moose Shoemaker. It’s not a romance novel, but has an unexpected romance subplot. And the villain is a chick, too. ❤
I just saw this at Barnes and Noble yesterday and was thinking of picking it up but ultimately didn’t, based on the title I suppose I made the right choice lol!
I'm at 22:44 in the video and paused to comment. I bought this book after watching your fall vlog and I was so excited, then immediately disappointed when I started reading. I didn't even get halfway before dropping it. It sucked all of the joy out of reading for me, and that makes me sad because I had high hopes. But I agree with you that this book was so generic and not developed enough. I was really upset also by the lack of world building. I couldn't understand what century they were in because they were in offices (which seemed very modern from the little description there was) - but they lived in small villages and had blacksmiths and taverns? It wasn't adding up for me and it fell sooo flat.
Love that my favorite tv show Community got a shout-out in your video. The show does a great job of making fun of tropes from different genres of movies like you said. I'm also from the Netherlands (my dad is from Rotterdam) - I don't know if you could tell from my Dutch name Janneke de Jong but I always enjoy seeing someone else from the Netherlands on TH-cam
From your review, i think this would work a lot better as animated comedy short than as a book, I love the premise but idk if the format is the right one for it
I just read Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots and it has the same basic premise but I absolutely adore it and would platform it above this one, which I had gotten at the same time
When you’re describing Community making fun of tropes, the word you’re looking for is “meta”, and it’s my favourite 😊 Thanks for reviewing this! I saw it on Goodreads and it didn’t look as good as it could’ve been lol
I love the tiktok series cause it's genuinely fun. The reviews of this book however is putting me off from reading it. To be fair, it is her very first book. If she writes more, she can improve.
I'd love a book where we follow the the villain's perspective of the person or underlying trying to fix them and its like a horror story. Similar vibes to "I fear no man, but that thing..." *cuts to obsessed admirer idk* "it scares me."
❤ Duuude I’ve been waiting for you to upload! I have lost track of time whilst travelling (blame jet lag from Australia to Greece!) and have been watching old videos of yours and other booktubers’ while commuting to keep me sane 😂 I will watch this on a ferry tomorrow but shame you didn’t like this book from the look of it because it sounded fun.
OK SO, I finished reading it today. And as a person who hasn't seen a single tiktok. You guys get my unfiltered thoughts. Maybe it's the fact that my short attention span can barely handle slow burns or super thick books, but I adored Evie and The Villain's story. I loved how quick and efficiently they used their heads and solved problems instead of dawdling over micro-issues the whole book. I loved the fact that we see so much of their characters. I'll be the first to admit, that it's not super "assistant" focused, but to be fair, there's so much going on that I as a reader was satisfied with the little snippets of the work that Villain only notices when she's gone. The humor is also right up my alley with the amount of sarcasm and dry humor, even the jokes I didn't like, I thought were cute. I'm about a quarter way through legends and lattes as well- so...yeah you got me.😅 I love that he cares about his employees, I loved Lyssa, and I adored all of the silly little moments they shared. I also really loved seeing the side characters and their dynamic with each other and Evie. I AM HURTING because of the ending!! I was expecting a clean, sweet ending with a kiss and a "let's burn the world down together' and THEN IT HIT ME. As a sort of disclaimer? I was fully expecting office romance when i came into this book, and I've ways adored "villain and villain's henchman" type of stories, along with villain x right hand stories. So this book was totally for me. I really enjoyed the twist, and the characters, and overall I adored this book. I love the simplicity of it, I love the fact that Trystan likes an obscene amount of sugar and cream in his coffee, I HATED the slow burn becausd i'm impatient and just really wanted them to kiss already. If you like slice of life stuff or easy reads, I totally recommend! But I also get how this isnt for everyone. It's very focused on the romance, and not so much the "villain" part. I think the sequel "Apprentice to the villain" will probably be more like that.
Yes! I feel like I must be dumb when I see it being panned, but I found it to be a cute, fun story (and in fairness, I've read or at least started a ton of /actually/ bad books on kindle unlimited). I guess I have a lower standard, which ultimately is good, because it means enjoying more things!
if villain romance is of interest, you NEED to read Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots!! The romance isn't really the main point and it's more rumination of the entire "industry" of superheroes and how it actually creates villains :p But the Heroine's relationship to her boss, the Villain~ is soooooo satisfying and good.
I loved Hench but I think selling it in any way as a romance is misleading the reader based on what we get in the book. BUT, if you want to see a Hench going around doing and dealing with Villain stuff. Hench >>>>
The moment you said you wished there were more villainous stuff in the story and then we watched her Tiktoks I was like yep, this is going to be a series, and we will see more of their vigilantes together in future books.
to me, this book read like a bunch of head canons put together rather than a cohesive story. like it read the same way tumblr drabble/hc posts would read if u shoved them all together in a huge masterdoc or smth. idk if that made any sense but thats what i felt-
What I love the most about your vlogs and made me follow this channel in the first place, is how moody and cozy they are. You hardly ever have bright lights on and it's so nice to see such a realistic rainy Dutch day (might just be nostalgia and sentiment ahahaha). If anyone has queer recommendations for a book like this, please let me know 😊 the book sounds fun enough but not completely my vibe.
