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Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'
How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying by Django Wexler
8 reviews
amyrthaios's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Do I think it's a good book? No... Would I recommend it to someone? No.
Did I have a good time reading it? Yes...
Did I have a good time reading it? Yes...
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual content, Sexual assault, and Torture
theaceofpages's review against another edition
I tried so hard with this one... I really did. The premise sounded great - someone stuck in a time loop gets tired of it and decides to flip the script and go their own way. And I often enjoy funny fantasy (Terry Pratchett is one of my favourite authors - no, I didn't mind the footnotes other reviews complain about but I have yet to find someone who can do them as well as Pratchett). But the way these were put together just didn't work for me, although I know it will for others.
My main problem was the main character. It was told from a first person perspective and I just couldn't stand her. She feels like a combination of an edgy teen and the stereotype of a horny cartoon character. And... yeah. That's not really my style. Apparently maturity doesn't come with spending a thousand years (give or take a few hundred) in a time loop. Take out the more graphic sex jokes and maybe tone down some of the violence and you have a lovely YA book. Maybe even MG if you tone it down enough. The actual writing style (minus the more adult contents/edginess) makes me think of something like Fergus Crane by Paul Stewart (which I loved as a kid!). I think the humour working for you is a massive, massive., massive part of if this book will work for you or not. I could see where the jokes were meant to be, but they weren't funny to me. Granted, there were one or two that made me smile, but overall they were more annoying than funny or enjoyable. I also found the constant references to Earth jarring. Especially as she supposedly doesn't remember much of her time there anymore?
I'd strongly suggest reading a sample if possible before going in so you can see if the writing style works for you. If it does, I think you'll have a great time. If it doesn't... Well it doesn't get any better. I think I would have loved this had it been written differently. But to each their own and I hope others have the fun time the author was aiming for!
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. As always, all opinions are my own.
My main problem was the main character. It was told from a first person perspective and I just couldn't stand her. She feels like a combination of an edgy teen and the stereotype of a horny cartoon character. And... yeah. That's not really my style. Apparently maturity doesn't come with spending a thousand years (give or take a few hundred) in a time loop. Take out the more graphic sex jokes and maybe tone down some of the violence and you have a lovely YA book. Maybe even MG if you tone it down enough. The actual writing style (minus the more adult contents/edginess) makes me think of something like Fergus Crane by Paul Stewart (which I loved as a kid!). I think the humour working for you is a massive, massive., massive part of if this book will work for you or not. I could see where the jokes were meant to be, but they weren't funny to me. Granted, there were one or two that made me smile, but overall they were more annoying than funny or enjoyable. I also found the constant references to Earth jarring. Especially as she supposedly doesn't remember much of her time there anymore?
I'd strongly suggest reading a sample if possible before going in so you can see if the writing style works for you. If it does, I think you'll have a great time. If it doesn't... Well it doesn't get any better. I think I would have loved this had it been written differently. But to each their own and I hope others have the fun time the author was aiming for!
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. As always, all opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing
Moderate: Gore, Animal death, Death, Sexual content, and Violence
Minor: Suicide, Blood, and Self harm
kayceeisbookish's review
adventurous
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Violence, Vomit, Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Cursing, Death, Self harm, Sexual content, Alcohol, and Confinement
phantasmaboo's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Having read another trilogy from this author, I think that this one is a big miss for them. I struggled to think of what bothered me so much about this book, and it came down to balance, depth, and pacing. The book is supposed to be lighthearted and funny, but I found that the main character Davi was always "on", as it were. There were hardly any moments where we saw the growth or development of her character, and certainly no more than a surface representation of her. She was shallow and indifferent most of the book, having been defined primarily through her "training montages" and willingness to have sex. The moments that she had true growth that happened in the final third were outweighed by the middle third of the book where seemingly nothing happens rather than she grows her "minion horde". These moments pass by so quickly that you could almost miss them, and yet they were the areas that had the most potential. I felt like the book would have been loads better if there was room to breathe and more balance between comedy and world and character building.
Depth was also a problem. There were too many characters developed far too shallowly that I couldn't even really remember them all. There were even aspects of Davi's character that I forgot until the last third of the book, let alone any of the others. For example, I completely forgot that David -- true to the name of this book -- is stuck in a time loop. This is a key aspect to her character that doesn't get explored enough and almost feels like a way for the author to get away with torturing this female character over and over again in the name of "character development". Other than being mentioned in the first third and final third, the remainder of the book is absent any consideration of this detail.
