Starting this book I wasn't how I would feel about it. Medea is an immortal magi that refuses to take on apprentices because they are always trying to kill her. Nikolai is a psychopath that doesn't understand human emotions and only wants to learn dark magic. This book doesn't have a huge climax that needs to be resolved but we do get to watch two people try to understand each other. We slowly watch as each of them starts to understand each other. The book follows the year of Medea trying to get through to Nikolai while Nikolai is trying to find ways to kill Medea. I thoroughly enjoyed this book because it was a breath of fresh air from some of the other books I have read recently.

I enjoyed this book. I liked the concept and the character development is great. all the misunderstandings because of lack of communication was frustrating but it also fits the characters since one is a psychopath and one is autistic. The characters were very well made and I liked how they developed throughout the story. I look forward to continuing this series and see what will happen in the next book.

My thanks to NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review, along with my apologies for such a long delay in submitting said review.

Dark Apprentice is a story about Medea, the strongest witch in the world, whose apprentices always try to kill her, and Nikolai, a fresh out of school wizard determined to become her apprentice (and then kill her). Set just after World War II in a world where magic gets weaker with each generation, Medea has outlived all her peers, and is desperate for company that would appreciate the magical knowledge she could share with them. But alas, no one will listen to her. To Medea, people make no sense. Nikolai wants to be the most powerful wizard in the world and will let nothing stand in the way of achieving his goal. But he must first convince Medea to stop trying to teach him boring spells and get on with the fun dark magic spells.

In terms of overall plot, this book is not terribly original: mysterious dark wizard (or witch in this case) lives apart from the world and a desperate young man brimming with more potential than everyone else opts to join them in their secret library/school. What makes Dark Apprentice unique is that both main characters are neurodivergent: Medea is autistic, and Nikolai is a psychopath. I appreciate both that Val Neil took the time to write an author's note at the end spelling that out, since such terms didn't exist in the time period the book takes place and therefore couldn't be mentioned directly in the story, and that Val Neil is also on the spectrum and is therefore able to represent well.

What makes this book unique is also a bit of what is a big detractor: both characters think so outside norm they've come to expect from other people, and are not good at understanding how people work, that 95% of the book is just two people who could avoid all their drama if they would just TALK about what they're thinking and the other party wouldn't instantly accuse them of lying. Because the story is told from both Medea's and Nikolai's points of view, the reader knows exactly what's going on and it's just infuriating. Other than the mind games both parties are paranoid the other is playing, not much really happens throughout the book. It just drags.

I appreciated reading this book for the validation of seeing neurodivergent characters, but beyond positive representation, it wouldn't be high on my list of recommendations, nor do I see it becoming a pillar of the genre.

5 stars and eagerly awaiting book 2!

Nikolai has massive dreams; he wants to rule the world with dark magic. His only opposition is finding the right mentor...one well versed in dark magic....and one he can (eventually) overthrow. Madea, an immortal sorceress, crosses paths with Nikolai and agrees to teach him. The catch? She has had too many apprentices attempt to kill her, so she limits his learning, much to Nikolai's frustration. Will Nikolai pick up on important lessons that Madea is trying to teach him? Or will he grow tired of her lessons and attempt to take her down?

I am absolutely angry with myself that I waited this long to read this book. It was so good....like, scary good. It kept me up at night, I drown everything out at work to listen to the audiobook when I couldn't be physically reading it, and now I'm left salivating for more. Madea is a rare gem, and gods bless her for it. I want to delve more into her mind in book 2, to see how she came to the magical conclusions she did when it comes to teaching. Nikolai has alot to learn in book 2, but I look forward to his blunders and success's. The pacing of this book was extraordinary, minor characters were placed perfectly, and the narrators of the audiobook were the best I've heard all year.

I adored this one and can't wait for more, 5 stars. As this is geared more towards adults I would recommend the reading age to be 16+ as there is gore and sex throughout the story. If you're looking for a fresh magic system, one bad ass sorceress, and a power hungry world look no further. You will not be disappointed....until you realize book 2 hasn't been published yet.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was an interesting read! The reader spends most of the time wondering if the main character is a psychopathy, and if that is true, what exactly does that mean. A fascinating investigation into character development.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!
Enjoy this book! It's grim and dark fantasy so please beware! All the characters (for me) are pretty likable. got hooked up and can't wait for the next book

This character-driven dark fantasy was great! This guy really is a psychopath. I would love to read more from this author in the future.