I’ve never been a fan of the ‘special treatment’ trope with villain romances, like no if your partner treats everyone but you like shit chances are they either won’t treat you very well eventually or never did in the first place
I really did enjoy this, but I find random situations and corny humor is my kind of thing. It wasn't a masterpiece, but I had fun. And I loved the end! I'll read the next book
I actually read this book because of your video and i actually found it really cute. I loved their cute interactions and it was overall a cute book with a mystery story going along and even though some parts are particularly ridiculous especially the biggest twist in the end but overall would recommend
I appreciate the specificity of your feedback. I was immediately drawn to the title of the book, and just like you, I assumed that it would be a funny story about the trials and tribulations of trying to be the assistant to a villain. I never in a million years thought it would be a romance. The feedback was very uneven, which is why I looked up reviews to have a better idea of whether I'd like this book or not, and now that you specifically confirm that the book is not going in the direction its title suggest, I think I should save myself the aggravation and not read it. I just don't have a high tolerance threshold for bad writing, either... Thanks for your honest review!
God!!! I love these vids of urs, cause I know I'll never read some books but will gladly like to know the story n if in between I'll actually like the story then i can stop the vid n read the book itself. I'll actually love similar vids with all spoilers, like full plot coverage. N why is ur voice so good to listen to?
I (tried to) read this book because it is our book club pick this month, and I just couldn't finish it. I DNFed at 80%. 🙃 I tried skimming the pages because I would've loved to finish it for the book club discussion, but even skimming was too unbearable for me. 😅 I thought I was the problem because most people loved it. This video validated my feelings because I agree with everything you said.
I feel like this kinda story could easily be adapted into a Scott pilgrim style anime project or something, you know? Not necessarily the same art style, per se, but in a similar over the top animated style of expressions and effects and line delivery.
I also thought it would be more about the assistant to the villain like you were saying around 18:40, like it bothers me so much if a title or description of a book isn’t accurate or is in a different way than what you thought it would obviously be. it sounds like it would be funny seeing the villain do things. I don’t think I would like it either!
This would have been funnier if the Villain had been a floating head, a gross monster, or a talking skeleton... then the joke would be her thirsting for him and seeming totally unhinged.
Yep, and they probably still would've had more chemistry because you just know the author would've been forced to write the best banter to replace the scenes where they would've made out in a typical YA story instead. Since the author can't use physical attraction as a cheat code. And you just know the TikTok girlies would thirst after him anyway. "I want that skeleton up my--" and all.
Or something so unbelievably mundane like a bedsheet ghost
oh my GOSH im going to write this right now😂
This is litterally the Overlord anime (my favorite part is that he is absolutely not interested in any of his simps and it makes it even better)
She’s like “There’s just something about him 😍.”
I feel like megamind probably has a better villain romance than this 😂 such a good film
megamind was just a really good movie overall
you just cant compare to megamind
Banger film!
The goat megamind fr
Megamind is peak romance tbh
I think another important factor in villain romences is that the villain isn't actually the realistic type of evil we face in everyday life. They're not rарiѕtѕ, реdоfiIеѕ or child аbuѕеrs. And I know nаzi romances are a thing but they are very much a separate genre
It's a WHOLE GENRE?!?
there's a genre for pedophile love?!?!?
@@scylla5867there are so many nazi romances, just search up the movies.
@@prettypoptacular in anime, that's called shotacon and lolicon, it is real, and yes, it is very disturbing
@@elle8786 honestly at this point is it wrong to judge anime watchers for being perverts? especially the hardcore ones
The ironic villain cliche character you described kept reminding me of Dr. Doofenschmirtz from Phineas & Ferb. Now that - that’s a romance assistant villain book I’d love to read
🤣🤣🤣
as a kid i shipped perry w doof weirdly enough lol
now as an adult i know better though THANK GOD LMAO
I will take the D from Doofenschimirtz
@@BlackReshiramSTOP ME TOO
@@BlackReshiramhave you read the doofenperry kpop twitter stan au (serious question)
Nimona!!!! is a villain-assitant story, not romance, that actually has them doing a ton of villanous shit!
YESSS!! and the movie is great too!
best movie of the year!
Also I am convinced it's GAY.
@@unavezms8167 thats a given with my recs
Convinced? What do you mean convinced? The two male characters literally kiss.@@unavezms8167
As someone who's not a villain romance fan, what I've noticed is that people are just quick to forgive villains based on even the smallest redeeming qualities, whereas they're unforgiving towards "hero" love interests for the smallest flaws. There's this idea of "well the villain's SUPPOSED to be bad, but the hero isn't." I think this is why authors choose to make heroes less deep because that depth is used against them. Probably also another reason people now write anti-heroes rather than heroes.
Frfr I'm so tired of people bashing heroes for literally the stupidest things, and then complain about how "heroes barely have any depth / aren't as interesting as villains or morally grey character." Probably because they aren't given a chance? Because being "deep" and "good" at the same time is somehow not believable for some people. Absolute bullshit.
