Great, great, story telling. Loved the world building and the attention to detail in developing the atmosphere, characters, and their abilities. I’ll definitely be investing in the book when it’s released.

The narration was very good. I only have two complaints (one more personal than a suggested tweak).

1. The speed of narration was far too slow for me. I wish the app offered more increments of speeds to listen to at normal (1.0x) I felt like everything dragged on. I found myself listening at 1.25x for the entirety of the book.

2. I learned that legionaries is pronounced legion-aries instead of like legion-air and listening to that numerous times bothered me. Again. Not against the narrator. Thats personal. I learned I've been saying it wrong 😅.

Overall this was such a refreshing fantasy I can’t wait for the next installment.

Would I purchase as an audiobook even after buying the hard copy? Absolutely.

Thanks to NetGalley & Dreamscape Media for sending me a copy of the ALC of this book for my honest review.

I finally picked up A Practical Guide to Evil I, and I can honestly say it delivers something truly unexpected. Catherine Foundling, an orphan in a conquered land, chooses a path most wouldn't dare: join the ranks of villainy to reshape the system from within. What could've been a standard fantasy trope turns into a sharp, ambitious exploration of moral ambiguity and narrative awareness.

The worldbuilding is next-level. Names, Roles, and tropes are wielded like magic, and characters—especially Catherine—aren’t just aware of them; they manipulate them. The result is meta but never gimmicky. This book is narrated from the 'villains' perspective. Catherine is likeable, we accept her twisted motives because we see the 'Heroes' and they are not too different from our FMC.

Catherine is a standout—cunning, determined, and ambitious. The narrative grips from the start with taut writing, intense political intrigue, and dark humor that sneaks up on you in the best way.

🎧 Audiobook: The narration really elevates the story. The narrator captures Catherine’s sharp wit and confidence without overplaying it, and gives just enough distinction to side characters to keep the large cast clear. It made the political intrigue and meta-commentary even more engaging—I’d easily rate the audio performance 4.5 stars as well.

Overall: A thrilling, unconventional fantasy start with a strong, morally ambiguous lead and a world that knows it’s in a story. The premise alone is enough to hook you—but it’s the execution that keeps you invested. Solid 4.5 stars.

The narration for this was great.

The story itself had some pacing issues. It kept losing me towards the middle and it took me a few tries to finish it. Perhaps it needs a little more character work too as I felt like the protagonist found her morals towards the end and it felt pretty unnatural after the story that far.

When I first saw the title for this book I was like ABSOLUTELY! I was immediately drawn in, and it did not disappoint! The moral dilemma that our main character is faced with, can she truly be a force for positive change for her people while training and working with the enemy? Will the evil that she must commit be worth it in the end? LOVE IT!
Catherine is also so funny, I found myself laughing aloud quite a bit!
This book is very action heavy, and I personally, wanted more depth from her relationships. I felt like they were a little superficial, which for the purposes of the story is fine, but as a reader I prefer deeper connections so I think that was the biggest downfall for me personally.
The world is complex and I loved the variety of species and magical creatures!

This was such a a fun story! the narrator was pretty good. The characters were so interesting and I'm totally ready for more in this world! I was getting annoyed at Catherine at certain parts of the story but then remembered she was only 16 years old. the world building is excellent and the magic was cool to learn about.

This was a nice start to a series. The characters were cool and the concepts were solid. I enjoyed the gritty darker nature of of this mixed with the humor of the characters.

I've been a big fan of A Practical Guide to Evil for a while and was really excited to listen to the published version. It's been a long time since I've read the original web novel version, so I can't point out every difference, but there's definitely enough new material here to make reading it again worth it if you're a fan (including a new subplot were Katherine encounters a new Callowan Named). There are also some changes to the plot to tighten characterization and clean up the world building a little bit.

For new readers, I think the new published version is a good place to start, but it is going to be awhile before the whole thing is complete. This first book only covers about half of the first book of the web novel version.

Interesting characters and setting. Balance of tone is a little shaky in parts, but is a nice blend of humorous, dark, and gritty with a lot of fantasy tropes being explored.