Unfortunately this one isn't for me. Nikolai reminds me too much of people who dripped cringe from my past to enjoy the plot. I understand the extreme asshole character as a concept, but whooph it just didn't land for me. Concept and almost everyone else were enjoyable to read about though.

Nikolai is a psychopath. He has a drive to be the most powerful dark magic user and is willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen. Madea is hands down the best character. Being immortal and having a deep love for knowledge and magic she is also very tired and has a very direct was of approaching people because she is autistic. Watching these two interact is funny because Madea values honesty and Nikolai miniplates everyone he comes into contact with and assumes they have ulterior motives so Madea will do or say something genuine and he thinks it sabotage. The magic system was interesting and I look forward to finding out why the decline is happening.

It took me a long time to get through this book. The concept was great - there was the super powerful Medea and the insanely arrogant Nikolai. Nikolai has no concept of empathy and classifies things as 'useful' or 'useless', and he schemes to get the immortal witch Medea to take him on as an apprentice.

As I said, the concept of this book was great. However, I was never drawn into this book - I never became invested in the characters. My drive to finish this book sort of fizzled out and I had to push myself to keep going.

This book right here is one of the reasons why I adore fantasy. I'm not going to lie and say at times I didn't want to strangle the characters.... because I did.. but also I almost loved them even more as I was along the journey with them to see their character development and appreciate it. I will absolutely be continuing on in this series. I found that it truly hooked me from the beginning, I found the plot to be unique and engaging, and the writing overall to just be a brilliant enjoyable read. I also found the writing to be really witty and I just honestly found myself enjoying the journey which I appreciate a lot. I cannot thank you enough for allowing me the chance to read this and I cannot wait for more in the series.

I truly enjoyed this book! The pacing was a little weird in points, but that isn’t so much a negative thing. The characters were solid and exciting, which lead to being hooked early on. I’m super excited to see where this series goes from here. It’s a 3.5 star read from me (rounded up to 4, of course).

Thanks so much to NetGalley, Living Relic Press, and the author for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I truly hate to do this, but I am shelving this one as DNF at 68%. Even after setting it aside for a few weeks, I still don't feel the urge to dive back into the story. What drives me crazy about this is I absolutely love the characters, especially Madea. But what I found completely lacking in this story is a plot.

The time it took Nikolai to convince Madea was long and dragged out. Their training process, while intriguing at first, soon felt long and dragged out. I felt like I was constantly waiting for something to happen. Like where is this story even going? What I thought was going to be a major plot point is only mentioned briefly and only as what seems like an afterthought. So I am just left feeling a little confused. I do think the author does an amazing job at brings characters to life, especially with an attention to detail when it comes to their mental state. However, I am not a fan of novels that rely heavily on character study , so perhaps that is why I struggled so much with this one.

A huge thank you to Netgalley and Living Relic press for a gifted advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Tl;dr - I loved this and you should read it. Kthanksbye.

Oh, you need more? Okay.

"Dark Apprentice" was a delightful surprise. The description sounded super interesting so I requested the ARC and it was so much better than I was expecting. This novel follows two MCs: Medea, an immortal and insanely powerful Magi whose apprentices keep trying to kill her, and Nikolai, an apprentice who seeks out Medea to teach him "dark magic." That's basically the whole plot since this very much falls into the category of character-driven fantasy.

One of the really interesting things about this text is that our two POV characters are neuro-divergent. Medea is autistic and Nikolai is a psychopath. Neither of these words are used in the text itself but it's pretty obvious and the author confirms it in a Note at the end of the book. Now, it would've been very easy for the author to make this book gimmicky but I really felt like Neil did a great job fleshing out these characters so their mental state was just another part of who they were and not their whole character.

My only real complaint about this novel is that the pacing from about 50-75% felt slow. The first half and final quarter I just couldn't put the book down, but that one section did drag for me.

I'm hoping that this is the first book in a series because there was a subplot that was left open-ended and I want more from the characters. That said, even if this is meant to be a standalone, I'm definitely satisfied with where the story ended.

While I personally would like to punch Nikolai in the face, I can see the appeal. I enjoyed how twisted and villainous he was, and how he made it his job to be a monster. It also felt like Nikoli was either at a 0 or 100 percent, nothing in the middle. Nothing or everything. It's a fun character to read about. I liked the combination of a slightly irritating hero and a trainer who didn't give a shit about his wellbeing. A master-apprentice trope flipped on its head in terms of gender. I LOVE SEEING WOMEN IN POSITION OF POWER. MORALLY GREY HEROES ARE FUN. I'm a horndog, so I would have liked some romance scenes, but this isn't the story for that. All in all, enjoyed this fantasy read and now I want to read the future second book in the series.