Finally I've found my people!!! I don't understand this trend of bashing the hero and the romanticization of villains. The narrative these days is that the villain is misunderstood and the supposed good guys are actually the real evil and while that can be a good storyline it's so overused to the point that that's how people view the entire genre if that makes sense. Like all villains are these misunderstood people fighting the system and all hero's are out here upholding the problematic status quo.
i feel like this line between oh the hero is just unforgivable and oh the hero has no depth is really thin and hard for authors to control. people have different standards: not completely similar morals (though i do know there are universal morals that most people generally agree upon but still) so some specific things would really tick others off even if that thing is relatively minor (for me, stealing a book. i don’t mind stealing in general, but stealing books really ticks me off because of my family) so it’s really hard
I've seen this in got, you'll see people go after like Dany for example for X,Y, Z. But completely ignore how other characters also did the same exact thing. Let alone that Tywin Lannister did that and even worse crimes to kids and even his own family.
People also don't seem to be forgiving of real life people trying to be good. From my personal experience just trying to be polite or seeing an allegedly decent person running for election but didn't get the votes because they were too religious or soft-spoken. I've also seen this aimed at historical figures.
Well now I’m gonna write a story where the assistant actually has to assist the villain, slower burn romance, sexy villain who only emotionally opens up to the assistant, and the assistant who really starts to love not only the villain but villainous things….
Wait… that’s kinda like Hannibal. 😬
I'd really like to read a story where the villain hires this assistant and the assistant is doing the most, to the point where the villain is like "ok, can you actually calm down? I appreciate the enthusiasm but I think skinning someone alive at the princesses masquerade ball is a bit much just to prove a point. like actually please you're scaring me???" and if you want it to be romance, the villain is actually very into the plucky assistant who outdoes him at everything like yeah this 5ft-something, glasses wearing english major with eyebags heavier than my dark childhood backstory is indeed planning several ways to destroy my enemies without me even needing to lift a finger and that is so sexy of her anyway I'm not gonna get on her bad side she scares me
Doctor Robotnik and agent Stone
@@Someone-or8tpoh i love that 👀
@@Someone-or8tp
Satan's Secretary manga is like this. On hiatus however 😭
@@thgritic102 AYO?? I'm very interested. On my way to go look around for it
“People decided to Stan the blandest slice of shadow they could find” I have no idea what your talking about but this line made me laugh
You should read nimona! The central relationship (villain/sidekick) isn’t romantic, but there is a very angsty childhood friends villain/hero romance, and it’s also just really good. The recent movie adaptation is also great, even though they’re pretty different!
Came here to say this! Nimona is so good, I adore it. It's one of those ATLA style kids stories that have so much more complexity that unwraps as you get older. It critiques power, imperialism, propaganda, all the while being an incredibly wholesome feral daughter adopts tired dad story 😭💜
it was a fun read for surr
@@ymn9738the movie had me in tears
I would actually like to see more villain romances that aren't about fixing the villain and are just about the love interest spiraling along with the villain's insanity, tbh tbh. Bonnie meets Clyde kinda thing.
Let me feel like it's okay to actually be a villain fangirl
Recommendations welcome
Not villain but Villainess who the male lead supports without question.
The Villainess Turns the Hourglass.
It's also a comic which I definitely suggest reading because the drawings are beautiful.
Genres: fantasy, romance, revenge, regression/time manipulation
It's about a girl who was a wretched villainess who tried to poison her stepsister (who is seen as a saint because she is so kind and benevolent *bleh*) and gets executed because of it. But she finds out just before her execution that her stepsister instigated it all and actually was pulling the strings behind the main girl's plots in order to ensure the main girl's death. But as she dies, she gets a second chance and goes back in time about 10 years before and she resolves to get her proper revenge on the stepsister, starting by actually becoming well-mannered unlike in her past life where she was seen as vulgar. Her aim is to be seen as the saint whilst her stepsister is seen as the wicked Villainess when actually the main girl is the one who has been pulling the strings this time around.
Then comes in the main guy (who is one of my favourite male leads ever) who just so happens to be enemies with the stepsister's allies and the two join forces and become a greater power than anyone ever expected.
I'm trying to be as vague as possible because I don't want to spoil anything because this is genuinely worth the read. Though I wouldn't really say the main girl is spiralling to insanity or this is a bonnie and Clyde type of situation. Moreso than anything she is very manipulative and is able to use her knowledge of the future to her advantage to surround herself with the right people and use them as well as gain the upper hand in situations where she couldn't have without her knowledge.
One more thing, the hourglass. This is probably the most important thing of the story. The hourglass is what allowed her to go back in time in the first place and it is a magical object which is very important to how she is able to manipulate the people and situation around her for her benefit.
I will be honest, she is not the darkest villain ever, but she is definitely morally grey. It depends on the perspective you see her really. She wants something, she gets it no matter what. And the main guy will gladly help her get it.
Woah long explanation but I really love this story.
@user-vw9lj1yn1b Lolita isn't a romance. Hurbet is a pedo and the book is written from his perspective
the contrast between these two suggestions, please-
@@faust4896 lool
Hannibal.
