I finished this book this morning and then got sucked into a rabbit hole of reading articles and Reddit threads discussing whether Avril Lavigne is pop-punk or just pop, and I don't even think I've heard one of her songs since 2005 or so, so why am I reading about this stuff and what has this book done to me??

*Ahem*

Anyway. My Ex, the Antichrist is a weird, slow-ish burn of a novel that somehow kept me completely riveted? Lily Lawlor is a religious, sheltered college dropout who accidentally starts a rock band with the antichrist. Oops. But also he's really cute and charismatic, so it can't be all bad, right? I mean, sure, he has a real “pretentious teenager” vibe going on and their concerts seem to always end in riots, but other than that? Drake might be the antichrist, but is he really such a bad guy overall?

Parts of this book are creepy, and parts of it are super campy. Like, it would make a fantastic low-budget horror film. Really. One moment the antichrist is giving a terrifyingly mesmerizing concert with demons from hell as backup dancers, and the next someone in Doc Martens is beaning a hell-monster with a Fender Telecaster while screaming “ROCK AND ROLL!” You can't make this stuff up. Well, I mean, obviously Craig DiLouie did, but you know what I mean.

Not that there's a ton of action, really. There are a few crazy scenes, especially near the end, but mostly this book is about the main characters forming a band while they slowly start to realize that there's possibly more to their front man than meets the eye. There is a rocket launcher involved at one point, though, so take that for what you will.

But let's talk about Julian's character for a second. Okay, so did any of you ever watch Gilmore Girls? Remember Sebastian Bach's character Gil? Imagine him but more religious and that's pretty much Julian. His character is completely ridiculous and I literally LOL'd when he … exited the story, but, yeah, I don't even know where I'm going with this paragraph. All I can say is that I desperately want someone to make this book into a movie, and I need Sebastian Bach to be cast as Julian. And also Samuel L. Jackson should be the persistent bishop. And maybe the screen writer could take a few liberties with the plot and make one of the priests go through a wood chipper like in Tucker & Dale vs. Evil? Please and thank you.

Honestly, I don't even know how I feel about this book. It is decidedly not fine literature and I'm not even sure that I'd call it decent literature, but it does have a certain je ne sais quoi. It's campy and ridiculous and it beats you in the face with Christian dogma, but it's also kind of fun?

3.666 stars, rounded up.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Run For It for providing me with an advance copy of this book to review. Its expected publication date is July 1, 2025.

As frontwoman of the pop-punk band The Shivers, Lily Lawless has devoted her life to both her music and the band she’s been a part of since 1999. But in 2010, her unexpected confession of murder sent shock waves through the band. After years of silence, Lily and her bandmates agree to come forward to reveal the truth about their original lead guitarist and Lily’s ex-boyfriend, Drake Morgan. Convinced that Drake is the biblical Antichrist, Lily and her friends devise a plan to stop him before he wins the Battle of the Bands and kicks off the apocalypse.

This was a really fun book! Told in an interview-style format, the story bounced around between different points of view- Lily and the other band members, their manager, music critics, and even a religion studies professor. Personally, I enjoyed all the different perspectives and it gave me Daisy Jones vibes, but with much darker, more sinister themes. I read it on my Kindle, but this might be really fun to listen to as an audiobook!

Ultimately, this was a horror story, but the first part definitely felt more like a love story between Lily and Drake. It took awhile to get into the story because the beginning focused a lot on setting up the plot and developing the characters. However, once the band started playing shows and Drake’s true nature was revealed, the book was an exciting ride all the way until the end.

This was packed with so many music references, particularly to bands and songs from the late ‘90’s and early 2000s. If you’re into music, you might really dig this, but I can understand how the abundance of music references might not be for everyone. If you’re looking for a book filled with music, prophecy, death, and a breakup, consider checking this one out.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an electronic ARC of this book!

I sent my good reads review here, however, I will also be making a TikTok with my review as well. Looking forward to reading other works by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of My Ex, the Antichrist.

I've read a book by the author before so I kind of knew what I was getting into.

Yes, the Antichrist is a rock star is a cliche but I was curious to see what the author had up his sleeve.

First off, the interview format was a total turnoff for me.

Interview formats can work but in certain genres; I think it's lazy writing and the author can write.

The interview format doesn't lend itself to character development, tension, world building, none of that.

I wasn't interested in the business side of the music industry, nor did I want to know how to play the guitar or drums.

I wished I had musical talent; maybe I would have cared about these detailed descriptions more.

It felt like the author was living out a dream of being a reporter for Rolling Stone magazine or SPIN.

I also grew tired of everyone mentioning how gorgeous Lily is; the band, the reporters, other bands, their manager, everyone's got to say it, at least, once. Usually more than that.

I was bored right out of my gourd.

I didn't like or know anyone other than what I was told by Lily, Ramona, Malcolm, Eric, and a large cast of minor characters.

I was hoping the premise would have leaned heavily toward dark comedy, tragic and scary.

Don't get me wrong; there's plenty of violence, blood, and mayhem, but that ending...seriously?

