A laugh-out-loud cozy fantasy, Dreadful has a charming (if not idiotic) wizard with amnesia and a princess who puts him to shame.

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Dreadful is yet another cozy fantasy, layered to the brim with heart and humor, as it follows Gav trying to navigate who he is versus who he wants to be.

Storytelling

I absolutely adored this book. From the beginning, we are ensconced in humor and wit as Gav wakes up with absolutely no memory of who he was, only to discover that he is the castle’s dark lord.

And he has no idea how to be one anymore.

I love Gav’s journey into discovering who he is and who he wants to be. He wants to be the hero, or at the very least, a better person, but he has no idea how.

He has a princess locked in his dungeon and no memory of how to help her other than to take her on as an apprentice to help him out of his mess.

He’s got other dark wizards breathing down his neck, goblins who really aren’t so bad fumbling at his feet, and a town he’s responsible for with a garlic festival to oversee.

It’s hilarious how clueless he is at everything, but the heartwarming part of his journey.

Gav terribly wants to get the girl and be the hero, but more importantly, he just wants to be better for himself. He’s on this journey of self-discovery for himself because when he thinks about who he is, he wants nothing to do with that person.

I love this journey of making oneself happy above all else. And, no, he doesn’t get the girl, but he gets a friend, many friends, in the process.

The dry wit that drives the narrative makes the eyebrow raises, eye rolls, and general scoffing of the characters more relatable, visual, and captivating.

Final Thoughts

Dreadful is dreadfully hilarious. It will make you smirk, facepalm, and laugh from beginning to end.