Rooting for the bad guys (or girl in this case) has never been so much fun. While Clementine is still a Dark-Lord-in-training, her father has been attacked by a curse and it is up to Clementine to find a way to break the curse as well as perform all of his required dastardly deeds.

Thoughts:

I can’t tell you how much I love middle grade books like these. There’s such a cuteness and cleverness in how the story is framed and presented that it makes for a fantastic read.

It all starts one morning when Clementine notices that her father has no nose. It was becoming obvious that he had been cursed, but her father is well known for his ability to not talk about anything and when she mentions it his reply only hints of what might actually be happening to him. Problem is – Clementine has no idea what the word he gave her means and she has to go look it up.

But other than pieces of her father’s features changing or falling off, Clementine had also begun to notice the castle isn’t running exactly as it had been before. It was dying. Things were basically coming apart at the seams and it was becoming more and more difficult for Clementine to keep it up and running as her list of issues to fix grows longer and longer. Then to make matters worse, it is determined that the witch who put the curse on Clementine’s father actually wants to replace him as Dark Lord.

To be a proper Dark Lord there are certain requirements – however, the main requirement is terrorizing others with dastardly deeds, which can include poisonings, unfortunate transfigurations, plagues, kidnappings, and many others. So, with her father’s curse and the estate falling apart, she also has to perform the required dastardly deed – with evidence – to the Council of Evil Overlords. Clementine has quite a bit of a load on her young 12-year-old shoulders.

Thankfully, along the way circumstances bring others into her life that help lessen the load and help reduce the loneliness that she is not necessarily willing to admit that she feels. There are some we meet in the story who we immediately can tell will be a real friend (although Clementine isn’t quite sure Dark Lords are supposed to have friends) – a talking black sheep and Sebastian, a boy who wants to become a knight. Others are a bit more questionable at first, such as Darka Wesk-Starzec, who initially only wants to use Clementine to get something she wants – help in killing a unicorn.

In the story we meet several fun magical animals or beings that add quite a nice touch to the humor and overall story such as nightmare horses, firebreathing chickens, scarecrows who do manual farm labor, a Lady of the Lake who enjoys throwing swords at people, attacking trees, among others.

Upon reading, I knew almost immediately that I would enjoy this story. Initially, it was due to how the story presented itself as we learned about the responsibilities of a Dark Lord and all that it entails. But I also enjoyed the subtle humor demonstrated throughout the entire book, as well as the interesting animals, (Nightmare horses must eat poisoned apples – if not they can turn into just regular old ponies, which of course, it not acceptable) and magical moments. However, being a Dark Lord or a Dark-Lord-in training can be quite a solitary life with not having any friends because, after all, the whole purpose of a Dark Lord is to find ways to terrorize others. However, it didn’t take long at all to really appreciate the lessons being taught in this book about friendship and accepting who you truly are and gaining confidence in yourself. All of which can be beneficial lessons for both young and old.

Rating: 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Algonquin Young Readers for the reader copy and letting me part of the Blog Tour and opportunity to provide an honest review.

I liked that this book had names for each of the chapters but had it as two separate titles which gave more insight into what the chapter was going to be about before reading it. I also liked that the story was being told not only from Clementine's side but also from Darka's which gave a good contrast and a better understanding of what was happening as able to see it from two different perspectives; Clementine who is losing her father and has lived in the valley's her whole life and Darka who is new to the area and is there for very different reasons. Not only this but seeing how the villagers went from fearing her to helping her as they realised how Clementine cared about her people and that they didn't hurt them as much as they could have done and at the end saving the people from a much bigger evil as well as giving the mayor back his son who had been living as a sheep on the Dark Lords farm. I did think that one of the previous dark lords having put the heart of the unicorn into a snow queen which people looked up to for good luck was really nice as it showed how they didn't want to risk the unicorn dying and being hunted on their lands and was keeping it safe. As we discover also why Darka wants to kill unicorns the reader goes from not trusting her and disliking her character to feeling sorry for her and makes a great character development within the book. I did also like that it showed how much Sabastian started caring for Clementine and was even prepared to leave his family in order to be with her which was really sweet and as he was one of my favourite characters in this novel it was so good to see that there was love from both of them might last.



However, I did think that the book didn't have much of the villain in the book and only really introduced them at the end which did disappoint me as it didn't explain who she was or how she was able to start turning the Dark Lord himself into a wooden puppet. I did think that there should have been more on them as it would have added a lot more to the book in my opinion. I also did find that even though I was enjoying what I was reading I never really got excited for reading more which did upset me as this was a really good book in my opinion I just wish I ended up more excited for this than I was.



