I found Dreadful by Caitlin Rozakis to be a fun, fast, humorous, and charming read. Though charming maybe isn’t quite the word. A fairytale farce novel with the villain-perspective going on and some fun mash-up twists, it still manages to be different from the other villain-y books in its tone and its particular twists. Perhaps it doesn’t flow well betimes; it has a unique voice, plenty of creativity, fairly well-drawn characters, tension in the plot that keeps you guessing, and, well, I might as well mention it here, some evilness and dastardliness that dovetails with the levity to make for some seriously dark humor. There will be death, torture, deception and even demons on the way to our hero’s?—villain’s?—lesson learned?—averted?

Dread Lord Gavrax wakes up one day in the middle of a dark magician’s workshop with his eyebrows missing and half the room on fire. Except he doesn’t know he’s Lord Gavrax because he doesn’t know who he is or what he’s doing in this seriously spooky place. And, honestly, he feels much more like a Gav than a Dread Lord Gavrax. So how did he get here in a castle of goblins and torches with cowering peasants below and a princess locked up above? Nevermind. It doesn’t matter how he got here nearly as much as how he’s going to pull off faking that he knows exactly what’s going on (in front of the servants, the prisoner, the townspeople, the scary magicians who keep ringing in on the magic mirror to check in on the big, devious plan they are working on…) before he gets himself, or everyone around him, killed. Because when you’ve built an evil magician’s life for yourself, you can’t trust anyone. And don’t you actually deserve that?

Ya’ll, this is the first book (and perhaps the only) that I have purchased out of the blue all 2024. I had inventoried my bookshelves over Christmas break and made yet another list of annual TBRs only to join like six book clubs in February and yank in the belt on my TBR even further. The only books I have purchased, therefore, have been for book clubs or other TBR things (like research or reading through the 2023 prize-winners). Every book was decided upon ahead of time. Every book was checked against inventory to make sure that I did not already own it. I carry my spreadsheet in the cloud and therefore in my phone with me to every small bookstore and mall-walk I go on. Therefore, I have bought no “extra” or impromptu books. Not one. Until this.

How did it happen? I was in a Barnes & Noble purchasing a book that was on my list. I can’t recall which one it was, now. It might have even been for a gift. I got to the cash register and was about to pay when I asked if the book I was buying was part of the BOGO half off deal, and the gentleman there gestured to a small stack of books strategically placed between him and I and said, “No, but I can get you half off this book.” I looked confusedly at it for a moment, because it had a BOGO sticker on it, but then I realized that if mine didn’t count, this one shouldn’t count as the half-off one. But Mr. B&N did a few smart things: one, his stack consisted of different titles, so I didn’t feel like he was just hoisting some almost-remainders on me; two, he chatted up the book to me like he had read it and enjoyed it. He appeared to have some reference for what sort of reader I might be. I was impressed. And, I mean, the book had skulls printed on the pages in black and white—you know, like where your thumb sits as you wait to open a book for the first time. Skulls and—could it be?—bulbs of garlic. I wanted to reward this cashier’s courage.

And as soon as I had the smallest amount of breathing space in my TBR, I decided it was the moment to pick up my one rogue title and relax a little. No expectations, for once.

As much as I did enjoy this easy and fantastical read, there is something halting and slowing about the writing style. I wasn’t sure I could say exactly what it was until I entered the quotes below: there are a whole lotta sentence fragments. So that is at least part of it. Also, the writing is repetitive at times and, for my taste, a little too much in Gav’s head. I know that’s where we’re supposed to be and how else could we discover with him who he is and what is going on, but the trend of super-intimate writing is grating on me. Sure, bring me in close to a character, but also tell me a story and take me to a place. Rozakis does this, I just felt a little claustrophobic with Gav.

It’s funny. But be warned: it is very dark humor at times. The story itself and the hook are interesting. The plot lines start weaving together until we have enough questions and tension to carry us through. The fairytale is nontraditional in many ways—not just in characters and plot but also in what we start wanting for people. What I mean is, this is not really a good side of villains thing, but more about change and about actions versus decisions or intentions. And how our past can shape us and how to break the patterns of that. There is some really yucky and horrible stuff in the name of dark humor and the realism of being a Dark Wizard, but everything is painted with a brush of levity. If you think too hard about it, this is adult stuff, but it ends up coming across as appropriate even for children. (Is it though? Probably not.)

Everyone in the reviews seems to talk about toxic masculinity in this book (okay, so it’s even in the book description), but I don’t think they fully understand what’s going on here. It’s really much more a good versus evil thing and a challenging-the-extremes-of-good-and-evil-which-we-normally-see-in-our-stories-and-fairy-tales thing. The main theme is the face that you put on around other people versus who you really are. Action is what counts. And there’s definitely some anger issues to deal with, which I don’t think we have to assume is primarily a male problem just because Gav is male. I was entertained while I thought about some of these things, at least lightly.

It was random that I picked up this book, but I enjoyed it far more than some of the books that have been thrust upon me this year. I liked it more than some similar books, like The Castle Corona, and did think the comparison to Nettle & Bone was apt. It’s a twisted fairy tale of sorts, though the characters are meant to be archetypes instead of specific characters. Rozakis turns the tropes on their heads but in a fresh way that doesn’t let evil off the hook. But we’re still laughing at it. With it. And if you’re not going to be put off by a couple encounters with demons (note: demons stay bad guys—like really bad guys) and some corny portrayal of the entrapments of an evil magician’s life, then you’ll probably enjoy this book. I certainly did. I could even read it again, for fun.

“’You’re not quite what I expected,’ she said at last. / ‘Is anyone?’” (p116).

“But we don’t choose what life we get, we just do our best to make the most of it” (p119).

“’It’s like my ring, isn’t it?’ she said. ‘If people don’t see what they expect to see…’ / ‘They’re disappointed, and then the won’t take you seriously’” (p151).

“’No, of course I care,’ she said. Still stoic. ‘But there’s no point in making a fuss’” (p166).

“’Evil isn’t math, right? It’s not like I can do some magic number of good deeds that will somehow balance out the bad things. I can’t unhurt the people I hurt, even if I tried to change the way I act now” (p189).

“Can’t please anyone. Will never prove to anyone you not evil. They never forgive. Maybe you not deserve then to forgive. Still want to do evil tomorrow? Just because they expect? Even if don’t want to do evil? They choose, not you?” (p190).

“’Who’s the real anyone? When does who you’re pretending to be stop being a pretense and turns into who you really are?’ She shrugged…” (p203).

“Actions mattered. The rest was just excuses” (p322).

“Then, there was nothing fair about birth” (p332).

“’Does it really matter,’ Eliasha asked. ‘What you want? For the rest of the world, all they have to go on is what they see’” (p339).