Absolutely hilarious right up til it punches you in the art with emotion. Great for anyone who's ever felt bad killing the monsters in games and asked if they could seduce the monsters instead. Also? Fantatstic footnotes.

Brilliant, action-packed, and hilarious. I always think that I don't care much for high fantasy, and then I read a book like this one and I'm reminded of how awesome it can be. In fact, How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying might just be my new favorite high fantasy book ever, and I'm pretty sure that it has a top-25 place on my “favorite books of all time” list (if I had such a list, anyway, which I don't, but you get my drift).

I've seen other reviewers complain about the language and sex, and, yeah, if you're squeamish about such things this probably isn't the book for you. Have you seen Deadpool? Well, this book is absolutely nothing like it plot-wise, but that's the kind of humor and subject matter that we're talking about here. I thought it was amazeballs, but I can see how it wouldn't be for everyone.

Anyway, Davi and her minions are fantastic characters and I couldn't love them more. Davi is a little jaded after having been stuck in a Groundhog's Day-ish time loop for centuries, but who can blame her? She's also incredibly snarky and witty and resourceful, and actually pretty nice as far as Dark Lords-in-waiting go. Her minions are a diverse bunch – there are orcs and yetis and stone-eaters and all manner of humanoid animals (or wilders, as they're called in this book), and it's so much fun every time a new species is introduced into the story. The fox-wilder, Amitsugu, is perhaps my favorite character – he's complex and devious and absolutely adorable and I just want to give him some scritches behind his cute little witty bitty ears … *ahem*

And the world building? Fantastic. Davi and her horde travel through multiple strange and dangerous territories on their journey to the Convocation (where the new Dark Lord is chosen), and the author does an amazing job of fleshing out these lands and the creatures that live within.

My one complaint? The book ends on quite the cliffhanger and I am not a patient person – I need to know what happens now! Hopefully we won't have too long to wait for the next installment, because this is definitely a series that I need to continue as soon as possible.

My overall rating: 4.85 stars, rounded up. If you enjoy witty and humorous fantasy novels with delightful characters (and, yeah, a lot of bad language and sex talk), this one just might be right up your alley.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Orbit Books for providing me with an advance copy of this book to review.

9.5/10

*ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for feedback.*

This shit was absolutely fucking hilarious. If starting my review swearing bothers you then just pass this book by, trust me.

If, on the other hand, you are not bothered by my language then I implore you to pick up How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying . This book had me literally laughing out loud at several points throughout it. The comedy of this reminded me a lot of the Deadpool movies. There are tons of meta jokes and fourth wall breaks throughout. The story, and its protagonist Davi, do not take themselves seriously at all, and its great.

That is not to say that there isn't a plot here, there is, and it is actually pretty serious. If you were to remove the comedy from this book it would still be a pretty decent "hero's journey" plot. There is even one big plot twist that I definitely did not see coming. However the comedy is there and brings it from decent to exceptional.

Honestly I tend to be a lover of fantasy/sci-fi with a more series tone (whichDjango Wexler can definitely also do as I loved the Burningblade and Silvereye series from him as well) but this may still turn out to be one of my favorite reads for the year (although it is still early in the year).

Big thatnks to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for this ARC. It brought me a lot of joy.

This book felt like a slog for me. I feel like I am absolutely the target audience for this book, but the egregious sexual profanity (and I’m not one to often be offended by this!) and the sheer number of ridiculous (read: useless, non-contributory) footnotes really took away from the story. This book could have — and should have — been 2/3 of its actual length, by changing the pacing, removing some of the inner monologues and yes, by deleting 98% of the footnotes.

The cover and the description led me to this book, but the description is not necessary the most accurate in my view. This could have been a fun book, and still could be — it just needs a heavy-handed editor and an author who doesn’t veer off in 3 different directions with a single thought.

Thanks to NetGalley and Orbit for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book. It had me giggling throughout with the writing style. The world building is amazing and I love the depth of the characters. I can’t wait to see what antics Davi gets into with book 2!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying is a satirical fantasy about Davi who is stuck in a time loop trying to save the world from the Dark Lord. We join Davi in Life 237 where the Dark Lord has taken over, once again, and captured Davi, once again. When she dies and wakes up for the 238th time she decides that after centuries of unsuccessfully trying to save humanity from the Dark Lord, as prophecy foretold, she will become the Dark Lord herself.

