Thank you, Hachette Audio for my gifted ALC!

“Once a Catholic, always a Catholic.”

Holy Hell and all its demons. My Ex, the Antichrist validated all of my religious trauma and musings of the past twenty years. Meant in the best way possible, this was the pop punk version of Daily Jones and the Six; told in the same interview fashion, chronicling the rise to stardom and super fame. Except. One of the band members is the Antichrist, the devil himself, and music is the harbinger of the apocalypse. I know, it sounds like my pentecostal aunt telling me rock n roll music was the devil’s music, and the Harry Potter books were practicing witchcraft.

Like any good Catholic, I have my fair share of religious trauma. I have a guilt so engrained in me that it is cult like. No matter what pieces of this trauma I cut out of myself and cauterize, the guilt remains. It was hilarious and validating to see it in this book. The reiteration that I am not alone.

I loved this book so much. It was exactly what I needed to get me out of my reading slump. And if you listen to the audio version, it has a full cast, and even music! The Shivers will go down as one of the great fictional bands of its time, and I cannot wait to read more from this author!

Was this one of the most ridiculous books I've read? Absolutely. Did I listen to the entire 9-hour audiobook in one day? You bet.

3 stars out of 5 - would not read again but am glad that I did.

In what would make an incredible straight-to-streamer B horror movie, DiLouie bounces between various characters' perspectives to craft an over-the-top but addictively campy story that is well worth a binge.

Horror is not normally my bag but, after twelve years of Catholic school, you give me nuns and priests using automatic weapons and I'm there. If you want to be scared, I highly doubt this book is for you as I spent more time chuckling than gasping in fear. Don't expect anything too deep or serious and you'll likely enjoy it as much as I did.

The narrators did a fine job of creating voices that propped up the unbelievable events. It was also interesting to hear some of the music being replicated in audio form.
Thanks to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for an advanced copy.

My Ex, the Antichrist is a fresh, campy horror by Craig DiLouie. What happens when you form a band with someone who just so happens to be the Antichrist? What ensues is something I wasn't expecting, making for an a fun reading experience.

1998: Lily Lawlor and Drake Morgan form a punk band. Drake inspires faith in some. Fear in others. Lily is a believer.
1999: A Battle of the Bands ends in a shocking death, and a riot that claims the lives of three teenagers.
2009: At the height of her stardom, Lily walks into a police station and confesses to murder.

Now: The band has refused to talk to the press about the night of the riot, 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 and love lost. A story about the antichrist. Maybe it’s all true. Maybe none if it is. Either way, this is their story. And they’re sticking to it.

Craig DiLouie's My Ex, the Antichrist is fun and unconventional novel that wonderfully combines a slow-burn story with moments of unexpected humor. While the book explores some darker, more serious stuff, it blends in a delightful campiness, making it hard to pin down–but that seems to be part of its charm. Is it about a band, or about the Antichrist? It's a bit of both, and that's exactly what made it a novel I had I hard time putting down. DiLouie weaves a tale that feels both unique as well as comfortably familiar.

A story that revolves so much around its characters, it's no wonder that they steal the show. Each one stands out, bringing something special and fun to the story. I was deeply invested in the band's overall success, not just because I managed bands in a previous life, but because of how much I cared about Lily's story. She is just a young musician trying to make great music and have a good time while doing it–not realizing she’s accidentally started a band with the Antichrist himself.

My Ex, the Antichrist is a rollercoaster of emotions, with moments of creepiness, heartfelt sincerity, and outright goofiness. DiLouie balances these shifts with ease, hitting a variety of emotional notes that make the experience deeply enjoyable. I choose to experience this book via audiobook, which I highly recommend. The narration, led by one of my favorites Jesse Vilinsky along with Lisa Flanagan, Alexander Cendese, and Pete Simonelli, made for a quick and wonderful read.