The world building was also poor. By the end, all I understood was that some special rocks were eaten to give power. That's about it.
I know that this is the first book in a series, but I probably won't be checking out the rest.
Depth was also a problem. There were too many characters developed far too shallowly that I couldn't even really remember them all. There were even aspects of Davi's character that I forgot until the last third of the book, let alone any of the others. For example, I completely forgot that David -- true to the name of this book -- is stuck in a time loop. This is a key aspect to her character that doesn't get explored enough and almost feels like a way for the author to get away with torturing this female character over and over again in the name of "character development". Other than being mentioned in the first third and final third, the remainder of the book is absent any consideration of this detail.
The world building was also poor. By the end, all I understood was that some special rocks were eaten to give power. That's about it.
I know that this is the first book in a series, but I probably won't be checking out the rest.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Violence
devynreadsnovels's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Kidnapping, Gore, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Animal death, Body horror, Toxic relationship, Blood, Cursing, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Murder, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, and War
Minor: Sexism
heather1023's review against another edition
This book has such a promising premise, but I had to DNF at 30% because I just could not do another 200 pages of Davi's irritating POV.
Several issues here:
I'm not opposed to cursing and strong language, but *literally* every single page had at least one "fuck" and the random page I decided to share with my husband when I ranted about how frustrating this writing choice was had SEVEN, plus a few other curse words. It was just gratuitous and didn't enhance the story in any way.
I'm also often on board with an irreverent, snarky FMC who knows how to wield a weapon, but I just never managed to find Davi likable. I frankly couldn't bring myself to care about whether she succeeded or failed at her goal, which is probably the cardinal sin of this book for me. If you're going to have a lot of gore and trauma in your book, at least make it meaningful and make your MC someone I can connect with and care about.
The other thing that I truly could not get past was that Davi supposedly can't remember where she is from, to the point of saying that *maybe* she's American? Yet she constantly makes very specific pop-culture references and even references Reddit at one point... So what, exactly, is the issue with her memory? She can recall random details about her home world but not anything about her life? Maybe this gets resolved or answered later on, but again, I can't bring myself to care.
Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit Books for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Several issues here:
I'm not opposed to cursing and strong language, but *literally* every single page had at least one "fuck" and the random page I decided to share with my husband when I ranted about how frustrating this writing choice was had SEVEN, plus a few other curse words. It was just gratuitous and didn't enhance the story in any way.
I'm also often on board with an irreverent, snarky FMC who knows how to wield a weapon, but I just never managed to find Davi likable. I frankly couldn't bring myself to care about whether she succeeded or failed at her goal, which is probably the cardinal sin of this book for me. If you're going to have a lot of gore and trauma in your book, at least make it meaningful and make your MC someone I can connect with and care about.
The other thing that I truly could not get past was that Davi supposedly can't remember where she is from, to the point of saying that *maybe* she's American? Yet she constantly makes very specific pop-culture references and even references Reddit at one point... So what, exactly, is the issue with her memory? She can recall random details about her home world but not anything about her life? Maybe this gets resolved or answered later on, but again, I can't bring myself to care.
Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit Books for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Blood, Suicide, Torture, and Rape
ee1000's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
An irreverent mashup of Live, Die, Repeat (Edge of Tomorrow if you saw the movie) and D&D, HTBDL&DT is a hilarious start to Dark Lord Davi’s journey. If you read Legends and Lattes and thought, I love this idea, just make it a lot more inappropriate and up the stakes a bit, you’d get this book. Or if you read Assistant to the Villain and thought, I like this, but let’s add a hoard, expand the world, and our main character isn’t afraid to swear, bam, you get this book!
I really enjoyed this book! Davi is such a fun character and I loved the take on how she handled dying over and over. Her abilities and what she learned give her an edge but don’t make her overpowered which I really appreciate! And her whole character arc is amazing. Without spoiling the end, I really appreciate where she lands with her outlook on life after the book ends.
Tsav, Amitsugu, Droff, Mari and Jeffrey were standouts as far as the supporting cast goes. Tsav for sure earns her place as best Orc.
