Holy cow did I love this book! I don’t know if I’ve ever laughed so much while reading the way I did with A.K. Caggiano’s Throne In the Dark, the first in her Villains and Virtues series.

Damien Maleficus Bloodthorne is evil. He’s the son of a demon, and he’s a blood mage, and he wears black ALL the time. He’s an evil being who was born to do evil things evilly. For his entire life, all twenty-seven years of it, Damien’s been on an evil mission to find a way to release his father from the crystal where he’s been cursed to remain for eternity, and Damien has finally managed to create the talisman that will enable him to control the jerk king who cast the curse. So he’s on his evil way to do evil. Until… he meets Amma.

Amma needs the Scroll of the Army of the Undead for Reasons. What she doesn’t need is to accidentally absorb a talisman that allows a blood mage to control her every action. Now she’s stuck on the road with Damien and a snappy creature from the Abyss named Kaz when what she really needs is the scroll and to get back home. Although she has to admit that Damien is sort of cute in a dark, thinks-he-so-bad kind of way.

Unfortunately, the only way to release the talisman from Amma is to kill her, something Damien feels pretty confident he’ll be able to do when the time comes. She’s just so cheerful and happy and optimistic all the time! And blonde! And kind of pretty. And she’s even brave on occasion. Before Damien knows what’s happening, the idea of killing Amma doesn’t seem so enjoyable.

This is a grumpy/sunshine road trip of epic proportions. Amma and Damien deal with werewolves, elves who dress up as ghosts, a Dr. Frankenstein wannabe and his swamp hag, abductions, murder mysteries, secrets and a whole lot of other adventures. It’s a blast.

Caggiano’s writing style involves very long sentences, and it does take some getting used to. You jump right into her fantasy world with both feet, no hand holding, and you have to keep up. But damn, she is so, so clever. A scene in which Damien and Amma are entertained by a brotherhood of cultists who worship Damien’s demon father is worthy of a Monty Python movie. The dialogue is so real and so laugh-out-loud funny. Like, tears running down my face.

Damien has to be one of my all time favorite heroes. He believes he’s supposed to be evil, and he believes he can’t love and isn’t deserving of being loved. But never once is any of that true. Still, he tries so hard! Watching him struggle with his growing affection for Amma is the best kind of slow-burn. With every action he takes, it becomes clear that he’s got the best heart and that he’s got it for her so bad.

While at first Amma seems like not a whole lot more than a happy-go-lucky Pollyanna, as we learn more about her story, we learn that she’s faced some pretty dark moments. She’s definitely a damsel, but when push comes to shove or Damien is in danger, she’s unstoppable.

Two things kept me from giving this an A+. First, despite the fact that it’s never abused, the fact that Damien can completely control Amma never sat quite right with me. If he got tired of her talking, he would make her be quiet. If he didn’t want her to cry, he would make her stop. He could command her to remain in one place or to go where she didn’t want to go. As his feelings for her grow, he uses that power less and less, but I don’t know, something about it…

My other issue is the fact that Amma’s situation remains almost a complete mystery until the book is 80% finished. Since we get to see things from her point of view, I don’t know why the reader couldn’t have been clued into her story from the start.

A note on spiciness: There are a lot of longing thoughts and allusions to Damien and Amma being physically attracted to each other and what they might like to do about that, but there are actually no kisses in this first installment of the series. I’ve given this an N/A sensuality rating but there’s no guarantee things won’t get spicier in further books. Too, Amma hints that she may have been the victim of a sexual assault, but it is very vague and needs further explanation. For now, I’d call this a cozy romantic fantasy but that could change.

In the end, Throne In the Dark was brilliant. It’s what you’d get if you mixed The Princess Bride with Despicable Me and threw in some Avatar the Last Airbender elemental magic. So funny and so good. Do yourself a favor and pick this one up because, to be honest, right now we could all use a good laugh.