Throne in the Dark

Villains and Virtues, Book 1

De: A. K. Caggiano

Narrado por: Ellen Quay, Seth Podowitz

Dark lord, demon spawn, prophesied realm destroyer. With a demon for a father, Damien Maleficus Bloodthorne’s destiny could be nothing but nefarious, and with the completion of his most vicious spell, Damien is on the cusp of fulfilling the evil inevitability all of his dark machinations have led to. And then, her—bubbly, obnoxious, blonde.

Harboring secrets of her own, a tiny yet troublesome thief calling herself Amma completely upsets Damien’s malevolent plans when she mistakenly gets chained to his side through magic, forcing him to drag her across the realm. Killing her would fix things, of course, but the nauseatingly sweet Amma proves herself useful on Damien's unholy crusade and then proves herself the source of something even more sinister: feelings.

Will Damien be forced to abandon his villainous birthright to help the tender thorn in his side? Or will he manage to overcome the virtue Amma insists on inspiring and instead cut it out at the heart?

©2022 A. K. Caggiano (P)2024 Dreamscape

An All Time Favorite

Terrible cover, great story. It's light and funny, but surprisingly compelling in its plot. This is one of those stories I turn to when I need something less serious. excellent narration.

Tons of fun

The author has a fantastic sense of humor, and this book had be laughing out loud multiple times. I loved the relationship between the main characters.

Cute enemies to lovers story

This is a cute and tongue in cheek story with a slow build. I’m ready for the second book.

Unexpected

Tbh I judged the book by its cover and despite it being recommended by apps multiple times, I didn’t pick it up (wasn’t a fan of the art style tbh. Really don’t like the cover).
Then, on a whim I started it on Spotify, ran out of hours, and had to buy credits to finish the book. Really enjoyed it. I like the female narrator a lot. She did really well. The man was good too.
Now I gotta buy the sequel lmao

Cute and fun

Overall this was a good cozy evil (but not rlly) fantasy romance. I plan to continue the series

Cute but Flawed

Before I begin my nitpick fest, let me just say that this was a cute little story and held my attention from start to end so if the summary sounds appealing to you, I would recommend buying it.

With that said, let the nitpicking begin. Firstly, whoever drew the cover art should have their hands smashed into powder so they can never again bring such an abomination into the world. Now on to the story. The word "contrived" comes to mind. So much of it hinges on so many characters not asking why, or just excepting "it's complicated" as an answer. I really hate lazy writing like this. When characters act out of character for themselves or any rational human being, then what is the point of telling the story in the first place? Speaking of characters, there is an annoying evil imp character in this, so brace yourself for that "fun." There is also two main characters, a male and a female and even though the story is told in third person, we still somehow need a male and female narrator BUT they both do the male and female voices. Who was the genius who thought that was a good idea? Probably the same one that gave that cover art a pass, I suppose.

OK, I feel better now that all that is off my chest. It probably sounds like I thought this was a train wreck but I enjoyed it and will definitely grab the next book in the series. It is honestly not as awesome as some of the other reviews here might lead you to believe, but still enjoyable nonetheless. Make of all that what you will.

Amazing series

This book series is one of those I could read/listen to over and over. It makes me feel all fuzzy and warm inside. It has a great slow burn romance and such a cute relationship between the main characters that slowly discover feelings for each other. Love the narration, great acting!

Truly a Villain

A fantastic story that will be just as exciting with each following read through. Both of the main characters are enjoyable and keep you wanting to keep listening. The performances of each of the readers are amazing and their voices for the characters are spot on. I can't wait to listen to the next book in the series!

Great Narration, Genuinely Funny Dialogue, Interesting Lore!

Overall, loved this! I enjoyed the use of established mythology and how the author employs various creatures for their own unique world-building. The characters were great, foundational tropes but in an enjoyable fresh way based on their believable dialogue. It felt current and modern but also the classic fantasy era we all know/love fused together. No explicit scenes (yet) but the build-up is juicy!!!

This incredible series has ruined all other romantasies for me

I cannot comprehend why this series hasn’t blown up, or why I only found the recommendation for it buried deep on a Reddit thread. Amma is my unapologetic kindness queen and a breath of fresh giggly air.

The adventures, the inner-monologues, the steamy tension, the mythical creatures, but most of all the *chefs kiss* BANTER. I was kicking my feet and giggling through the whole damn series like I never have before.

As soon as I finished the first book I mailed a copy to my BFF, a polite recommendation simply would not suffice for this masterpiece. She ordered the next 2 only halfway through the first. I’M TELLING Y’ALL. Thank you for this gift A.K., I love you. And thank you Ellen and Seth for bringing it to life perfectly.