I love the lore building in this first entry. There’s so much I want to know! Why is Davi special? How will she change her fate now that she’s taken a different path? There’s enough left unanswered that I’m dying for a sequel… which is unfortunate since this book isn’t even out yet!
I’ve already told a few of my friends to pick this up when it releases officially, and I’ll watch eagerly for the sequel!
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and author for an ARC in exchange for a review.
I really enjoyed this book! Davi is such a fun character and I loved the take on how she handled dying over and over. Her abilities and what she learned give her an edge but don’t make her overpowered which I really appreciate! And her whole character arc is amazing. Without spoiling the end, I really appreciate where she lands with her outlook on life after the book ends.
Tsav, Amitsugu, Droff, Mari and Jeffrey were standouts as far as the supporting cast goes. Tsav for sure earns her place as best Orc.
I love the lore building in this first entry. There’s so much I want to know! Why is Davi special? How will she change her fate now that she’s taken a different path? There’s enough left unanswered that I’m dying for a sequel… which is unfortunate since this book isn’t even out yet!
I’ve already told a few of my friends to pick this up when it releases officially, and I’ll watch eagerly for the sequel!
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and author for an ARC in exchange for a review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Sexual assault
lastblossom's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
tl;dr
Snappy and fast-paced meta-commentary, with a surprising amount of heart. There's also a heavy dose of Adult stuff.
Thoughts
"Irreverent" might be the word here. At least, it certainly starts that way. The blurb says Groundhog Day, but the whole time I read it I kept thinking Re:Zero (an assumption that is confirmed by the author's notes in the back). For those of you not into anime, think Live Die Repeat with Tom Cruise. The hero Davi dies violently and often, until the only thing she has left is cynicism and anger. Her foray into becoming the Dark Lord starts as a lark born from frustration and a desire for novelty, but it quickly turns into more as she gets closer to her goals, and further from her old lives. Most reviews will probably say this book is very funny, very crude, or both. (It's both.) But for something as snappy and flippant as this, it also has a surprising amount of heart, with Davi's hurt melting into care the further she gets on her journey. Is becoming the Dark Lord also a journey of healing? The characters she gathers for her horde are a motley crew with their own interests, and it's incredibly easy to care about them as well. The cliffhanger ending is telegraphed well, but still comes as a real punch to the gut, and I'm very curious to see what happens next. Content-wise, there's a good deal of swearing, front-loaded at the start of the book, but present throughout. People die, often horribly. Sex is had with great enthusiasm, although the descriptions tend to be brief. There's also a load of meta commentary including tons of pop culture references and D&D talk, which will probably resonate with genre-savvy readers.
Thanks to NetGalley and Orbit Books for an advance copy. All thoughts in this review are my own!
Snappy and fast-paced meta-commentary, with a surprising amount of heart. There's also a heavy dose of Adult stuff.
Thoughts
"Irreverent" might be the word here. At least, it certainly starts that way. The blurb says Groundhog Day, but the whole time I read it I kept thinking Re:Zero (an assumption that is confirmed by the author's notes in the back). For those of you not into anime, think Live Die Repeat with Tom Cruise. The hero Davi dies violently and often, until the only thing she has left is cynicism and anger. Her foray into becoming the Dark Lord starts as a lark born from frustration and a desire for novelty, but it quickly turns into more as she gets closer to her goals, and further from her old lives. Most reviews will probably say this book is very funny, very crude, or both. (It's both.) But for something as snappy and flippant as this, it also has a surprising amount of heart, with Davi's hurt melting into care the further she gets on her journey. Is becoming the Dark Lord also a journey of healing? The characters she gathers for her horde are a motley crew with their own interests, and it's incredibly easy to care about them as well. The cliffhanger ending is telegraphed well, but still comes as a real punch to the gut, and I'm very curious to see what happens next. Content-wise, there's a good deal of swearing, front-loaded at the start of the book, but present throughout. People die, often horribly. Sex is had with great enthusiasm, although the descriptions tend to be brief. There's also a load of meta commentary including tons of pop culture references and D&D talk, which will probably resonate with genre-savvy readers.
Thanks to NetGalley and Orbit Books for an advance copy. All thoughts in this review are my own!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Torture, Cursing, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: War, Sexual content, Suicide, and Murder
Minor: Sexual assault and Confinement
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