Overall, I thought that The Dark Lord Clementine was a fun book and one that is great for teenagers and a middle grade level of reading. This is a book in which I would recommend people to read and check out and I can't wait to read more from Sarah Horwitz and I hope to find out a little more about adventures of Clementine and wither she ends up being a good witch overall and what happens to the lands now that they are having to start again.

I found this book to be utterly delightful. Clementine is the daughter to a Dark Lord, and heir to the title and it’s required evil-doings. Clementine is a dutiful daughter, doing her best to learn magic, and make her father happy. Clementine adventures little outside of the castle she calls her home. But when circumstances begin to keep the Dark Lord from doing his job, Clementine finds she must take matters into her own hands— even if it means doing things differently.

I didn’t find myself especially surprised by any turns taken in the story, but I also didn’t find that I minded. The story was unique while making use of familiar character types (wicked witches, vilkagers, etc.) I cared about the main characters. I would recommend this to those who enjoy classic fairytales or their retellings— such as the Wizard of Oz or Inkheart series.

Loved this book - it was unexpectedly sweet. Would love to see more about this character and how she handles her dark, unexpected situation.

This book follows our Main Character a girl trying to be a dark lord like her father. But Clementine doesn't know much magic and she is still young but she is learning. And it's her journey to figure herself out.

In her process of trying to fill her father shoes(The dark lord) she meets people on her journey, whom she befriends even though she is not supposed to be friends with anyone. I loved reading this story as there are so many unique characters and their stories connected to Clementine. The book has magic, witches and talking black sheep who doesn't want that in a story.

Character and story are well developed. If you want some nice short middle grade book to read this is for you.

First of all, thanks to NetGalley and Kristen from Algonquin Books for sending me an eARC in exchange for a honest review.
You have to know English isn’t my first language, so feel free to correct me if I make some mistakes while writing this review.


Clementine Morcerous is twelve-year-old and a future Dark Lord in training, living in a castle and a farm silenced by a spell casted by her father - Dark Lord Elithor Morcerous. She's the descendant of many Dark Lords Morcerous that ruled the Seven Sisters before her father, terrorizing villagers and concocting potions. She's the heir that one day will rule those lands and those people. She tries so hard to be evil like it's required by the job, but she can't deny she finds comfort in her secret garden where she's able to grow beautiful flowers. That's not so dark or evil, after all and she's feeling guilty about it.

Another thing she can't deny is the fact that her father has clearly been cursed, more likely than not by a witch. This curse isn't only putting her father's life at risk, but it's weakening the strenght of his spells - so now the castle and the farm aren't so silent anymore. The animating scarecrows aren't working properly on the land, the breathing-fire chickens burn more often than not the fence separating them from the normal chickens and harvesting the poisoned apples would soon be a problem because they don't look so much different from normal apples - and everyone knows poisoned apples have to be perfect to do their job.
Let's not talk about the black sheep that now talks to her and the Gricken - the family Grimoire she accidentally turned into a chicken many years ago - that refuses to lay an egg for her with a spell she can use.

As her father locks himself in his tower searching for a cure, it's up to Clementine to absolve all of the duties that should be expected from a Dark Lord - and this includes performing at least a Dastardly Deed like requested by the Evil Overlord Council if they don't want to lose the Dark Lord status and their home.
She promised her father not to trust anyone and not ti go outside searching for the Whittle Witch, but can she really do that?

Soon Clementine meets and has to rely on Sebastien, a kid from the village who dreams to be a knight and Darka, a huntress with a dark past to surving attacks from the Witch and rebuilding the farm. She experiments friendship for the first time in her life and that light magic that made her feel guilty at first because it doesn't suit a future Dark Lord, now makes her think she can be anything she wants - no matter what is her legacy.

Clementine's development is amazing: she goes from a shy and evil wannabe to a much more confident kid, taking matter in her hands when it comes to be brave, forgiving, selfless, open to the others and doing what is right. And soon Clementine understands she can be who she is meant to be and not what others expect her to be.
The friendships she forms are complex - especially the one with Darka due to differents points of view on so many things - but they are also so cute and heartwarming.

I loved Clementine from the start, just as I loved the author's humor all spread out through the book. It's the kind of subtle and ironic humor that I like so much - I often laughed out loud and I enjoyed the chapters' subtitles: they were brilliant.
And seriously, reading Clementine begging the Gricken for an egg was one of the best and funniest thing ever.

I'm thirty, but I enjoyed this middle grade so much because it's funny and it's full of everything a kid should learn - and those lessons are something even adults can learn from or discover again in case they have forgotten.
Also, it's impossible not cheering on these characters on their quest.

