Thank you NetGalley and Titan Books for the ARC! Dreadful is a quirkly fantasy about a dark wizard who wakes up with no memories and isn't sure that he wants to be the person he's discovering. As Gavrax the Dark Wizard, he kidnapped a princess, set fire to a staff member and is part of a scheme to unleash horrors upon the land, but as Gav, he doesn't like the evil boss-like wizard, Zarconar or the dark scheme to destroy everything, he finds himself befriending his staff, and can't help but be drawn to the plucky princess who seems to have a knack for spells herself. Can Gav, Eliasha (the princess), and his staff of goblins stop Zarconar and save the world? A zany, magical tale about redefining oneself and starting over, Dreaful from Caitlin Rozakis is the perfect choice for those looking for something a little different and fun.

So I have never read much cozy fantasy, and this was my introduction to the genre (if this could be considered cozy fantasy, but that is what it felt like to me) but it was a fantastic intro. I really enjoyed all of the characters in Dreadful, and they were all really warm and fun. Gav vs. Gavrax was a very interesting character vs. self conflict to pair with the character vs. character of Gav/Gavrax vs. Zarconar. This was an absolutely fantastic book for any light/cozy fantasy lovers who want to read about dark wizards who aren't so sure they want to be dark anymore, and good wizards who aren't so good. If you like fantasy at all, pick up Dreadful, by Caitlin Rozakis. You won't regret it.

THANKS TO NETGALLEY AND PUBLISHER FOR THIS ADVANCE REVIEW COPY IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW.

I tried to read this book but the writing style wasn't a cup of my tea. After reading 30 pages, I gave myself a break and decided to give the book a second chance. Still, It didn't work for me. So DNFed it.

When Gav wakes up surrounded by fire in a dark wizard's lair, he is concerned. When Gav realizes that he is the dark wizard Gavrax and he's in the middle of an evil plot, he gets much more concerned. Now Gav's got to figure his way through this situation with a castle full of goblins, a princess in his dungeon, and no memories of who he is or what he was doing.

This was an incredibly fun read. Gav is a fantastic character grappling with what it means to be someone who was evil but is now trying to be something a little better. I loved all the characters as Gav slowly realized that no one was how he, or Gavrax, originally assumed.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have to say that I loved this one from the very beginning. Dread Lord Gavrax has woken up in a destroyed lab and absolutely no memories of who he is or in fact why he has a princess locked in his dungeon. As the story progresses, Gav spends his time trying catch up with what is going on. There is definitely an evil plan in the works but he has no idea what it is or what his part in it is supposed to be. More importantly, he is fairly sure he doesn't want to be a part of it anymore.

This story is funny and witty, but above all heartwarming. I loved Gav's relationship with the goblins and how the princess really pushes him to be accountable for his past actions. I was rooting for Gav and loved when he would make fun of the choices his past self made in clothing and decor. If you are looking for a feel good story with a sweet satisfying ending, I recommend Dreadful.

Thank you NetGalley and Titan Books for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

What a dreadfully fun book!
Gav woke up with no memory of who he was... in a Dark Wizard's castle and in dire straits... only to discover he was the Dark Lord who owned the castle, indeed he was the Dark Lord Gavrax, capturer of an innocent princess, ruler of a small village and commander of a castle full of goblins.
From there Gav just had to figure out how to remember how to be a Dark Lord, decide if he wanted to be a Dark Lord... and hopefully keep himself alive in the meantime because somewhere in all his forgotten memories was HOW he's gotten himself enmeshed in a disastrously dangerous plot with three other much more accomplished Dark Lords.

"Dreadful" was a lot of fun to read, and I look forward to seeing what Rozakis comes up with next.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy of this book to review.

I had a great time with this one. It was the perfect blend of The Princess Bride humor, with a Despicable Me main character, tied together with an amnesia plot.

It manages to be situationally funny while still posing interesting questions about how and if a person can change. The main character is an evil wizard with no memories, who is bumbling around trying to pretend that he remembers the evil plot he's part of. But with no memories of his past, he really doesn't even know who he is anymore, and begins to wonder if he could be Good, instead.

Given that the story takes place all in one location, I did feel it ended up being a bit long for the story it was telling. But I loved it, and loved the ending as well. It was fitting.

Thanks to Netgalley and Titan Books for the ARC!

