I wanted to love this book. I've been dying to read it and was so excited to get this arc... however I couldn't get past chapter chapter 5. Based on the beginning I was intrigued and thought we were going to have a 5 star read but the more I read, the more I realized I did not like the writing style. I tried so many times though!

I had a difficult time with this book, it was slow for me, but also, I struggled to really like any of the characters. I felt like the pacing was off and some of the dialogue was wrong for me. I DNF and maybe in the future will go back and try again, but we'll see about that.

I honestly ended up enjoying this a bit more than I thought I would. I figured it would be a bit of cheeky fun, which it was, but it also invoked so much more feeling and love for some of these characters. The development and redemption arcs that they had legit brought me to tears a couple times. I'm so glad that I picked this up!

I received an arc from Net Galley and Orbit to review - thanks!

I have struggled getting into this book. I was so excited to dive into this story but I just can’t relax into the characters or progression. The concept was amazing and I love a good female villain with a purpose. It’s the delivery that made it hard to finish. The FMC starts the story by establishing a very bleak outlook for herself with lost potential and spending her teenage years fighting for her life. I was geared up for reflection and grieving for what could have been.

Then with a snap, she’s a villain in a novel. There is a pseudo-Morpheus / Neo moment where she picks this path but it went by so quickly. There was no deliberation, no transition . . . She just winds up in a historical fantasy and that’s that. Add to that her ongoing use of modern language and terminology, it just felt off?? Something didn’t settle or it needs more editing or something.

Rated 2.5 stars rounded up

This is the book for all of us who can't quite decide if we want to be the good guy or if maybe we'd make a better villain. It's such a fun read, just a complete adventure and good time from start to finish. This will go on my re-read list for sure!

Thank you Netgalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review. This book was a rollercoaster to say the least! The amount of emotions i went through while reading this was a large number. It started out slow for me but it kept building on each other and it got better and better as the book went on! I will admit some of it is ridiculous but that’s part of the nature of the book which I kind of loved once I got more comfortable with it. Going into a book and changing how things go is such a fascinating concept and it was done really well! It made we want to read the original books that were the world our main character Rae falls into. Also that cliffhanger caught me so off guard I thought we had more of the book left!! The last 100 pages were the best of the whole book and I know understand how this will be a series! The plot twist oh my gosh it got me! It really did I was so caught off guard. I wasn’t really sure how I felt about the book but by the end it all made sense and made up for everything. I’m glad I decided to continue to read this one!!

Long Live Evil was a hilarious yet emotional take on the portal fantasy, where our main character is transported into the world of her favorite fantasy novel. When a mysterious stranger offers her a cure to terminal cancer, Rae takes over the body of Lady Rahela just before she's do for execution - because of course she winds up as a villain, not a main character. With the singular goal of retrieving the cure in mind, Rae/Rahela decides to do as villains do. She will lie, cheat, and steal her way to her goal. However, as time goes by Rae can't keep denying that the world she's in is real and that it doesn't matter what she does to others. She sees the pain she causes, and the consequences of her actions, and all the sudden this fantasy story becomes real life.

The cast of characters from the fantasy world truly make this book come alive. No one is what they seemed from when Rae read the book back in the "real" world. Motives and morals are much messier than she could have ever imagined. Key and Emer, Rahela's maid and guard, were particular highlights Emer's complicated relationship with Rahela and the other nobles coupled with her violent, but repressed, tendencies added significant depth to the story. Key's merciless thirst for blood was as deranged as it was delightful. A surprise hit was Lia, the Pearl of the World, and her subtle machinations. Rae herself was perhaps the least interesting, although the driver of the story. Rae remains obliviously, or perhaps intentionally, naive to her effect on the fantasy world for far longer than I appreciated. Once she accepts that her presence is changing things her character arc much improves.

Brennan does an excellent job of keeping the tone light enough that the first major twists of the climax hit harder than I expected. I gasped over the first named character death, and couldn't put the book down for the final 25%. Rae's presence in story artfully twists plot points Rae expected. By the end, the book Rae had read is nearly twisted upon its head, the tack-on consequences of her actions reframing entire characters. This was particularly well handled with Lord Marius. I adored the changes to his tale. I can't wait to see what new paths all our favorites take in the next book!

While I was reading this book, I was under the impression that it was YA. I could have sworn it was listed as YA on Goodreads, but according to NetGalley (who provided the book for me to review), it is an adult novel. At first, I was trying to keep in mind that I was not the target audience, as I am a 40-year-old woman, but now that I know this book is for adults, I will come out and say it: this book reads so young—if not for the swearing and constant references to the main characters breasts (which are so huge by the way), I would assume it was for 14 year olds! I love the premise of a cancer patient escaping into the fictional world that has meant so much to her and her sister to find the cure for her illness. While I should have expected it, I didn't anticipate hating the modern language in a fantasy novel—especially not just any modern language, but slangy, dated language that is annoying "A.F."