When I was invited to read this book I jumped at the chance! It's been so long that I read any middle grade and this sounded so cool! Boy I wasn't wrong! It fills me with Joy that children are gonna read this!

Clementine is a 12 year old girl the heiress to The Dark Lord Elithior.
She's brave and ultimately a very good representation of a strong female.
Her radiance shines through and her love for her father is such a warm endearing part of this story.

Elithor is cursed by The Whittling Witch, his nose has all but disappeared and his fingers are wooden. As an Evil Overlord in charge of the town where they live he has to make sure Clementine is ready to fulfil her duties.

Filled with a cursed sheep, fire-breathing chickens and Scarecrows that run the farm in the castle this book is truly magical.
It's hilariously funny filled to the brim with amazing characters, the descriptions in this book are nothing short of genuis!
Overall this book is glorious. If you love Middle Grade or not I recommend it. I honestly can't wait for my children to read this I know they will love it as much as I do!

I received this book in exchange for an honest review, which has not altered my opinion of this book.

Holy cuteness! I really enjoy middle-grade novels, and it's because of stories like this one. Clementine just wants to follow in the footsteps of her father as the next Dark Lord of the castle, however, she realizes there is something wrong when her father starts showing signs of being cursed. When her father secludes himself in his room attempting to figure out how to stop the curse, he leaves Clementine in charge of the castle and it's upkeep. She does her best, but as the curse on her father doesn't seem to be going away and strangers are making appearances in her life, Clementine has to figure out what she wants to do, not what others want her to do.

This was a super quick read and also captivating. The concept was so interesting because it did add humor to the idea of an evil empire, I loved the characters and Clementine was absolutely adorable. I loved her development from a shy girl who didn't know what she wanted from life to a strong character who had friends and accepted the magic in herself. I also enjoyed that they made the other characters interesting as well, they weren't too flat and they developed right along with Clementine.

I highly recommend this if you are looking for a fun and easy read and want some magic and unicorns in your life. I gave this 4.5 out of 5 and will for sure be reading other things by this author in the future!

This book was an exciting, fun read! It was light and adventurous! And I loved the cover!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

Fun! Fun! Fun!
Twelve-year-old Clementine Morcerous always thought she’d become a Dark Overlord like her father. Strong. Ruthless. Evil. Fate has other plans. When a witch curses her father she must find a way to save him. She turns to magical animals, witches and boys who will become knights for help only to discover that what she really needs is not bigger or darker magic. What she needs is far more dangerous, the courage to do GOOD even if it means losing everything.

So happy to welcome this feisty girl hero to the middle grade scene! I hope this book is the start of a series.

Thank you to Algonquin Young Readers, for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

See this review and other reviews by me at middlegrademafia.com.

I am always on the lookout for books that my almost 12 year old can read. My son is a voracious reader and will read anything that I give him. So, when I saw The Dark Lord Clementine’s blurb, my interest was caught. I thought to myself: “My son would like this, but I need to read the book first.” I am glad that I did because The Dark Lord Clementine was a great read!!

The Dark Lord Clementine is the story about a girl named Clementine. She lives in a dilapidated castle with her Dark Lord father. One day, Clementine notices her father is missing his nose. That is when she finds out that the Whittle Witch has cursed him. Clementine takes it upon herself to try and find a cure for the curse. She also tries to assume the Dark Lord duties that her father cannot do. With the Whittle Witch waiting to take over the castle, Clementine is running out of time. Can she save her father?

The plotline for The Dark Lord Clementine was evenly paced. The flow of the book was perfect. It wasn’t too fast or too slow. There was no lag in the book or dropped plotlines either, which I enjoyed.

I loved Clementine. She was a timid little girl at the beginning of the book. But as the book went on, I could see her character growth. By the end of the book, she became this confident young woman. I loved it!!

I did feel bad for Clementine. She didn’t have any friends. Well, human friends. She did have the nightmares and the black sheep for company. But other than that, nothing. She longed for friends, even if she wouldn’t admit it to herself. Hiding in the shadows and watching the villagers play said so much. So, when Sebastian and then Darka befriended her, I was happy. Clementine needed it.

I didn’t care for Darka at the beginning of the book. I didn’t like that she befriended Clementine so that she could gain favor and hunt in the woods around the castle. I didn’t like that she was hunting unicorns. But I liked that her story had more depth to it. When it was revealed, I started to pity her. But, it was Darka’s actions at the end of the book that made me love her!!!

I loved the humor in the book. The Gricken is the most notable one. When Clementine was younger, she tried to turn a frog into a chicken. Unfortunately (and hilariously), the spell backfired, and she turned her family grimoire into it. If she wants to learn a spell, she has to wait for the Gricken to lay an egg. There is a hilarious scene where Clementine pleads with the Gricken to lay an egg. I laughed so hard; I had tears in my eyes.

