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Anne's Reviews > Assistant to the Villain
Assistant to the Villain
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Dear god, this seems so controversial!
I had no idea this was such a love-it-or-hate-it book when I downloaded it. I had just kind of seen the cover about the place and it was one of the few audiobooks I could snag without a wait.
So.
It was cute in that Hallmark movie/Lifetime romance kind of way.
You know what I mean?
Like, the dialogue isn't all that good but the couple is cute and you want to see if the lady who bakes Christmas cookies for a living will be able to free the spirit of the hot ghost who's trapped in the inn she's staying in for the duration of her time in her hometown as she visits her overbearing but well-meaning mother?
I KNOW I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE SITTING ON MY COUCH WITH A GLASS OF WINE AND A BAG OF FUNYUNS WATCHING THIS SHIT.
Also, when I saw villain in the title, I just assumed it was like a superhero villain.
Not so!
What we have here is more of a fairytale villain. Except he's less like that Skeltor-looking guy from The Black Cauldron and more like Hiddelson's Loki.
So even though he's evil, he's the hot version of evil, and I think we can all pull out our bag of Funyuns, pop the cork on that $8 bottle of Members Mark wine, and settle into our seats for that one.
The short version?
Our heroine needs a job to support her sick father and little sister, and due to plot, she runs into the terrifying villain known as THE VILLAIN whilst rambling in the woods.
Naturally, he offers her a job. <--why else are we here, people?
Her special brand of optimism, humor, and inability to fear him turns his crusty heart to mush, and away we go on our journey into an adorable little romance.
And honestly, the plot is cute, too. There's a whole evil castle filled with interesting minions, while the good guys in this are pretty sketchy and suspect.
But make no mistake, this is pretty B-movie when it comes to the writing.
I just happen to like cheesy romance movies.
As for the audiobook, the narration is terrible. It. is. bad.
I will say that the narrator does the voices well, especially the male voices (not all female narrators can do that) but all the descriptive dialogue is stilted as hell. This is the second narrator that I've noticed doing this exact. same. thing. and I'm now wondering if this is something they're being told to do? It sounds like an especially bad version of AI is reading all the non-speaking parts. I DNF'd the (the other book) because it was so off-putting, so it says something about the cuteness of the story that I hung in there for this.
I stole this from Robin (Bridge Four)'s Review because I think you should take a listen before you decide whether or not you can handle it.
Recommended for those of us who inhale corny romance.
I had no idea this was such a love-it-or-hate-it book when I downloaded it. I had just kind of seen the cover about the place and it was one of the few audiobooks I could snag without a wait.
So.
It was cute in that Hallmark movie/Lifetime romance kind of way.
You know what I mean?
Like, the dialogue isn't all that good but the couple is cute and you want to see if the lady who bakes Christmas cookies for a living will be able to free the spirit of the hot ghost who's trapped in the inn she's staying in for the duration of her time in her hometown as she visits her overbearing but well-meaning mother?
I KNOW I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE SITTING ON MY COUCH WITH A GLASS OF WINE AND A BAG OF FUNYUNS WATCHING THIS SHIT.
Also, when I saw villain in the title, I just assumed it was like a superhero villain.
Not so!
What we have here is more of a fairytale villain. Except he's less like that Skeltor-looking guy from The Black Cauldron and more like Hiddelson's Loki.
So even though he's evil, he's the hot version of evil, and I think we can all pull out our bag of Funyuns, pop the cork on that $8 bottle of Members Mark wine, and settle into our seats for that one.
The short version?
Our heroine needs a job to support her sick father and little sister, and due to plot, she runs into the terrifying villain known as THE VILLAIN whilst rambling in the woods.
Naturally, he offers her a job. <--why else are we here, people?
Her special brand of optimism, humor, and inability to fear him turns his crusty heart to mush, and away we go on our journey into an adorable little romance.
And honestly, the plot is cute, too. There's a whole evil castle filled with interesting minions, while the good guys in this are pretty sketchy and suspect.
But make no mistake, this is pretty B-movie when it comes to the writing.
I just happen to like cheesy romance movies.
As for the audiobook, the narration is terrible. It. is. bad.
I will say that the narrator does the voices well, especially the male voices (not all female narrators can do that) but all the descriptive dialogue is stilted as hell. This is the second narrator that I've noticed doing this exact. same. thing. and I'm now wondering if this is something they're being told to do? It sounds like an especially bad version of AI is reading all the non-speaking parts. I DNF'd the (the other book) because it was so off-putting, so it says something about the cuteness of the story that I hung in there for this.
