MY RATING:
Synopsis:
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Readers’ Favorite Romantasy (2025)
REWARD OFFERED: Apprentice to The Villain wanted for treason (light), magical property damage (alleged), and one incident involving a weaponized scone (accurate). Frequently seen with a grumpy frog (crowned, judgmental). Answers to “Evie” or “Stop that.”
Read More:
Evie Sage didn’t mean to become the right-hand woman to the kingdom’s most terrifying villain. One minute, she was applying for an entry-level position that promised “light paperwork and occasional beheadings,” and the next, she was knee-deep in magical mayhem, murder plots, and an entirely inappropriate crush on her brooding, sharp-jawed, walking disaster of a boss.
Now, with a magical prophecy unraveling, assassins showing up in the break room, and a suspicious amount of frogs wearing crowns, Evie has to figure out how to survive her job without setting the kingdom on fire―or her dignity, which is hanging by a very sarcastic thread.
Being evil-adjacent was never part of the five-year plan. But then again…neither was falling for The Villain.
- Pages: 384
- Genre: Fantasy, Romance
- Publication date: August 5, 2025 by Entangled: Red Tower Books
- Format: Paperback, Kindle, Hardcover, Audiobook
- Source: Owned
PURCHASE LINKS:
AMAZON
KOBO
REVIEW:
What an ending! I called it, though! The person was one of the ones I was suspecting, but definitely blew me away. Until the very end, I was not sure if it was or if it wasn’t! I loved how the author did every twist and turn so cleverly and masterfully.
Honestly, I can’t wait for the next book to come out because I am itching to find out the why, how, and what! There was so much going on in here, I was so pleased to see some things getting addressed and how they were developed. I was shocked, I laughed, I was angry at certain people!! (Amara, I am side-eyeing you, you b*tch! Also, Becky’s mum, you silly goose! And last but not least, Evie’s mum…. what is wrong with you woman!!!???) Whatever happened in this book made me seriously question my morals and made me understand why people may do the things they do. I don’t really know how to put it into words. I loved how the author created this illusion, so to speak, when it comes to what is good and what is bad. And trully who is really the villain? This is the biggest question I am pondering after reading these books. It really tickles my brain and my curiosity to find out where everything would lead to and how it will end.
The villain and Evie were, as always, great, with great banter, and the romance was amazing too. I appreciate how complicated their relationship is and that nothing felt out of place with them two. The rest of the characters were also great, I loved the different POVs, and we got to discover so many things that my mind is still trying to recollect from the floor…
The writing is so captivating, mesmerising and immersive, I know these are similar adjectives, but I cannot stress it enough 😀
Ok, enough babbling, overall 4.5 stars, waiting impatiently for the next book to come out this August!
Lin's Perspective 
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