Apprentice to the Villain
Evie Sage loves her job. Never mind that her employer is the most feared man in Rennedawn, or that the work involves treason, daggers, and the occasional severed limb — being assistant to The Villain is the most alive she has ever felt. But the kingdom is changing. Magic is turning unpredictable, the king's reach is growing, and the manor that once felt untouchable is suddenly full of cracks.
To protect the people she has come to think of as family, Evie must become more than an assistant. She takes up training in combat, subterfuge, and the darker arts of her employer's trade, stepping into a role that will test her loyalty and her heart in equal measure. Meanwhile, the man she works for is guarding secrets of his own, and the feelings neither of them will name grow harder to ignore.
The second book in Hannah Nicole Maehrer's bestselling series raises the stakes on its grumpy-sunshine romance while keeping the sharp humor and workplace chaos that made the first so beloved. Apprentice to the Villain deepens the world of Rennedawn as its heroine trades the sidelines for the front lines.
Now training in combat and subterfuge to protect the household she's come to see as family.
The kingdom's most feared man, wrestling with buried feelings and mounting threats to his manor.
The ruler of Rennedawn, whose public accusations against The Villain drive the book's central conflict.
Massacre Manor's dragon trainer, who talked his way into The Villain's household with a dragon egg.
The frog who keeps company with The Villain and communicates by spelling things out.
Yes. Apprentice to the Villain is the second book in the Assistant to the Villain series and picks up Evie Sage and Trystan Maverine's story directly where the first book left it, including the consequences of its ending. It is not written to be read on its own. The series continues with Accomplice to the Villain and Adversary to the Villain.
It was a finalist for the 2024 Goodreads Choice Award for Romantasy, reaching the final round of voting, but it did not win the category. It was also an instant New York Times bestseller on publication in August 2024.
Yes. Entangled's Red Tower Books has announced a Special Edition Hardcover with sprayed edges, 384 pages, due on 3 November 2026 (ISBN 9781682817452). The original 2024 release is available as an Entangled paperback and ebook in the US, a Penguin paperback in the UK, a Cengage Gale large-print edition, and a Spanish translation, Aprendiz del villano, from Faeris Editorial.
