So, I’m gonna start out with this: I honestly wasn’t super impressed with this addition to the series. I LOVED Apprentice to the Villain, thought Assistant to the Villain was just a stepping stone to something more, and hoped that Accomplice to the Villain would deliver the same flare that Apprentice did. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. 

I think my main gripe with this novel is that the pacing and storyline were all over the place. Did I love hearing more about our favorite characters? Absolutely. They’re the whole reason this book got three stars in the first place. But the storyline? The pacing? Phew. It was a bit much for me. 

With the storyline, there is SO MUCH going on. It was too much if we’re being honest. They had this side quest, and then another one, and then side characters had side quests, and it truly felt like this book was just filler for the next novel. It could have easily been cut in half for everything that actually got accomplished and most of the time the book was just giving us angsty moments between Trystan and Evie (which, don’t get me wrong, I love, but there’s only so much angst a girl can take). By the end of the novel, you have a few more questions, answers that really didn’t feel fulfilling, and an easy opening to the next novel. Maybe this could have been a Sarah J. Maas moment like with A Court of Frost and Starlight with this novel turned into a novella. 

My opinion with the pacing being so off is that because there was so much going on, readers didn’t have time to really get a feel for what the pacing was supposed to be. Fast moments felt super fast (which was a lot of the novel), but slow moments like angsty conversations with Evie and Trystan felt REALLY slow. I truly truly think this is because a pacing was never established. The novel jumps right in and if you can’t catch up then you’re just confused for the rest of the novel. 

I know I’m complaining a lot about this book, and I really do love the series as a whole, but this addition did not do it for me and I can’t seem to wrap my head around the fact that there’s supposed to be five total novels. I needed it to honestly end with this one or the next because I don’t know if I can hold on that much longer. 

Spoilers ahead.

The only things worth saying in the spoilers are two minor/sort of major things:

• Evie and Trystan FINALLY kiss and have a steamy moment. 
• Kingsley may have some hidden agendas and seems like there’s something going on a lot darker with his character than we originally anticipated. 

And that’s it. Like I said, not a lot to spoil and kind of disappointing. 

Overall, while I love the characters in this series and I love the world building that has already been done, this novel felt rushed, a little pointless, and like there were too many dang side quests.  I would give this novel 2.5/5 stars rounded up to 3 for social platforms. 

Source: Personal Copy

(P.S. You can read this book for free by signing up for a free trial of Everand, which gives you one free audiobook or ebook of your choice!)