DNF at 15%

Nothing hooked me. Felt more like a drama biopic with a slight mystery than a horror about the antichrist. Not much happened in the first 50 pages, just character backstory and how the band met, which makes sense with the interview format but wasn’t interesting to read.

Craig DiLouie’s My Ex, the Antichrist is a sharp, darkly funny blend of apocalyptic chaos and emotional fallout. Balancing end-times drama with biting relationship commentary, it’s both absurd and oddly heartfelt. The pacing lags slightly, but the originality and humor shine. A twisted, clever tale of love, loss, and demonic exes.

Title: 5/5
Audio: 5/5
Plot: 3/5

The "band in trouble/band gets back together" theme can be hit or miss for me. I always love the villain (usually MMC) because typically they are extremely selfish, narcissistic, vibrant, and a huge red flag. That is definitely the case with this book. I giggled more than I was expecting because I had thought this was a horror book. It is not REALLY horror, although I guess there are horror-adjacent components and creatures and an armageddon-style crescendo (see what I did there). The religious themes came across to me as satire/humorous, but I can see some people feeling that is more of a horror-esque style.

I actually really liked the interview style/multi media presentation. This was WAY better over audio than reading in the physical book. I read tandem for parts, to help me keep up with all of the characters (there are a lot) but I highly recommend listening to this one. It has a full cast of narrators and despite it being a slower story, I actually flew through and finished in one day.

I wanted a litttttle bit more - maybe horror, maybe suspense, maybe supernatural....I can't quite identify what was missing but there wasn't the oomph I was looking for that would make this a "must read" book for me.

Envision the format of Daisy Jones and the Six, but with a pop punk flare and you’ve got the basic foundation to My Ex, the Antichrist! Throw in some literal demonic/end of the world horrors and you’re all set for a fun and entertaining read from DiLouie!

This is my first book from Craig DeLouie despite having several of his books on my shopping list (and guiltily, one sitting unread on my shelves) and I absolutely fell in love with his writing style! This book felt fresh, fun, and intoxicating. I needed to know what was going to happen for every part of this book: the fate of Lily and Drake, the bands, was the world going to end…

This is definitely a book that is hard to talk about in specifics for fear of giving something away. If you’re into music, the style of a documentary, and pure chaos, then you should probably go snag a copy of this one ASAP!

3⭐️ 0🌶️ 3🎧

It’s been a few days since I finished this ALC and I’m still trying to process how I feel about it.

This was the first time I’ve read a book where the entire book was in a interview format. The quick and constant POV changes made the book feel like it was fast paced even when there wasn’t much action going on. But because I was listening to the audiobook it was also a bit disorienting because it didn’t always say whose POV we had switched to and by the time I used context clues to figure it out, we had moved onto a new POV.

I feel like this book didn’t always know what it wanted to be. Sometimes it was a pretty dry rockstar memoir where the band members were talking about their personal struggles and then other times it funny and quirky and then other times it was full on camp horror with nuns wielding rocket launchers and exploding deacons.

Thank you to Hachette for this ALC.

This was a unique story blending horror and rock music and written in interview style. The depiction of band life and the character development was a nice addition to the horror aspect. The plot was intriguing with bits of humor thrown in to lighten up the darker storyline. This one isn’t necessarily terrifying, but it isn’t for the faint of heart either with some of the bloodier scenes. The audiobook has a full cast which I enjoyed.

I’ve read a couple books by DiLouie and consider him a reliable horror author. His books are entertaining and have a bit of dark, dry humor to keep readers engaged. My Ex, the Antichrist fits in with his other work. This is the story of a band’s creation as this demonic vibe seems to encircle its lead singer. We follow Lily and her boyfriend, Drake, as they meet and decide to form a band. As you can imagine, Drake isn’t your typical rockstar and there’s a pretty heavy religious component involved. This is unfair of me considering the subject, but I’m a pretty steadfast atheist and sometimes struggle when horror books seem a bit too on the nose regarding divinity.

