A witty romantasy that has readers swooning for the villain! Tiffany Hunt’s The Dark Lord’s Guide to Dating not only captures what it’s like to be a villain with dramatic entrances, long monologues and an extravagant wardrobe, but the ruthless compassion for justice. On many occasions, Kazimir (the Dark Lord) is presented with mercy and even seeks revenge for the mistreatment of Arabella from her father. The book follows the Dark Lord’s desire to harness the power of the Heirloom that will grant him the ability to wield ultimate power, claim territory and be unstoppable – so your average day as a supervillain in a fantasy realm. He’s a shadow wielder to top the lot and he is also very charismatic. I loved the moments of vulnerability where he begins to care for Arabella and how uncertain he is of these new emotions. The book begins with his successful kidnapping of Arabella for her Hero’s Blood, something that will help unlock the Heirloom’s power once they are married. This is very much an enemies to lovers situation with a twist. What I liked is how quick the book led into the action and friction between the two main characters. The alternative POVs were also well written with the added bonus of amusing chapter headings. I’m not usually a fan of first person narration, but this was easy to follow and read almost like it was in third person, which made this an easy and engaging read. The pace was good until 80% which dragged on and the lack of world building, or at least conveying the stakes of what is happening within this world and the magic system to the reader impacted the ending.
I was initially drawn in by the concept and the banter between Arabella and Kazimir is excellent. I adored that she was not this damsel in distress that needed saving, but a character who could defend herself and wasn’t scared of learning all aspects of her magic. The description of Skyspire was very well engaging and I could really visualise everything from the Lightning bridge, the east wing, battle room and even the very gruesome event of golf with eyeballs of his enemies on the parapet. What also drew me in was the loyalty of Kaz’s advisors from Vex, Thorne, Griffin and Sims and how they all bounced off once another. I did feel the story lacked proper world building at times such as conveying the magic system, Kaz’s own magic and the runes carved into his bones, and the different realm and social hierarchy within this world. The reader is told that the Dark Lord is formidable, ruthless, very powerful and this causes him to be feared amongst the other realms, but this isn’t really mapped out enough for readers to understand in what ways he achieves his reputation. I would have liked a scene where Kaz talks about his past and shows more vulnerability that offers a chance to humanise him. There are brief mentions of this, but this is soon bushed over with witty retorts to deflect the situation – which is very in keeping with his personality.
Also, the training scenes where we see Arabella harness her magic were entertaining from setting Kaz’s shirt on fire to name one, and I liked the moments the reader see how grow into her role as the Dark Lady. However, the repetition of these scenes did drag a little. The book itself felt maybe 100 pages too long with repetitive scenes such as training and inspecting the artefact. I think a tighter pacing or replacing some those scenes with more backstory would have been interesting. I didn’t realise this would part of a series and feel this could have been a really fun standalone. But nonetheless, I’m eager to read the next book and see where the story leads and I can’t wait for more witty banter between Kaz, Arabella and his advisors. This book is perfect for fans of The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy, and Assistant to the Villain.
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Amy is a writer and reviewer and her action-packed debut novel, CORNELIA FAIRFIELD AND THE DARKENED HEART is set to be published on 26 May 2026! Available in paperback here: WATERSTONES, AMAZON (ebook here), FOYLES,HATCHARDS. For more content read Amy’s book reviews, short stories and updates on Amy’s writing journey posts.
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