This book was fun. Our main character is a psychopath with a need to learn dark magic. He seeks an apprentice ship with Medea, a cranky lady with a record for murdering all of her students. Do I necessarily love or even like Nikolai? No, not really. But I do enjoy reading from his perspective and seeing a lack of empathy or knowledge of any feeling that isn't anger. I enjoyed Medea. The writing was fun and lovely in certain places. I truly can't wait to read more from this series and am so grateful to have had it gifted to me.

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is absolutely my favorite book I have read in a long time. The characters have SO MUCH depth and development and the plot drags you in and keeps you there the entire way through.

Medea is amazing. I love how snarky she is and how different her view is on things because of her immortality and her past. She IS power and Im here for it. Nikolai is dark and interesting and power hungry. I dont like the way he thinks about things like. .99% of the time but I love watching him interact with Medea. He is an absolute untrusting idiot. I get that Medea also has trust issues but at least hers are mostly based on actual facts. He just always seems paranoid. Also, he is SOOOO power hungry its insane. Still, seeing things from his point of view is so interesting! Its interesting that one of the two main characters. .is both a protagonist and an antagonist pretty much the entire book. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot and holding yourself back.

This book has magic, humor, a darkness and absolutely fantastic scenes between the characters. I love the ending and where it seems to be going. I cant wait to get my hands on the next book in the series to see what happens!

I found this one interesting. The main character was just so dislikable, although this was very obviously the intention, as well as being stubborn and obtuse. It made it a frustrating read at some stages, however as this was the authors intention rather than bad character development it made it easier to process.

I will look forward to future books in this series to see if and how the character develops and becomes more likable. In the meantime I think this will likely be something that I can recommend to our customers.

"Dark Apprentice" is a fun, quick read with interesting characters and an intriguing world. It does remind one a little of a more grown up Harry Potter, insofar that it takes place in our world with mages and "Mundanes" living right next to each other. The magic system consist of different schools of magic, of spells and spirits and skill that has to be honed over a long time. It was fun to read about, even though it did sometimes make me think of video game magic. Casting spells and using magic relies on the mana pool of the mage and magic cannot be performed if that mana pool is empty.

Both main characters, Medea and Nikolai, are interesting and complex. I personally much preferred Medea and wanted more chapters from her pov, but Nikolai is an entertaining protagonist too. I found it interesting that he's written as a psychopath, and while I can't say how realistic the portrayal is, it's definitely a kind of character I haven't seen as a protagonist so far (at least as far as I remember).

I did have some issues with the book, though. For one, there is really just... not much of a plot. I was waiting for something more to happen, for some big reveals or twists or anything, but there's just nothing. It's a novel about a guy who becomes the apprentice of the most powerful mage in the known world, and because he is who he is he constantly thinks she's out to get him. That is it, until the very end. I guess the overarching plotline might be the disappearance of magic in the world, but that's just noted by Medea a few times. I'm just not sure where this series is supposed to go, plotwise. The whole book seems to be more or less setting up the sequels, but I just can't really tell you what it's setting up exactly.

While Nikolai is an interesting character and definitely not supposed to be likeable, I just never really connected with him. He thinks himself extremely cunning and clever, but really, most of his decisions are very very stupid. And while he does realize that he has been acting and thinking in a destructive way by the end of the book, it doesn't really feel like character development, maybe because he doesn't figure it out himself (though he has ample opportunity to do so) but has to be told by another character. Most of the time, he is honestly just frustrating, though there is definitely potential to develop him into a more well-rounded character in the sequels. I had similar issues with Medea really, although I do like her a lot. She has all this knowledge and wisdom yet sometimes makes decisions that don't really make sense for someone like her. Both characters don't offer much emotional depth which makes them, in the end, a little forgettable.

There is also a lot of tell-don't-show in this novel. There are entire pages full of dialogue with nothing inbetween, just one statement after the other and the other and the other. It read a little... fanfictiony at times. Still, other than that the writing flows very nicely and is fun and entertaining at all times.

"Dark Apprentice" is an entertaining read with a lot of potential. but the lack of an actual overarching plot beyond Nikolai just being wrong about everything and the characters that felt shallow and inconcistent at times will probably keep me from picking up the sequels.

This was a fun read and I loved the characters. The world building in this book was amazing and I can't wait to read more.