Laurens.Little.Library's Reviews > Assistant to the Villain

Could it be because the narration was so horrendous? I don’t care for audiobooks so idk how that would translate??

elder_millennialnitemar_reads wrote: "Could it be because the narration was so horrendous? I don’t care for audiobooks so idk how that would translate??"

It's a fair question if you're not familiar with the medium, but no. Absolutely not. I'd be a pretty terrible reviewer if I wasn't capable of telling the difference between poor narration and the actual craft of the writing.

For example, the narration doesn't change the diction. It can't suddenly make one-note characters multi-faceted.

I recently DNF'd The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen and purposely didn't give it a star rating, explaining that although the narrator's delivery was appalling, I knew the bones of the novel were solid. For stories like that, I buy the physical copy and eventually read it that way.

I looked up the author to see what else she wrote and LIGHTLARK!!!! thank you for your honesty, I'm glad it's the very first review on the page so I don't have to waste an audible credit on it.

the book synopsis lost me at the word “tiktok” 💀

Panda, Alex Aster wrote Lightlark ☠️ not Hannah. Katherine, it literally started as a TikTok series

Your review was funnier than the whole book. I agree wholeheartedly with your points, including the narration.

I have to agree. I DNF'd around page 190. This book lacked a lot of depth, the conflict resolution wasn't there, the romance was flirtatious banter, for being a villain, there was no action, and I'm very disappointed in the frog.

My question is, what was your expectation going into this book? Did you watch any of Hannah’s videos on this series? I thought the book exactly like she set the expectation for. Also all Redtower books are New Adult meaning they are supposed to feel like YA with more mature adult content added. I think the expectation going into this is really important so we don’t just talk a brand new Debut Author the second the book releases.

I got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell!

Lauren, I totally agree with your review. I hadn’t even made it to chapter one and I was over it. I hate third person but I was willing to give it a try bc I loved the tiktok series. Overall, the book was lacking in a lot of ways. I never felt connected to the main character and the “villain” wasn’t exactly villainous. I don’t agree with the other comments that just because she is a new author we shouldn’t tell our opinions on the book. It will only help other readers have a full perspective and know what they’re going into.

The narration was awful. I had to switch to reading the book.

Briel wrote: "My question is, what was your expectation going into this book? Did you watch any of Hannah’s videos on this series? I thought the book exactly like she set the expectation for. Also all Redtower b..."

The problem with that mindset is that a lot of people who pick up this book aren't chronically on booktok and will therefore have no idea that this book was based on tiktoks. Hell, I'm on booktok fairly frequently and have never heard of this person or seen any of her videos. The only reason I realized it was TikTok-related is because I happened to glance at the author's bio after reading a few chapters. I picked up the book on a whim purely because it looked like it might be a fun read - I had zero expectations. Unfortunately, it's probably going to end up on my DNF pile because I'm not remotely enjoying myself, mostly for the same reasons the reviewer mentioned.

So yes, I'm sure it will appeal to people who follow the author on TikTok - the number of 5 star reviews can obviously vouch for that. But, as someone who did not have that context prior to purchasing, I'm finding it to be an extremely bland and rather unenjoyable read.

Briel, I am on TikTok and have been following the author since she first started talking about the book so my expectations were in par with what she had portrayed on her TikTok. Still, I was so disappointed. I am trying so hard not to DNF because I really really wanted to enjoy it.

I totally agree with Lauren’s review. The characters lacked depth. There was absolutely no chemistry between Evie and the villain. And why was it always so formal. Always her calling her “sir”. I think the “sir” really threw me off. It felt like they just had a professional relationship and that is all. I didn’t even feel like they were friends lol. Listen, I love slow burn, but the best thing about slow burn is the burn in the process to getting to that first kiss scene. The stolen glances, the accidental touches, the banter. I really really wanted to like the villain, but he just fell so short. I don’t even really know what he looks like.

I’m about 80% into the audiobook and I will finish it but like Lauren said, that narrator did not help the book at all. Siri could’ve done a better job.

What do you mean by "mutuals"? I'm not familiar.

I 100% agree and I’m so glad I’m not the only one that felt this way!

A Court of Books and Starlight wrote: "Briel, I am on TikTok and have been following the author since she first started talking about the book so my expectations were in par with what she had portrayed on her TikTok. Still, I was so dis..."

"Mutuals" refers to two people on social media who follow one another xx

Tairyn wrote: "Lauren, I totally agree with your review. I hadn’t even made it to chapter one and I was over it. I hate third person but I was willing to give it a try bc I loved the tiktok series. Overall, the b..."

Reviews are for readers, not authors. That is certainly a hill I will die on <3

Going to have to DNF the audiobook - it’s a chore to listen to. And the writing 🫣 needs some maturing. Which I’m sure will happen over time.