Let me start with the fact that I don’t like books about music, I don’t listen to music in general since my 20s, so I knew I won’t be judging this book based on that. I will share my experience, but please take it with a grain of salt.
The best thing about this book is absolutely the narrators, they did fantastic job, with exception to the singing at the end that was a bit cringe. But all of the POV are executed perfectly, the formatting is a bit chaotic, we have super short narratives, sometimes even only a sentence. But the voices are very distinct, so I had no issues recognizing who is talking.
I’ve read only one other book by the author and unfortunately that one also left me unsatisfied. I am sad to report that this was a miss for me, maybe if it was more on the funny, comedy horror side I would have liked it more, but I feel like this was meant to be more serious than the execution presented it to be. The premise is awesome, but it has all the stereotypes you would expect for a story about the Antichrist. The first 60% are just an introduction to the bandmates, and it was very dry and uneventful. I would also expect that there was some humor to some of these people, but there was nothing fun to be found about them.
Lily and Drake’s relationship was very dry, I didn’t ship them and couldn’t quite get why they would be crazy for each other. We have the jamming bits with some mayhem occurring, we have the Christians freaking out but these scenes are very few and pretty short. The ending was absolutely unreasonable and boring. I expected more from the Antichrist, something more epic.
I am not disappointed, because I still had a good time listening to this while doing some chores, but I wouldn’t recommend it with both hands. I appreciate the work the narrators put to this, it is a great audiobook, and we have some rock music at the end. My favorite part is at the Apocalypse battle of the bands, it was very cinematic. My rating is in the middle 2.5 stars, rounded up to 3 stars.
Also, small spoiler, ****
*****
But if we are going to have a “Jesus” character, at least get him resurrected at some point. ****

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio | Run For It for providing me with the ALC.

🎧 Audiobook – Full Cast

Equal parts supernatural drama and band-life breakdown, My Ex, the Antichrist is a fast, fiery listen that blends grief, heartbreak, and just a dash of demonic prophecy. The story follows a group of musicians navigating their messy pasts, found-family bonds, and the unsettling realization that their former frontman might be, quite literally, the end of days in eyeliner.

The audiobook shines with a full cast that breathes real emotion into every scene. The voice work is excellent across the board, and the small sound touches—a chair sliding, mic feedback, ambient space—add just the right level of immersion without ever feeling overdone.

I appreciated how well the novel captured the grit of live performance. From the road-weary dynamics between bandmates to the tension of being on stage, those details felt lived-in and true. The pacing lags a bit mid-book but rebounds with a compelling final act that brings the emotional and supernatural stakes together.

This isn’t a heavy horror read, but it is a stylish, character-driven story with a unique voice and some unexpectedly tender moments. Definitely recommended for audiobook fans who enjoy a little infernal chaos in their music-driven fiction.

If *Daisy Jones & The Six*, *We Sold Our Souls*, *Heart-Shaped Box*, and *Black Sheep* had a literary baby, it would sound a lot like *My Ex the Antichrist*. This audiobook is a fun, horror-lite ride through the world of band life, heartbreak, and the occasional brush with demonic forces.

The full cast performance really works here—each character feels distinct and alive, and there’s no distracting background noise or production hiccups to pull you out of the experience. It’s a polished listen that leans into the chaos and chemistry of its characters without taking itself too seriously.

The pacing does drag a little in the middle, but picks back up by the final act. As a musician, I appreciated how accurate the book is when it comes to the details of live performance—the gear, the tension, the lingo—it’s all surprisingly spot-on.

It’s not groundbreaking, but it is genuinely entertaining. If you’re into rock-and-roll drama with a splash of supernatural weirdness, this is worth a listen.

I loved this. I was a bit unsure about this book when I went into it as DiLouie can be a bit hit or miss for me and I am not a big music person. Lucky for me my concerns were for nothing because I really enjoyed this. I love the way it's written in an interview format as it makes everything feel more realistic. I will say this is something I've seen done quite a lot in the horror genre but this is definitely one of the best ones I've read. As a whole this is my favorite DiLouie by far. I will say this book works best as an audiobook especially with the full cast recording.

3.5 rounded up. This one kicks off with Daisy Jones & The Six vibes—rock band drama, passionate music, and intense characters—but quickly takes a twist you won’t see coming. As the title hints, this story dives deep into religion. Not just one, but many beliefs, disbeliefs, signs, and prophecies.

Lilly starts a band called The Shivers with Blake, a guy she’s totally obsessed with. Blake sees himself as something more. He lives his life through dreams, signs, and visions. Lilly follows right along, completely caught up in his world.

There’s a big focus in the first few chapters on how the band forms, how the members come together, and how hard they work to might become something huge. But things go sideways fast—like really fast. Their music starts to have strange, dark effects on the people who hear it. Creep fest!

