~4.5~

“Love burns down the world for a kiss.”

Rea, a twenty year old girl who has been battling cancer, get an offer she can't refuse. Her sister has been obsessed with this book series called the Time of Iron and it has rubbed off on her, all except book one. When she is at her lowest, an anonymous woman comes and gives her an ultimatum. Travel to the world of the books, travel to Eyam, and bring back the flower that blooms once every year, The Flower of Life and Death. It can cure any ailment, including her cancer, but she only had one shot or she would not wake up. When she takes the mysterious woman up on her offer, she's transported to the body of a character in the story. Not just any character though, The Beauty Dipped in Blood, Lady Rehela, who was due to be executed the next day.

I really didn't expect to have so much fun with this book, but I devoured it. Rea building her cabal of "villains" with characters she loved and knew would be great; The Iron Maiden and The Golden Cobra. Watching her navigate the classic tropes, trying to figure out the story of the ONE book in the series she can't remember details about, and try to survive as the villainess was such a good time. A surprising companion and ally from New York to talk to and plot about how she was going to make it home just made it so much better.

Typically I'm not a fan of when the modern world collides with fantasy, but I'm a sucker for isekai and I've never read a book quite like this. First, I'm always about a good villain and an origin story. Second, I just kept singing that "so you want to be evil" song in my head whenever Rae and her 'minions' would plot something.

The ending made me so UPSET. I didn't think I'd get so heated about this book because it just felt like a silly fun time, but I got to the acknowledgment and started reading it like it was the next chapter. If she doesn't reconcile with THAT character in the next book, I think I'll cry because that person just needs love and someone to tell them what to do (no spoilers here). Also if those two couples don't kiss in the next book, I don't want it. You know exactly who I'm talking about.

Overall, if you love fantasy, evil, and isekai anime or online comics like I Am The Villian or Not Your Typical Reincarnation Story Webtoons, you'll love this! It's fun, partially feels like a fever dream, while building a story within a story.


Thank you Netgaey and Orbit Books for an arc copy in exchange for an honest review.

I don’t even want to give this book 1 star. This was a hard hard no. I DNFd at like 15% and would never consider picking up anything by this author or even this publisher again if this is the work they consider to be good enough to put out as an ARC. Where was the editing? Where was anyone to read it at least once to being published? I have never read a more confusing story line, with bad grammar, terrible prose and over use of wrong figurative language. A pearl is not shiny inside therefore you can not feel like you are inside a pearl because the walls are so shiny.

What. A. Ride. Was this the most amazing piece of literature I’ve ever read? No. But it was so much fun to read! It was campy and chaotic and the character development was mid at best and I literally ATE IT UP. I was absolutely delighted through the entire book, and I’ll likely read it a few more times.

I really tried to get into it, but unfortunately I just couldn't. I had a really hard time connecting with any of the characters. DNF @ 22%. I'm so sorry!

“Reading a book was like meeting someone for the first time. You didn’t know if you will love them or hate them enough to learn every detail, or skim the surface never to know their depths.”

Gosh this book was a fantasy for the book lovers! For any who dreamed of entering their favorite story to escape their reality. And Rae definitely has a harsh reality to escape. Slowly dying and hospitalized, a strange woman offers her the chance to change her fate…through entering the fictional realm of her (and her sister’s) favorite read.

“Sorry to the side of good. Evil’s just sexier.” *snorts* ah yes, an enemies to lovers fan of villain gets the girl wrote this. Or twas just written for those masses 🤭

But dang did it reinforce the whole “don’t meet your heroes” thought. Or rather, don’t meet your beloved morally gray male main characters because they will probably try to unalive you. Or something not so great. What they represent may mean so much, but who they are in reality is utterly deadly. And hero idolization makes you miss some very KEY points and traits that could hint toward a story’s end. And Rae gets to experience that firsthand while trying to extend her life in this bookish realm.