This one is hard to decide a rating on. While I enjoyed the story, and I thought it was funny at times, it felt too long. I wasn't hooked enough to want to continue to read and often had to make myself pick the book back up and set down more interesting reads.
The premise is fun, a dark wizard who loses his memory, doesn't know why he has kidnapped a princess. Goblins. A Garlic festival. But it was all too wordy. So much of his internal monologuing on good vs evil, and what to do next. I found myself skimming large sections just to get to the dialogue because is inner thoughts added little value.
Over all though, it was a fun story.

Thanks to NetGalley for the Arc!

First off, if you enjoyed Assistant to the Villain (like I did. A lot.)I HIGHLY recommend you give this novel a read!! It was delightfully dreadful in all the best ways! The comedy was sharp and witty and had me giggling to myself pretty much the whole time, so comedy gets a 10/10. I cannot tell you how many annotations and scenes I highlighted just because they made me laugh. Now, this may be a con for some people, but there is no romance in this story whatsoever and honestly, for me, it wasn’t necessary at all and didn’t take away from the story in any way. Overall a pretty enjoyable read and one that’s definitely gonna make its way to my favorites shelf!

This book was fun, and I really enjoyed it. It offered a different experience than what I'm used too--definitely creepy vibes!! But in a really fun way?
I'll be posting my full review on Good Reads closer to release (May). But overall I really enjoyed this book and would recommend to friends who want something different than the usual fantasy.

4.25 stars
Cozy and wholesome.
A dark wizard awakens in a castle with no memory. He appears to have a princess held captive and a host of other nefarious characters all waiting to perform some kind of ritual if only he now had the heart to do such wicked deeds.
This book uses every trope you'd expect in a high fantasy tale and pokes fun at it while at the same time having a message that it's never too late to rebrand yourself and start over. A lot of fun if you like a bit of fun in your fantasy.

A dreadfully fun fantasy romp filled with kidnapped princesses, evil wizards and a garlic festival. A witty, funny adventure in the vein of T Kingfisher and Travis Baldree. A cracking debut.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

This was cute! I enjoyed the characters and the "found family" kind of aspects a lot. It fits really well into the cozy fantasy genre as a new addition, especially with the added layer of a former evil doer turning good.

A really fun read! I love the fantastical situation our protagonist finds himself in and I found myself laughing out loud at the hilarious characters and the witty dialogue between them. I don't think i've ever read anything quite like it, although it did give me a vibe of The Villains Apprentice, which I really enjoyed too!

I think its best to go into this one without reading too much about it because I had no idea what was in store for me! This is a real treat and fits well into the cosy fantasy genre. It had all the exciting parts of a fantasy novel with a lovely warm and gooey centre!

The pacing felt a little off to me and I thought the final scenes were a little rushed. That didn't take away from my overall enjoyment but I will have to take a star off for that.

Thanks so much to Netgalley and Titan Books for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Dreadful is a debut fantasy novel that reminds the reader of the goofy humour of Monty Python and Terry Pratchett. The story opens on Dread Lord Gavrax, except he has no idea who he is. Memories missing due to a summoning gone wrong, Gav bumbles his way through the remainder of the book trying to thwart a ritual he previously was all for.

There were good and bad parts of this book for me.

The GOOD:
- the cozy fantasy vibes
- the character development was well constructed
- the book felt familiar in a good way
- Dark Crystal/Terry Pratchett/Neil Gaiman/Monty Python vibes
- vivid imagery in the story

The BAD:
- kept losing interest
- the MC wasn't likable at all, I kept getting so annoyed with him right until the final pages (granted this could have been intentional)
- the story felt anticlimactic, it didn't really feel like anything was on the line

In line with guidance from the publisher, this review will not be posted anywhere other than NetGalley until May 2024. Thank you to the Titan Books and Caitlin Rozakis for a Galley of this title, in exchange for an honest review.

Dreadful was anything but! A fun, funny, romp of a tale, this book follows the newly christened Gav as he tries to come to terms with who he is, and who he was, following a sudden loss of memory. Cut lose from the ties of his life, with only the barest sense of who he had been and why, he must try not to foil his own nefarious plans, whilst also trying to make then considerably less nefarious.

