THE INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING SERIES Once Upon a Time meets The Office in Hannah Nicole Maehrer’s laugh-out-loud viral TikTok series turned novel, about the sunshine assistant to an Evil Villain…and their unexpected romance. REWARD OFFERED: Apprentice to The Villain wanted for treason (light), magical property damage (alleged), and one incident involving a weaponized scone (accurate). Frequently seen with a grumpy frog (crowned, judgmental). Answers to “Evie” or “Stop that.” Evie Sage didn’t mean to become the right-hand woman to the kingdom’s most terrifying villain. One minute, she was applying for an entry-level position that promised “light paperwork and occasional beheadings,” and the next, she was knee-deep in magical mayhem, murder plots, and an entirely inappropriate crush on her brooding, sharp-jawed, walking disaster of a boss. Now, with a magical prophecy unraveling, assassins showing up in the break room, and a suspicious amount of frogs wearing crowns, Evie has to figure out how to survive her job without setting the kingdom on fire—or her dignity, which is hanging by a very sarcastic thread. Being evil-adjacent was never part of the five-year plan. But then again…neither was falling for The Villain. A magical office comedy with grumpy bosses, snarky frogs, and definitely-not-feelings. The Assistant and the Villain series is best enjoyed in order. Reading Order: Book #1 Assistant to the Villain Book #2 Apprentice to the Villain Book #3 Accomplice to the Villain