It’s fascinating to see the twists that happen when someone from the real world enters and begins to influence a story. I absolutely ADORED Cobra and Key. Especially Key. How the heck did that sociopath of a bodyguard go and steal my heart like that?? Like soft only for her, he’s her bodyguard, morally black, unaliver of a male character and I loved it. (I’m not going to analyze why it’s the psycho that stole my heart, nope). But oh did he also break me. Villains never really get the happy endings.

“People meet and create a new story between them, inventing love to believe in. Unless I have someone to care for, I’m barely a person, but you taught me to write. Now I know any tale can be rewritten. Tell me the sky is red and truth a lie. You can be the centre of the world and the meaning of the story. I will make every word you ever say true.”

Two dimensional characters get explored showing that good and evil aren’t always so black and white, nor are they ever truly what they are labeled. The story itself is fairly chaotic in a beautifully messy kind of way, making sure to tell not only Rae’s new story but the moments involving key characters for her tale as well. The beginning took a minute to settle into and the topics could be heavy at times (not gonna lie, I totally cried at chapter 29), but by golly did it completely steal me in the end.

I’d be curious to see if there’s more to come from that not-so-happily ever after of an ending 👀👀👀

3.5 Stars, rounding up to 4 😁

Long Live Evil" by Sarah Rees Brennan is an intriguing exploration of second chances and the blurred lines between heroism and villainy. The story follows Rae, whose life has crumbled, but she finds solace in books. When she is dying, she strikes a magical bargain that allows her to live again—this time within the world of her favorite fantasy series.

Upon waking, Rae finds herself in a castle on the edge of a terrifying chasm, in a kingdom on the verge of war. This world is filled with dangerous monsters, scheming courtiers, and her beloved character, the Once and Forever Emperor. However, Rae is shocked to discover that she is not the heroine of this story but the villainess.

Embracing her new role, Rae decides to lead the villains, plotting to alter their grim fate. Rae’s transformation from a despairing individual to a powerful leader is filled with dark humour. It wasn’t really my type of humour (very millennial coded lol) and sometimes took me out of the story a bit. The beginning of the book was a bit of a slog, but the last bits of the book were pretty endearing! The ending was definitely a good set up for another book.

I unfortunately guessed the big plot twist about 40% of the way through the book so I didn’t get that big “aha!” Moment that I love when you read a really good plot twist.

"Long Live Evil" is a thrilling read for anyone who has ever been fascinated by villains. Its definitely fun to read from the villains perspectives!!

Unfortunately, I decided to put this book down. I'm a big fan of Sarah Rees Brennan, and this book had a very unique premise. I was particularly interested in how she was going to explore mortality throughout this story, but this book info-dumped much too much on the reader in a confusing way. I know this book is supposed to be meta, but it made it hard to follow the story. Still, I might pick this book up again in the future; never say never!

I think the only way to describe this experience is: PainChamp, as the youth says.

This is supposed to be a parody of "reincarnated as a villainess" type of stories (popular in Japanese / Korean markets) but I found it neither funny nor entertaining.

The first issue is: over the top cliche characters. You might say "but they're supposed to be like that! it's a parody! they showcase fantasy stereotypes exaggerated ad absurdum!" Yes, but because it's intentional doesn't mean it's enjoyable.

Especially because the side cast feels bloated and we constantly get these random chapters from these characters' povs - the same characters our protagonist says they're "not real" and she doesn't give a rat's tail whether they all die, yes, those.

The only enjoyable characters to me were Key (the bloodthirsty himbo bodyguard) and the Golden Cobra (the campy crime lord). Unfortunately, the plot develops so slowly with so many detours I didn't manage to see where these characters are heading despite reading around up to around 40% mark.

Some characters like Emer and Marius get pov chapters but they're dry and 1-dimensional.

The second issue is: the author is so busy making witty remarks, banter and commentary about protagonist's misery before being ported to the fantasy land that the plot is not progressing at all. Despite reading 40% of the novel, I feel we went nowhere, discovered nothing, and didn't get closer to the goal at all. All we had was chit-chat and random adventures.

I would have probably enjoyed it more if it was shorter and with fewer side characters. I was waiting and hoping until something of importance happens but the events were hyped up to be something big and then passed like a nothingburger. For example the "confrontation" between Marius and the Golden Cobra - it was supposed to be tremble-worthy, and... nothing really happened in that scene. Nothing at all.