The end of The Dark Lord Clementine was perfect. I am not going to get into it because of major spoilers. I will say that what Clementine did was brave. The way the book ended made me wonder if there was going to be a book 2.

This is such a cute MG fall book! Perfect for the Halloween season!

Clementine has been training to be a Dark Lord. But she has some secrets. She takes care of the animals on her and her father's farm, she grows flowers instead of poisonous plants, and maybe, just maybe, she doesn't want to be so dark after all.

This is such a cute coming of age tale. The decision to do right or do wrong. Making, and keeping, friends. Clementine does it all, and handles everything with such grace for a 12 year old Dark-Lord-In-Training.

This is definitely a book I would recommend, especially to younger readers.

Full review to come Oct. 13, 2019 on http://mithahreads.home.blog!

This book is a comedic romp of a magical tale, full of talking animals, clever sidekicks, engaging dialogue, and best of all Clementine is such a snarky fun joy to spend time with. The engaging writing captivates throughout the story and never lags. As it surely must be, even the Dark Lord goes through family dramatics, and watching Clementine figure out her obligation to her family name and try to understand herself as an individual is a touching and clever examination of self-discovery, magic, secrets, and figuring out how to do The Right Thing when you're officially The Dark Lord. I haven't read anything this imaginative in quite a while, and I absolutely loved this book. Perfect for fall and Halloween time reading. (less)

I love when fantasy is zany rather than full of hundreds of pages of world building. The kids I work with will love this title!

This adorable Middle Grade was so much fun to read. It’s filled with Witches and Dark Lords, Unicorns, and boys turned into sheep. It was such a neat world to be a part of while reading.

I loved Clementine. She was such a fun character and her struggle between light and dark, good and evil, really made the story. When her father gets cursed she realizes she’s going to have to start her training as a the next Dark Lord sooner than expected. The things that dark lords are supposed to do were so fun and definitely dark.

She also makes some unusual friends with a unicorn hunter and a boy who has been turned into a sheep. Together they try to build a dark army to protect the castle while trying to break the curse. Eventually the secrets come out and leave Clementine wondering what she’s going to do next. It was fun seeing the relationships she built with the other characters.

If you’re looking for a fun middle grade than I think you’ll enjoy this adorable book about good vs. evil.

It’s easy to read the first chapter of this book and assume it’s going to be silly, and at times it definitely is, but it’s more than that. This book is about redefining yourself and choosing your own path. It was an oddly dark book at times, with Clementine having to watch her father slowly be “whittled” down to a puppet unable to talk.

Clementine is an amazing character who is strong and intelligent and inspiring. I felt sad for her a lot especially at the beginning as she is a very lonely child. This only intensifies as her father becomes unable to care for their lands when he becomes beset upon by a curse that causes him so slowly diminish.

Throughout the rest of the book, Clementine is left to her own devices trying to keep the Morcerous name dark and dastardly, while following the rules her father set out. One question keeps coming back to her again and again “does she have to be the next Dark Lord”?

In the end, this multi-layered book is about the hurt that happens to children when their parents try to “protect them” from their real-life stuff by keeping them in the dark. It’s also about finding, forging and determining your own path despite what your parents want.

An emotionally evocative and powerful book where Clementine manages to right not only her life but sorts out a few of the adult lives around her. I laughed and I cried and mostly I loved.

this was such a fun read! middle grade novels never fail to cheer me up, and oh my goodness, i’m so glad i decided to pick this up because it was exactly what i needed – i’ve been so stressed the past few weeks and the dark lord clementine put a huge goofy smile on my face.

the world building is incredibly amazing. clementine, the main character, is the daughter of a dark lord who lives in a castle and is somewhat regarded as a monarch in the local village. she is forced to take matters into her own hands and practise dark magic to perform a “dastardly deed” on behalf of the dark lord when he becomes too weak to do it himself. with the aid of a spellbook-turned-chicken and other animals, clementine sets off on a quest to recover her father’s health. i especially loved seeing mythical creatures in the book – unicorns, talking black sheep, nightmares and satyrs.