To put it simply I loved this book. I wasn’t sure when I started reading what I was getting into since the synopsis was brief and I’m not someone who reads a lot of fantasy but I found the concept so intriguing I had to try it, and it surpassed all my expectations! Despite the fact that Davi is trying to become the Dark Lord, she is a loveable character who I was immediately rooting for and wanted to see succeed. She has a hilarious inner monologue and running commentary which made me laugh out loud on several occasions. The found family Davi creates in this story is wonderful and I found myself growing attached to the rest of the cast alongside Davi.

This book does have a time loop element but it’s not a typical Groundhog Day scenario where she wakes up back at the same starting place every morning. She only resets when she dies and is pretty sure that the key to stopping the time loop is defeating the Dark Lord. While there is some fun trial-and-error resetting at the beginning of this book while Davi tries to figure out a strategy for becoming the Dark Lord I wouldn’t recommend it if you're strictly looking for a classic time-loop scenario. However, I found Davi’s situation more high stakes than usual because, unlike in traditional plot line where it’s pretty safe to assume the main character won't die, at least not until the end of the book, Davi could die at any moment and reset and the farther she gets into each life the harder it gets for her to have to start again.

I think the author did an amazing job writing Davi and I loved getting to be inside her head and her sense of humor. I especially enjoyed the way the author used footnotes to let us in on a joke, give commentary on this fantasy world, or share a likely inappropriate thought Davi was having. While this book doesn’t end on a cliffhanger it does have an open ending with lots of unanswered questions because, according to the acknowledgments, the plan is for this to be the first in a duology. How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying is a wonderful mix of comedy, fantasy, and adventure. I highly recommend it, even to people who don’t typically read fantasy. I will definitely be reading the sequel which I am highly and impatiently anticipating.

A satirical delight, this 'Deadpool-meets-Fantasy' take on Groundhog Day or Happy Death Day won't be for everyone, but it is a fun read.

Stuck in a time loop- Davi opts to stop trying to be the hero of the story and instead sets out to become the Dark Lord herself. She might die trying, but that's never stopped her before.

Davi is aware of her role, and the fourth wall is blown wide open as she speaks to the reader throughout, with plenty of real world references slipped in along the way.

The book is the first on a series, and the fact snuck up on me as I neared the end, much like watching a television show you realize will become a two=parter when the clock is ticking down and there's no way everything will be resolved in time.

The book makes use of a lot of footnotes-which are fun- though I personally wish they were located at the bottom of each page rather than all collected at the end of each chapter, just for reading ease.

The style might not work for everyone, but I think it's a fun read and worth a shot if you are interested!

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A quick, fun read that was just what I needed after a dark fantasy. Davi, our intrepid Dark Lord in waiting, is more than a little fatalistic after countless deaths as she lives out a medieval, magical Groundhog Day. The humor she uses as a defense against the insanity of starting over at the exact same spot every time she dies keeps the tone light even if there is constant war and bloodshed on the horizon. Of course, our heroine isn’t quite as laissez-faire as she tries to pretend and also show a good bit of heart, making her a more than a one-note caricature. The world Wexler is building is an interesting one with a magic system that works differently depending on your species, and it gets explained clearly without it feeling like needless exposition.

Fun read with some heart, magic, and stakes high enough to make you want to keep reading.

---I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review---

So I will start off and say that I had high hopes for this book. I mean, one of my favorite games is the Overlord series and I usually root for the villain in the best cases. But I barely got 2% in before I had to stop because it made me so uncomfortable. Now I am a sexually expressive woman but in a hostage/torture situation I am not thinking about getting head from a snake(?) being. Or even talking about my 'gory tits' or my pubic area covered in my own dried blood. I get that she is naked, and it is supposed to be an example of shame, but I had higher hopes for an author that discussed on the front of the book that there was talk of sexual assault but not the act of.

Thank you to Netgalley and Orbit for providing me with an advanced copy of this book. This book definitely got a laugh out of me and I love the group of characters. The only thing that missed the mark was the pacing. There was so much lead up to something that feels like it fell a little short.

My thing with this book is that the publisher did a REALLY bad job in hiring people to write the book blurb. (I'm assuming that it has to have been not written by the author, both because they typically aren't and because there's no WAY an author would miss the mark quite that much on tone indicators.) Like, I'm sorry, I get where they were coming from with Groundhog's Day meets Guardians of the Galaxy (timeloops + meta/self-referential nerd humor) but LAUGH OUT LOUD??? That makes this book sound like WAY more of a fun romp than it is. And to be perfectly clear, I very much enjoyed this book for what it was! The only reason I'm giving it 4 stars is because I really hate getting to the end of book only to find that it's not only the first part of a series, but the first part of a STORY and you have to read part two in order to get any sense of closure. (Also it's kind of well hidden on the edition I was reading that it is even part of a series at all, but hopefully that will get fixed prior to publication?)