The third issue ties to both of the above: the protagonist, despite claiming she's embracing her villain era and yay, now we can kill, scheme, seduce, betray freely without remorse because all those people are fictional anyway... does nothing of the sorts.

Her accomplishments so far comprised of:
- commenting her boobs are too big
- trying to make friends
- using the power of spoiler to call herself a prophet (throwback to isekai tropes where the protagonist often knows more about the world than its inhabitants)
- refusing to sleep with the king despite thinking it would be really cool to
- fighting in self-defense

Where's the villainy? Where???

Unless it's meant to be a parody of the trope "assassins who never assassinate, pirates who only drink rum and swashbuckle but never really do anything morally wrong". But in that case, the protagonist's internal monologue feels off. It would be different if she wanted to be good but was saddled with a reputation of an evildoer, that would pose an extra challenge to overcome. But no, she talks how great it is to be a villain and be selfish, and nobody cares about her anyway, and then behaves like a goody two-shoe. The speeches how these characters are fictional and don't matter? It would make sense if she actually hurt or killed someone and needed to excuse herself to calm her conscience. But she does nothing of the sorts. She excuses her evil deeds but there are no evil deeds! It makes no sense.

I swear I would have dnfed earlier if it wasn't an ARC, I tried to take it bit by bit until I saw 3 months have passed and I've finished around 10 different books in the meanwhile and I'm still not even halfway through this one.

I'd recommend the book for the fans of modern slang and memey / 4th-wall-breaking humour in fantasy, in the vein of "That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon" or "Assistant to the Villain". However I must admit Kimberly Lemming's characters committed more villainy in their "cozy fantasy" than the characters did in this "villain era" book. Talk about mismatched advertisement.

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit Books for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for early access to this absolutely delightful book. This is my first book by Sarah Rees Brennan (though I've read some of her short stories) and it will definitely not be my last. She expertly told two (well really three) stories at the same time and laid them over each other so perfectly you were rooting for two happy endings and alternate realities at the same time. I don't think I've ever read anything like this. It was so original, meta, and trope-bending in the best way. The musical scene (and the man co-singing in it) were the best things I've ever read in a book. There were a few things I maybe would have complained about in this book, a few parts that dragged, and a couple things that I didn't quite get, but none of it affected my enjoyment of the book. The characters were memorable, the plot was perfect, and it tackled some really hard life things in an honest but still hopeful way. I hope Brennan can sit back an enjoy at least one perfectly good thing that came out of her ordeal and I really hope that she and her readers are lucky enough to get many more years of her writing - and at least one sequel in the very near future.

The premise of this book hooked me from the start- the villains changing the narrative in a story where the hero always wins. For someone who was ALWAYS rooting for Loki, this was such a refreshing change of pace. I really enjoyed seeing how Rae rewrote the story when she was dropped into her favorite book series as lead villainess Rahela. While trying to go on an adventure for a flower that will save her life, she changes everything in the book and creates her own band of villains along the way.

Rae’s pop culture references and modern day phrases had me cracking up, especially when the rest of the characters thought she had “the amnesia” 🤣 I love me a good RiRi shoutout. I was hooked on Key and the Cobra as soon as I met them and loved what they brought to the story as secondary characters. The book itself was a bit long for me at times, but I really enjoyed seeing the story from the villains POV. You know you’ve always wondered what would happen if the villains took over the story, and it may just change your entire outlook.

This book has a very ambitious premise and for the most part, it achieves what it’s intending to, at varying levels of success. Usually, I dislike the premise of “modern woman finds herself in faerietale” but here, instead of it being used as a crutch for lazy storytelling & modern sensibilities, the author builds a unique meta narrative with the changing plot of the story. It’s very interesting and lends a lot to the overall interest of the book for me. I will say, I’m not sure the framing of this book as “telling the villain’s story” is accurate or doing it any favors, but I guess that’s partially the whole point of the book, asking what makes a villlain.