I stole this from Robin (Bridge Four)'s Review because I think you should take a listen before you decide whether or not you can handle it.
Recommended for those of us who inhale corny romance.
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Reading Progress
January 31, 2024
–
Started Reading
January 31, 2024
– Shelved
February 7, 2024
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-50 of 72 (72 new)
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Michael
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Feb 07, 2024 05:47AM
Great review, Anne! Too Funny! "I KNOW I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE SITTING ON MY COUCH WITH A GLASS OF WINE AND A BAG OF FUNYUNS WATCHING THIS SHIT."
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Michael wrote: "Great review, Anne! Too Funny! "I KNOW I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE SITTING ON MY COUCH WITH A GLASS OF WINE AND A BAG OF FUNYUNS WATCHING THIS SHIT.""Are you there with me, Michael? lol
Anne, I will read anything you write and give it five stars!
Hah! Makes me wish I had a book in me, Emma.
Anne I was right there with you on this. I also was yeah...3 stars cuz I like a sorta cheesy romance with some mediocre writing and there was enough to keep me interested. But the narration was ugh. I had to listen at 1.75x instead of 1.5x just for pacing issues and pauses.
Robin wrote: "Anne I was right there with you on this. I also was yeah...3 stars cuz I like a sorta cheesy romance with some mediocre writing and there was enough to keep me interested. But the narration was u..."
I just added in your review and audio link! I completely forgot that we had a WHOLE CONVERSATION about the audiobook.
Damn girl!
Anne wrote: "Robin wrote: "Anne I was right there with you on this. I also was yeah...3 stars cuz I like a sorta cheesy romance with some mediocre writing and there was enough to keep me interested. But the n..."
haha...so many books how can we remember ALL the conversations
This was hilarious 😂 I think the Funyuns and Members Mark wine did me in!
Michelle wrote: "This was hilarious 😂 I think the Funyuns and Members Mark wine did me in!"I feel like those are universal rom-com snacks! At least in the US. lol
I love your review! It was so funny! But also I agree with you. Except I read the book, so can’t comment on the audiobook. I found the writing mediocre and wish there was more world building but found the overall storyline entertaining! Just like you said, a cheesey rom-com!
Thank you for providing an audioclip because OMG, no, I could not deal with that narration, even at 2.5 speed! Comma does not mean pause. Whoever came up with that was wrong, that's not what a comma is for, you don't have to have a one-second pause every time a comma appears. And the pauses where there should have been no comma? I have no idea what that was about.You are a patient and brave woman to have endured that.
Brenda P wrote: "I love your review! It was so funny! But also I agree with you. Except I read the book, so can’t comment on the audiobook. I found the writing mediocre and wish there was more world building but fo..."Entertainment value counts for A LOT with me when it comes to books. There are tons of books that are incredibly well-written that suck my soul out with a straw.
Erica wrote: "Thank you for providing an audioclip because OMG, no, I could not deal with that narration, even at 2.5 speed! Comma does not mean pause. Whoever came up with that was wrong, that's not what a comm..."The Decagon House Murders was EXACTLY the same. Different narrator but the same insane pausing. for. no. discernable. reason.
That's why I'm wondering if they are actually instructing the narrators to do it. And when she reads the characters' voices, she doesn't pause like that and the narration is really great. Idk, man. It's weird.
Wow that narration genuinely does sound like an AI voice! It’s actually possible that it could be an AI voice trained on the voice of the real narrator to save time and money, since that technology exists now and actually works quite well. It would make sense to use that just for the descriptive parts and record the narrator live for the dialogue.
That sounds almost dumb enough to be something they might do. lmao!
Laurie wrote: "Wow that narration genuinely does sound like an AI voice! It’s actually possible that it could be an AI voice trained on the voice of the real narrator to save time and money, since that technology..."If that is the case it has a long way to go.
Your review made me LOL! Sounds like it's perfect for the right audience member. Sorry the audiobook narration was insufferable, that can definitely ruin an experience!
Robin wrote: "If that is the case it has a long way to go"The thing is, it seems like that would be harder to do than to just have her read the whole book. But then again, I don't know all the ins and outs of audiobooks.
Nicole Leigh Reads wrote: "Your review made me LOL! Sounds like it's perfect for the right audience member. Sorry the audiobook narration was insufferable, that can definitely ruin an experience!"If I had more time to read with my eyeballs, I'd definitely have chosen that way. lol
I've heard so many conflicting reviews!
I hadn't heard anything and wasn't expecting much. It's a solid 3 star plot with some cheesy dialogue.
