Assistant and the Villain Series 3 Books Collection Set: Assistant to the Villain, Apprentice to the Villain and Accomplice to the Villain (Assistant ... series) book set by Hannah Nicole Maehrer)

Why it's worth it

Hannah Nicole Maehrer's trilogy is a workplace comedy set in a fantasy world, following a cheerful assistant and her morally gray villain boss. It's low-heat, low-angst, and consistently funny — the antidote to romantasy's brooding default.

Most romantasy leans hard on darkness. This one leans on jokes. Evie takes a job as assistant to the local Villain, discovers she's charmed by him, and the whole thing plays out as a banter-driven office comedy that happens to involve evil lairs. Owners describe it as a genuine break from a shelf full of trauma, and that's precisely the appeal.

If you want fantasy that doesn't hurt, this is the pick. There's no explicit content, no graphic violence, and no gut-punch ending waiting for you. That makes it unusually giftable. It's one of the few sets here you could hand to a teenager or to a coworker without first checking what they're comfortable reading.

From our review of 6 romantasy books, by Genevieve Dubois, Home & Living Expert

What we like

• +Most romantasy leans hard on darkness
• +If you want fantasy that doesn't hurt, this is the pick
• +You get all three published books in one go, which means the humor and the pacing stay consistent across the whole read

What to know

• –The series isn't as finished as it looks
• –Some buyers report receiving export editions — copies printed with a notice that they aren't for sale outside India
• –If you came to fantasy for intricate magic systems and political scheming, this will feel thin