dnf 30%

i started this audiobook in august, at first i was really enjoying it. The premise is really interesting and is unique. around 20% i just got bored & i didn’t enjoy the fmc enough to continue her story

Thank you to Netgalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I have enjoyed some of the author's book before and was looking forward to this one and its unusal premise of a tale told my the perspective of the villian of the story. In this book our narrator is dying so she makes a deal to go into her favorite fantasy book series. I was engrossed through this point of the book but things changed for me fairly quickly. So many people love this book so I think I am the odd man out. I can tell that the books is well written and meant in fun but the over the top, almost satircal humor wasn't fun for me. I would have liked to see everything be a bit more serious since life was literally in the balance here. The one off villian comments went from humourous to off putting by the end of the book. I will not be continuing the series but I know that is a case of me and not the book in this instance.

Rae is dying. And she gets a chance to save her life if she finds the flower of life in her sisters favorite book. But as it turns out she falls into the book as a villain about to be executed. So she things fast to save her life from what she remembers of her sister reading her the book. She saves her life all to fall in love with the villain that was going to end her. Keys stays with her only to out smart the king. Only to have him fall in love with her. But she soon discovers she is not the only one in the book trying to save their own life. And while doing so the snake finds out the story has changed with what he has done and he is a villain as well. Trying to make things right again Raw has to make a hard choice to stay and make things right or to go after the life flower.

I will say that I was excited about the premise of this story; being pulled into a story universe in order to stave of untimely death, and being the villain.
Our FMC, Rae finds herself in the pages of her favourite fantasy book as one of the main villains. She must find a specific artifact that will allow her to prolong her life in the real world.
I thought that I would really enjoy this, but for some reason I just was not connecting with the story or the characters. It's not a bad story, and I did enjoy some of the snappy dialogue between the characters, but I could've find myself immersed in the story 100%.

Book Review: Long Live Evil
⭐️⭐️

I received an ARC of the audiobook version of Long Live Evil, but I struggled with the narrator, which made it hard for me to stay engaged. However, after switching to the physical version, I found it much more enjoyable and was able to finish the book.

The concept of the story was funny and unique, which kept me entertained despite it not being my favorite. While it wasn’t the perfect read for me, I still had a good time with it. For those who enjoy quirky takes on villainy, it might be worth a try.

4.5 stars. I actually really liked this book! I wasn’t sure how the story would go or how it would start, but I really enjoyed it. I liked that it poked fun at book tropes and played up being the villain while also having a plot to move it forward. I guessed the twist but it was still good. I enjoyed the variety of characters as well. I am looking forward to the next book.

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.

For the audiobook specifically, I did not think the narrator was a great match for the story content. Though talented, the narrator clearly is not American; Rae's "Oklahoma" accent was abysmal and the switches between the British narration voice to the accent were rough and distracting.

I received this audiobook as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Sarah Rees Brennan, Hachette Audio, 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 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.

I liked the audio narration, although the southern accent used for the main character took some getting used to and was jarring once she fell into the fantasy setting - which made sense since she didn’t belong there!

What would you do if you had the chance to step into your favorite story, but in the shoes of a character doomed to die? Rae's cancer is incurable, unless she can get her hands on a magical artifact within the pages of her favorite story. The only catch is that she must do it while wearing the skin of the heroine's wicked stepsister, a minor antagonist who is punished by the story for her wicked ways. To succeed, she'll need to gather some questionably loyal evil minions and charm the story's original male protagonist long enough to survive.

Perhaps the most contentious four out of five stars I've given on a book! First, I wasn't always vibing with the writing style. It was often satirical to the point of unfunny absurdity with a juvenile edge, and the meta jokes didn't always hit. For an adult fantasy book, there was a lot of telling when it came to certain themes, and some feminist quotes were too reminiscent of the America Ferrera Barbie speech. Rae's quippiness was especially heavy-handed at the beginning, and made it hard to get into the story.

Despite all of that, Brennan really delivered some strong emotional gut-punches. Brennan used her own experience with cancer to add rawness to Rae's character, and that grit kept me grounded even as the story got wacky. Her characters are all "bad" people with many flaws, and as she toys around with our own perceptions of how they "should" behave according to the original novel versus how they behave now that Rae is changing the story, we as readers are left trying to piece together what the truth is. There's a whole web of complicated character relationships at play, which paved the way for a rollercoaster finale.

