"Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Suicide Squad in this adult dark, rompy novel in which the most beloved villains from Buffy must team up to stop the Slayer from ending their evil universe!

Demondale, Callifornia, 1999...Like Sunnydale, but whole lot more evil.

Step into this alternate reality, where chaos reigns supreme. The Mayor's sun-shade has created permanent darkness over Sunnydale, fully opening the Hellmouth once and for all. Now the newly christened Demondale has become a safe haven for vampires, beasts, and all types of ruffians. It's never been better to be bad.

Aspiring supervillains (and super nerds) Jonathan and Andrew attempt to hold their own in a town full of monsters, while eleven-hundred-year-old vengeance demon Anya is just looking for something to give her life purpose again, spending her days working at an evil juice bar. But soon word gets out that there's a new Big Bad on the scene, one more powerful and more destructive than anyone who has come before. She, of course, is Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And she's hell-bent on rooting out all of this reality's evil by any means necessary.

Now Jonathan, Andrew, and Anya must recruit a team of Demondale's most notorious villains - including Angelus, Spike, Drusilla, and even Ripper the malevolent magic shop owner - in order to save their world. But it'll be no easy feat to put their pride and differences aside and stop the worst thing that has ever come to town: good.

Written by acclaimed author and Buffy super fan Lily Anderson, this novel brings together Buffy's most devious and beloved villains from the Trio to the Whirlwind to Anya, Glory, and Vampire Willow. This is one apocalypse Buffy fans are not going to want to miss!"

You say Trio, but do I see any mention of Warren in the blurb? Do I!?!

I enjoyed this take on BtVS. There were definitely some laugh out loud moments. The characters' dialogue sounded close to what you hear in the show. There were a few moments when the bantering between characters went longer than it needed to, but other than that it was fun to read

This is definitely a new take on the Buffyverse. Where in a different dimension, the mayor went through the Ascension, blocked out the sun, and renamed the town Demondale. When the Slayer bursts in to steal some magical artifacts during Warren's own Ascension he is accidentally killed. Everything is a bit backward and you are not sure who to root for, Buffy whose actual job it is to take down evil, or our little band of antiheroes who were just minding their own business when Buffy bursts in and shakes everything up?

I enjoyed all the cameos of all the Big Bads Buffy faced through the seasons of her show, especially the puppets from Angel. That was one of my all-time favorite episodes. The banter was spot on, and most of the characters were just like I remembered from the show. oh and I loved Ripper! He is a favorite no matter what world he's in.

I think this would have made an excellent episode or even a full story arc that would have been very entertaining to watch.

This book pulls off an amazing feat in balancing homage and creativity when writing IP. Anderson fills BIG BAD to the brim with references-- some obscure enough to surprise the most comprehensive of Buffy fans-- with bold new ideas that takes the franchise places it's never been. I was immediately drawn in by the premise of a Suicide Squad-like team up of all of Buffy's big bads, in which the Slayer is not protagonist but villain. This book is so exciting and deeply, deeply funny-- I would read so many more books set in this universe!

This Book. This book had me on my toes, seeing Buffy from the "bad guy" perspective was enchanting! Flip the heroes around and it becomes a whole new story. With a few key elements that stay true. Read it and see!

One of the better of the new books set in the Buffy-verse. it had just the right mix of sentimentality and being different enough to be enjoyed on its own.

A fun read for any Buffy fans. I did find some of the characters written weirdly, but it never took me out of the world. Overall, Big Bad was enjoyable.

Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC!

As a fan of the Buffyverse, I enjoyed Big Bad, even though it was very fan fiction-y. Anya and Jonathan are the POV heroes of this novel which takes place in an alternate Sunnydale ruled by the villains. The mayor is still alive, Glory has a temple by the sea, and a not evil enough Angelus owns the Bronze. If you've ever thought the villains were the best characters in Buffy, this may be the book for you.

I loved this twist on the Buffyverse. Everything is just slightly skewed from what you think it will be.

Couldn’t even get a quarter of the way through. The author is trying so hard to place references from the show into the story that she’s completely missing the point of the new story she’s trying to write. Not to mention this is obviously the work of someone only claiming to be an avid fan and yet half of the references are incorrect. As somewhat of a die hard Buffy The Vampire Slayer fan I am extremely disappointed.

okay i feel horrible writing this review.
It is a buffy retelling to give characters different lights and stories
but for me it felt overly cheesy and I would of enjoyed it more if the characters had different names.
I am still obsessed with Spike tho

Big Bad by Lilly Anderson is a novel that takes place in the world of Buffy, if everything was bad and monsters roamed the streets and the sun never came up. In this alternate reality, Sunnydale has been rechristened as Demondale. We are following our main characters as they try to stop the Big Bad from destroying their world. However, in this reality, the Big Bad is Buffy and the ragtag team we are following is a group of villains from the show.

