By S.B West
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.
This is not a serious book and therefore it’s perfect for anyone who is looking for a bit of a break from their usual romance/ fantasy/ horror/ grimdark/ gothic book but don’t want to stray too far from the source material.
Sometimes world domination just gets away from you and before you know it, you’re married to a woman who just doesn’t understand you at all, an army that doesn’t seem to get that pillaging and looting villages is bad for the economy and, well, beheading just doesn’t provide the same entertainment value that it did in the past. So Morfran, dark lord, has divorced his wife, and left the castle to happily retire as a goat farmer and jam maker. Not everyone has gone along with his plans; mainly his ex-wife who has sent his own men to collect and return him, usually as soon as he settles in nicely.
Once again he’s forced to run again, and decided that the best solution is to keep running away from his problems. But on his way south he’s waylaid by a group of rebels who have banded together to take down the evil lord Morfran who has been the source of a lot of innocent death and destruction. They don’t know they have the real Morfran and he’s not going to tell them. He just wants to leave them to their rebellion and just keep going.
Except that they are pretty much a bunch of idiots. Lovable idiots, like the two lads Bill and Theodore. Or the pretty and lethal ex-assassin (when she is not tripping over her own feet) not so much that insufferable knight with the golden hair and chin that resembles a butt. it’s not envy at all that makes Morfran agree to help this rather large rebellion force to retake the kingdom from himself.
It’s silly and irreverent, with more than a few laugh out loud moments. I am a sucker when an author includes some pop cultural references. Underneath it all is a story about redemption and forgiveness, and that running away from your feelings never works. I think that this kind of comedic deconstruction of romantasy tropes works best when there is a decent romance under all the jokes, and that the reader has a reason to cheer the good (bad) guy and jeer the bad (good) guy. There is even the magic of a true love’s kiss which only works in stories like this.
There is romance but low spice, and it’s cozy because it’s funny but there is still a lot of battle and bloodshed.