The thing is, with a better author, this premise could actually be really brilliant. But you get a middling book when your endgame is just turning tiktoks into a full paperback as fast as possible.
Ok, what's the TikTok angle with this thing? I keep seeing it mentioned but I have no idea why it's getting slammed in regard to this book.I'm not on TikTok much but my daughter is always showing me these "BookTok" books.
Anne wrote: "Ok, what's the TikTok angle with this thing? I keep seeing it mentioned but I have no idea why it's getting slammed in regard to this book.I'm not on TikTok much but my daughter is always showing ..."
Because this was originally a series of skits on Tiktok
I saw "viral TikTok series turned novel" and that's a thing?? 😵�
This made me laugh so hard during my break at work. Thank you!
mwana wrote: "Because this was originally a series of skits on Tiktok"Whuuuuuut? I didn't even know that was a thing that happened! lol
Clare wrote: "I saw "viral TikTok series turned novel" and that's a thing?? 😵�"Apparently! Learn something new every day.
Ebony "Interstellar Introvert" wrote: "This made me laugh so hard during my break at work. Thank you! "The sad thing is that I actually have a bottle of Sam's Club wine SAVED (like it's special!) for my next sappy rom-com marathon.
But I feel like I just cannot be the only woman who does that sort of nonsense!
Thank you for this honest review Anne - I was on the fence with this one... to read or bypass. I think I'm going to skip for now.. Glad you had a decent experience though! 🖤
♥︎ Heather � wrote: "Thank you for this honest review Anne - I was on the fence with this one... to read or bypass. I think I'm going to skip for now.. Glad you had a decent experience though! 🖤"I don't blame anyone for skipping. It was one of those that I had low expectations for and ended up liking-ish. So. Yeah, I won't be pushing this on anyone.
Kinda wanna read this now.... there's like a 5% chance that I have a copy somewhere in my room. This should tell you everything you need to know about my organisational skills.
Haha! You're that nightmare child, aren't you?
Nailed it. It's 1000% the enjoyable 'I'm gonna choose to spend time in a half baked rom com universe' type of book. I feel like it knows what it is and I happen to love it for that.
I agree. I may read the next one with my eyeballs unless they do something about the narration.
Turned out I did have a copy. Whaddya know... haha. In my defence, I have several books with "villain" in the title. Somewhere.
I agree with everything you said (I’m also glad I’m not the only one with MM wine and cheap snacks while enjoying all things cheesy!).
Rae wrote: "Turned out I did have a copy. Whaddya know... haha. In my defence, I have several books with "villain" in the title. Somewhere."Ha! I forget to read the books I buy, too. Why is that?
Shelpike wrote: "I agree with everything you said (I’m also glad I’m not the only one with MM wine and cheap snacks while enjoying all things cheesy!)."I feel like we should clink our Sam's Club cards together or something. lol
Obviously I need to learn what Funyuns are.
WHAT?
Yeah, onion flavored puffed chips sounds awful, but the taste!
THE TASTE!
I try not to buy chips and whatnot, but every now and then...
Funyuns are the shit. The problem is that I'll eat the whole damn bag and then lick the crumbs off my fingers. Welp. There goes 2 days' worth of empty calories. lol
I’m so happy I’m not the only one that got weird AI vibes from the audiobook…has made it painful to get through the book
The onion rings brought me here. I want some, too! ;-)
Kaitlynn wrote: "I’m so happy I’m not the only one that got weird AI vibes from the audiobook…has made it painful to get through the book"I hope the next book doesn't sound like this one!
Wulf wrote: "The onion rings brought me here. I want some, too! ;-)"Everyone needs Funyuns in their life, Wulf. In this crazy world, we have to hold on to that truth.
I was so excited about the premise for Assistant to the Villain and it just fell flat for me. I was pretty disappointed but then someone told me about another series with a similar vibe. It's the Villains and Virtues series by A. K. Caggiano and I LOVED it! It was so GOOD! I can't shut up about it! So I thought I'd share the love here.It's a 3 book series on Kindle Unlimited, with a fourth spin-off book too.
Thanks! I'll go check that one out, Kirby. I appreciate the rec.
I’m so glad someone said something about the narration! I wish I could return it 😭 I’d rather spend money on the actual physical book, the narrator ruins it for me
Carter wrote: "I’m so glad someone said something about the narration! I wish I could return it 😭 I’d rather spend money on the actual physical book, the narrator ruins it for me"I'm seeing more and more people complaining about it, Carter! I'm hoping this reaches the ears of whoever is in charge of the audiobook narration for the second book.