It was corny as heck and a real downer.

If your premise is going to be about the Antichrist, damnation, and the end of the world, why not go all out and end the world?

Everyone and the world be damned.

Guess you can tell what my mindset is as I'm writing this review. 😆

Craig DiLouie’s horror novels — especially Suffer the Children — are typically excellent. This one, though? Oof.

First off, the idea of the antichrist being a rockstar is beyond cliched.

Second, none of the religious stuff that’s mentioned makes it even remotely possible to believe in god. I mean, was DiLouie paying attention to what he was writing? It’s yet another book that talks about the apocalypse coming because of god’s plan. Which means that nothing any of us do matters and that god is planning to murder all of us one day. Wow. Why wouldn’t I want to sign up? /sarcasm

Third, this book would have been MUCH better if DiLouie had exposed the church as murderous thugs who were not, in fact, correct. Instead, he took it all literally. Which still could have been okay, I guess, if so much time hadn’t been spent on the religious POV (must attack and kill the antichrist no matter what — despite the antichrist being part of god’s plan 🙄).

Fourth, with a title like My Ex, the Antichrist, I expected a lot more humor than the book actually delivered. Again, it was all taken completely seriously and I’m sorry, but what?

Finally, if nothing they chose to do mattered, what was the point of going through it at all?

So yeah, to say I had issues with this book would be an understatement. DiLouie managed to get two stars out of me, though, because the non-religious sections of the book were good.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.

I had quite high hopes for this one, but I just couldn’t really get into it. I’m not sure if it was a right book, wrong time situation, but I never seemed to get used to the writing style. I may try picking it up again at a later time, but it’s safe to say I was a little disappointed.

A story about love and friendship in its different forms. A creepy wholesome horror story with lots of povs. Lovers of music will find enjoyment with this story reminded me of Granby Hendrix in some aspects.

I have loved several other novels from this author. Unfortunately, this one was a big miss. The pacing was so slow and I wasn't interested in anything about the musician's lifestyle.

I haven't read Suffer the Children or Episode Thirteen yet (they're both on my TBR though) so I can't compare this to this author's other works.

I enjoyed the interview style format. Reminded me a lot of Daisy Jones and the Six but with, y'know, the antichrist. I thought that format made the novel a lot of fun. The beginning reeled me in and had me engaged but I thought as it went on it slowly fizzled out and left me with a subpar ending. I'm also not super into 90's punk-rock culture, so I felt that a lot of the references fell flat for me--and there's a lot of references here.

Overall this is fine. I'm curious about Craig DiLouie's other works because I heard Suffer the Children is really good. If this sounds interesting, definitely check it out.

I really enjoyed this book, especially with the assumption that people may go in thinking that certain types of music lend themselves to devil worship. After two decades, a band is sharing what happened during a riot at their concert that killed three teens. This whole book left me feeling uneasy as I was reading it, and I absolutely appreciate that! It does discuss love and relationships (I may have had a few Antichrist exes). I did feel the beginning dragged a bit, but that was the character development portion of the book. Once this book gets going, it puts the pedal to the metal. I also have to say that this book also made me realize that I went through a bit of a similar time in my life where music was life, and life was good. It was slightly nostalgic in that way.

Told entirely through interviews, The Shivers reads like an oral history of a band with secrets think Daisy Jones & The Six with a slightly darker twist. We get the story from the perspectives of Lily, Malcolm, Ramona, Eric, and a few others who finally speak up in 2022–2023, piecing together the rise (and unraveling) of The Shivers.

The interview format works brilliantly, bringing each character to life in a vivid, distinct way. It’s immersive, fast-paced, and packed with personality. The only drawback is the ending, which feels a bit rushed compared to the steady buildup. Still, this was a thoroughly enjoyable read. Solid 4 stars great characters, unique format, and plenty of drama to keep you turning the pages.

I love this author and throughly enjoyed this, fans of horror (and music) will definitely enjoy, it was a ton of fun and the interviews/transcripts format worked really well! The ending was slightly predictable but it didn't deter from my enjoyment!

DNF - just not for me. So heavy on the music idea that the plot was just getting lost for me. Normally love the author and will try the next one!

Suffer the Children was a solid read and while My Ex, The Antichrist was a quick read, it did not pack the same punch. DiLouie brings you on an easy ride told interview style with a nice hook right off the bat, but the punches aren't sustained. Decent read, but one I won't remember by end of year.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Absolutely loved this title. I think it's relatable for a lot of people. The story is great and keeps you not only freaked out until the end but decently entertained.

This novel focuses on love, terror, and broken hearts in the midst of the apocalypse and fearing your boyfriend is the Antichrist. We follow Lucy Lawless and her band as we learn about each individual involved, and the story is told from the perspective of interviews. We switch back and forth from 1999, the prime of the band's run, to 2009- the year Lucy turns herself in for murder. I totally respect and love what DiLouie is putting down here. This book is very much VH1 Behind The Music meets an ID channel show, merging horror elements and gore in between. While I consider myself quite the music fan, this was a BIT too much for me. The amount of musicianship involved is pretty relentless, to the extent it took away from the plot and lost me a few times. The denouement also snuck up on me, personally, and the pacing suffered because of that. Many aspects of this were so fun, but it could have been shorter and achieved the same. I will say, the author's love of music shines and it shows how much he enjoyed writing this. Thanks so much to the publisher and author for the eARC!

