I am recovering from the emotional rollercoaster of this book, because how dare book with a choreographed musical scene break my heart! It's not often that a book elicits outbursts from me as I'm reading, and I don't know how many times this had me laughing and yelling out loud.
This is certainly a book you need to go into expecting wacky shenanigans in contrast to it's wildly gorey backdrop. The beginning is very much info-dumpy with characters and titles like The Last Hope, The Once and Forever Emperor, The Golden Cobra, and many more. It takes a while to get a grasp on the setting, but once you're settled it is such a fun ride.

Okay is this five star a little biased because there are several valid critiques of this book, BUT I feel so tender and protective about it. This book is clearly something therapeutic for SRB after her own health struggles - and, coming off of what has probably been one of the worst years of my life, health wise, it was deeply therapeutic for me as well. To see chronic illness being processed, to see the anger and the distance it can plant in your heart?

Normally I would say “I could really see myself in this book” - but I think it is more that, in the reading, I could start to see myself in the book. At several times a line would come up that would so perfectly encapsulate a feeling I hadn’t even realized I had.


And SRB’s trademark wit shines through!

I adored every moment of this! When Rae is dropped into the world of a popular series as the villainess, she embraces the role whole-heartedly and is determined to carry the plot out to perfection, all while finding a way to get home. What follows is a wild adventure through a fantasy world, with characters I loved, and endless action! The slow pace at the beginning set up the world without taking itself too seriously, and the twists and turns were shocking. A thoroughly enjoyable series starter that will leave readers desperate for book 2!

Camp and meta done right. I enjoyed the pokes at misogyny in fantasy and there were multiple times the banter had me laughing.

There were moments that dragged and unnecessary info dumps. Also, there were parts where the, I don’t know exactly, sentence structure(?) would throw me off balance and I would have to go back and read it again.

A fun group of misfits and, overall, a fun ride. I’m interested in what comes next.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!!

4.5 rounded up

This novel begins a new adult fantasy series from the pov of an isekai'd young woman who embraces her inner dark side. On the brink of death from late stage cancer, Rae turns to a beloved fantasy series introduced to her by her younger sister. This dark and twisted tale of betrayal and love captivates her and helps set aside the very real horrors of illness for a time. When given a chance to enter this world and complete a quest in order to both save herself and her family (US insurance dgaf about helping cancer patients) she takes it.

Awakening in this new world on the day of her character's execution, Rae essentially says "fuck it you all think I'm evil anyway time to live up to that expectation". Hatching wicked schemes and recruiting a team of fellow evildoers, she embraces the villainous and becomes a big bad in her own right. Her narrative and actual voice reeks of Millennial malaise, which as a member of this age bracket delighted me!

If you're going into this expecting a serious tone and a protagonist that tries very hard to act and sound like someone who has always resided in the world she now dwells in, turn away this isn't for you. This at times feels borderline satirical with the celebration of and occasional dismantling of the tropes us villain lovers all know so well. A tribute to those of us who love villains and grey morality, no matter the archetype of preference, you'll likely find your character here in some manner.

The humor in this won't be for everyone, as I laughed quite a few times and then cringed through other quips or exchanges. I do think this secondhand embarrassment is intentional however, as girlie is living her best <i>worst</i> life and likes to lay it on a bit thick. Future installments will likely delve deeper into the characters themselves as the allure of being whisked into a favorite book has passed and now reality has set in.

Above all else, this is a novel focusing on the horrors of ostracization in all its gritty forms and the longing to belong somewhere... anywhere at all really.

I had a blast reading this, as I went in expecting it to focus moreso on vibes and trope exploration instead of hyper-realism or in-depth analysis. If you want a fun time following a cast of zany characters who bounce between serial homicide and the <i>worse</i> crime of telling a powerful man "no" check this out!! Its not even officially out yet and I'm already waiting for the sequel.

What an odd book haha. The characters were the thing I liked most about this. The plot, not so much. Pacing was def off.

Long Live Evil asks the question “What if the Villain writes their own story?” And it answers it beautifully.

Pros:
🩸Fantastic and immersive world
🩸Character building and growth
🩸Complex heroes and villains
🩸The good guys aren’t always so good and the bad guys aren’t always so bad
🩸Chaotic bisexuals
🩸Court Intrigue
🩸What is worth fighting for? Your blood or your found family?
🩸F the Patriarchy and the clear double standard
🩸VIPERS FOR LIFE
🩸Second chances
🩸Zero to….. hero?

CONS:
🩸Our villainous leading lady can be a bit dense at times (understandably)
🩸Cancer is rough, so that is definitely a trigger warning that needs to be big and bold. It made me pick up the novel with kid gloves, but I tore through it once I got past all those difficult emotions.
🩸Rough family dynamics all around.
🩸My spicy little ghost pepper was done wrong so many times.
🩸THAT ENDING. i was screaming. So good. Having to wait for the next book is a huge con. But I can look past it.

This is a fun, campy story with a lot of heart. Emphasis on CAMP! So many fun fantasy archetypes and tropes presented here, with opportunities for subversion.