Agree

I got 6 minutes into the audiobook and I was trying to figure out if the book read like a middle school book, or if it was the narrator making it sound like that. I think it’s a little bit of both. Lol

I didn't DNF it but I skimmed over a million paragraphs of narrative that provided nothing to the plot. I think that this feels like a very young book.

Agreed. I wanted to DNF the whole time. It was hard for me to stay focused while reading it. I didn’t laugh one time. It felt so YA to me as well. The only character I did like was a side character. Then to be left on a cliff hanger, for a sequel I have no interest in reading. I also didn’t watch the TikTok’s, so when it said hilarious, I was expecting funny! I’m with you. I appreciate the honesty.

I just finished it (after almost DNFing at 10 pages in) and I can tell you that it does not get better unfortunately.

I have been feeling this way since I read the prologue. I’m now about 60% of the way through and have been muscling through it. I finally feel like maybe I’m not wrong and can just put it down and move on.

This book would be 200% better if Evie was a sassy twink and it was narrated by Joel Leslie. The narrator made it sound like a bad attempt at Ella Enchanted gone villainous.

The audiobook sounds like AI and you cannot change my mind. I was so hopeful but looks like I’ll be trying to finish it in physical form.

Thank you for this - it’s the exact kind of honesty I look for!

Omg I thought I was the only one! I literally had to ask people if the narrator was AI. She does not speak like a normal human, so many random kid sentence pauses and fluctuations. But I also agree about the middle grade. I don’t want to DNF it, but I think I will.

*random MID sentence pauses

I actually just finished the book and I teach middle school. I kept waiting for the “adult” portions of the book to appear, but much to my dismay they are nowhere to be found. I find myself wondering if this would be just fine to add to my classroom shelves. It’s definitely middle grade even though characterized as adult.

The narration was definitely jarring. The cadence was just off for me.

Completely agree with all of it, especially thinking it was middlegrade? "Her face was burning like she'd eaten something spicy." The poor excuse for metaphors and the constant overexplanation of every scene and hand gesture is getting to me. That being said, I'll see it through, currently on page 156 and I'll keep going because I suck at DNFing!

Yesss about the narration. It was rough

I couldn’t agree more - I DNF’ed at 50%

Thank goodness I came upon your review. I live ghat you were honest about it in your review. I seriously thought I had the wrong book. As in, everyone raved about it then I read it and struggled to get to 50% in a weeks time. I usually devour books.

I haven’t read this book yet, but I did check out the audiobook from Libby and returned it within 40 to 50 seconds of hearing the audiobook. The narration was terrible!

I got an ARC of this and struggled. It tried a finished copy and still struggled. I just can't connect to the characters or the story, I'm not even sure why that is tbh

I’m glad I wasn’t alone! I got to 70% before I pulled the plug. I was just bored and confused half the time.

Narration is so bad! Glad it’s not just my opinion

I’m 70% in & honestly thought ht it was YA until reading your review, I feel lied to.

Reading this now and honestly how many times does she have to call him “the villain” 🥴

I'm doing the audiobook and I can't tell if it's the book or the terrible narrator. 40% in and I'm not sure I wanna finish

I’m 70% done and I also agree - narration is on par with being as bad as the Great Value David Spade narrator from Too Late by Colleen Hoover ( no for real if you haven’t listened - do so with that in mind 🥴)

I’m 55% into the audiobook and I can’t find it in myself to finish. 😔 I agree with every word you wrote. 💯

It's okay that this is your opinion. Just keep in mind it's not all factual and you can mislead people. It's good to be honest, but not if it's sounding like what your opinion is, is somehow 100% fact. I've been discussing with multiple people how funny we all have found this book to be. I love the characters and think they are a lot of fun. This book has been a great change of pace for me personally. It's all about perspective! Also, I don't do audiobooks, ever and I also don't use tik tok. That may have helped my opinion and enjoyment level for this book.

Look, I finished it and I have to say that you’ve captured the full experience I had. And it ends on a cliffhanger, which does not help things. I have a problem with dnf-ing personally, but damn was that a slog. I hate having the urge to edit a book as I’m listening to it bc I find the dialog and word choices to be so confusing and nonsensical.

Also, can we call out the poor grammar/editing? I am on page 4 and already I am irritated.

I am glad to know that lots of other folks had issues with the narration! I finished it because I was hoping for a satisfying resolution, but even with the speed turned up I had issues with the pacing of the narration. Fully agree also that the book needs some work (but given the TikTok connection I wouldn't be surprised if there was pressure to get it to market ASAP before people moved in)

I will say I found it slow to begin with, but I quite liked it by the end. I’m a sucker for a cheesy slow burn though, so I had fun with it. There were a few typos though (at one point a character named Arthur was called Arnold??), so I’m hoping that maybe there will be a better editor next time!

Yes I agree with all of this, I was so dissatisfied