Your villain studies class made me think of something. I don't think we have a lot of 'enemies to lovers' books where the villain is female the righteous male hero slowly fall for? I'm not even exactly a fan of the trope in general, but that would be interesting. As always, love your review.
if you have any recommendations with female villains x hero stories please let me know i would love to read some because they sound amazing! 💖
@@neojuns3852 If you are fine with sexually explicit content, you could check if Wretched by Emily McIntire is for you. It's a really great book, and it's inspired by Wizard of Oz. It is contemporary though, and Dark Romance-y. Do check the trigger warnings. :)
I wish there were, that sounds amazing to me!
Not sure if this exactly fits what you’re looking for but renegades by Marissa Meyer is a villain/hero enemies to lovers, where the female is a villain. She was raised by villains and the main guy character was raised by superhero’s, and just has a great plot exploring good and evil. Definitely recommend!
@@neojuns3852 mindfuck series by S T Abby has a plot like this its basically a serial killer x detective romance
20:20 I also feel this way about fanfictions that get adapted into original stories. It works as a fanfiction because we project all the lore of that character onto the characters, but once you make it an original story, you also need to write the background story you ripped off them when making it an original story in order to make it cohesive. Otherwise I have no reason to get attached to the main couple
This is why as a fanfiction writer I have not published anything... because I would need to build an entire new world for the characters and make them fit into it. You're not supposed to just Find & Replace the names and a few setting details then call it an original work.
What usually draws me into villain romances - and maybe villains in general - is that villains don't necessarily have morals. It's that quote about how a hero will give up their loved one for the world, but a villain will give up the world for a loved one. A villain can torture and murder whoever they want, but a hero will usually take the high road to save the people they love. Which actually tends to go wrong for them and get their loved ones in more trouble. That's fun sometimes, but I prefer to watch them go feral.
Although that quote certainly isn't true all of the time. If we expand the range to more than just love interests - spoilers for Spiderverse 2, like massive spoilers, like stop reading oh my god - Miles Morales gets to risk _all of existence_ for his dad and still be literal Spiderman. That's great! I love that! Give me more of that please!
Since we are questioning that phrase of the hero and the villain, I want to say that personally I never liked that phrase of the villain will sacrifice the world and blah blah blah; I always thought that the hero would be like "Fxck off, I won't submit to you making me choose one" and find a way to save both the loved one and the world, and succeeding.
@@emitheorbit1118 Exactly, you get it. That's good too!!
Morals doesn't mean good. This means that villains usually have morals, but they're very different to normalcy. A truly immoral being is probably impossible
@@emitheorbit1118 the hero will find a way to save both, yet the villain will give up the world without a thought.
Yeah, I've always taken umbrage with that quote. I don't think the type of hero who would bend/break their morals for a loved one's safety is even that uncommon! I think a better version of the same idea is like... a villain would kill a dude to get you your favorite chocolate. A hero would maybe decide the chocolates aren't worth it, lol. If you want that *intense* "no one but you matters to me in this world" devotion, that's what you can get from a villain romance
Yeah I was very underwhelmed by how little actual villainy happens lol. We are just TOLD he is a villain, not shown.
hear me out: a hero, but with all the qualities of a villain - Geralt of Rivia
Absolutely.
And like, not even one of those edgy antiheroes, an actual, classical hero.
This made me reflect a little on what I want in a villain romance and I think the idea of the villain slowly corrupting the hero to the point where they are willing to destroy the world for the villain is just 😙👌
....So Hannibal the series? lol
We don't get enough of stuff like this, if anything I'm confused why we don't
So if I got this straight, it’s based on a TikTok series commenting on clichés, but now as a book it *is* just the clichés.
Also when I read “villain romance book” I thought it was an enemies-to-lovers but villain edition, basically two villains falling in love. Which could be interesting.
watching you review bad books makes me think they’re actually good and immediately want to read them
A villain and a hero automatically have tension as antagonists - just like rivals - and that is immediately sexy. Also, a villain definitely appeals to our "I can change him"-complexes
You're the worst Harry Potter fan ever
YES omg I'm so glad I wasn't the only one that thought this was some weird wattpad bullshit
it had so much potential!!
If you want a *villain* story, read Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots. It's not cozy, it's not *really* a romance, but it's definitely evil and fantastic.
I just finished this book last week! I have a variety of criticisms that I give a lot of grace for: i.e. the Villain is hot, the main character thirsts immediately but she does kind of do the 'yeah but he's bad so I shouldn't' - I can get behind that lusty behavior even if it's unhinged.
What I can't get behind is we completely lose any 'villainy' after the first third. Bodies in the entryway, screams in the halls - only in the setup. It's like the author decided 'okay and now we've reached the point in which we reveal he was Villain-in-name-only and the Villain now needs to be the Hero. The audience and Evie needs to forget about all the torture and murder because I don't actually want to address the moral conundrum or gray areas.' We lose all chance at getting villain depth.
You know it’s a good video when Leonie brings out the white board! 😂
I'm listening to a reaction-read of 'Heaven Official's Blessing' right now (which I've read before) and it really hits this wonderful sweet spot where ALL the characters have a certain level of moral greyness where you're going "I love you, but...hmm" or "Yikes, girl! But also, I get it!" Even the cinnamon-roll Taoist god main character, who is overall as pure of heart as you can get, had a point in his backstory where he almost went SUPER dark. The love interest is a ghost king who is thought of by the other heavenly officials as this absolute villainous menace...and from their perspective, he kind of is! Mainly because he doesn't like how they treat the MC. But he does genuinely cause blood rains and rule over a ghost city where some...questionable stuff happens. At the same time, while he doesn't usually go out of his way to help anyone but the MC, he also doesn't tend to harm any innocent mortals, and might actually help sometimes (because that's what his BF would want!). They're all interesting complex characters, is my point!