As a long time Buffy super fan (I literally have a child named after a character), I am so picky about the Buffy books I pick up. This one seemed unique enough so I thought I would give it a try and I am so glad I did! This was just different enough to not feel like a copy and paste from the show but it felt similar enough that it was believable that it actually could have been an episode. In other Buffy books, it feels like the author tries to make the characters really different and it ruins it for me because these are characters I love. Even the ones I hate, I love because they just all mean so much to me.

I love the idea of following the bad guys as they are looking for Buffy. In particular, we are following two of the nerds, Jonathan and Andrew, Anya, Angelus, Spike, and Drusilla. I thought the banter between everyone was spot on. The only one who I didn’t really feel a lot from was Angelus and that is just because he felt a lot like Angel to me. I loved seeing so many characters that I grew up watching make cameos in this story. Some of them played bigger parts than others but every just reading some of the names was nice. I have such nostalgic memories of this show and this book really took me back.

That being said, if you are not a big Buffy fan, this is not the book for you. The author doesn’t waste time explaining a lot of character backstory. You get a little bit but it’s more meant as a refresher for fans than for someone new to the universe. I think it’s very clear that the author is a huge fan and I really appreciate that. So if you like Buffy and want to read something that feels like you are back in that world but also feels very fresh, check this book out.

Hilarious! True to the tv with how the characters would act, and LOVED the spin on all that is Buffy-verse.

Buffy-stans are in for a nostalgic, quippy delight! The author has mastered the voices of beloved/love-to-hate characters and it's such a trip to have a lot of favorite beasties and baddies all together.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this novel. I am rating this book based the stars due to lack of time to leave a full review.

Ebook/Fantasy: I am a huge fan of BtVS have read some of the tie-in books before. This one is pretty good. It is more of a Anya and two members of the Nerd Herd book as they are in an alternate reality and all are Buffy's nemesis/nemesis/nemesises. This book doesn't come out for a while, so here are my thoughts without giving anything away.
First, if you're not a fan, you may not understand a lot. The alternate time Happ around season 4, as the Mayor did open the Hellmouth. Because I am a fan, I did find continuity errors, but I really didn't care. Comet TV started airing Buffy repeats about three weeks ago, so this book really is coming out at a good time for me. I'm rewatching it and 20 years later, it's still a really well written show. This book really reminded me of things & characters to come.

I want to thank Netgalley for an ARC of this book in lieu of an honest review. This is a quick read that I did in just a few hours.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
WOW. I loved this so much! It was so nice to be back in the Buffy verse again and to read this different take on it. It was so interesting seeing the pairing of different couples and how different people are in Demondale. You can definitely tell this was written by a Buffy super fan because of all of the inside jokes! Really enjoyed reading this and I’m hoping there will be a sequel!

I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Ahhh, I was so excited to be gifted this book, and it didn't disappoint one bit, only a BTVS super fan could have wrote it. It's one of the BTVS book I read, it was original, it was snarky and funny, it was nostalgia, it made me want to re- watch Buffy.

Some of my favourite parts were:

-Ethan's appearance, so short and quick, haha
-Buffy stepping into Demondale High's Library and feeling all the emotions and then encountering snake Snyder
- learning more about Jonathan and Warren's backstory, with a guest appearance from Percy
- Doublemeat palace, indoor playground with demonic cage matches, and the chalkboard menu that lists losers as their next daily special
- Jonathan and Andrew selling Bronze's Kill the Slayer night to other demons
- Anya and Angelus, even got Buffy jealous.

Overall, such a fun and great story to read.

It's been a while since I finished a book so fast but as a long time Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan (thanks to my dad) I knew I was going to devour this! I chilled on the couch, put on some episodes of Buffy, and started reading - and did not want to stop. It is clear through the writing that the author is a huge fan of the series. The way she managed to capture the personalities of each of the characters was incredible. I laughed out loud during certain scenes (especially those that involved Anya!) and it was like an entire season of Buffy put into one book. Needless to say, I freaking loved it. I cannot wait for September to come out so I can put a physical copy on my shelf AND buy an extra one for my dad. If you're a Buffy fan, I can't recommend this book enough!

This was an amazing read. It took me a few moments to realize when it was set during the Buffy universe and then when it clicked I was really excited. I recommend watching Season 3's episode called The Wish before and then after reading this book to get a really good feel of what is happening. There was one character who I was dying to see show up and then she arrived at the very end and now I want a sequel to see what happens with her time in the middle of Demondale. So many great moments with characters we love and who we fell deeply in love with in the first place... I'm looking directly at Spike, Dru and vampire Willow here folks.