But here's my thing. If you're going to have a book with some super dark themes that is, yes, filled with a lot of quips and dark humor, you can't market it like it's a fun romp! Folks who were expecting one thing are going to be disappointed and much of the actual audience for the book isn't going to find it! And the folks like me who truly love both types of genres (I ADORE a competent traumatized lady who is trying to quip her way out of said trauma while kicking ass, it's my kryptonite!) it's still going to give you some whiplash if that's not what you were expecting when you picked it up.

(This is an honest review in exchange for a free advance review copy.)

The back-of-book copy of this book--which is utterly appealing and you should buy it immediately if you like this sort of thing--cites Groundhog Day and Guardians of the Galaxy, and while these are not, you know, wrong, I have two other sources I want you to consider. (The actual source material is apparently some weird anime crossover thingy, and what I know about anime you could fit in a very small hat.)

One is from Futurama: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXzLq...

Very short clip; but if you didn't watch it it goes like this--it's a Wizard of Oz parody, and Leela, in the Dorothy Gale role, knocks her red combat boots together, starts to say "There's no place like home," and stops halfway through, says "I wanna be a witch," and turns the other characters into frogs. That's what's going on here.

That, and what happened to Tom Cruise in Edge of Tomorrow , which is a time-loop story like Groundhog Day, except it's ultra-violent and the main character dies repeatedly, hopefully learning from the experience. (You might have seen this one, might not; the title was terrible, for one thing. But it's good!)

So here's the setup. Devi, a geeky, smart-mouthed, noodle-armed (but otherwise perfectly normal) twenty-something millennial girl, is forcibly catapulted from her dull-but-comfortable existence into a fantasy world.* This particular fantasy world is (based on my very limited knowledge of the subject) more-or-less derived from that of World of Warcraft, with battling humans and orcs (although the orcs aren't just orcs, there's wolf-people and fox-people and the like). Devi is tasked to lead the human Kingdom to victory over the orc hordes, and when she (as a noodle-armed novice) dies horrifically as a result, that triggers a time-loop that sends her back to the beginning, just as you might have in a video game that takes you back to a save point. I hope all of this is clear, because there's more.

In Groundhog Day, Bill Murray learns how to play piano and do ice sculpting and generally become a good and noble person. In her personal time loop, Devi has learned primarily that conquering the hordes is difficult, getting killed over and over again hurts, but getting tortured is worse. And so she decides that she, too, wants to be a witch. Or, more specifically, a Dark Lord.

Three brief public service announcements to make here:

1. The premise is totally and completely played for laughs. This puts it totally up my particular alley; your mileage may vary. Very dark humor, though; I have the impression that Devi is actually British (although she thinks she's American) because the humor is just that dark.

2. You have really dark humor here in part because--how to put this--Devi, having died hundreds or thousands of times during the time loop, has a unique and totally twisted concept of mortality, particularly as it relates to suicide. This is the rare funny book that has a serious (and merited) trigger warning. If you have any degree of sensitivity in this area, this is probably a book to avoid.

3. Over the course of her thousands of lives, Devi has developed--again, how to put this--a very aggressive approach to sexuality (well, bisexuality, you get the idea). Which is fine! For most of you, I mean. I am not giving this to my fourteen-year-olds to read, although they've doubtless read worse. (And, again, played for laughs.)

So the complicated-explanation part is over, and the PSAs are done, so we're left with the question of which you--yes, you, who are reading this here review instead of doing something useful with your life, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU--should read this book. Yes, you should. It is dark and mean-spirited and hilarious and THERE IS AN ADORABLE COWBOY MOUSE, what are you waiting for? Go. Read. Enjoy.

Thank you Netgalley and Orbit for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I could not pass on the promise of a funny fantasy book about a "normal" woman stuck on a Groundhog day loop, trying to become a dark lord.

I really wanted to love it, and I mostly had a nice time, but I have some issues with this book.
First, the tone. To much "modern", sassy & pop culture references for a character supposed to be stuck in a time loop on a fantasy world for the last thousand years.
Second, the MC herself. She really felt like a woman written by a man, and quickly became insufferable.

I liked the overall story, but felt disappointed in regards of the description and my expectations

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this. I knew I had to read this book when I saw the title! It was not quite what I expected but I found this thoroughly entertaining. It was a little more explicit than I anticipated, but it was hilarious. How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying was creative, unique, and unlike anything I have ever read before. My only complaint is that I found referencing the footnotes irritating, but if I had a physical copy of the book, it may not have bothered me as much.