I've been reading it, and I'm really enjoying it
So to conclude... it's just a Wattpad romance 😂 (nothing wrong with that, I enoyed my share of those back in the day, but they're not published books for a reason. They narrative is often so episodic and doesn't tie together very well.)
I wasn’t able to answer it when you first asked so I’ll give my opinion here:
Villains are interesting because they are usually very conflicted. It makes more for a fun time to dissect them and psychoanalysing them. And it’s just fun to have a morally dubious romance (granted it should be reasonable).
I saw this in the bookstore and when I read the back of it I cringed so hard
i think this would be really fun for some people but just really not for me
I liked it, but was cross when I realized it wasn’t a standalone.
I just can't believe that the book isn't about a villain going around doing funny villainy! Like what? Isn't that the story that title, cover and map were actually made for? 😶
@@CoreenMontagnaI think standalones are getting increasingly underrated
I did the exact same thing. I’m kinda tired of hot villains, I just want a cute/funny story about em, so I’m making one, it’s gonna be a comic and the plot is basically “villain accidentally adopts the hero” the hero is like, 7. Haven’t actually gotten anything except character designs finished yet but I’m working on it.
I absolutely loved and devoured this book, like could not stop reading, completely obsessed. I thought it was so fun and I loved the characters, but it was also a book I knew wouldn't hit for a lot of people so all your points are valid. But I just wanted to comment to encourage people who were interested in picking it up to give it a try
Same!! I ate this book UP. Did I cringe a time or two? Hell yeah and I absolutely loved it
@@howdyimvictoria yes!! leaning into the cringiness made it more fun
I really enjoyed it too, but was not prepared for the fact that it wasn’t a complete story. So I was really annoyed at the ending, or more accurately, the way the story stopped.
same!! the writing was juvenile but that worked as a charm for me and I was vibing the whole time.
@@CoreenMontagna that's so valid! I thought it was a standalone for half the book but then I saw someone post something about how crazy the cliffhanger was and realized it's part of a series. I'm really glad I knew beforehand bc otherwise I probably would have been upset too
I like to think the reason we all like villain romances is because, in a sense, they're truly optimistic about humanity. It's the ultimate version of "love conquers all"-- evil is literally purged from this person for YOUR sake, and that's on top of it feeling forbidden and edgy in the first place. That, I daresay, is sexy.
agree so much
i like villains because of the 'i can fix him' thing but im like dead serious about that. Like can you imagine the immense like... joy or w/e to see someone who has been through so much, felt that their life was over, and then they get better and they're happy? idk. i dont love the idea of love curing illness or w/e but it is scientifically proven that having people who support you increases the likelihood of recovery. Also when the villain tries to do something nice or normal but its awkward but theyre trying their best? that is the cutest shit. also to reiterate on my first point: if the person who hates you the most can turn into the person who loves you the most? i feel like thats the biggest win, like how could you ever feel bad about yourself again at that point.
i think maybe the reason why i feel this way is that i dont think that 'evilness' or whatever is like. a real thing. like an innate trait someone can have. If someone is a bad person they can still get better without changing their core values. Like, revenge isn't a core value, but justice is, and they could get that in a healthier way.
I think this just comes from me wanting people who have been shitty to me to apologize and do better. the most unrealistic fantasy lmao but what a thrill it would be
If you want to read a very good villain assistant read Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots. It's not a romance, but a very very good portrayal of good vs bad and villains vs hero
Yes!! I was going to mention this book, too! 🎉
I recently read that and loved it! It does have some romance but it’s not a focus. It’s the protagonist having feelings but not necessarily acting on them. Also the protagonist is bi which I love!
You NEED to read Starter Villain by John Scalzi! It is wild, but does exactly what you were expecting in this: plays on all the villain tropes with humor and tongue-in-cheek references and over-the-top antics. Talking cats, lasers, and absurdity done right.
Hey Leonie! I’m currently in high school and you single-handedly made me get back into reading. Your reviews and recommendations are so well thought out and not just like “omg everyone will love this book!” I love how you recommend some books I’ve never heard of that gives me a different perspective into reading. I’m currently reading The Hawthorne Legacy (second inheritance games book) and I wouldn’t have been invested in these wonderful stories without your perspective into reading! Just wanted to say this because I’ve watched you for a while and never really commented so thank you ❤❤
A good assistant to a villain/ romance exists in the form of What We Do In The Shadows.
talk about slow burn, too 😭😭😭
which characters does this apply for? :)
@@jiminici3351replying a year late but guillermo and nandor, probably - guillermo served nandor with the hopes that he’ll turn him into a vampire one day, there’s a romantic non-subtle subtext to it, v goofy cuz guillermo is a pretty nice dude who’s just accepting that disposing corpses is part of his job lol
I need a villain romance book where the villain is like a crazy seriel killer. Like a Ghostface type
That is the plot of Dorian Gray and also kind of Phantom of the Opera (which has a book!)