The story flips between past and present, and also includes a few chapters written like history texts and background notes, which gives it a unique, documentary-style feel. It’s super original and sets a mysterious tone.

Honestly, this book was weird—but in a good way. I couldn’t look away. It’s the kind of story you need to read with an open mind and just go with it.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read and review this ARC.

I wish I could provide a full review, but unfortunately, the audiobook stopped working around the 48% mark. I tried everything—logging out, deleting and reinstalling the app—but this title was the only one on NetGalley that refused to play.

That said, I can speak to the first half of the book. I enjoyed the production quality—the full cast of narrators made the listening experience immersive and engaging. However, the story itself didn’t fully capture my attention, and I wasn’t too disappointed when the audio stopped working. I can see this being a hit for others, but it wasn’t the right fit for me.

Ok, I know we all think our exes are the anti-christ but what if he actually was and the fate of the world came down to a battle of the bands?

Be still my little pop-punk heart. This book is for all the kids who had multiple warped tour cds, wore incredibly uncomfortable plaid pants, and were extremely invested in the Avril Lavigne/Deryck Whibley romance.

My Ex, The Anti-Christ is very Daisy Jones in the late 90’s. It’s told through interview with all the bandmates and gets real crazy real fast. I had a blast with this. It’s a little goofy at times but I love that it didn’t take itself too seriously. It’s horror with camp.

This was a lot of fun, I read it in a day and thought the nostalgia was absolutely off the charts.

(also if you are an audiobook fan, this is a full cast and actually has some music in it!! super amazing production!!)

I realllllly wanted to love this one. I thought the audio for it was fantastic, and it was a full cast. The audio made the story feel incredibly immersive. The story itself was great. I had a fun time with the story and how outrageous and horrific it got. I didn't love the interview style writing. This is my second book by this author, and I felt the same with Episode Thirteen as well. It's definitely a me problem, because I don't love that style of writing, but the stories themselves are great!
I loved the subgenre, rock horror, storyline. Stories in this area just feel so soulful and wholesome because of the passion for the music. This one did not disappoint. The importance of the music was so prominent and beautiful.
I highly recommend listening to this one if you have the opportunity! Thank you Run For It Publishing for my physical ARC and Hachette for the ALC!

(4.0 Stars)

Thank you to #NetGalley for making this story available for reading and review.

This was a good story. The narration was really good, and the pace was excellent. There was great character development, and the plot was very interesting.

It was "told" in a style of interviews and what felt like journal entries. This author can write, and really keeps you engaged.

The weird thing about this author is that all his stories have some odd religious element that is crucial to the plot. It isn't overly preachy, but it is always a big part of the story, and this book is no different.

I reaaaally wanted to like this :/ the audio version had the fantastic idea of making this live action style with a full cast of voice actors and format styles (interviews and news articles and such), which should have worked so well but because the chapters were so short and the narrators where switching back and forth so fast the experience was extremely jarring and gave me whiplash trying to keep up with what was going on and timelines and characters and such :/

Too much too fast I could have benefited from longer chapters with more content so I could get my footing with the plot.

Thank you for the advanced arc copy,

Publishes : July 1st

Story of how one woman (Lily) gets involved with the antichrist (Drake) unknowingly. Told interview style and mainly focuses on the building and forming of a band. And how Drake (antichrist) helps shape and create what becomes of that band, their music and the effects it has on their fans.
Slow story like an informative documentary.
Lots of 90s music references which I enjoyed!
But over all not super enthralling.

Audio was fantastic! Full cast audio performance with a rotating character point of view. Done very well with great voices and clarity.

This was an awesome read, and I loved how Craig DeLouie talks about the antichrist through a rock band. Set in the format of an interview in the present with Lily Lawlor (aka Lily Lawless), Lily recounts how she and Drake Morgan started a punk rock band in the late 90s. The interview is told through multiple POVs about incidents that occurred while they were in band. I absolutely enjoyed this book because it was an interesting unfolding of how the antichrist comes into being. There is also a POV from a priest who describes the essence of what the being would be going through. I noticed themes of people who were trying to find themselves amidst what others felt they "should" be doing. It is also about music and how it can make you happy, and it can also make you miserable if you do not follow your heart. Lily and her band members go on a journey that helps them to realize, or not realize, the path that will make them happy.