Aside from the fact that this book reads incredibly young—and I'm an elder millennial with children who act older than the female main character—I also had a hard time getting into the story. I'm not sure if it’s a writing issue, where the author chose to throw in different points of view randomly, or just that discombobulated feeling that comes from not having anchor points for the plot, setting, time, characters, anything. The entire time I read this, I had a lingering feeling that I had no idea what was going on.

Is it bad to say that I was more interested in the book referenced within this novel than in the novel itself? That's the problem with books within books—sometimes the book you aren't reading overshadows the one you are.

Can you imagine being transported to your favorite book to escape the world? I absolutely can so could me in for sure! 

But although I enjoyed reading Sarah Rees Brennan's adult fantasy debut, it wasn't as good as I had hoped. As the plot jumps back and forth between the past and the present, it begins fairly confusingly. Even while I think having two distinct timeframes is a great idea, this wasn't the greatest executed here.

What I liked best were the characters, particularly Rae. Her attitude and actions struck me as incredibly relatable. Despite her best efforts to embrace her villainous persona, her genuine compassion was evident throughout the entire story.

Also, I must admit that I really enjoyed this book's sense of humor. I believe the author picked the best pop culture allusions for this book; they were a wonderful fit for the story!

Although this book's writing and dialogues weren't always the best, they are generally rather decent, especially if you take into account that this is a debut book, and reading it was easy and quick overall.

Overall, I give this book a 3,5 because, although it had certain shortcomings, I still found it to be enjoyable and believe that this series has much more potential. Because an awesome and fascinating the story is, I would suggest it to any fantasy reader.

Rae has spent years in the hospital fighting against cancer. Her comfort? Her sister reading to her aloud from their favourite book series Time of Iron. Though Rae doesn't have the heart to tell her sister the books don't mean as much to her as they do to her sister. That is, until one day she passes out and meets a mysterious woman and makes a mysterious bargain. Rae wakes up in the books she and her sister loved so much-as her sister's favourite character-the villain. Rae must navigate her way through the story to seal her bargain and save her life. But can she do so without changing the narrative, and the lives of the characters, along the way?

I have been a big fan of Sarah Rees Brennan's books since I first read the Demon's Lexicon in 2010. I love her ability to create witty but vulnerable characters whose love for each other are the light in their dark worlds. I was thrilled to receive a copy of her new book. Long Live Evil will appeal to fans of Alix E. Harrow's A Spindle Splintered and Hannah Nicole Maehrer's Assistant to the Villain.

I found the premise of the book intriguing—the idea of being transported into your favorite story is just too enticing to resist. The added twist of stepping into the role of the villain, especially one destined to meet an early demise, is top-notch. I personally would love that, but I would also probably die fairly early on, probably from tripping.

It feels like the funny villain story has been done a lot recently. I don't hate it, but I think I need to lay off them for a little bit. This book had a lot of good moments. I wasn't bored. I found myself rooting for some of the characters. There were funny scenes and relatable villains. But overall, I was left wanting more: more depth, more information, more… something to fully immerse me in the story. I did manage to predict a major reveal fairly early on, which made me feel quite proud of my detective skills.

My favorite characters are Key, Emer, and the Golden Cobra. They all bring a lot of depth to the story, and I’ve been enjoying side characters more than the main ones lately. They are the ones bringing the flavor and the pizzazz. I especially enjoyed how we got to see the stereotypical villains in a different light. They are portrayed as sympathetic characters, even if their motivations aren't exactly "pure." It adds an interesting layer to the story, making you reconsider what being a villain means.

Thank you to Netgalley and Orbit Books for this wonderful ARC! I appreciate the laughs.

For fans of Brigid Kemmerer’s Cursebreaker series, this humorous fantasy novel has morally grey characters always scheming against each other. Our main character may be a damsel, but she is not in distress, with wicked cunning and Sarah Maas level sarcasm, she is an intriguing villainess.

Sadly I think this one was a little too corny for my taste but I’m sure other people will enjoy it! Maybe I’ll give it another try later

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit books for this opportunity to read, rate and review this arc which will be available on 8/27/24!!!

This was a fun read. It is really about what would happen if you fell into your fav book series and fall for the villain. I had moments of cackling my ass off and moments of wow. Thoroughly enjoyed this book. I recommend it.

Long Live Evil is my first Sarah Rees Brennan novel and legitimately one of my favorite books of this year. Playing off of classic fantasy tropes, but subverting genre traditions, Sarah Rees Brennan delivers a fresh fantasy debut that asks the question: what would you do if set loose in your favorite fantasy series? Long Live Evil packs in the adventure but takes a nuanced approach to narrative and character archetypes. With villains running amok and heroes testing the boundaries of their morality, Long Live Evil isn’t your standard fantasy novel. It’s a campy, meta, absolute ball of a time and a reading experience I will not forget soon.