@@kjarakravik4837i wouldn't really call dorian gray a romance novel though. it has hints of queercoding but overall, it's just a story about the protagonist spiralling into a corruption arc.
Ghostface? Oh boy do I know a few self insert fanfics you would like
I don't know who or what Ghostface is, but I'm always open for new fanfic recs. Drop the link
@@RogueVideoRaven😂😂😂😂
I liked the color palette in the middle, with the lilacs and violets, very pretty and relaxing.
I see that shot and lighting design Leonie! That purple accent with the orange practicals was such a nice look I love how you keep changing your setup its very fun
Todays gonna be stressful but now it’s better. Love to see you again Leonie!
I am a plot-driven reader and did not think this was a plot-driven book, lol
What I _did_ think was that I was expecting an NA Romantasy, but I felt like I got a middle-grade.
There was nothing about the vocabulary, grammar, depth, nuance, characters, nor themes that gave anything I wouldn't put in front of a ten year old. And given that it has a really similar setup to Nimona (a YA graphic novel turned into a Netflix movie), I was honestly surprised to find that Nimona had so much more depth and nuance and social commentary despite being less than half the length and literally for children.
I love when villain characters admire the hero for a trait that no one else appreciates/sees. I also love when they’re character foils. Or when the villain is pretending to be good as part of their plan, and they fall in love with the hero. But they still end up betraying the hero because they’ve come this far and they can’t just stop now
I was actually on board with the humor in this book you described and I do love plot over romance, so I was just about to add this book to my list, but when I heard about your main gripe with it, my excitement fell. A story about a villain but no fun villainous activities??? Aw man... what a missed opportunity...
Love your villain studies list!! I will use it as an exercise!
I have been casually writing in google docs about a silly idea from a dream I had, where there's a sidestory of a hero who constantly banters/flirts with the villains' DOCTOR. The doctor only treats villains of course. It was such a fun little writing exercise for me to have this unhinged doctor who lacks apathy and wishing others wrath, but has a gift in healing others instead. Meanwhile, the villains themselves behave in such a hammy, over-the-top, ridiculous, monologue-driven way, I was laughing so much as I wrote it. Very fun exercise!!
"the most enemy that anyone can ever enemy" is the best line at least of the day, if not a year (and I'm watching 25 hours before new year, I'd know)
Love the Community shoutout. Best sitcom of all time. And yes, perfect for learning about tropes and story mechanics.
The author originally got started on TikTok by making videos that were along the lines of I love blank trope and then the series was built on that foundation so it was always just a funny series that showed off different tropes. The book definitely reflects what the author's original intentions were with creating the TikTok series as opposed to someone who just decided to write a book because they had an idea for a story. I say this as someone who has watched almost all of Hannah's Assistant to the Villain series and has thoroughly enjoyed it.
I love the dramatic head move at 22:11 when you said „Betrayal“. Really felt that!!!
I loved the Uncle Iroh reference at the end 😂 it annoys me as well when I get to to the end of a book that I wasn’t fully invested in and thought it was a stand-alone, only to realise it’s part of a series 😒
Without a description of the villain's appearance I will actively picture skeletor
Your initial hopes for this book remind me of two I've read and enjoyed! *Between* by L.L. Starling and *Throne in the Dark* by A.K. Caggiano. They were both so charming: Quirky, cozy, banter-y, and with characters that challenge the tropes of good and evil. Plenty of fun side quests and delightful supporting characters.
Edit: I realize these are not villain romances per se. But since they dabble in the shadowy parts of the love interests they could be a good read for others looking for not-so-squeaky-clean leads.
I'll share my main gripes:
*Between* really is a behemoth tome and it takes a bit to get to the good stuff, but I really think it's worth it. This story has imperfections that feel like reading a new-ish writer's work but the author really had a special story here that I have actually re-read to visit with all the characters I'd missed.
With *Throne in the Dark* I felt the author stretched the story across multiple installments to the effect of putting off some very necessary resolutions in order to keep the adventures going, rather than letting things fall where they naturally should, ya know. Some of the hero/heroine interactions ended up feeling a bit flat, but I was still charmed enough by the world to recommend it for light reading.
God now I'm thinking about some tiktoker writing about Megamind being the main love intrest 😭
knowing you watch community makes me so happy
Awww I loved it. It was so cute and didn’t take itself seriously.
I strongly recommend Hench by Natalie Zina Walschotts. It's a great villain assistant story with critiques on the collateral damage of superheroes.
Thanks for making this review!
I missed these videos SO much!!! Leonie’s TENTACLE ENTANGLEMENT and GOTHIKANA videos are my all-time faves lol I’ve been praying for an addition to the collection.
I love, funny romances, I’m also into, assistant/ boss, grumpy/ sunshine trope, romances. Not into villains, but I don’t hate them either. I checked goodreads to see how good it was, and it has a high rating, plus I think it won a goodreads award. I read the comments there, and now I don’t wanna read the book, cuz they said there’s not enough romance. 🤷🏼♀️🤷🏼♀️🤷🏼♀️ 9:10 #6 is definitely my thing. If the main character doesn’t want to burn the world for their love, then they’re useless imo.