I have been wanting to check out this author for a while. Author of Episode Thirteen and How to make a Horror Movie and Survive, My Ex, the Antichrist is told mostly in inteverview format. As an audiobook it worked very well and kept me interested and entertained the entire time. With a full cast everytime, you could call it duet style as everytime you get to that character part that narrator takes over. With singing, just a very minuscule amount in the beginning, and even the producers putting an effect in such as the sound of a mic being pushed away when someone saying “this interview is over”. I really thought the audio was very well done.
Now the story. Lily and Drake formed a punk band. They end up breaking up and Drake forms another and Lily is informed that her ex is the Antichrist. Now this is told in interview format like a documentary on what happened. This format just works for me. I loved all the other books that have been similar to this and I really enjoyed this one too. I really think the audio made it shine even more. Now I am going back to the other two books I mentioned in the beginning as I own them and read those as well!

Thank you to Hachette Audio for the complimentary listener copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own!

Thank you, NetGalley and Hachette Audio, for the advance audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

When I saw this was a book about a band, death, and the devil… I knew that I had to read it!! The book follows Lily, who is religious and a college dropout, and wants to start a band with her hot boyfriend. The only problem… the hot boyfriend is the anti-Christ. In 1998, Drake and Lily formed their band The Shivers, then in 1999, they had the battle of the bands, which caused a riot and ended up with three people killed. Now, in 2009, Lily and her band are starting to come out and let people know their side of the story, and what really happened with Drake.
I appreciate the uniqueness you saw from each of the characters in the book, and how you get to hear the book in an interview style. I felt that it really brought the whole book together, and it felt like it worked well. Being able to hear the book in interview style made it seem more real and like the book actually happened. It ends up leaving you with such an uneasy feeling in the best way. It leaves the reader feeling like this could happen to them, which also leaves an uneasy feeling.

I liked Craig DiLouie's take on religion and the devil in the book as well. The book gives satanic panic, like in the 70s with Manson. I'm not sure why, but I keep getting Manson vibes from Drake. The main theme is not religion, but DiLouie gives you his take, without lingering on it too long. While I'm not someone who is super into 80s music, this is still a book that any horror/thriller fan would love!

Overall, this was a really fun book, and I highly recommend it. 4/5 stars!

“If The Omen, Daisy Jones & The Six, and American Satan had an emotionally unstable, demon-summoning baby, this would be it.”

I listened to the and I have just one question:
Am I okay?
No.
Was it worth it?
Also yes.

This was so stupidly fun and unhinged in the best possible way. Imagine:

A full cast audiobook so good it felt like Satan himself directed a Netflix radio drama.

Characters who are deeply broken, a little hot, and somehow still trying to navigate heartbreak during the literal apocalypse.

A pace so fast you feel like you're running from a cult while clutching your ex’s mixtape.


📖 The book blends dark humor, emotional whiplash, religious trauma, and rockstar chaos into something that shouldn’t work… but somehow works gloriously. Every character POV felt like a new track on a cursed album. You laugh. You cry. You consider summoning something. Then cry again.
THE AUDIO??
Game. Changer. I usually get overwhelmed by full casts, but this was seamless, immersive, and weirdly comforting for a story about the Antichrist. Every voice nailed their character’s chaos and emotional wreckage. 10/10 would let this audiobook ruin my week again.

If you want a story that feels like a breakup text wrapped in barbed wire and set to a guitar solo in a burning church, My Ex, the Antichrist is calling. And honestly? You should probably answer.


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Recommended for fans of:

Offbeat apocalypse fiction

Dysfunctional exes with god-tier drama

Full-cast audio excellence

Stories that make you question everything and then dance about it in eyeliner

⚠️ Warning: May trigger unholy thoughts, emotional spirals, and the urge to scream “I could fix them” at literal demons.

I made it about 1/4 of the way through the audiobook and was unable to continue. The interview style of the narrators made this book too much like a documentary. When done correctly this can make for an immersive read, but this book came off disjointed and hard to follow. This made it hard to care about any of the characters or the plotline of the story. Maybe it would work better in print rather than audiobook.

I loved the interview style of the book and how immersive the audiobook was - it was certainly unique and unlike anything I've read before, a very unique mix of a music documentary/interview and horror