Character wise, I loved Key and Cobra, and came to enjoy Marius & Lia as well. The way Octavian and Lia’s characters in particular were developed was very interesting & smart, and I appreciate the many nods to other fantasy stories before this one in their storylines. Lia, in particular, is such a nice twist.

But unfortunately, I found Rae to be a frustrating and mostly incompetent protagonist. Some of this is surely on purpose. Rae is the kind of reader who reads a book & misses major themes; it’s not that she roots for the villain, as many people do, but rather that she fails to think in depth about most aspects of the story in *why* she roots for him. Ultimately, this leads to a character that should be able to manipulate and move with ease through a cast of characters she already knows, performing a plot she’s already read, instead falling flat. Rae is regularly incompetent, obvious, completely lacking in critical thought. She sees the characters as one dimensional and not real, to both her own detriment but also to that of the reader during points of the story where it would be nice to actually connect with those characters & the plot. It’s not that I think the author is trying to make Rae smart & failing, because I think this is very purposeful. More that my enjoyment of the book is held back by putting off her shift in perspective for sooooo long. If we had started to focus a little more on the characters as people at the 50% mark instead of the 75%ish mark, this would have been a five star book for me. I am not sure if the second book will start off deeply in the narrative of the interior story, which I would really enjoy, or if it’s going to continue to focus on the meta of the envelope story, which I don’t particularly want, so that impacts my willingness to pick up book 2.

Sarah Rees Brennan is the author of one of my all time favorite books- In Other Lands, so I was so excited to get an earc of her new adult fantasy book!!! While I did enjoy this book I did not love it with quite the same fervor as In Other Lands. I love the concept it felt unique compared to what so much fantasy is like these days. The MC gets dropped into the world of her favorite fantasy book. The pacing of this book was a bit off, it took me a while to really get into it, and I did initially get a bit confused there were a lot of characters introduced initially.

I think this is overall an enjoyable read and would recommend to fans of Sarah Rees Brennan, and fans of adult fantasy looking for something a bit different.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an E-arc in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own!

Listen this book is not going to be for everyone…but it is going to be for me! It’s chaotic, thrilling, and all-around a grand ol’ time. I feel that my many years of reading isekai mangas have prepared me for this day.

It follows Rae who is battling cancer when she is offered the opportunity to be reborn into her favorite book series. She is reincarnated as the villainess of the series, Lady Rahela, the day before her execution. She must assemble a team of dastardly villains in hopes of surviving long enough to return to her sister in the real world.

Boy oh boy was this fun to read. If you are new to the isekai genre, this is a pretty common trope where the main character is transmigrated to the body of the villain. Rae is so funny and quick-witted. She partners with an axe-wielding maid, a murderous assassin, and showy brothel owner with a secret, her step sister who hates her, and a righteous man who is honestly blackmailed into the mess.

The pacing in the first half is a little slow, but it really picks up towards the later half. You will see the plot twist coming, but I still had a good time. My concern now is how I’ll have to wait over a year for the sequel.

I absolutely loved this damn book! I have always wanted a villain story but this took it to a whole new level. This really showed how anyone can be made into a villain in someone else's story. And the humor was on point! And the TENSION....! If someone doesn't end up admitting their feelings for a certain fabulous someone else, I will riot! Best book I've read in ages. Cannot wait for the next book!

This seems like it could be funny but it's written like bad fanfiction. It kept kicking me out of the story.

**3.5 stars, rounded down for goodreads

I had originally requested this book because I had heard good things about the author, and I remembered reading one of their series when I was younger and really enjoying this. Also, I had heard that this would be in a certain book box coming up and I was curious to see how it was👀...after reading it, I would say it's good. It might be a me problem, maybe the timing wasn't right or maybe it just wasn't what I was in the mood for but it took me almost a 100 pages to get into it. After that bumpy start though, I flew through it and enjoyed it for the most part. I think that if this is a book in my upcoming book box then I'll try rereading it at that point and see if my opinion changes, but for now it was strictly good, not great.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. Everything in this review is my own opinion and has in no way been influenced by the writer, publisher, or Netgalley.