"right now, i… i just want to do what most people do. i just want to be."

i also really loved the process of self-discovery and growth clementine undergoes. in the beginning, clementine always scolds herself for the most ridiculous things – for showing kindness, and for not being “evil” enough, just because the blood of dark lords runs in her veins. as the story progresses, she finds out that her father’s reign of terror actually affects the local villagers in terrible ways, and starts to reflect upon what she really wants to be the one inflicting this dreadfulness when she grows up.

and there are also a couple of positive messages that can be taken away from this book.

first of all, friendship can be found in the most unexpected places if you’re willing to accept it. in the book, clementine befriends a descendant of a witch, a village boy aspiring to be a knight, and even a black sheep who likes to read! they seem to have nothing in common, but they always help each other out, and i loved that so much.

also, there isn’t a definite boundary between good and evil. clementine is a dark lord in training, while her father is a dark lord, but both of them aren’t completely evil. clementine has a heart of gold – she cares a lot about her friends, as well as her family, and she treats animals with so much gentleness and respect, while the dark lord himself is never fully committed in performing his evil acts. and the same goes for darka, who hunts unicorns. it’s evident that she cares about clementine, and wants to earn her friendship, but at times she lets her rage consume her.

all that being said, the dark lord clementine is a great book about friendship and bravery, set in a mythical world with unicorns and other mythical creatures. if you’re looking for a light-hearted, short read, i’d highly recommend this novel. ♡

Oh, I love this book! Its style and narrative voice remind me a bit of Diana Wynn Jones, or Peter S. Beagle’s The Last Unicorn. It’s magical, quirky, whimsical, humorous, and often exciting. At the same time, it deals with very real feelings and challenges that many children and young adults face: the weight of parental expectations, conflicting feelings of love and anger; the challenge to know and be true to yourself. There’s fear, deception, and betrayal in these pages, but also courage, honesty, love, and loyalty.

Clementine is a wonderful and very relatable heroine. From the start, it’s clear that she’s not really Dark Lord material at heart, despite her best (or worst?) intentions. But then, her father doesn’t seem to be quite as evil as you’d expect a Dark Lord to be, either. Dark Lord-ing, in Clementine’s world, is apparently a hereditary job (here I’m reminded faintly of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Ruddigore), and Clementine is determined to do it well. As the story progresses, more and more of her best qualities come to the fore, but it’s not that her own nature changes so much as that her horizons are expanded, her beliefs challenged, and her true, best self begins to break free of her conditioning. But she’s appealing from the very first page.

Several of the other major characters are similarly engaging, particularly Sebastien, the would-be knight, and the black sheep. (A literal black sheep, but also, perhaps, a metaphorical one? That’s for you to find out.) And there’s Vivienne, the Lady of the Lake, fond of putting swords into heroes’ hand, and the Gricken, Clementine’s enchanted grimoire-in-the-shape-of-a-chicken, which grants her new spells in the form of eggs, and… but I should really stop there, for fear of spoiling all your fun.

And fun you will have, despite the seriousness of the curse affecting Clementine’s father. Did I mention the humor? There’s plenty that middle-grade readers will enjoy, but as in many Disney movies, there are comments and moments that will tickle adults’ funnybones as well.

All in all, The Dark Lord Clementine is an absolutely delightful novel, worth reading at any age, and a terrific choice for a family read-aloud.

Clementine is twelve years who when her father Lord Elithor is cursed by a witch. The witch is known as Whittle Witch. She is after the unicorn that lives on Lord Elthidor’s land. Clementine discovers her father locked away in his lab. When she gains entry into his lab, she sees that her father has lost part of his nose. He doesn’t want to be bothered by his daughter so he can stop the curse. Clementine must takeover seeing that their farm continues to run smoothly. As time passes, Clementine must take on more of the work of the farm as the magical scarecrows are losing the magic that keeps them working. She must also go to the village by herself instead of with her father. Life is getting harder for her. She ends up getting help from a black sheep that can talk. Sebastian a local boy ends up helping her as he desperately wants to be a knight. Meanwhile Darka who is a huntress is also after the unicorn. She befriends Clementine and helps out on the farm too. Meanwhile Clementine must help her father out due to letters from the Council of Evil Overlords asking why no dastardly deeds have been reported. Clementine must do a dastardly deed when she would rather do “good” spells. Will Clementine be able to break her father’s curse? Will the unicorn be killed? Will she be able to save her home from the Whittle Witch?

It is humorous throughout the novel. The plot takes a turn in that instead of evil doing, Clementine wants to do good. She wants to help the village. She wants sunshine and flowers — something that is completely opposite of what evil overlords want. I loved the conflict that Clementine had and wanted to know how she was going to resolve the problems she had.

This is a cute little story about a girl learning how to embrace her life, powers, and how to cope with her dad vanishing before her eyes. She's able to depend on friends but also learns about betrayal. This story has everything from witches, wizards, unicorns, hunters, etc. This book will show young readers a lot of lessons, but mostly how you have to follow your own heart and do what you think is best. I think a lot of middle graders will like this.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review