Four books in, most cozy fantasy series are coasting on charm alone. Adversary to the Villain, the latest entry in Hannah Nicole Maehrer’s Assistant to the Villain series, is proof that this one still has teeth — it currently sits at No. 1 on the New York Times paperback trade fiction list, a testament to just how devoted this fandom has become since Evie and Trystan first met.
For readers new to the series, the premise centers on Evie, a resolutely cheerful, occasionally treasonous assistant to Trystan, the kingdom of Rennedawn’s most feared (and most misunderstood) villain. What began as an odd-couple workplace comedy has, over three prior installments, evolved into something with real stakes: a looming prophecy that threatens to unravel the magic holding Rennedawn together, a king determined to weaponize that prophecy for his own ends, and a cast of allies, rivals, and traitors who all want a piece of the artifacts required to stop it. In this installment, Evie and Trystan are racing the clock and each other’s secrets, trying to keep the people around them from getting swept up — or sold out — in the process.
What makes this entry stand out is its willingness to widen the lens. Rather than keeping the story locked to Evie and Trystan’s will-they-won’t-they banter, Maehrer hands narrative real estate to the surrounding cast, turning the book into something closer to a workplace ensemble comedy than a straightforward romance sequel. There’s a genuine mystery buried underneath the humor and the cake-adjacent set pieces, and the series’ trademark voice — breezy, self-aware, quick with a joke even when the stakes are rising — remains fully intact. Fans who came for the romance get plenty of it, but the book is at its best when it lets its supporting characters carry entire chapters.
Critical reception has been warm, with more than a few reviewers calling this the most confidently plotted entry since the series opener, praising how it balances comedic set pieces with an actual mystery instead of coasting purely on established chemistry between its leads. The criticism that has surfaced is structural rather than tonal: the book’s middle stretch, built around a string of fetch-quest-style detours, reads to some as more episodic than propulsive — individually entertaining but slack when strung together into a single arc. It’s a minor complaint in an otherwise well-received installment, and it hasn’t dented the series’ commercial momentum in the slightest.
For longtime readers, Adversary to the Villain delivers what the series has always promised: humor, heart, and a slow-burn romance that keeps finding new obstacles without feeling contrived. It’s not the ideal entry point — newcomers should start at the beginning — but for anyone already invested in Evie and Trystan’s world, this is a satisfying, funny, occasionally suspenseful continuation that earns its bestseller status. The ending, notably, plays without a safety net, which bodes well for wherever Maehrer takes the series next.
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