Assistant to the Assassin

by Savannah James

Being an assistant is not the easiest job in the world, and that’s especially true when your boss is Henry Cai, a Navy SEAL-turned CIA agent-turned assassin. You’d expect him to be harsh and cruel given his traumatic past and violent profession, but to Bethany "Beth" Reed, he’s a best friend, a partner…and the man she's desperately in love with. She's committed to hiding how she feels for him forever, but when one of his assignments goes horribly wrong and they are forced to hide out on a secluded island—things start to heat up, and not just because of the tropical climate. But with the looming threat of those hunting them and the dark truths of Henry’s past revealing themselves, their budding romance falls into jeopardy in more ways than one. It turns out the real enemy was never the people seeking vengeance upon them, it’s the fears and doubts festering inside a wounded heart that have now started to rot. If Henry and Beth don’t figure out a way to let go of the past and fight for their future, then history is bound to repeat itself, only this time they'll lose everything.
Assistant to the Assassin is the first book in the Criminal Hearts series, a collection of standalone dark romantic comedies. Inspired by Grosse Pointe Blank, Killers, and the Red franchise; you’ll laugh, you’ll swoon, and you’ll think twice before accepting a job as a hot guy’s assistant.

212 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 1, 2024

About the author

Savannah James is an author that is dedicated to writing the stories she loves while sprinkling in some much needed representation for type one diabetics such as herself. She primarily writes romance, but she also dabbles in poetry and horror. When she’s not writing, she can be found reading, journaling, playing Minecraft, watching movies, jamming to Taylor Swift, and spending time with her family and puppies.

Reviews

[Meghan Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the pleasure of beta reading this friends to lovers romance!

I had an absolute blast reading this! There is something nostalgic about it, like watching an early 2000s action romantic comedy. Like Mission Impossible but with more romance? But it still had the Savannah James™ signature cozy vibes that I have come to expect.

Mental health and religious trauma themes were handled with deftness and care. Questions like what does justice look like? What is the morality of vigilante justice? And is murder ever justified? I really enjoyed and appreciated that this book balanced both fun, fast-paced action sequences and also romance, deep conversations, and vulnerability.

The FMC has type 1 diabetes, which added so much depth to her character and made her feel like a real person. The MMC is Chinese American and had me swooning with his thoughtfulness, grumpiness 😆, and “only nice to her” attitude.

If you’re wondering if this is similar to Assistant to the Villain, I would say only on a very surface level with the boss/assistant relationship and the humorous tone. It’s a contemporary setting and much more of an action-movie vibe.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was phenomenal. It had me giggling, crying, stressing--basically all the hallmark emotions of a well written and action packed spy rom com, but even better. There is no third act break up. The main characters actually talk to each other. The villain is humanized and not just a caricature for drama's sake. The plot flows beautifully.

Our FMC is relatable and real with a level of authenticity in her disability that you rarely see in books. The author does an amazing job bringing her life experience as a Type 1 Diabetic to life through her characters.

The MMC is great. I love seeing his journey and growth as a person. LOVE that he is taking measures to address his mental health needs and CPTSD.

The reveal is heartwrenching yet beautiful and so well done. The dialogue is well done as well and the inner dialogue is entertaining and engaging.

I think this is my favorite book yet by this author, and I'm excited to read what she writes next!! My only note for this book is that I wish there was more of it! Which, thankfully, there will be (and I'm really excited to read it)!

Content: strong and frequent language, explicit s*x, violent de*ths, description of traumatic parent unaliving via overdose that some may find disturbing followed by trauma coded rage rampage (a la Attack of the Clones. Just think of the scene when Anakin finds his mother)

Thank you to the author for the advanced reader copy of this book. This review is voluntarily written and the thoughts and opinions contained in this review are my own.

[Jess (sweet_as_fiction) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jess’s overall enjoyment: 4.5/5⭐️
Spice level: 3/5 🌶️
Angst level: 2.5/5 ❤️‍🩹
Plot complexity: 3/5 🗺️
Writing: 4/5 🖊️

What you'll find:
Friends to lovers
Morally grey MMC and FMC
Queer MMC + side characters
Disability rep (T1D)
BIPOC lead
Trauma/PTSD

This is my favorite Savannah James book yet! I love a good friends-to-lovers book but this one had so many more nuances that made it so interesting to me. For me personally, I will fall in love with a book because of the characters first and foremost, and her characters showed a 360 view of human experience - pain, love, hurt, humor, etc. They were vulnerable and strong and brave and scared all at once and it was beautiful.