This book is campy and would make a fun movie. It’s got that Grady Hendrix darkly comedic vibe and I do think there’s an audience out there who will really love this one. The story telling is also uniquely done. It constantly shifts perspectives between the different band members and others associated with the tale. This made it very accessible in terms of connecting dots without having to backtrack, but often I’d forget who was recounting events. If you like books with some gore but not very dark then this would be a great read. This one plays out well in your head and will definitely entertain most readers.

💀Book Review💀
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My thoughts- thank you @runforitpress for the advanced copy, this beauty released yesterday. I loved Episode 13 so I was super excited for the advance copy. It’s told through Interview format- similar to a Daisy Jones until it takes a horror twist. I think this was a slow burn to the action and I probably would have enjoyed it more as an audiobook. It was fine, I just think the title gave this one away. You knew off the bat that Drake was going to be the antichrist so it eliminated the shock for you in the book. It was a really interesting concept and definitely worth the read, I can’t get enough of this fun cover !
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Rating- ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
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Summary-
1998: Lily Lawlor and Drake Morgan form a punk band. Drake inspires faith in some. Fear in others. Lily is a believer.
2010: At the height of her stardom, Lily walks into a police station and confesses to a murder.
Now: The band has refused to talk to the press about their riotous past, Lily’s confession, or anything else. It’s been over a decade, but Lily has finally agreed to an interview. And the band is following her lead.
What follows is a story of prophecy, death, and apocalypse. A story about love found and love lost. A story about the antichrist. Maybe it’s all true. Maybe none if it is.
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QOTD- what is the title of the book you are currently reading? I think this one is just so clever, it feels as if it may be my memoir title 🤣😭(if you don’t laugh you’ll cry, don’t date terrible men ladies! I assure there are plenty of good ones out there, I married one 😉).

This book won’t be for everyone but I enjoyed it for what it is. It’s kind of campy and silly in a sense but it’s pretty fun. As someone who has been judged for listening to ‘the devil’s music’, I liked it. 😂
The audiobook is definitely the way to go. It’s a full cast and they really make it feel like you’re listening to true events from real people. The interview style was great! This book felt nostalgic so I had a pretty good time for the most part.

I’ll be checking out more work from this author!

I was lucky enough to receive the ebook and the audiobook for this story. I love a good immersive read where I get to follow along.
This story is told in interview style where we hear from different people from the bands accounts of how things started and what happened. I find this perspective very interesting and I was unsure of who I could trust. The narrators did an amazing job of portraying the different personalities with each perspective and I really felt like I was there watching these interviews. The unhinged nature of some of these interviews is amazing. This book was such a surprise and I loved every minute of it. The energy of these characters and narrators is electrifying and I actually googled some of these things to see if they were based on a true story. So good.

This book was certainly something! It was such an odd story, I couldn't put it down! The premise was so interesting, and I thought it was well-executed as well. I don't love the interview format that it was written in (though it did work for this story), and I did think that some parts were a bit slow, but the book kept me hooked for the majority of it, and I would recommend it overall!

My Ex, the Antichrist is the kind of book that makes you feel nostalgic the moment you’ve finished it. You’re pulled into the story of these few characters and those around them, watching them grow into the final versions of themselves, and you’re excited to see where the story takes you. The interview style of writing allows for a more in-depth approach while also adding hidden depths by removing an omniscient narrator. The horror aspects of the story grew slowly until they overtook the story, resulting in a clattering of events that were pretty fun to imagine. It wasn’t scary but it was entertaining and well written by an author who took the time to know his characters.

"See, in all those years of music and roaming. I'd learned something. A truth that trumps what you desire and what you dream. Just because you choose to live free doesn't mean you get to live free of responsibility." - Lily.

I requested this book from NetGalley, probably for the safe reason others did, and that's because the title made me laugh. I also had the writer on my try list for a while, and this seemed like a good chance to see what this author is about.
I blew through the first 40% in a couple of hours. I do enjoy the interview style, but I also believe this caused a disconnection between me and the characters. I enjoyed the style, but it was also a problem because I didn't feel like I understood the characters and their motives as much as I wanted to. I slowed down towards the halfway mark, not because the book wasn't good, but I realized maybe this book wasn't for me.
I believe the most interesting aspects of the novel are the God vs the Antichrist, which argue major points I've heard among friends and family throughout my years. I do not come from an extremely religious background, but I've been around enough people to gain perspective on both the agnostic side and the spiritual side of the issue. The chapter titled Slide Buzzsaw was probably the most interesting chapter because the argument about God being real really resonated with how I've felt in the past about pain and suffering.
I did enjoy this book, and the style had an easy flow. The interview format is probably what made it better for me than other novels written with the same feel. I'd like to see this as a movie and would translate well, if not better, in a video format.
I have a couple more of this author's works on my Kindle, and this moved them to the top of the list to try. I think if you enjoy the interview style and a slasher movie being smashed together, this would be something for you.