"Which honestly would be a funny villlain, just a floating head"
Me, remembering my D&D party's fight with a demi-lich "Sure sure sure, very funny, big laughs"
Sounds like Nahsrah from Fear & Hunger. I’ll pray for you.
⚠️Deep thoughts⚠️ [6:50]
I do think that 4th point was interesting though because for main characters it’s like being “good” is the default therefore a lot of times there’s not much depth or layering, whereas for someone to be “bad” they have a lot of things that brought them to that point, so it would be nice if more main characters especially ones who are extremely idealistic and virtuous had backstories that explained why they’re on that path, sometimes it can even be something bad or traumatic but those kinds of events can turn some people into villains and some people into heroes
You should try a Terry Pratchett book if you want subversions of fantasy tropes! "Guards! Guards!" is a great one.
Ok…I can’t believe I’m doing this. But if you want an ACTUALLY SATISFYING villain romance, with deep understand of the villain’s backstory and unforgettable characters, please check out the book, The Cave and the Houseboat by Moose Shoemaker.
It’s not a romance novel, but has an unexpected romance subplot. And the villain is a chick, too. ❤
I just saw this at Barnes and Noble yesterday and was thinking of picking it up but ultimately didn’t, based on the title I suppose I made the right choice lol!
I just read this book and I LOVED it. I even preordered book 2. It was very cozy fantasy to me and I also Loved legends and Lattes 😂.
I'm at 22:44 in the video and paused to comment. I bought this book after watching your fall vlog and I was so excited, then immediately disappointed when I started reading. I didn't even get halfway before dropping it. It sucked all of the joy out of reading for me, and that makes me sad because I had high hopes. But I agree with you that this book was so generic and not developed enough. I was really upset also by the lack of world building. I couldn't understand what century they were in because they were in offices (which seemed very modern from the little description there was) - but they lived in small villages and had blacksmiths and taverns? It wasn't adding up for me and it fell sooo flat.
Love that my favorite tv show Community got a shout-out in your video. The show does a great job of making fun of tropes from different genres of movies like you said. I'm also from the Netherlands (my dad is from Rotterdam) - I don't know if you could tell from my Dutch name Janneke de Jong but I always enjoy seeing someone else from the Netherlands on TH-cam
9:10
Hello, are you talking about "shatter me"? 😅
the way i had this on my tbr, ur making or breaking its spot there
fr ^-^
From your review, i think this would work a lot better as animated comedy short than as a book, I love the premise but idk if the format is the right one for it
Just uploaded while I was binge-watching some of your previous book reviews. This feels like free therapy.
I just read Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots and it has the same basic premise but I absolutely adore it and would platform it above this one, which I had gotten at the same time
When you’re describing Community making fun of tropes, the word you’re looking for is “meta”, and it’s my favourite 😊 Thanks for reviewing this! I saw it on Goodreads and it didn’t look as good as it could’ve been lol
Hearing you talk about this makes me think of Zhu Li and Varrick from The Legend of Korra 😂
I love the tiktok series cause it's genuinely fun. The reviews of this book however is putting me off from reading it.
To be fair, it is her very first book. If she writes more, she can improve.
If the writing is supper cringe it's kinda her editor's fault.
I'd love a book where we follow the the villain's perspective of the person or underlying trying to fix them and its like a horror story.
Similar vibes to "I fear no man, but that thing..." *cuts to obsessed admirer idk* "it scares me."
@11:28 absolute god-tier lighting???
leonie is so beautiful!! fall aesthetic vibes are immaculate 🍂🖤
❤ Duuude I’ve been waiting for you to upload! I have lost track of time whilst travelling (blame jet lag from Australia to Greece!) and have been watching old videos of yours and other booktubers’ while commuting to keep me sane 😂 I will watch this on a ferry tomorrow but shame you didn’t like this book from the look of it because it sounded fun.
OK SO, I finished reading it today. And as a person who hasn't seen a single tiktok. You guys get my unfiltered thoughts. Maybe it's the fact that my short attention span can barely handle slow burns or super thick books, but I adored Evie and The Villain's story.
I loved how quick and efficiently they used their heads and solved problems instead of dawdling over micro-issues the whole book. I loved the fact that we see so much of their characters. I'll be the first to admit, that it's not super "assistant" focused, but to be fair, there's so much going on that I as a reader was satisfied with the little snippets of the work that Villain only notices when she's gone.
The humor is also right up my alley with the amount of sarcasm and dry humor, even the jokes I didn't like, I thought were cute. I'm about a quarter way through legends and lattes as well- so...yeah you got me.😅
I love that he cares about his employees, I loved Lyssa, and I adored all of the silly little moments they shared. I also really loved seeing the side characters and their dynamic with each other and Evie.
I AM HURTING because of the ending!! I was expecting a clean, sweet ending with a kiss and a "let's burn the world down together' and THEN IT HIT ME.
As a sort of disclaimer? I was fully expecting office romance when i came into this book, and I've ways adored "villain and villain's henchman" type of stories, along with villain x right hand stories. So this book was totally for me.