I loved the premise. A young woman dying of cancer is transported into the world of her favorite fantasy series for a chance to find the cure, with one problem: she has woken up as the villain who is supposed to be executed early on. Now she must scheme her way into survival.

It’s also very poignant, as the author herself has survived cancer.

The side characters added so much to the story, and the plot kept things moving. When I finished, I had a visceral, “that’s it?!” reaction, until I realized there would be a sequel. Whew. Crisis averted.

There were moments where the pacing was a little off or the writing felt a little awkward, but overall a a great read.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Oh my gosh this book is like nothing I've ever read before in the best way. I don't have the words to express how much I loved this story. Sarah Rees Brennan understands the bones of stories and what makes them effective in and out and she uses that knowledge to subvert our expectations and tell a fresh story. This is a love letter to readers/lovers of villains and anti-heroes. The characters who would normally be side-characters in another story are front and center here, getting the attention they deserve from the narrative and I am so here for it! Similar to the Wicked musical, this book made me think about what makes a villain and what makes society deem someone a villain. The discussions about how this is intertwined with femininity/sexuality were fascinating but never felt preachy because they were effortlessly intertwined into the story. I'm a mess in the wake of reading this book in the best way. It was the perfect combination of hilarious and heartfelt. I felt so many things and I need book 2 ASAP!

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit for providing me an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.
Trigger Warning: Cancer, Death, Murder
Long Live Evil follows Rae who is dying of cancer when she is given the chance to enter her favorite fantasy novel. The catch is that she isn't the heroine but rather the evil step-sister of the heroine.
No but I need the second book now because I LOVED this so much. I thought the writing was so brilliant in this novel and I loved how much this book subverted the normal tropes that we get in fantasy novels. Seeing as Rae is someone who knows what happens in the novel, she plays through the story as if her being in the novel and her choices won't have a ripple effect and it's so amazing how you can see the puzzle pieces falling together.
I truly loved Rae as a main character. I thought she was so funny and I loved how she would do anything to make sure the story progressed the way it does in her version of the novel. I loved seeing how she created these ripple effects around the story. I thought she was so funny when she would make jokes about tropes or make references to things that the book characters wouldn't know about.
Also the plot in this? It was so strong and was so fascinating. Who hasn't dreamed of being in a novel that we have all read? I love that Sarah Rees Brennan made this her own and showed how our involvement could change things around. I love the subversion of tropes that we are so used to seeing in fantasy novels and making them her own.
The end of this book made me NEED the second one and I'm so happy I received an ARC of this. Please pick this book up when it comes out as it was just brilliant and I am so excited to continue with the series when it comes out. I am definitely picking up a copy when it comes out.

I fell so hard for this book--head over heels, I couldn't stop reading! Long Live Evil is funny and trope-flipping as promised, but it's also poignant and thought-provoking, and my goodness, the cast of characters--I adore all of them, but especially Key. My only complaint is that after that ending, I need the rest of the series immediately and am crushed that it isn't available yet.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc! Opinions are my own.

I so deeply wished I could love this book. Unfortunately, the beginning of this book is so rough that I had to give up. I tried to give this book a genuine try, but at some point I lost hope that it would get better.

The concept of this book is one that did not work for me. This is partially my fault, I picked up the book without looking much at the actual description. I was mostly swayed by the other authors I had seen endorsing the book. And I love a good villain, so I was excited. However, the plot of this is like a bad fan fiction. What do you mean the main character gets approached by a person in the hospital and is offered the chance to go into a book? I’ve read so many fan fictions like this. However, if you really love these fan fictions, this book might be completely up your alley! I just found myself finding the plot rather silly. I was also unable to care about this fictional world that I was completely unfamiliar with that the character was thrown into.

I think for the right person, this book would be so fun. The references and writing would likely work more for an audience that is not me. For example, at one point in the book Batman is just randomly mentioned. Eyeliner game, eating the rich, and the phrase “AF” were present throughout, and unfortunately this type of writing does not work for me.

I will not be posting my review of this book, as I did not complete the book.
Thank you so much for the ARC.

I had to DNF at around 12%. The tone of this books wasn't what I was expecting and I know it's not for me

I will not be posting this to my socials due to the critical review.

I don’t know what to say, this one really hurts. One of my most anticipated reads of 2024, dashed.

All opinions are my own, please remember that just because this wasn’t for me doesn’t mean that you won’t like it. I think a book like this has a very specific audience.

This book is everything I love on paper, villainous, reincarnation, basically an Isekai manhwa in a western context, I should love this!

I couldn’t. And it physically pains me to say that. I’m going to highlight what were misses for me.

First let’s lists some positives

the ending was probably the best part and well executed.
- possibly the next book will be better for world building
The premise will sell lots of people to read it.
If you like a campy satirical time this may be a good fit for you.
If you read Isekai Manhwa’s this is an interesting attempt and you may enjoy it
I feel like if you’re 15-18 years old and you like anime you may like this? I feel like it has a specific vibe.

THE PLOT

Unfortunately the first 15% of this book was an absolute nightmare to get into. Too much information dumping, confusing prose, mixing modern language into a fantasy setting (using terms like “ AF and rosebud lips”). The plot doesn’t pick up until after 40% into this book and even at that point, it was hard to care about the characters. There is a lack of world building that makes me cry.