The concept is very fun, the idea that over and over our very vulgar Davi has to fight her way out of constantly dying, and collects a merry gang along the way to the top of the “bad guy” food chain.
This is a loveable trope, but unfortunately the style it is played out just did lot work for me. The constant flipping on an ebook was clunky for the many, many footnotes. There weren’t that many jokes, just present day language and references. And the cursing! I love to curse, but it didn’t add to the development of anyone.
Check your content warnings before this one.

Groundhog Day meets Guardians of the Galaxy in Django Wexler’s laugh-out-loud fantasy tale about a young woman who, tired of defending humanity from the Dark Lord, decides to become the Dark Lord herself.

Davi has done this all before. She’s tried to be the hero and take down the all-powerful Dark Lord. A hundred times she’s rallied humanity and made the final charge. But the time loop always gets her in the end. Sometimes she’s killed quickly. Sometimes it takes a while. But she’s been defeated every time.

This time? She’s done being the hero and done being stuck in this endless time loop. If the Dark Lord always wins, then maybe that’s who she needs to be. It’s Davi’s turn to play on the winning side.


I have wanted to try Django Wexler for such a long time and while this may not be the best representation of his talents as a writer, I think he did an amazing job with this science fiction story. So much damn fun, I immediately ordered two of his other books and will be keeping an eye on anymore of his new releases!

How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying caught my attention because of the premise and cover. As I began to read I was immediately interested in the world being created and the MC. I enjoy reading fantasy books that include humor as it makes the story more enjoyable. However, the level of "comedy" in this book was too over the top for me. While I do understand that was the point of the story and many people may enjoy the comedy, I found it to take away from the overall story.
Overall I would say that if you enjoy comedy and fantasy this is worth the read.

It was one of my most anticipated this year. And I can tell you that it did not disappoint. Oh my god, every second was pure bliss of lols and adventure worth reading! I really did need this book as a palate cleanser after everything else I’ve read this year.

The only thing I recommend to people who want to read this book is to get it in a physical copy. There are citations throughout chapters and a list at the end of the chapter and it’s difficult to navigate back and worth to truly get the full gist of the jokes.

Davi has been stuck in a timeloop for more than a thousand years, told over and over that she's prophesized to protect the kingdom from the newly crowned dark lord...except she hasn't managed it yet. By life 238, she's decided it's time to take matters into her own hands. No longer will she train to be the kingdom's hero, this time around she'll become the new dark lord.

Why is it that whenever a male author writes a female character, she's little more than a cavalier bisexual nymphomaniac who substitutes pop culture references for a personality? (Also, note to every male author: women don't rate themselves. A female character who describes their body and offers an X out of 10 rating is a l w a y s going to ring false. Always.)

Davi speaks almost entirely in pop culture references from a world she barely remembers (read: our world). She's lived in this other world for more than a thousand years, but she uses no local colloquialisms. In fact, what little we learn about this world is either from what other characters say to her, or is strictly about magic.

When she's not speaking in pop culture, she's talking about sex - who she's sleeping with, who she's slept with, who she'd like to sleep with... I understand that being trapped in a time loop probably makes someone feel like very little truly matters, but Davi's regression into a teenage boy is just not at all interesting to read.

Then there's the...romance, though I hesitate to call it that. There's zero chemistry between the characters. Davi thinks the other woman is hot as soon as they meet...and that basically the basis for the relationship. On top of this, Davi pulled away from another character she was sleeping with when they got too attached, but her love interest refuses to move forward at all unless Davi becomes immediately monogamous, and that's somehow just fine.

And the big one. Davi has turned her back on the human kingdom in favor of becoming the Dark Lord. The Dark Lord, however, rules over non-human creatures called Wilders. So human Davi becoming ruler of the oppressed, non-human Wilders smacks of white saviorism.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Orbit Books for a free copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to ARC review this book. I have to be honest and say that I believe this particular book was just "not my thing." I was drawn to the cover, the title, and the teaser of "Guardians of the Galaxy meets Groundhog Day." For me it was more Groundhog Day than Guardians of the Galaxy. Davi, tired of living endless lives in the dungeon of the Dark Lord, decides that she herself would like to be the Dark Lord. Thus begins the repetitive journey across the lands, embarking on countless fights, speeches, and promises - oh, and deaths - like almost 300 in the first chapter alone. Poor wizard.

Chock full of darker humor and a cussing, fighting, anti-feminine anti-hero Davi will make you chuckle, cringe, and slap your forehead all in the same paragraph. A character you will either love, hate, or tire of - Davi will at least take you on an unforgettable adventure.