The Dark Lady's Guide to Villainy [Book 1 Complete] [Dark Lord, School, Romance]

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Mo Nightshade was perfectly happy with her life as a mundane bookstore clerk. No dark magic. No villainous schemes. No monologues about world domination.

Then a cursed summons arrived, and just like that, her everyday life went up in smoke. Literally.

Now she's stuck at Umbra Academy, a prestigious (and completely ridiculous) school for future dark overlords, where dramatic cape-twirling is a graduation requirement and betrayal earns extra credit. To make things worse, she's been declared the next Dark Lady of Blackthorn Keep (provisionally), a title that comes with a crumbling castle, incompetent minions, and a voice on the Villain High Council she has no idea how to use.

The only problem? Mo is terrible at being a villain. And her frenemies aren’t helping.

What to expect?

• Female MC• Young adult characters who explore societal boundaries and their gender roles•Rivalry, slow-burn romance, and morally grey characters•Villainous politics, betrayals, and reluctant leadership•A found family of misfits, including a gender-fluid demon and a poetic ice mage•Snark, wit, and a protagonist who absolutely refuses to be what society expects• Soft magic system. No LitRPG elements in Book 1•Chapter length: ~2,500-3,500 words• Book 2 in progress. Book 3 launches in November

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2025
Author: Stepan Chizhov

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.5/ 5.0
Followers: 1,174
Views: 150,068

Chapters(69 total)

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!

Community Reviews(10)

BurkholtRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This book is a little triumph! The writing is excellent in both style and grammar. And the descriptions leave just enough to the imagination to form a truly enchanting world. It has laughs, crying, just the right amount of dramatic entrances, and all the while invoking deep thoughts about morally grey areas.
Mo's story is a great exploration of a girl accepting responsibility by stepping up to the plate and doing things her way while framing her good deeds as evil to get it passed her peers. But most of all it's about her personal growth and deciding who she wants to be. And that's what makes this story great.
The author does a great job of exploring the fluidity and confusion of each character's growth. Mo and her sidekicks are an excellent case study of the changing- no, developing opinions and morals of young adults and circumstances that bring them to these critical decisions. Showcasing the indecision that often plagues their age group as they discover more about themselves and the world, while eventually solidifying in who they become.
Nothing is ever wholly black and white, good or evil, right or wrong until a collective agrees to it.
FYI - I read to the end of book one (Chp. 28) via Patreon. And I was so statisfied with it that I immediately wrote this review.
Jinian DicentraRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
It starts like a typical school story at villain academy with some delightfully strange side characters, goes through faux academic publications and therapy notes, and becomes a tale of progressive people in power dealing with the consequences of a system apocalypse. Everything is complicated by believable relationships and political machinations, plus downright evil college classes and a terrible tournament. I was particularly struck by how much the D.E.V.I.O.U.S. writeup sounded exactly like a corporate handbook from our world. This is great stuff.
Lazyreader26Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The story starts in a gentle and easy way, keeping our interest from time to time by shifting into new chaos, at one moment our Mc will be in a store than at other she will be at a royalty. The chaos is exciting to read.
The drama and character interactions are great as well, the way they bicker at each other, joke around or get serious feels immersive. But their is seriousness in the story, if you focus deeply while reading you will notice the hints and character info being given by that we can even guess what kind of struggle they must have in their life. A deeper plot and mystery is brewing and we need to read to find out what' that is.
Morgana(Mc) character is good to read, she is smart but not oversmart, she knows when to back down and when to push forward. She doesn't bow infront of other even when insulted but her vulnerable moments add an extra charm to her character.
Overall the story is great and has lots of potential with how deep the world building has been overall.
Malus MichaelRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Style: Absolutely GORGEOUS! The author does a phenomenal job giving such evoking, detailed descriptions. Sure, some of those can be too wordy for my tastes, but the quality of work here makes up for it.
Grammar: Apparently, the author is not a native English speaker. Still hard to believe since I couldn't see any grammar mistakes. Though it could be that I have a terrible, terrible eye for this.
Story: The premise is strong and interesting. The gothic vibes here are absolutely the core of this book, and I'm all for it. Still, we're on the early stages yet, but the promising future it holds is captivating!
Characters: We got few relevant characters to speak of at the time of this review, but they are no short of charismatic. Morgana, bearing the most overly edgy name I've heard since the My Immortal MC, is a fun protagonist to follow with her wit and positive characteristics regardless of her dark upbringing. The only problem I have is that her motivations read a little flat, but it's not a big deal, especially when she got the moment of temptation in Chapter 5.
Nyx is also full of sass and personality, their shapeshifting adding some spice to their character. Their bond with Mo is still yet to bloom, but I like what I see so far. Valerius is fun as a bully character, I suppose.
Overall, this is a solid YA book with dorky, goth flavor, packed with some cartoon villainy evilness. I have thoroughly enjoyed and will actually follow how Morgana's story goes.
Also, if there's a school of villainy, is there a school of heroism? Most likely.
RyplinnRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
A nerdy succubus just wants to read books and serve coffee, but the family business (evil empire-ing) draws her back home, then sends her to Evil Villain School.
I'm just a few chapters in, but already the characters and setting have me utterly charmed. So far, we have:
-A campus in which every pillar and archway has been designed for maximum gloom
-Dramatic Entrances as a graduation requirement
-Ritual bullying of newcomers
-A succubus tempted by her own powers of temptation
-A gloriously flamboyant genderfluid shapeshifter
Yes to all of it; I want more! I love that the society has rigid boxes it tries to force its members to fit into, which are both utterly ridiculous yet no more absurd than the real-life rules we are expected to follow. I love that our "heroes" are ready to smash the whole creaking edifice into dust.
As a bonus, the prose is clear and well-executed, with very few errors.
WarlordAuthorRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
An interesting world you've crafted here. There is so much variety and a lot to explore. It's very easy to fall into the world and see everything for what it is, especially once we get to the academy and start to experience all these things that are taught and experienced at the Academy. Since the story is still only starting, I'm only getting my footing and have not yet developed any real deep connections with the characters. So many disjointed worlds and stories have come up and they haven't started linking with each other quite yet. For the beginning, this isn't that essential. Enjoying the world is part of the process.
Your writing style is awesome. Lots of humour to go around and the world-building is awesome. I like that the book is one that's not good for skimming as it's very easy to miss tiny details embedded in those paragraphs. But then again, that's another key part of writing. Very important details can be isolated, even one-liners. I'm not against digging for the details in those paragraphs but changing it up a bit would greatly improve readability.
Grammar. Stellar grammar. Well-written. There is almost no complaint about that. I can only say that it would not harm the story to make use of short sentences a bit more than it does. Other than that, I had no moment through the whole story that I went, 'Oh dear!' or felt that grating feeling that comes from reading a piece of bad grammar.
Story score: The story is amazing. but as you can see that I didn't give it full stars, I do have a small issue with it. I do plan to continue reading the story as that issue will probably smooth over with time. Reading one or two things that help with world-building is fine and helps me stay grounded within your unique world but when those moments become too many without actively pushing the story forward, it gets irritating. I'll give an example of the Monologuing professor. His chapter was awesome. My best chapter actually, but that's probably because I'm going to see
ZephanyZephZephRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Story contains quite nice writing mechanically as well as stylistically, and while not groundbreaking handles its themes thoroughly and caringly. Still very much a young adult and her friends coming of age and figuring out who they are, but also some fantastic worldbuilding and underpinning meanings. Not for suitable for the forces of reaction, however.
VenchiCreminoRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
I'm enjoying this so far. The writing is very easy to ready. The characters are fun and have distinct voices.
I like the premise. Mo is entertaining as an MC. I like the contrast between the fantasy and the mundane, like the goblin trade union. The diologue is very funny and flirty with lots of dry humour and back and forth. I keep laughing when I read it and it's putting me in a good mood.
I think I'm going to enjoy reading the rest and catching up. Thanks for the cool story!
ThatHydeKidRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
This has been a fun story, with a non traditional premise and a mix of unusual characters and situational comedy that has been a joy to read. Don't get to set in your expectations as they tend to do things that one does not expect.
Character development has been reasonable with a growing cast of multi-dimensional individuals, misfits, and adolescents struggling with self identity and discovery.
Kind of a chaotic, amusing romp. The plot has them holding on to the tiger's tail while they chaotically bounce from one problem to the next.
Unknown98pRoyal Road
★★★★ 4.0
Your text is engaging, well-written, and rich in atmosphere. The concept of a reluctant protagonist immersed in a magical world she tries to avoid is compelling and full of narrative potential. The story is intriguing and well-structured, but there are some areas where the pacing could be refined, and certain scenes could be more concise to maintain reader engagement.
Your writing style is enjoyable, with a touch of humor that works well for Mo’s character. The sarcasm, witty dialogue, and lighthearted tone add personality to the story, making it entertaining despite its dark setting. However, the humor sometimes feels repetitive, especially when it undercuts moments that should have more dramatic weight. A bit more variety in tone would add depth to the narrative.
The opening is excellent—it introduces the world, the rules, and the conflict in a clear and compelling way. Mo’s journey from normalcy to the chaos of her magical heritage is engaging, but the story structure could be a bit tighter. Some passages feel overly long, with repeated ideas that slow the pacing. Additionally, the academy setting leans slightly into magical school tropes, which could make it feel less original.
Grammatically, the text is solid, with no major errors. The sentence flow is smooth, though sometimes the phrasing is a bit lengthy or overloaded with details that could be streamlined. There are moments where punctuation could be adjusted to improve dialogue flow and overall readability.
Mo is a well-defined character with a strong and distinctive voice. However, she sometimes falls into the "sarcastic protagonist reluctant about their destiny" trope. Her psychological development could be explored further—showing more vulnerability or introspection would make her inner conflict feel more nuanced. Secondary characters like Valerius and Nyx are interesting but currently lean toward archetypes (the arrogant rival and the charismatic ally). Giving them unexpected traits or subverting their