The issues with the plot are that some things are over explained and other things are not explained until 60% into the book. It’s frustrating and doesn’t work.

I’m not even going to fault it for being campy, because that’s the point! Cheesiness aside, the main problems are that the plot does not invest the readers, it was slow going on, characters were caricatures of archetypes and didn’t feel like real people. I was so confused about who was speaking when, as it alternated point of views.

THE CHARACTERS

I had such high hopes for Rae as a main character the book is called Long Live Evil but where is our scheming villainous?! Where is our goddess dipped in blood?! She really is just a teenager. WHERE IS THE EVIL! I’ve read so many manhwas where the main girl is absolutely delightfully evil that Rae pales in comparison to them.

Rae doesn’t care about the characters because this is a book right? But, as a reader I couldn’t care about them either. If the main character doesn’t care then why should I?

THIS IS AN ADULT BOOK?

Sorry, I just checked the tag, this is being marketed as an adult fantasy book? No way. This is a young adult book, through and through. A young adult comedy probably a satire. But definitely not an adult fantasy.

THE ENDING

The ending I think was a highlight I think it was executed well.

unfortunately I could see the twist a mile away so that’s kind of a me problem

Not all books need to have sequels, we could have accomplished everything we needed to in ONE BOOK!

Unfortunately this is a no for me.

thank you Orbit for the advanced copy. I truly appreciate it. And just because this wasn’t for me doesn’t mean that it was bad ( hence the 3 star rating, I think a very specific audience will see the humor and joys of this and absolutely love it)

3.5 stars

This is kind of a difficult one to review. It was obviously meant to be a little over the top, but the cheesiness was sometimes hard to look past - beware of the extremely cringy musical number. It definitely took a while to get into and took me longer than it normally would to finish.

There were a lot of things that redeemed it for me though, especially getting to know the characters and learning their backstories. Key was by far my favorite and there were a couple of great relationships starting to form - I would read the sequel for that alone. The MC Rae was okay but again, a little over the top and says a lot of ridiculous things. I saw the ending coming but thought it was a great twist nonetheless. I’m looking forward to seeing how it plays out in the next book and am hopeful that it will be a smoother read.

Thank you to Orbit for the ARC!

Ending is really well done, and love the premise. The characters fell a bit flat and 2 dimensional. The campy tone was something you'll either love or hate, I liked it overall but there were times I just rolled my eyes at some of the over the top camp. Spends too much time talking about how evil she is without actually being so; I think that's part of the point, but got repetitive.

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.

Rating 3.5
Long Live Evil is a story about Rae, a girl with cancer, who spend most of her time in the hospital. Rae’s younger sister spends most of her time in the hospital reading a popular book series she’s obsessed with, Time of Iron, aloud to Rae. However, one day Rae is given the ability to enter Eyam, the world where the book series takes place, and she has the chance to save her own life. From this point on, Rae spends her time trying to remember the book’s plot and not really doing anything all that evil herself.

Things didn’t really play out in this the way I was expecting based on the summary.
It never felt like Rae was truly immersed in the world. She frequently references book tropes as they’re playing out, drops modern day references and slang, and makes no real effort to fit into the Time of Iron story. She never makes an effort to connect with the characters and that made it difficult for me to connect to any of the characters as well. However, I really enjoyed the side characters personalities and I’m very interested to see where the next book takes them.

Overall, I think the Long Live Evil is good. The premise is super interesting, the tongue in cheek humor is unique for a fantasy book, and I would’ve loved to have delved more into the world and the characters in it. However, it never quite became what I was expecting based on the description and it ended up being too predictable for me. As a book, certain spoilers were made very obvious to me early on and their later reveals lost a lot of their impact, but I think this would make a great movie or tv show!

I think this will appeal more to a YA audience, despite its adult rating, or someone who is newer to the fantasy genre and looking for something that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I have followed this author since she first released her Lynburn Legacy series when I was in high school. It still remains one of my favorite trilogies of all time, and I was very excited for this book to be released. I might have done a little dance at a gas station pump when I got the email that I had received the ARC. Yes, it was bad, yes, it was embarrassing. No, I don’t care.

Sarah. How dare you. That was amazing.

5 STARS

I loved this. I don’t think I’ve had this much fun reading in a long time. The story and characters were full of life and humor, and both bring home the foundation of this tale: Just because something isn’t real, doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter. Especially when you love that very thing.

I completed the books weeks ago, and I still find myself pouring over the pages again and again. I can’t quite articulate all the ways in which I relate to and wonder about the characters in the days since.

This story is best gone into blind, so I won’t add much more, but I will be forcing everyone I come across to pick it up on release date. I cannot wait for the sequel.

Unfortunately this book is a DNF for me at 35%. It had a rocky start but with a unique premise I was hopeful it would turn around since I love the author’s other book, In Other Lands. But the comedy started feeling really forced, the descriptions of scenes became unnecessarily brutal, and I just didn’t like the way it was written. A big bummer!!