In a way, this is every Korean villainess isekai light novel/manhwa that's come out in the last few years, with a dash of MXTX's Scum Villain's Self-Saving System, all tossed up with western fantasy conventions. It's an interesting full-circle moment, given how many Korean villainess isekai manhwa are inspired by western storytelling tropes, too. Being an avid reader of the villainess genre, I was initially frustrated at how the book started off just like every villainess manhwa, only to find that Brennan's unique voice and storytelling choices really shine after the initial setup.

I can't help it, I'm hooked! I'll be eagerly awaiting the next book.

Did not finish book. Stopped at 33%. It was not for me.
I was so bored. The story was an interesting concept but execution sucked. I was excited the main character was from Oklahoma but it was like a Gen Z was dropped into a fairy tale and used present day slang. Also it's kind of fucked up to have the main character dying and offered this opportunity to be alive in a book only to be placed into a character that was being sentenced to death. Talk about morbid. I just was so bored.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

DNF after 53%

I was really excited for this book, villains? What could be better? But in the end, I found this book to be slow, with lots of telling and very little showing or doing when it came to the plot. The "evilness" was also over the top and took away from the story. I was ready to scream if I had to read about the FMC constantly refer to her sidekicks as "minions" or hear about how good it feels to be evil.

In the present world, Rae is slowly dying of cancer... Until a mystery woman appears inside her hospital room and makes her an outrageous offer: Fulfill a daring quest in the world of her sister’s favourite book and be saved from death through the magical artifact acquired. Well, Rae thinks, she might as well try, and gets isekai’d right into the middle of second world court intrigue and fantasy politics by the side of her favourite character, who is to become The Once and Forever Emperor (as soon as he receives some more character development, just wait and see).

Unfortunately, she finds herself inhabiting the body of the villainess of the royal harem, the scheming bombshell bent on climbing the social ladder, on the very eve of her planned execution. The only thing saving Rae from dancing in hot iron shoes is her knowledge of the plot, allowing her to pose as a divinely chosen prophetess and gain the ruler's favour. Now, if only she had paid closer attention to the plot recaps her sister gave her, because some details simply haven't stuck... or might even be altered in the process of escaping the book.

Long Live Evil sounds like a whole lot of comedy potential, and it has that. Emphasis on potential. Unfortunately, this books isn’t very funny and I don’t think the cringe pop culture references the protag insists on making land the way the author intended. Yeah, for someone whose life depends on getting back in a king’s good graces and staying there, Rae sure doesn’t put a lot of effort into remaining in character. She even acts out a villainous musical number! No!!!

Then surely, you must think, the fantasy world and writing must be super interesting at least? Ummm… how do I say this without sounding mean… Well, oOoOOoooOOOOkkkkkkk. This isn’t a well-written book. When at first the secondary world started appearing about as solid as a cardboard backdrop, I thought the author might be doing this on purpose, as a tongue-in-cheek allusion to whatever is marketed as high fantasy these days. Sadly, by now I really am convinced this is a skill issue instead.

So what warrants a 3-star rating then? I can give you an answer to that: I personally really, really liked what the author did with the character work here, and I would be amiss not to mention that my very favourite of all is Key and all that he encompasses. [Honeys, I was so convinced the dumb antihero blorbo would end up being the love interest only to have my world turned upside down by the low-born sociopath killer with scars and a willingness to eat coochie on the first date, but all that was building up so slowly, the author had me doubting her intentions… We do love to see an evil duo winning, fingers crossed for them (hide spoiler)].

Brennan definitely hails from a fandom brackground and knows the rules to break, with her protagonists supporting and shipping fictional characters left and right. She truly wrote the story for everyone who ever wanted to sleep with their problematic fave. This novel ends on the most abrupt cliffhanger I have read in a while, and I can’t wait to get my hands on the sequel despite all the aforementioned drawbacks. I am a simple person. Ship and let ship.

