CHOOSE EVIL
Well at least choose Morally Grey.
Join a merry band of vipers and scheme your way to the top.

Long Live Evil just spartan kicked my previous 5 star reads into a pit. It was ridiculous. It was tropey/cliche and overly aware of itself (fourth wall, who?). It was unapologetically fun, witty, serious, and heartbreaking. All the feels. All the payoff.
What wouldn't you do for a second chance at life and why not have fun along the way? Why not choose evil?

"When the great disasters of life come, you get angry and sad, you scheme and bargain your way out. Unable to be your best self, you discover your worst self. To love a villain is to love your own soul unleashed." - Sarah Rees Brennan, Fairyloot Author Letter

**I double dare you to not tear up reading the acknowledgements...

Comps:
How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying
The Frugal Wizards Handbook for Surviving Medevil England

P.S. The audiobook is narrated by MOIRA QUIRK, give it a listen.
P.P.S. SO glad this is going to be a series!

Thanks to NetGalley and Orbit Books for the eARC!

This is a really mixed bag. On one hand, it was campy and fun, using tropes to create a fun and funny dynamic in the story. On the other hand, it was probably twice as long as it needed to be and kind of badly written. The commentary the author was trying to make with the characterization of villains was also not super successful. It was also kind of predictable. I would have definitely enjoyed it more if it was more concisely done about half as long.

Thank you to Orbit Books and NetGalley for an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review

As someone who loves villianess anime and manga, I was so excited when this got announced, and I was not disappointed! This did exactly what I hoped it would do; it was a funny and entertaining story but also subverted a lot of expectations. Brennan did a great job of writing both a story you didn't want to put down while commenting on stereotypes and tropes commonly found in fantasy. For a debut author, the writing and characters were great. I can't wait for book two, especially after that ending!

Also, I didn't know this until I finished, but the author herself is a cancer survivor, and she used that experience to make this character and her struggles feel real and more heartbreaking. They say write what you know, and Brennan did that expertly. Please check TW though, as there are parts of this that are hard to read.

This is an extremely well-written and emotional book; I cried several times. My feelings on the book as a whole are mixed -- this was not a good time for me to be reading this in my life, I think, is the main thing. It did win me over by about 70% and I cared very much about everything going into the finale. But, yeah, complicated.

It reminds me a lot of the anime Now And Then, Here and There, which is a very dark isekai. It is gritty. It is grim. The writing is upbeat and peppy and full of collequialisms and jokes but the actual story is one of misery where kindness can't thrive and only despair can reign. (I wasn't able to watch Now and Then, Here and There though) I think if I'd gone in knowing that, I might have been able to prepare my heart more for it, but I hadn't, because the writing was so quippy. But ultimately this is a story about cancer, the author's and the character's. None of these things are bad. The book was incredible. I'm just sort of trying to explain how my head's in knots about it, and I know this is a very disjointed review compared to my norm as a result.

There are a few technical things that didn't work for me, which might be fixed in a later book: That the in-world author was anonymous but the book series somehow got to be so big that there were conventions held for it alone and musicals made (hard to believe for me just for licensing if nothing else). That nobody questioned how we had multiple world theory active with the fact that the Cobra and Rae both remembered different books back on earth (so they had to be different versions of THEIR world too). That Rae was selected -- why? By whom? If it's this big a fandom, how many thousands of people are dying and getting the offer, and if it's not thousands then why these people in particular? Again, these are things that are open questions, so they might get closed in later books.

The writing is beautiful, the characters are phenomenally well composed, the character arcs are, as a whole, very satisfying -- even if that satisfaction is sometimes dread rather than contentment. I think it's technically marvelous to set up a whole story, and then break it in multiple ways.

I'm pretty shaken from this; again, bad time for me to read something this grim, personally, but I don't think that's a bad thing in a story like this, either. Four stars.

3.5-4*

This book is a fantastic romp through the eyes of villainy. With a motley crew of main characters and it's blend of campy silliness and heartfelt emotion was a wild ride from start to finish.

Some elements of pacing were a little sloppy and sometimes the writing wasn't the best, but it was easy to overlook because the story has so much fun and vibrancy.

Ultimately this book was good, but I don’t think I really got it. The beginning of the story, before our main character goes into the world of the book, and she has a sister she loves and a cancer diagnosis that upends her life, was the most interesting part.
Once she goes into the book, the story kind of loses me. There’s a lot of political intrigue but so little reason to care about it because the main character’s entire reason for being there is just to get a flower to cure herself with. She’s not even herself in the book but a preexisting character so the stakes of the story felt really low compared to the stakes of the earlier part of the story.

I absolutely loved this book, and had such an amazing time with it! I loved the author's sense of humour, and the character relationships were spectacular. I can't wait for book two!

This book was absolutely AMAZING and I need the sequel right now!! I loved the characters so much, and I just had the best time with this book! I loved Rae and her relationships with the other characters, and I really liked the relationship between Marius and Eric! And Key!! He was so unhinged, I loved him. I also thought the concept for this book was so interesting, and the plot was super fast-paced! The ending actually had me really surprised, and I didn't even see a lot of the plot twists coming. All around, I loved everything about this book, and would completely recommend it! I can't wait for book two :)

This book was so fun!

Sarah Rees Brennan’s "Long Live Evil" follows Rae, our terminally ill FMC who jumps at the chance to accept a magical bargain that allows her to enter her favorite fantasy series. Instead of waking up as the heroine, Rae embraces her new start as the wicked villainess; Lady Rahela, the Beauty Dipped in Blood. Unfortunate for Rae, Lady Rahela is due to be executed the very next day.