The writing style of this book is so fun, and while it took me a minute to get used to it, once I did, I found the bouncing around from pov to pov was GREAT. You got real time reaction to situations and conversations between the characters. I do wish that I had held out for the audiobook because I can only imagine how well a full cast can tell this story.

Supposing that pre prophecy Jesus was just a person with a family, a job, people who knew him as just a person, this book declares that the same but opposite would also be possible. An antichrist could be born to this world, growing up as just a person… in the 90s, he did. Lily knows… I mean, she is his ex, after all.

This was so unique and off the wall. I absolutely loved it. The cast of characters is solid perfection. Each member of this band is so different, but due to their circumstances, they form a family, really. When the world is falling apart and they only have each other to save the world, they know they just have to rock on.

An awesome rock and roll read with a lot of heavy thoughts and ideas. With themes of predestination vs. free will, music, and theological debates about the nature of the Antichrist, this is no light read.

Characters are fully realized and the style of the text let's readers get a great sense of them all. I loved some more than others, Eric and Ramona deserved the world and so Garth is an ICON.

I would reccomend this read with the caveat that the people I would reccomend this to having an appreciation for pop-punk, rock and those music genres that draw the rebellious.

Romance.
Rock and Roll.
The Apocalypse.
Sounds like fun, right?
Not so much.

I commonly use the statement when I don't enjoy a book that it could be that it just wasn't in my preferred genre. Or that maybe it was a little too young for me.
My preferred genre is horror. And while I admit to be well above the age of a teenager, this one had moments when it hit. Unfortunately, there were so many other moments that just didn't do it for me.

Lily Lawless (Lillian Lawlor) wants to rock. It's what she lives for. Her dream is to front a rock band and make it big in music. When she meets Drake Morgan, she has found her partner, her muse, and the love of her life.
But there's something a little off about him. How he can inspire perfect strangers to follow him and do almost anything he asks. How, once they form a band, the audience always goes crazy and tries to kill each other. Little things like that.

Played for amusement, it could have been a fun ride. When I started the book, I had never read anything by Craig DiLouie, even though I have several of his books. This one sounded like it could be campy fun, sort of along the lines of We Sold Our Souls by Grady Hendrix.
I honestly didn't have that much fun. I chewed through the pages, hoping to find something to grab onto that would make me change my mind.
The first 40%-45% was the romance? aspect of the story, plus meeting other characters and getting the band formed.
The next 10%-15% was finding out what happens when they play actual gigs, and the running from fans? hell-bent on killing them.
Then, per the title, we have a break-up and find out that the ex is really the Antichrist.
From that point on, we're having a mental theological discussion as to what to do with this information, while playing more shows and competing in competitions.

The entire thing is written in the revolving POV of each character, almost in an interview or documentary type narrative. I've read this done before and enjoyed it, but this seemed tired and overdone. The differences between characters was played out well, but they still seemed to be speaking with one voice.

By the time I made it to the halfway point, I wasn't chewing pages any longer, I was skimming for something to catch my eye and tell me that I was being too hard on the story as a whole.

All in all, Craig DiLouie is a great writer. He catches your attention and holds it. My biggest problem with the story was that I didn't want to learn how to pound a drum or make guitar strings scream. But there was so much attention to detail when it came to the minute operations of the instruments, it just bored me to tears. Someone who is more into the rock music culture might love this to the point of rereading it again and again.

The ending seemed rushed and a little too cosmic for my taste. Even a little saccharin.

As a whole, I'd give the story idea a 4. As written, 3. Because I liked the writing well enough to try the excerpt of How to Make a Horror Movie and Survive (this was the book I should have been reading and reviewing...great at just 25%), I would go to a 4. All totaled...3.5 because there were some thoughts and scenes in the book that I really did enjoy.

My eternal thanks to NetGalley and Orbit for allowing me to read this ARC and voice my thoughts.

4 stars

“A twisted tale of love, heartbreak and the apocalypse.”

In 1998 couple Lily Lawlor and Drake Morgan form punk band The Shivers. In 1999, Drake leaves the band, joins a rival band and the two bands battle it out at a battle of the bands in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The Shivers go on to make it big with ten albums, six in the Billboard top ten, and the magic continues….right up until Lily all’s into a police station and confesses to murder in 2011.

The story of The Shivers is told through interviews with band members Lily, Malcolm, Ramona and Eric, and some additional interviewees, when they finally agree to speak in 2022 and 2023.

The book is done DAISY JONES AND THE SIX style, through only the transcripts of the interviews, a style that works really well for this book. It’s great and lots of fun, except for the end which is rather rushed. A solid 4 stars; there’s a lot to enjoy here and I had a good time with this and the well-drawn Shivers.