A young woman stuck in a time loop decides to become the Dark Lord instead of the hero, leading to a humorous and irreverent fantasy tale filled with pop culture references, witty humor, and a diverse cast of characters. The story explores themes of empowerment, self-discovery, and embracing one's true nature in a high fantasy setting with elements of time travel, humor, and adult themes.

Reader Review Summary

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This book is an absolute riot from start to finish. With a premise that turns the typical "chosen one" fantasy trope on its head, Wexler takes readers on a wildly entertaining and subversive adventure.

The story follows Davi, a woman stuck in a time loop who has lived through over a thousand failed attempts to defeat the Dark Lord and save the kingdom. After being killed in increasingly brutal ways each time, Davi decides that enough is enough - if she can't beat the Dark Lord, she's going to become the Dark Lord herself. What ensues is a delightfully crass, sarcastic, and hilarious quest as Davi assembles a ragtag crew of orcs, yetis, fox people and other fantasy creatures to join her "horde."

One of the biggest strengths is Davi's incredibly voice-y narration style, which is full of millennial snark, contemporary pop culture references, and delightfully foul language. As other reviews noted, her constant quips and asides can get a bit much at times, but I found it to be a big part of the book's charismatic charm. Davi is hilarious, irreverent, horny as hell, and deeply caring of her newfound minions all at the same time. She's a fantastic protagonist to follow.

The book is an absolute blast of a read, taking cliched fantasy elements and turning them on their head with modern humor and attitude. The action scenes are excellent, the world is filled with imaginative creatures, and the steady buildup of Davi's "horde" is so much fun to watch unfold. There's a surprising amount of heart amongst all the raunchiness too, as Davi grows increasingly protective of her diverse gang of followers.

With constant laughs, thrilling battles, a dash of romance, and crowd-pleasing snark, How to Become the Dark Lord is simply a rollicking good time. It revels in its own ridiculousness in the best way possible. Readers looking for a wholly unique breath of fresh air in the fantasy genre should absolutely give this dementedly hilarious book a read. While the constant pop culture references won't work for everyone, I found them to be right up my alley personally.

The only potential downside is the abrupt cliffhanger ending, which leaves a lot unresolved for the next book in the duology. But honestly, I was having such a blast reading this that I didn't even mind being left hanging. I'm already eagerly awaiting the sequel to continue Davi's marvelously bonkers quest to claim the title of Dark Lord.