Im giving this 4 stars for my first read, and heres why. I started this as an audiobook and I was really feeling "meh" about the whole thing. I found that I wasnt connecting to the characters or the story, I was confused, and found myself zoning out. During the last quarter I started tandem reading and ended up finishing the book by physically reading it, and let me tell you my enjoyment skyrocketed. I was laughing out loud and feeling way more emotion and connection to the characters. So initially what I was thinking would be a 3* max, now I feel like this actually could have potentially been a 5* for me. Some day I will re-read this... probably before the next book comes out in preparation, and I am so excited for that day!

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for access to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Long Live Evil was so chaotic in the best way! This was very entertaining. And also left me pondering who the villains really are in this world.

Rae gets dropped into the world of her favorite fantasy series with a quest to retrieve a flower than can save her from dying of cancer out in the real world. Only she finds herself in the role of a villain scheduled to be executed the next morning. And as you can guess, chaos ensues.

This started off with a bang and I was immediately pulled into the story. Rae generally knows the plot and tries to use this to her advantage but is a fuzzy on some details. This is because she was listening to her sister read the books to her during her cancer treatment and the brain fog sometimes caused her not to remember parts. So sometimes she comes up with detailed schemes based on what she knows will happen and other times her plans are to just fly by the seat of her pants. I thought this was a nice balance and lended itself nicely to a lot of comedic relief. I also love that she fully leaned into being a villain.

Moira Quirk did the audiobook narration and I usually love her, but it did take me a minute to get used to that Oklahoman accent used for Rae's voice. It was just a smidge too pronounced for me at first and pulled me out of the story a few times. But I did get used to it eventually and enjoyed listening overall. Also, the story is pretty chaotic at the beginning so I did find myself going back to re-listen to parts or going to the ebook sometimes to make sure I didn't get lost. But once I found my footing, it was smooth sailing. I would recommend the audiobook if you are typically an audiobook listener.

Thanks so NetGalley and Orbit for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review. I can't wait for the next book!

Read if you like...
-villain POV (kinda)
-chaos and scheming
-where the main character goes into a fictional world
-court intrigue

I just found this book really enjoyable to listen to and I’m not exactly sure what made it stand out to me. Maybe it’s because the premise is still relatively new to me/not something very read a lot of, even though I’m seeing from other reviews that many folks feel differently/have more experience with this ‘visitor from one/the real world suddenly thrown into another/fantasy world’ and all the self awareness, biting commentary, and pop culture references clearly being thrown out for the readers enjoyment. Either way, I found it fun, humorous, and I wanted to keep listening to figure out what she’d do next to try to come out ahead. I quickly found myself invested and loved the ridiculousness/self awareness/critique of common fantasy world/story tropes. Sometimes I just need a book (and a main character) that doesn’t take itself/themself too seriously and I can just go along for the ride. I did not realize it was/is part of a series and was disgruntled when it ended without wrapping everything up nicely, but I guess it’s a good sign that I want more. If you have ever found yourself empathizing with the villain, wishing you could step into a favorite fantasy series of your own, or found yourself judging the decisions of the characters in said series and asking what if it didn’t play out like that, you’ll probably enjoy this book. Thanks for NetGalley for the audiobook - I really enjoyed listening to the narration of this book and look forward to revisiting this world to learn what happens next.

Thanks to Hachette Audio for the copy of this ALC!

LONG LIVE EVIL is the best second chance trope, reminding me a bit of how The Princess Bride starts and there's a contrast between a gloomy real world and a fantasy world with adventure and love. Sarah Rees Brennan is FUNNY - there are so many entertaining one-liners and tropes, making this a really enjoyable read. It did feel a little on the long side, but there was lots of action through until the end!

Moira Quirk did a really fantastic job of narrating all the POVs and I'm glad I listened to this one on audio!

I think this is one I need to reread with my eyeballs. I struggled with getting into/caring about the character on audio. It was a wild ride and had a lot of potential and definetly here for the vibes, but I found myself lost with the audio - which could totally be a me problem.

EDIT.
I reread it with my eyes and absolutely adored it. The audio was hard to follow though!

—-

This isn’t going to be a book for everyone, but also the right audience will go absolutely feral over it. (It’s me. Hi.)