There are two things to know about this book doing into it:
1) It’s not meant to be taken super seriously
2) You will ship everyone with someone

Given my usual preferences for fantasy, it's saying a lot that I found this book an absolute blast. The characters are and act younger than I tend to have patience for, the world-building is very thin, and the story is little predicable, BUT, I really really enjoyed reading this once I got a few chapters in. It was very funny, kept you on your toes, and I flew through it. It's over 450 pages, but I read it so fast because I was so absolutely engaged and because the pacing is like a hummingbird on cocaine. It definitely keeps you reading as the momentum is nearly unstoppable.

It’s very funny. We have a woman from the present transported into her favourite fantasy series, but she still talks like someone would today. The fish-out-of-water element was fun, and the jokes were funny because the other characters didn’t get them, given they were anachronistic to a medieval-type fantasy world or made no sense to them.

The book is a pastiche of YA or New Adult fantasy. As someone who generally doesn't enjoy the tropes of YA, this book, because it’s tongue in cheek making fun of that, had me actually enjoying those aspects.

The characters, while not being overly deep (Rae aside) are fun. They’re all chaotic young people and archetypes of typical fantasy characters, but they are nonetheless likable and entertaining - namely because all of them throw off their archetypal structuring in some way. And the damn ships in this novel. I swear, every single person I shipped with someone, and I think that’s the intention - their pairings were set up pretty clearly from their first scenes together, but unlike a Romance, where you’re guaranteed a HEA, in this one you spend most of the book not 100% sure if something is going on (which is way more fun).

Rae, being the main character, is more complex than the rest. Most of her actions in the book stem from her being chronically ill. She suffers from abandonment issues most of all, and this comes up and again and again in the novel. It did serve to make her likeable and explain her actions.

Despite how much I really enjoyed reading this and am giving it 5 stars, it does have its problems. It starts off very choppy and info-dumpy the first few chapters, but given it is a comedy, I was able to push past that.

The world-building is very light. Despite it being a court intrigue novel, there are maybe ten characters in the government whom we actually see, and no mention of anyone else. We have a prime minister but no clue what parliament he is in charge of, as we never see them, and a general, but we never really see any army (just some palace guards). It’s not clear who is organizing or doing anything around the castle, as most of the characters are between 20 and 25 and there is maybe one set of parents in the entire book. I didn't really notice this while reading, to be honest, but upon reflection I couldn't really nail down the world or how it functioned.

The story is also quite predictable. I always suspected the one main twist from the start. But did that bother me? Honestly, not really. I had such a great time reading this that I don’t even care. It’s an absolute blast, and anyone who reads a lot of fantasy would get a kick out of it. I did, and I eagerly await book 2.

I was so excited to get this book and really tried. I made it to about the half way point and just couldn’t keep going. It’s such a cool concept and it has so much potential it just comes across a little hard to comprehend sometimes. I might pick it up when it hits shelves and see if it helps keep me going. Thank you for a in exchange for an honest review.

Firstly thank you to Netgalley and Orbit for the advanced copy.

This was a lot of fun and the ending totally did it for me. Now, I could see what the end result would be at a certain point but it still delivered so I'm not upset about it. I went into this without having read the synopsis and right off the bat I understood I was in for an isekai story which automatically put me in a mindset of don't take this too seriously which I think is the perfect attitude for reading this book. That's not to say that it doesn't explore serious some themes at its core because it does but it is a dark comedy first and foremost. I can't wait to see where book two takes us I will absolutely be picking it up.

Unfortunately I ended up dnf’ing this book at 25%. I gave it a fair shot and it wasn’t that it was a very bad book or anything, but it just sort of made me uncomfortable in a way that it wasn’t enjoying for me to continue. The big differences between the writing styles of heavy descriptions of the mc being ill & the “idgaf” attitude she had in the fictional world is quite jarring. I also found the chapters being from different povs while not being clearly indicated a bit frustrating and couldn’t really get myself to care for any of the characters.

In the end I just decided that this book isn’t for me so I didn’t end up finishing it.