Long Live Evil is a fun, fast-paced fantasy with a clever twist—what if you woke up inside your favorite book, but as the villain about to die? Rae’s journey as the newly-possessed Lady Rahela is hilarious, chaotic, and surprisingly heartfelt. The book plays with classic fantasy tropes while building strong friendships and emotional moments. With sharp humor, a bit of romance, and lots of action, it’s a joyful read that doesn't take itself too seriously but still delivers real depth. Perfect for fans of meta-fantasy and witty heroines.

February is a long, long time away.
I picked this one up, started it, got distracted, put it down, picked it up again later...and carried it around like a kid with a new favorite toy.
Everywhere I went, if I had a free minute, I went back to this book.
Obviously, I loved it!

Rae has cancer. She's terminal. In terrible pain and only dragging through the days because her beloved sister is by her side, cheering her on, and reading from a book series that they have bonded over during her illness.
Rae doesn't care for romantasy. She enjoys hearing about the villains and all the evil things they do make their lives easier while stepping on the necks of the heroes.
Until the night that she is visited by a woman who offers her a chance. Stay in her deathbed and meet her end, or step through a doorway into the pages of the books that she has been sharing with her sister.
Of course she thinks it's a joke. And a sick one at that. Until she steps into the shoes of her favorite female villain and into the story that her sister loves more than any other.
"Pick the Flower of Life and Death and you will be spared the agony waiting for you."
What does she have to lose? Except her heart.

It's funny.
It has characters that you want to know more about. Maybe even would like to meet.
It has action.
It has romance.
It has sweet moments and moments that make you want to put the book down so you don't get the pages wet with your tears. (And they are there, make no mistake.)

Did I say I loved this book?
February is a very long time away for the sequel and I can't wait!

5 stars, no holds barred.

Thanks SO MUCH to NetGalley and Orbit Books for letting me read this one in advance, even if I did get behind. You guys rock!

Evil!

A unique premise/plot where a dying Rae herself immersed in her favorite fantasy book world, both as a heroine and a villain.i appreciated the underlying themes
of finding oneself and a purpose, and the importance of friendship. As primarily a romance reader, I cherished the budding romance moments between Rae and her fictional bodyguard, Key. Quite an intriguing read. 3.5 stars

When I started reading this book, I was hooked immediately, but it really fell off for me once we got into the story more. I wanted to love it so much, but in the end, it didn’t live up to the amazing premise as much as I’d hoped.

I like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me a chance at reading this book.

Lately, I've been watching a lot of Chinese dramas which feature characters transported into fictional / fantasy / and past historical times. In this story, the female who has a poor prognosis was transported into a book world that she and her sister enjoy. While she never read the books (her sister read them / gave her insights in the world), she is transported into the body of the villainous evil step sister. Who is supposed to die.

She tricks her way out of it, and is on a mission to re-write her story and future while taking on a group of fellow anti supporters and making them supporters.

The writing was too chaotic and disjointed for me to follow. The first person narrative flipped between the various characters alongside her own. It was making the fun of the girl being transported not so fun.

I only made it 25% into the book (which is my usual test to see if a book keeps my interest) before dropping it.

This was super fun and unexpected for me! I've had this on my TBR for a little while, and I didn't realize the premise of this one, but this kind of portal/LitRPG crossover was such an interesting blend. For some reason, the synopsis had me thinking this book was quiet different than it really was.

Normally I'm one of the people that doesn't love modern slang in medieval inspired fantasy, but because this book is clearly so camp, and it makes sense with the premise, I liked it here. I did see the major "twist" at the end coming, but that didn't make me dislike it. In fact, it felt like good character payoff.

Overall I'm excited to read the next one, and my only complaint was just the pacing. I think this was a littttle too long, and could have been a bit tighter.

I downloaded and read this book for work. (I'm a publicity assistant at LEO PR.) It's why I won't be reviewing.

I greatly wanted to enjoy this book, I love a good reincarnated as a villainess story. But this one seemed to just miss all the marks that I look for. The dialog and setting was confusing at best, leaving me having to read whole pages over and over to make sure I was understanding things correctly. Which took me out of the story so fast that I did not wish to return. Sometimes it felt like there was too much narration and scene setting, while other times it felt like not enough.

It eventually just became a headache about 25% in and I had to DNF.

Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan
What would you do if you were given the opportunity to live in your favorite fantasy novel? Would you take it? Especially if it meant saving your life?
In Long Live Evil, Rae, who is suffering from cancer, is given the opportunity to go live in her favorite fantasy novel. If she successfully navigates the plot, she will be cured. But of course…things do not go according to plan.
I thought this book was a fun read. I enjoyed watching a “normal” human interact with fiction characters. Can you imagine trying to explain to someone in the Wheel of Time what a labubu is?
One of my biggest complaints about this book was that there was a lot of info dumping. There were certain points at the beginning of the book where you were just getting told what this fictional world/storyline is all about. As the book went along though and the plot became more established, this became less of an issue.
My second complaint is that I had a really hard time keeping the characters separate in my brain. I ended up listening to this book on audio and the narrator did have a slight British accent. I find that when narrators have accents it becomes harder for me to ingest details of the plot. Of course this is a problem that’s very specific to me.
Overall, I did like this book. It ended on a cliffhanger and I’m lowkey mad because initially I wasn’t going to continue the series…but now I really want to know what happens because that ending was a banger.
Thank you to the publisher for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I love a story with a unique premise and that’s exactly what “Long Live Evil” has. Rae is living with cancer and very quickly she is thrust into the story of the books she reads, but she quickly realizes she is playing the villain. What follows is a fun and creative whirlwind of a story.

This is definitely a book you will enjoy if you also like Villianess Manhwas. Which have a very similar premise to this book. When you read a book like this it is solely to have a damn good time.

If you enjoy wacky schemes and an imperfect main character you will love “Long Live Evil”. Sit back, relax, and let this story take you on a wild journey that will have you smiling and laughing. I greatly enjoyed this one.

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4!

I finally was able to sit down and read this book, and I was pleasantly surprised! As someone who is a regular reader of the "isekai" genre often found in manhwa and manga, I was intrigued by the premise of this book, where out main character is whisked away into the world of novels that she shared with her sister. As we travel with Rae through the ups and downs of being a character in a world that tries to actively work against her, we meet our eccentric cast of characters who I loved and felt invested in. I was overall really happy with the book and will be looking forward to the sequel!

3.5

this wasn't... good, but it wasn't terrible? this unserious modern writing style doesn't work with fantasy elements, in my opinion. it took a long time to get into and the mfc was pretty annoying most of the time, but i got really sucked in by the side characters, but the maid's pov was beyond boring. loved key, Marius, and the Cobra.
the story itself didn't get interesting until around 60% of the way in.

Long Live Evil is a clever, darkly humorous fantasy that offers a fresh take on good versus evil. The characters are witty and well developed, and the plot keeps things lively with twists and sharp dialogue. A few parts feel a bit rushed, but overall, it’s a fun and engaging read. Great for fans of smart, character-driven fantasy with a mischievous edge.

Sarah Rees Brennan is a comedic genius with incredible worldbuilding and her characters sneak up on you in the best way.

This felt way too long even though it had a promising start and premise. I found myself checking out half way through because it felt like it was going in circles.

Long Live Evil is a wild ride from start to finish. Getting the chance to live out your favourite book series instead of dying of cancer is a dream come true for our main character, and if she manages to get the magical flower that blooms once a year, she will be allowed to return to her life completely healthy. Seems easy she thinks, until she realizes she has been introduced to the world of the book series as one of the main villains. It was so refreshing to see a main character that is a villain, and not just an anti-hero, plus the relatable struggles of being in a book world that is drastically different from your own made the story really heart felt. And seeing the main character succeed, just not in the way she pictured? Priceless.

DNF at 20%
I just didn’t find the main character likable and was hoping the story would move faster, in the end I think this one just wasn’t for me.

The devil is in the details which is what Rae discovers. She did not listen carefully as her sister read Rae's favorite fantasy series during her illness. So when she ended up in that series and decided to change things up, she did not get things right, but rather managed to screw things up royally! A decent read that just did not live up to the hype.

I don't think this was the book I was expecting to read. It just didn't do it for me.


Thank you to Orbit and NetGalley for giving me an early copy..

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher!
I absolutely loved this book from start to finish. What a brilliant premise, what fantastic characters, what an amazing world-I seriously could not put this down from the jump. Only mad the next book isn’t out yet for me to jump right back in!