I honestly wasn't sure if I liked this one at first. It took me a little bit to get into it. I really enjoyed the format. I didn't particularly like the main character but that was part of the enjoyment of the story once I really got into it. I'm still not sure how I feel about this one but it's worth the read as it's just different enough from anything else I've read.

Sex, Love, Rock & Roll, and the Antichrist!

Craig DiLouie is an automatic buy author for me. His stories can be brutal, tender, evil, or righteous. Luckily enough, My Ex, the Antichrist, is all four of those things. This story follows the Shivers, a pop-punk band extraordinaire, who decide to finally give an interview and let the world into their past. This story is tender at times. It is told from the perspective of each of the band members as they each get recruited. Drake Morgan had the ability to pull together exactly who needed each other for the sake of their futures. This created, at times, some tender storytelling. This group of people clearly loved each other, and DiLouie captures some dynamic characters by telling this.

This story is also brutal. Some of the imagery that DiLouie has crafted within these pages is terrifying, especially for any readers who have had a religious upbringing. Armageddon is one of the most horrific events in the Bible. However, within these pages and through the lens of Rock & Roll, it is downright creepy too! Throw in some absolutely murderous priests, and then the story reaches new levels of brutality. There is a scene towards the end of the book that had my JAW permanently on the floor. I couldn't believe what was happening, but I was enjoying every single moment.

The conclusion to this story is why I say it is both evil and righteous. It is so many things wrapped up in a fever-pitch rush that readers are going to be racing to the final page to figure out what happens. I mean it's the end of the world as we know it and WILL THE BAND MAKE IT!!? All in all, this was such an excellent story and readers are going to devour it!

I can not overstate how fun this was. My favorite kind of horror! A nice mix of scary, silly and a good time.

Ok. I love mixed media. This author always delivers on that. This has a slow start. Basically picture documentary format that talks about a band that was put together by the antichrist. All in all I loved this. The characters were great, there were a lot of surprising scenes, and the banter was great. I had a good time with this one and I highly recommend it.

Coming July 2025. Make sure to add it to your TBR!

This was a twisted and creepy read that managed to blend punk rock chaos, apocalyptic prophecy, and dark humour with a side of blood-soaked guitar solos.

My Ex, the Antichrist leans hard into its chaotic lore and messy romance, told through an ambitious interview-style format that swings between intimate confession and tabloid spectacle. The structure gives it a raw, unfiltered vibe, like flipping through a cursed oral history of a band that scorched the earth behind them. At times, the format adds real electricity, especially when conflicting voices collide, but just as often it muddles the emotional core. Lily’s arc, from punk scene sweetheart to self-professed killer, burns with apocalyptic fervor, but the mystery occasionally buckles under its own myth-making. Still, there’s something undeniably compelling about watching characters try to rewrite the end of the world with microphones in their hands.

3.25 ⭐️ rounded down

Lily Lawless has one hell of an ex, and this is her story.

My Ex, the Antichrist read like I was watching a Netflix documentary, which I didn’t necessarily hate but it did make for some long winded monologues to read through. The story started off a bit slow with a lot of explanation of how Lily and her boyfriend started their band and it quickly descended into fierce and oftentimes extremely cheesy chaos. (I’m looking at you, scene involving catholic priests and nuns with rocket launchers.)

The ending felt a bit rushed and left things too open ended for me, but overall, I had a lot of fun reading this silly (yet serious at times) story of love, sacrifice, family, morals, and music.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit Books for providing me with an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All reviews will be posted to my socials (Fable, Goodreads, NetGalley, and Instagram).