Set in a fantasy world that 'hero' cannot introduce us to, Dreadful was a brilliant mix of character-development, questions on the human condition, and mad-cap fun. The characters were well-drawn, and expertly fleshed out. No one was quite what you expected, and their decisions felt genuine and true to character. Rozakis did a brilliant job of making Gav sympathetic, whilst also forcing him to face his own privilege and past head-on. I also enjoyed her commitment to representing the female experience. In fantasy it is easy to erase the parts of our world that we don't like, and whilst I enjoy escapism as much as the next fantasy reader, this was a refreshingly honest representation of the assumptions, and barriers to success, women live with day-to-day.

This book loses a star because some of the sentences were a little clunky, or unclear. This is definitely a pit-fall of a more casual, conversational writing style. It is hard to punctuate things for the most clarity without losing some of that. I enjoyed this book immensely, but it could have been a little more polished in places.

Overall, just a really wonderful time. If you were a fan of Hannah Nicole Maehrer's Assistant to the Villain, or any Medieval inspired fantasy-comedies, I think you will really enjoy this book.

What a fun book! The premise was delightful and the character development was outstanding. I especially liked the growing realization that characters often behave the way they’re expected to, and how much appearances dictate expectations. The point was made well, in a number of ways, and often creatively.

The main mechanic of the story (memory loss) managed to stay relevant. There were points where the credibility of that narrative move *could* have been stretched thin. Instead, there were other surprises and narrative moves that nodded to classic high fantasy tropes while turning them on their trope-y heads.

I had a lot of fun reading this story and I look forward to whatever the author does next.

With her debut novel, Rozakis shows an ability to create both a whimsical and atmospheric setting and craft charming characters. However, the writing itself goes from heavy-handed to eye-rolling, especially in the last third of the book. I could feel the author on the page, if you catch my meaning. I do believe the synopsis and blurbs accurately portray the story, so if this sounds interesting to you I imagine you'll enjoy this book.

Gav wakes up with no memory of who he is. This would be a genuine concern on any day but even more so when he has no idea why this room full of magical items is trashed, why the goblins cower from him and why there is a Princess locked in his dungeon?
With heroes breaking in to thwart plans he doesn't remember, Dark Wizards converging on his castle to conduct a ritual he doesn't know how to do (or what it does) and a town full of villagers whose lives might be in danger, Gav is in way over his head.
Is being evil always this hard?

With a tongue in cheek sense of humour, deliciously devilish creatures and fantastic plot this is definitely one I would recommend, especially if you are a fan of Travis Baldree or John Scalzi.

This is a low fantasy which takes place almost entirely within one location, but the world building is fun because we get to learn about everything along with Gav.
There isn't anything specific that we need to know in order to enjoy the story as the magic system is basic and rooted in what I would call a default magic system of spells and rituals. The plot is simple but done really well and has you rooting for Gav and enjoying the twists and turns.
What really shines through, though, are the characters. My favourites are, obviously, the goblin servants who I love and adore. I think I would sacrifice a small village for Grrribeetle and Throk.
The only thing that let it down a bit was the ending which I thought should go differently but that is just my own personal taste.
Other than that I thought it was brilliant and would highly recommend.

This was overall a solid read. Our main protagonist wakes up with absolutely no memory of who he is, but he has to immediately put out fires (literally) as he quickly surmises he's in an evil lair and he himself seems to be a dark wizard. The beginning is a little slow as he has no knowledge of what's going on, but the book picks up after about 50 pages or so. We (the reader and the protagonist) discover he is Gav, a middle-management-type dark wizard who's clearly suffered from a case of toxic masculinity and entitlement and who's allowed himself to be caught in the larger machinations of an even eviler dark wizard. Gav realizes he doesn't actually like the choices he previously made, and the princess Gav learns he's recently kidnapped helps prod him to consider what it means to be a good - well, at least a decent - person.

It was refreshing to see Gav go on his personal journey, and he was easy to root for as his character really does go through healthy growth (although certainly more simplistic than what would likely happen in this complex world we live in). I also enjoyed rooting for many of the side characters, especially the princess, Eliasha. I don't know if I ever felt really invested in the story, but it was overall a good book. It doesn't really count as a cozy fantasy as there are certainly big stakes (the overall plot entails trying to stop a demon that could cause a large amount of death and destruction) but it has the vibes for sure.