Short Synopsis:
Rae is sick. She’s dying. And she’s gotten through some hospital stays by her sister reading to her from her favorite fantasy series - Time of Iron. But when a mysterious woman comes to Rae and sends her to the Time of Iron world on a mission and if she’s successful, she’ll be healthy, Rae can’t refuse. But she enters the would as a villainous and has to learn how to navigate it on the team of evil.

My Thoughts:
Long Live Evil is deliciously unique, creative and for lovers of fantasy (especially those morally grey villains we all love so much.) Truly one of the most unique, genius books I’ve read in awhile. I adored Rae and her scheming and one liners. The side characters were a blast and really all played their fantasy role beautifully. (Key and Cobra especially.)

It’s been a long time since I’ve laughed this much in a fantasy. It was seriously so funny.

I will say I first attempted this book on audio and I struggled with following the details and the different POVs, so picked it up again as an eyeball read and enjoyed it a lot more that way.

What You’ll Find:
🖤Morally grey characters
🐍Adventure
🖤Scheming
🐍Found family
🖤Humor
🐍Villain’s POV
🖤Real world + fantasy world
🐍Adult fantasy

What if you could save your own life by completing a quest in your favorite book series? Except when you get there you turn out to be - gasp - the villain.

Sympathetic villain perspectives in fantasy fiction aren’t exactly unusual these days, but give this one some credit for finding a creative way to get there.

The story suffers a bit from the same problem that plagues all novels that use this trope, which is that the central character villains are never actually villains. They’re only perceived as evil, or mistakenly identified as the bad guy, or some such. It’s understandable because, y’know, readers don’t actually want to root for a true villain, only a dark and mysterious, misunderstood sort.

That said, this is fun and charming and while it’s definitely too long and gets a bit repetitive, it’s a really clever idea, the characters are easy to root for, and it has some humor that doesn’t hit every time, but does land a joke often enough. And the ending is excellent.

I believe this is considered adult fantasy, but it felt more like a YA book to me. A good choice for either audience if you want a fun, rollicking adventure. I’d read another if the series continues.

Rae is dying of cancer when she gets the opportunity to go live in her favorite book series. She has to get a certain flower when it blooms, and if she does, then she will be healed and get to live. If she dies in the book, then she dies forever. When she wakes up in the book, she realizes that she is in the body of one of the book's villains. As she comes to terms with this, she finds herself figuring out how to stay alive.

I had ups and downs with this one. I think it was a little slow to get going. Then there was a lot good in the middle (and even toward the end), The best character of the book: the Cobra. A flamboyant fool with a heart of gold and lots of comic relief. The castle intrigue and outsmarting people in the middle was enjoyable. However, it was wayyyyy too long for the plot I think. Especially because it seems like this might be the first in a series. It definitely could have been condensed/things cut out. I understand why Brennan was doing some of these things, but it still just felt so slow. Part of it maybe was that I was listening to it rather than reading it, so I could not really speed read through some of the slower parts. I also wish Brennan had leaned into the being from a different world a bit more as these moments I felt added some much needed humor to areas.

Finally, the ending.... What I think would have been 3.5 stars was brought down to an even 3 because of the ending. I feel a little better if Goodreads is correct and this is book one because then maybe there will be some more resolution. When I ended it before realizing that though, I literally was like really??? I also just don't know how I feel about the twist. SPOILERS AHEAD. I grew to love Key as this rapscallion character, was super saddened by his death, and now he's a zombie emperor? Maybe not a zombie, couldn't quite tell from the audio book and didn't want to rewind. I still don't see how Rae didn't know who the emperor was in the books. There is no way that it was never mentioned and he was just called "Emperor." Especially since this was her favorite character!!!

In terms of the narrator, overall she was good, except her voice for Rae felt weirdly country/Southern? It was just kind of a strange accent to choose. Also, the writer's word choice/style at times was a little cringey.

Will I read the second (if there is one)? Yes, because now I need to know if we have resolution. Would I urge people to go run out and buy this? Probably not, no. Such an interesting premise, but just overall felt tedious to get through and then a mediocre ending.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.