Brennan perfected mixing humor with darker themes. While a few plot points felt a bit predictable, the whitty and engaging writing kept me hooked. I would recommend this book if you like lighthearted stories that make you question good and bad, and not to take things too seriously.

I didn’t expect myself to love this as much as I did, but I was cackling with delight throughout. Long Live Evil was brilliant, and I cant wait to read book two.

**Thank you to Orbit Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review**

The sheer amount of information given in the first quarter was a lot. Everyone had so many names. The humor wasn’t really my taste. But damn it, I liked the concept. It might’ve been a ‘it’s me not you’ situation because I know my mutuals have enjoyed this book. I’d still recommend.

To be completely dramatic, I would die for this book. It was so fun (while touching on such an important topic). Favorite read this year.

When her whole life collapsed, Rae still had books. Dying, she seizes a second chance at living: a magical bargain that lets her enter the world of her favourite fantasy series.

The perfect book for anyone in their fantasy villain era. I loved it.

How many of us would love to be transported to our favorite fantasy world? LONG LIVE EVIL takes that idea and sprints with it, and the outcome is this delightfully fun little gem. Rae is a woman in our world who is dying of cancer. She’s given an oddball bargain from a mysterious stranger — accept your fate in this world, or live on in another? She’s transported to the world of her favorite book series and everything is foreign and strange, which is compounded by the fact that she can’t remember the events of book 1 (and haven’t we all been there?!). What unfolds is a story of choices, of fate, and of revenge. ⁣
⁣
I had so much fun with this book! I can’t get over how much I enjoyed everything about LONG LIVE EVIL, particularly the idea of being in your favorite fantasy world. What an absolute dream that would be and I’ve ⁣
never wanted to switch places with a character so badly. Though I’d pass on her fantasy world, it’s a lil brutal. ⁣
⁣
Unbeknownst to Rae, she is unfortunately transformed into the villain of the book series and things are rather tricky for her as that particular character is on the chopping block. She has to fight to survive while trying to navigate an unknown world and story, and things don’t seem to be working in her favor. The characters were as delightful as the story and I loved how each one fit the typical mold of, well, characters in a fantasy world. There’s the typical good guy, typical villain, the typical side characters and the helper characters, but they were all unique in their own rights despite being “typical”.⁣ I’m pretty certain LONG LIVE EVIL will be a contender for one of my favorite books of the year. I adored this so so much, and I can’t wait for the sequel.

Exceptionally compelling characters kept me in to this book with some very uneven pacing issues. good central conceit (escape into a fantasy world because you have terminal cancer) and secondary drama/romance (spoiler alert) with a decent twist that did make me smile. things i would have liked: better articulated worldbuilding, lia POV.

This ones tricky.
The writing is irritatingly juvenile in parts, and most of the characters are overused archetypes, or don’t have much logic behind their actions at all. It also seriously needs some word trimming and major editing. I found myself skimming paragraphs of underfleshed world building.
That said, I didn’t dislike the book once I finished it. The overarching ideas are interesting, and I found some character arcs to be engaging and even satisfying. I could definitely tell what the author wanted to write this book to accomplish, and in those things she succeeds. Key, and the Golden Cobra were those parts, and the most enjoyable by far. I would recommend this to the right people, and I might pick up the second one if it has enough of a hold on my mind once it comes around.

Big thanks to Sara Brennan and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for a review.

If you could choose, would you choose the evil side or the good side?
I'm a sucker for evil.

I enjoyed the role reversal of being evil over being good cause really, evil gets shit done.
I love that the good girl was called out on her tactics and that the characters that you read as being legit bad, were in fact on the moral high ground.

It's a story within a story, and it felt very wrapped up in the end with why they made it into the story.

5 stars!

If Sarah Rees Brennan has no fans, I'm dead.

This was everything I wanted it to be and more? I never laugh out while reading but I am pretty sure I snorted, rolled my eyes and giggled while reading this. It was truly an incredible story and now I anxiously await the next.

For fans of:
- Pyscho Academy
- To Charm a Dark Prince

Rae is a normal young woman, bedridden from her battle with cancer and all but rescind to her looming death. When all hope feels lost, she gets the opportunity to dive into her favorite book series, join the characters on their adventure, and find the cure that will save her life.

This book includes:
- modern world meets fantasy land
- cheeky humor
- high stakes

The concept behind "Long Live Evil" is fun and unique. I loved being able to explore multiple "evil" POVs and Rae is an entertaining protagonist. Unfortunately, I am not a fan of the writing style as I find it very simplistic and boring. I also was not a fan of the type of "banter" and "comedy" in the story and frequently found myself rolling my eyes. Rae is a bit insufferable and I honestly think this book would have done much better marketed as a YA read, rather than adult.

I received this eBook as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Sarah Rees Brennan, and Orbit for the opportunity to review this book. This review has been posted to GoodReads check out my profile https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/62314863

the unfortunate result of "great idea but poor execution"
also, why did this have multiple pov's??? for a concept like this it really didn't make sense to me

The premise of Long Live Evil was so exciting to me - a terminally ill teenager gets a second chance at life when she’s transported into her favorite fantasy series. She’s a little fuzzy on some plot details, but she’s confident she can use her insider knowledge of the plot and characters to complete her quest to get back home and cure her cancer. Even when she takes the place of a villain she knows is killed off in book one. But what will she do when the plot goes off the rails?

I was expecting an irreverent, rompy fantasy novel that played with expectations and tropes in a really fun way. And I did get that! But I was surprised by the heavy fantasy plot elements that were woven into the narrative as well. The tonal clash between those two elements was a little off putting during the back half of the book, but the ending was so interesting and unexpected that I’ll definitely be coming back for book two.