ASSISTANT TO THE VILLAIN by Hannah Nicole Maeher

Writing: 🌟🌟
With a loose historical setting, random creatures and unexplained magical powers, the world-building in this story lacked the depth needed to make much of an impression on me. I also struggled to find the simplistic, fairytale-style narrative engaging, especially since the humour fused into it generally fell flat for me. Despite all this, there were some vivid scenes that stood out to me, and it was very satisfying to have dual points of view from both Evie and the Villain.

MALICE by John Gwynne

I completely adored the descriptive writing style with its simple, vivid prose. Multiple points of view (POVs) are also neatly used to introduce the world’s rich history, mystical creatures and political landscape. However, I initially struggled with the constantly shifting POVs and information dumps, though these gradually became less jarring as the story progressed.