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A review by carlysgrowingtbr
My Ex, the Antichrist by Craig DiLouie
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
A clever and twisty take on horror, romance and doomed relationships with a punk rock playlist.
Audiobook Stats:
⏰: 10 hours and 12 minutes
🎤: Lisa Flanagan, Jesse Valinsky, Alexander Cendese, Pete Simonelli
The full cast narration of this audiobook was one of the highlights of my listening experience. The format with which this was recorded narrated was super interesting and unique and kept me entertained. I really liked the musical additions as well as the interview style format.
Themes:
💫: Toxic relationships
💫: Never giving up
Representation:
🖊️: punk rock scene
🖊️: 1990's early 2000's nostalgia
Tropes:
💗: Teenage dirtbag
💗: Pop culture
🥵: Spice: 🚫
🧟♂️: Gore: 🚫
Potential Triggers: religion framed as sanctuary **check authors website/social media
Short Synopsis:
Lily Lawless has made some questionable decisions in her life, but the worst one of all was dating her ex Drake, who is also the antichrist. Following Lucy and her other bandmates interview style, we learned about the rise, fame and fall of The Shivers. A punk rock band in the late 1990s to early 2000s. A fall that had apocalyptic consequences that lead to Lily confessing to murder.
General Thoughts:
This is a book that is definitely outside of my wheelhouse. While I have read campy horror in the past, it is not something that I naturally gravitate towards. But this one was actually pretty fun and the full cast of narrators and introduction of punk music definitely helped.
There were definitely POVs that I cared about more than others. And there was definite distinction between points of high action and downtime. During the times where the action was more subdued, and the POV weren't as interesting. My mind tended to wander. Which definitely took me out of the story. But when the book was in times of high action, it was absolutely entertaining, and I could not stop paying attention. I just wish it hadn't been as stark of a difference between the two.
The interview style with which this was recorded was super unique for me, and I really enjoyed it. I really liked that type of style where I felt like I was almost listening to a documentary.
The real shining aspect for me was the characters. They all felt super unique and like they had their own agency. They all had their own thoughts, opinions and characters. None of them bled into each other and had their own roles within the story. Lucy Lawless was super interesting and I felt very relatable to her through a good portion of this novel. Everyone has dated somebody shitty, which is super relatable. Granted not all of them ended up being the antichrist. But I can feel that way at times lol
Overall, I would say that this was a super unique interesting premise that didn't completely work for me in all aspects, but was definitely more interesting than it wasn't. I would read something else by this author. I feel like if anything it is an entertaining quick read that breaks up denser books.
Disclaimer: I read this book as a free audiobook via NetGalley and Run For It. All opinions are my own. This is my honest and voluntary review.
Audiobook Stats:
⏰: 10 hours and 12 minutes
🎤: Lisa Flanagan, Jesse Valinsky, Alexander Cendese, Pete Simonelli
The full cast narration of this audiobook was one of the highlights of my listening experience. The format with which this was recorded narrated was super interesting and unique and kept me entertained. I really liked the musical additions as well as the interview style format.
Themes:
💫: Toxic relationships
💫: Never giving up
Representation:
🖊️: punk rock scene
🖊️: 1990's early 2000's nostalgia
Tropes:
💗: Teenage dirtbag
💗: Pop culture
🥵: Spice: 🚫
🧟♂️: Gore: 🚫
Potential Triggers: religion framed as sanctuary **check authors website/social media
Short Synopsis:
Lily Lawless has made some questionable decisions in her life, but the worst one of all was dating her ex Drake, who is also the antichrist. Following Lucy and her other bandmates interview style, we learned about the rise, fame and fall of The Shivers. A punk rock band in the late 1990s to early 2000s. A fall that had apocalyptic consequences that lead to Lily confessing to murder.
General Thoughts:
This is a book that is definitely outside of my wheelhouse. While I have read campy horror in the past, it is not something that I naturally gravitate towards. But this one was actually pretty fun and the full cast of narrators and introduction of punk music definitely helped.
There were definitely POVs that I cared about more than others. And there was definite distinction between points of high action and downtime. During the times where the action was more subdued, and the POV weren't as interesting. My mind tended to wander. Which definitely took me out of the story. But when the book was in times of high action, it was absolutely entertaining, and I could not stop paying attention. I just wish it hadn't been as stark of a difference between the two.
The interview style with which this was recorded was super unique for me, and I really enjoyed it. I really liked that type of style where I felt like I was almost listening to a documentary.
The real shining aspect for me was the characters. They all felt super unique and like they had their own agency. They all had their own thoughts, opinions and characters. None of them bled into each other and had their own roles within the story. Lucy Lawless was super interesting and I felt very relatable to her through a good portion of this novel. Everyone has dated somebody shitty, which is super relatable. Granted not all of them ended up being the antichrist. But I can feel that way at times lol
Overall, I would say that this was a super unique interesting premise that didn't completely work for me in all aspects, but was definitely more interesting than it wasn't. I would read something else by this author. I feel like if anything it is an entertaining quick read that breaks up denser books.
Disclaimer: I read this book as a free audiobook via NetGalley and Run For It. All opinions are my own. This is my honest and voluntary review.