Long Live Evil is certainly a story for anyone who’s ever fallen for the villain, but it’s also a tale for anyone who has ever wanted to be the villain and make unexpected choices for the sheer thrill of it. Following Rae, a terminally ill twenty-something who has had to live her life in a hospital bed not knowing if she will survive, Brennan voices a character devoid of choice given access to a world brimming with opportunity. A layered story within a story with an unexpected third layer (the original narrative that is seemingly changing), Long Live Evil embraces all the nuance, pop culture references, and hilarity. Brennan pushes the boundaries of storytelling through this portal fantasy with layered narratives within narratives and a scintillating blend of humor undercut by moments of intense poignancy. This book is incredibly funny, and I think you’ll have to have a mind impacted by the various phases of the internet to truly appreciate it. I cackled at Rae convincing the king that “AF” stands for “as foretold” and Key’s murderous tendencies. Also a thousand points for The Mummy reference thrown in. Sarah Rees Brennan has shared in the author’s note how her own cancer diagnosis split her life into two parts, a before and an after. I admire how she gave voice to that through Rae, a testament to those forgotten after a cancer diagnosis and the tumultuous journey to recovery. Choosing the mantle of a villain is a personal transformation for Rae, who despite everything cannot return to the person she once was. Where her journey concludes is tremendously gratifying and I loved seeing the connection between the first and last chapters (IYKYK). We love morally grey characters who toe that line between good and evil and Long Live Evil has that in spades. Sarah Rees Brennan pens a unique fantasy series starter—an uproarious delight of inverted tropes, rage, and all the freedom in being a villain. Bring on more chaos, morally grey characters, and schemes!

Long Love Evil is a portal fantasy following our MC, Rae, who was diagnosed with cancer and is spending her day in the hospital, slowly dying. Rae and her sister love the Time of Iron fantasy book series, so much so, that Rae’s sister reads her the first book (because she didn’t read it) while in the hospital. One day, Rae wakes up in a castle in the edge of a chasm in new body- that of Lady Rahele from Time of Iron! She quickly discovers that she is not a heroine in this story, but a villainess, and has to fight her way to the end of the story!

I ended up rating this book 4 🌟🌟🌟🌟 because there were some pacing issues for me, and at times I had trouble keeping my attention on the book, but other times were just so fun and interesting, that it was hard to put down.

This book publishes on 08/27/2024!

Thank you to @netgalley and @orbitbooks_us for an advanced copy!

Good premise, but got 50% done and am not finishing. I felt the story was kissing some more background. I would have preferred to have a couple of chapters talking about Rae and her story maybe the life she led before getting cancer. I would have also liked a little more background on the characters of the book.. the pacing was just about right, but I felt the dialogue and jumping from characters to characters was a bit off putting.. thank you for the opportunity to read.

This book’s start was a little rocky for me. The writing was definitely lovely, but at times the timeline and who it followed was a little confusing. It took a little bit to get into, only because we find a rich background of Time of Iron where the protagonist knows the story background (mostly) but we do not at all. Sometimes we followed her and other times it was people that thought her speech odd and mad and it took a bit to truly get it to stick.

I think there were some things that made me pause, but then once I kept reading, it became clearer and it became so much more. First I don’t know these characters but then I fell in love with them. Quickly it felt like. The nuances, the way you’re in this world with our protagonist trying to be a “villain” but also learning to love the characters as people and not as characters.

At the end I cried, I was on the edge of my seat, and I was heavily invested in these characters. I absolutely fell in love with this portal fantasy. I both love and hate that it is a series that I did not know until almost the end (basically the last chapter) because I need the next book NOW please. I have not had such emotional investment to characters in a long while and I truly appreciated the fresh take on this and the way to fall in love with terrible and amazing characters.

What reader doesn't want the chance to drop into a beloved book? While suffering from Cancer, Rae finds herself alone and fearing death in her hospital bed, when she is offered the chance of a lifetime to enter her sister's favorite book series and find a cure for herself, she jumps at the chance. She awakens in the body of the story's villain, who is headed towards execution and is quickly forced to start rewriting the narrative. This book is such a fun ride, with subtle sarcastic humor, twists and turns and touches of modern references. It makes you wonder just how much you really know about your favorite characters and what you would risk to save yourself. I loved the writing and originality of the concept, but at times did have trouble keeping up with the world building and the characters and their many nicknames. I would have loved a guide in the beginning to help ease this, but overall I loved the book and will be recommending it.

I literally live and breath isekai manhwas 24/7. The plots in this genre are pretty similar, where the MC’s lives were either cut short from illness, being pushed off a ledge or death by “truck-kun” but were miraculously transported into their favorite novel or game either as a side character or villain. It may be repetitive but I eat that shit up every single time. Which made me super excited to begin “Long Live Evil”
This gave me “Villians are Destined to Die” by Gyeoeul Gwon vibes in a sense which I loved but I hated the way the MC speaks. I understand that she came from our world, but her lingo throws me off. The dialogue doesn’t fit which took me out of the story constantly. But that was my only con. This was all in all a fun read.