This book was simultaneously cozy and angsty -- I knew it was going to end on a happy note but I loved the journey to get there and the heartache and ANGST I endured!!!

You will read this book super quick - the pace is fast, a lot happens, and the characters are addicting.

[georgia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Arc Review! 🖤

Thank you to Savannah James for giving me the opportunity to be an arc reader for this & providing me with this advanced trader reader copy of Assistant to the Assassin in exchange for an honest review! 🤍

Overall Rating: 4/5 ⭐️
Spice Rating: 2/5 🌶️

This was my first Savannah James book & will certainly not be the last! I can’t thank Savannah enough for reaching out to me with the opportunity of reading this new release of hers! 🤍

Now one of my comfort reads, it was spectacular and I loved every second I spent reading this book! Assistant to the Assassin felt like a romantic comedy mixed with an action movie and it just brought everything to the table for me.
This book had romance, deep and emotional topics, hilarious and sexy moments, and just amazing chemistry between the two leads. I feel like I could say so much but I just adored Henry & Beth so much - they both felt so real, so diverse as characters who grew so well together and reflected the reality of humanity when it comes to the more emotional & sensitive topics such as grief and mental health, and coping for these types of things.

I thoroughly appreciated the thought & care that went into the creation of this book, especially with tender themes that were present within the book such as religious trauma, mental health & disability. I felt like I learned so much about these themes within this book and I appreciate the fact that I was able to learn & understand these topics in much more detail & in more perspective. But even with those themes & their importance, i didn’t feel like they were unnecessarily put within the plot just for the sake of it, or for the sake of the drama, but provided much more depth to the characters and their backstories, and what makes them the characters they are.

It was all so heart wrenching but so emotionally and fantastically well-written, and had so many good moments - I found myself giggling and laughing and tearing up (and maybe sometimes all at the same time??) often and that to me is the sign of a fantastic read!! Some might find it hard to read - but I loved the pop culture references, I feel like it just adds more to the realism of characters and their personalities. I already miss Henry, Beth and their journey together, and I can’t wait to see what James writes next! Especially with Ian and Ambrose… I need them immediately…🤍

Super fast paced & so beautifully thoughtful, you won’t want to miss out on reading this one!!

🖤 dark romance comedy
🖤 he falls first
🖤 trauma healing
🖤 morally grey characters
🖤 friends to lovers
🖤 grumpy x sunshine
🖤 boss x employee romance
🖤 mental health rep + therapy
🖤 plus size + disabled fmc
🖤 poc + bisexual mmc
🖤 forced proximity (hiding out on an island together)
🖤 he has a tattoo for her

first in series • hea • open door spice • no third act break up • written by an indie author

I recieved in ARC copy of Assistant to the Assassin and all thoughts & comments on this review are my own!

Assistant to the Assassin comes out August 1st, 2024!

[Ash (so there’s this book) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance
Spice: 2.5/5🌶️

Tropes & themes: assassin MMC, forced proximity, friends to lovers, boss x employee, Penelope Garcia coded FMC, plus size FMC, chronic illness representation (Type 1 Diabetes), morally gray MMC, secret tattoo just for her, kink: roleplay, bondage, praise, & spanking.

Spoiler-free summary:
Beth loves her job as an assassin’s assistant almost as much as she love the assassin himself — not that she’d ever tell him that. But one unfortunate mistake during a job, puts Beth and Henry in danger with a dangerous man. They flee, having been compromised, and feelings come to a boil while they’re stuck in a safe house together.

Thoughts:
I enjoyed Beth and Henry’s story!
Beth is honestly a very fun character, and I enjoyed her personality (think Penelope Garcia from Criminal Minds). Henry is a brooding MMC with trauma that he is actively trying to heal from, and I thought his journey with mental health was inspiring.