I really enjoyed the twist, and the characters, and overall I adored this book. I love the simplicity of it, I love the fact that Trystan likes an obscene amount of sugar and cream in his coffee, I HATED the slow burn becausd i'm impatient and just really wanted them to kiss already.
If you like slice of life stuff or easy reads, I totally recommend! But I also get how this isnt for everyone. It's very focused on the romance, and not so much the "villain" part. I think the sequel "Apprentice to the villain" will probably be more like that.
Yes! I feel like I must be dumb when I see it being panned, but I found it to be a cute, fun story (and in fairness, I've read or at least started a ton of /actually/ bad books on kindle unlimited).
I guess I have a lower standard, which ultimately is good, because it means enjoying more things!
if villain romance is of interest, you NEED to read Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots!! The romance isn't really the main point and it's more rumination of the entire "industry" of superheroes and how it actually creates villains :p But the Heroine's relationship to her boss, the Villain~ is soooooo satisfying and good.
Hench is a fantastic book!
I loved Hench but I think selling it in any way as a romance is misleading the reader based on what we get in the book.
BUT, if you want to see a Hench going around doing and dealing with Villain stuff. Hench >>>>
Love the video as always, but I have to say: LEONIE! Your hair looks gorgeous!
I’ve been so on the fence about reading this one! What a great timing for this video leonie, we commend your efforts 🫡
hope the video helped!
ok, before I continue... 0:35 those shoes are immaculate 🤌🏽🤌🏽🤌🏽
For a reeeally good villain assistant story you can pick up the graphic novel nimona
Its really sweet❤❤
Yes! I love Nimona!
The moment you said you wished there were more villainous stuff in the story and then we watched her Tiktoks I was like yep, this is going to be a series, and we will see more of their vigilantes together in future books.
"Book based on a funny tiktok skit" is such a red flag. and i LOVE tiktok skits!! but you've gotta put Something More into them!!
i’ve seen this ALL OVER tiktok and have been asking around as to if it’s actually good so you timed this perfectly!!!
Watching my favorite book loving TH-cam channel while sick
Greatest way to spend my time❤❤❤
to me, this book read like a bunch of head canons put together rather than a cohesive story. like it read the same way tumblr drabble/hc posts would read if u shoved them all together in a huge masterdoc or smth. idk if that made any sense but thats what i felt-
We appreciate your effort and hard work on this channel. We wish you all the best.
What I love the most about your vlogs and made me follow this channel in the first place, is how moody and cozy they are. You hardly ever have bright lights on and it's so nice to see such a realistic rainy Dutch day (might just be nostalgia and sentiment ahahaha).
If anyone has queer recommendations for a book like this, please let me know 😊 the book sounds fun enough but not completely my vibe.
Community is my favourite series! I'm so happy you like it too~
I’ve never been a fan of the ‘special treatment’ trope with villain romances, like no if your partner treats everyone but you like shit chances are they either won’t treat you very well eventually or never did in the first place
I really did enjoy this, but I find random situations and corny humor is my kind of thing. It wasn't a masterpiece, but I had fun. And I loved the end! I'll read the next book
you have no idea what this did to my day . PS : it made me super happy !
Yess!! I’ve been wanting to see ur opinions on this book eek, u always know what to serve us SLAYY LEONIE🥰😙❤️
I actually read this book because of your video and i actually found it really cute. I loved their cute interactions and it was overall a cute book with a mystery story going along and even though some parts are particularly ridiculous especially the biggest twist in the end but overall would recommend
26:14/28:00 it's funny that you say iroh, because right before that I was thinking about zahir from tlok and what an interesting villain he was
I appreciate the specificity of your feedback. I was immediately drawn to the title of the book, and just like you, I assumed that it would be a funny story about the trials and tribulations of trying to be the assistant to a villain. I never in a million years thought it would be a romance. The feedback was very uneven, which is why I looked up reviews to have a better idea of whether I'd like this book or not, and now that you specifically confirm that the book is not going in the direction its title suggest, I think I should save myself the aggravation and not read it. I just don't have a high tolerance threshold for bad writing, either... Thanks for your honest review!
Okay but the little pictures are so cute though🥹
God!!! I love these vids of urs, cause I know I'll never read some books but will gladly like to know the story n if in between I'll actually like the story then i can stop the vid n read the book itself. I'll actually love similar vids with all spoilers, like full plot coverage. N why is ur voice so good to listen to?
I (tried to) read this book because it is our book club pick this month, and I just couldn't finish it. I DNFed at 80%. 🙃 I tried skimming the pages because I would've loved to finish it for the book club discussion, but even skimming was too unbearable for me. 😅 I thought I was the problem because most people loved it. This video validated my feelings because I agree with everything you said.
I feel like this kinda story could easily be adapted into a Scott pilgrim style anime project or something, you know? Not necessarily the same art style, per se, but in a similar over the top animated style of expressions and effects and line delivery.
I also thought it would be more about the assistant to the villain like you were saying around 18:40, like it bothers me so much if a title or description of a book isn’t accurate or is in a different way than what you thought it would obviously be. it sounds like it would be funny seeing the villain do things. I don’t think I would like it either!