Review by Ronny
Series Name: Guides to Villainy and Love, # 1
The Dark Lord’s Guide to Dating (And Other War Crimes) is such a fun and addictive read.
Favourite Quote:
Kazimir’s gaze was unrelenting, full of hunger that made my stomach flutter. He reached out, fingers brushing my chin, forcing me to look him straight in the eye. “What’s mine,” he said softly, “stays mine.”
Book Synopsis:
Step One: Kidnap someone cute.
Step Two: Force her into marriage.
Step Three: Try not to get feelings.
When Dark Lord Kazimir Blackrose kidnaps Lady Arabella for a forced marriage, he expects an obedient, trembling bride. What he gets is a knife to the throat and a furious woman with her own terms. He may need her heroic bloodline to achieve ultimate dominion, but she’s not about to make this easy for him.
Arabella has already survived her father’s tower prison and a lifetime of being treated like property. Being abducted by the realm’s most notorious villain is just another Tuesday. If she must be married to the infuriating (and infuriatingly attractive) Dark Lord, she’ll do it on her terms: freedom within his fortress, hands strictly to himself, and complete honesty about his plans.
But when his plans go awry, Kazimir faces his most terrifying challenge yet. He must actually date his own wife. Between magical training sessions, playing golf with the eyeballs of his enemies, and aphrodisiac dinners gone spectacularly wrong, his villainous seduction plans are failing at every turn.
As they navigate magical explosions and jealous exes, they discover a far more terrifying prospect than war or magical catastrophe:
They might actually be falling for each other.
Review:
I love it when an author isn’t afraid to lean into that fun, bonkers side of things. It makes for such a fun and exciting read. It’s often nearly impossible to find a fun and silly epic fantasy book. Epic fantasies are often very dramatic, dark, and filled with big emotions, and don’t get me wrong, I love fantasies, especially romance ones, but I do sometimes wish that there were more fun and light epic fantasies out there. My bookworm prayers were answered when the Assistant to the Villain series came out. It’s an absolute delight to read, but my hungry bookworm soul still wanted more books, and I am pleased to say, The Dark Lord’s Guide to Dating (And Other War Crimes) is fun, fabulous, and super spicy. It’s a difficult thing to find that balance between fantasy and comedy because the two don’t often go together. Tiffany not only found that balance but also added just the right amount of delicious spice to make this one unforgettable read. I love this book and am super obsessed with it. If you like the Assistant to the Villain series but wish there were more spice and romance on the pages, this book is for you.
First, let’s chat about the plot. It’s fun, wild, epic, and fast-paced at just the right moments. Tiffany doesn’t bombard her readers with too much world-building detail. She gives her readers just the right amount of detail about the world, its history, and its political makeup so we understand what is unfolding on the pages and what is ultimately at stake. I found the story and world to be very interesting. I loved the magical elements in the story, especially how they shape the growing relationship between Kazimir and Arabella. It’s their magic and how their magic interacts with each other that really dictates a lot of the story and is ultimately one of the big hurdles they have to overcome. This book comes off as one villain, aka Kazimir, trying to complete his goal for world domination, and the vital key to that goal is Arabella. It seems like such a one-dimensional plot, but don’t be fooled. As the plot progresses, you begin to realize there is more than meets the eye with this story, and by the time you are finished, you feel like you are standing at the edge of the cliff waiting to see how these characters are going to cross that daunting cavern. It feels like a literal cliff hanger.
The characters are great. Kazimir is the perfect villain that you cannot help but adore. He is the “bad guy” in the story and definitely operates in that moral grey zone, but in a fun, slightly comical way. He is a delightful, complex character, almost like Shrek. He is portrayed and often acts like an angry ogre. For him, all that matters is completely his goal and crushing his enemy. But even when he is completing his dastardly deeds, there is this dark comedic flair to his dialogue that you cannot help but love. There is also more to his character than a villain seeking world domination, and we get to see glimpses of those other sides as Arabella slowly starts to break down that tough exterior wall. Arabella is a great heroine. She is spunky, courageous, and has a delicious, vicious side to her that you know is itching to get out. I loved watching her grow into her magic and take control of her own fate. Her magic and bloodline are, of course, the key to unlocking ultimate power, but controlling it is difficult, and I foresee mistakes being made, which will set off a chain of events that will alter the world and possibly her relationship with Kazimir.
The romance is this fun enemies-to-lovers and marriage-of-convenience story, with a slight kidnapping at the beginning. I loved everything about Arabella and Kazimir’s relationship. Right from the beginning, Arabella started taking Kazimir’s carefully thought-out plans and turning them into utter chaos. She stood up to him, and that villain turned into an exasperated hero…sorry villain… that realized he may have bitten off more than he could chew with this kidnapped soon-to-be wife. The banter is witty, sharp, and fun, everything I expect from an enemies-to-lovers relationship. The chemistry between these two is sizzling right from the beginning, and I loved watching as they try to get under each other’s skin. Overall, it was a lot of fun, and the spicy scenes that unfold are super-hot. I thoroughly enjoyed watching Kazimir try to woo his wife, something he is so uncomfortable with that it became rather comical.
If you are looking for a fun, addictive, and easy-to-read romance, then you definitely need to add this book to your list.