Although this book deals with dark themes (such as murder and human trafficking), I thought the author did well balancing this darkness with humor and romance.
I enjoyed the character’s friends to lovers arc, and especially loved how much Henry went above and beyond to take care of Beth and support her with her medical needs.

All in all, this was a fun read, and I think those who enjoy morally gray, stabby MMCs will enjoy this!

[Samantha Iannarelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another cozy romance by Savannah James! I first had the opportunity to read this book as a beta reader, and will be honest that it wasn’t my favorite. It felt like the story had moved very quickly and there wasn’t a lot of build up to the romance. However, I decided to read it again upon release knowing Savannah took these thoughts into account and I was obsessed with the book now! I loved the romance, the dark comedy and as a T1D myself, I love the inclusion of Beth’s experiences. Overall, cute, cozy and spicy!

[NikkiReads365 · Rating 5 out of 5]

❤️‍🔥 Assistant to the Assassin by Savannah James ❤️‍🔥

I stumbled upon Savannah’s writing through her Greek mythology series with her Hades X Persephone retelling in The Promise of Spring in The Gods’ Gambit series (also strongly recommend!) When I was messaging her about that series, she mentioned this other book she wrote, and she graciously sent me a copy to read and review.

I was on vacation in Costa Rica, and let me tell you, I DEVOURED this book in a single reading session, forging sleep in order to finish the book because I was hook, line, and sinkered from the first chapter. In terms of highlighting as a read, I haven’t highlighted nearly as much for literally ANY other book I’ve read in some time. There were so many moments where I giggled, laughed my ass off, and swore a “what the f——“ because the storyline for the book is pure gold.

Henry and Beth are so representative of so many different people and groups, and one of the things I respect about this book is the amount of representation we have from a bisexual MMC to a T1D FMC. There’s no judgement in this book (except for people who Henry goes after because they are the “scum” of the earth). Everyone in this book is morally gray, and it’s perfect because we always think we try our best and hope it helps make the world a better place, but sometimes actions can be darker than intended.

Henry is unbelievably thoughtful and swoony, and can pull off wearing an avocado shirt, and if that doesn’t sell him to anyone, I don’t know what else would?

For an excellent laugh out loud tense thrilling romance read, I strongly (11/10) recommend this beauty!

Spice: 🌶️.5

[Sarah Sutton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome awesome awesome. This is my favorite book that Savannah has written so far (but all of them are amazing).

What to expect:
-romance
-kick ass action
-queer + disability representation!!

Something I always appreciate about Savannah’s books are how a broad audience can feel represented by them. So many books feature cishet couples and MC who are short/petite/white. The lack of diversity in books today is so disheartening because the world is full of all kinds of people. Every character in The Assistant to the Assassin had a unique story that the reader can tell that the author put lots of time and effort into. So many different experiences are represented in this book.

This book was actually my first ever action novel! Without giving too much away, I was enthralled by all the action scenes. Beth is such a badass and don’t even get me started on Henry. Henry is so strong, yet delicate, and I loved the juxtaposition in his character.

I so look forward to the next book Savannah puts out!

[Flowers&Fiction · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to be a beta reader for this lovely book, so here are my thoughts! This was a friends to lovers romance, but don’t be wary, there was so much tension between the two main characters it was amazing. It’s your classic grumpy/sunshine duo and they are so cute together. This book deals with some deeper themes like childhood trauma, PTSD, religious trauma, chronic illness, etc. All the topics were dealt with very well and brought more dimension to the story. There is action, romance, smut, comedy, and healing. Oh, and fan fiction too. Basically everything you need for a great book.

[cj · Rating 5 out of 5]

Assistant to the Assassin was a fun new read for me. Savannah brings a fresh set of eyes to the romance genre and her writing evokes all the emotions.

I laughed through this book A LOT, in a good way. The FMC is unique, funny, and certainly quirky in a way that doesn’t give me second hand embarrassment as most “quirky” characters do. The MMC makes you want to give him a big hug but also want to drool over. Their banter will give you all the feels.

It's angsty in a way that doesn't become tiresome, and the tension is THICK. 10/10.

(I read this before release as a LGBTQ+ sensitivity reader. It passed with flying colors :) )

[Savannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite book I’ve written so far. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do