I was so pleasantly surprised at this book. It takes such a unique spin on the Heroes vs Villains troupe and I was absolutely living for it. At first I was a little unsure if I was going to like the main character since she was young but the author did a great job at making her relatable and a well defined character with her faults and nuances. I enjoyed her progression as well through the story and really am looking forward to reading the next one. The main villain mentor character in this story is also so wonderful and the story as a whole is so complex and layered but I think it was described well without dragging down the flow of the pacing. The audio book was a delight, I was not super jazzed with the voice at first but it did grow on me and I think it was well done over all. I am so very happy with this world and I will definitely be reading the rest in this series.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy

I really enjoyed that the main character of this book is essentially a villain. The author does a really good job of describing the surroundings and characters. The main character struggles with her decision regarding becoming a villain, which was understandable at the start, but towards the end I do wish she came to terms with it a little better. If you enjoy reading fantasy with a hint of politics, this book is for you. The narrator of the audiobook also did a good job taking the reader on this journey through a war-torn fantasy world.

This was fun! A good, old-fashioned fantasy adventure, that nonetheless felt fresh because of the resourceful, interesting main character, and the twist on the classic good vs evil trope (since in this one, we're cheering for the villains - even though "our" villains never felt that villainous to me, to be honest.) I do appreciate a female anti-hero, as those seem to be rarer. I also liked the magic system, with the casual use of necromancy. Thank you to the publisher for the ARC - the audiobook narration was excellent!

Originally serialised on the web, A Practical Guide to Evil is a very interesting take on the heroes vs villains trope. The series is set in a world where evil has been reigning for the last 20 years. While this may be bad in general, it's not something that the common folk necessarily worry about as their main problems are the nobility directly ruling over them. In one such backwater city we meet Catherine Foundling, an orphan who has big dreams of helping the people who need it. In a world where villains thrive and heroes aren't allowed to even gain a foothold, this means that Catherine's hopes for a better future involve her joining the military academy run by the evil regime. When an unfortunate encounter lands her in the lap of one of the most dangerous villains of the era, a potential job offer wasn't something she expected. This first volume follows our protagonist in the trope filled journey of getting to grip with her situation while realising that she isn't the only one after this job, which means she needs to learn fast that sometimes in order to do the most good for everyone, you have to be okay with the consequences of being bad.

There is magic in this series, or would it be called powers since its all heroes and villains? I digress. The magic powers here are tailored to the individual. When a specific person comes into their own, they are bestowed with a name and this directly relates to the magic/powers they can use. Villains and Heroes usually get powers that oppose one another so in this world, even a small inkling that someone may follow the path of a hero is very quickly snuffed out. Very practical.

Honestly, this first volume was okay but it felt more like setting the scene for the series as a whole. There are several references that aren't directly explained and I'm sure they will become clear in due time, but in this book they were just left hanging. I quite liked the idea of poking jabs at typical hero culture and other related tropes, which leans into the whole idea of the being practical. It is a little surprising to see our young protagonist having that level of maturity but the people with 'names' are just built different I guess. Outside of the aforementioned references, a pretty easy read with a quick plot. There is plenty of violence so be prepared for that going in. Definitely recommended for people who love some books that take advantage of tropes with an anti-hero protagonist.

I really enjoyed this audiobook! Instead of your typical young person surviving and fighting to get out, coming to the rescue of a damsel in distress, then following the hero's journey to rid the land of evil people, you get Catherine Foundling, someone much more interesting! She decides to follow a different path, destined to become a Name, specifically Squire to the Black Knight. I love her! And the way her mind works to solve issues, is fascinating. Not one to back away from a fight, or to succeed at her goal, Catherine twists the problems to unique solutions and while she follows the villain way, she is not totally heartless (though she has no problem slitting throats of those that deserve it!) and it gives so much depth to her character and I as the reader, could understand that her way has a certain genius to it. All the named villains were interesting and a nice change from following a hero on their all righteous journey in a land that has been conquered and needs saving. The Black Knight has some very interesting conversations with Catherine about that in fact and how that way sometimes makes things so much worse for the people living there. I also really enjoyed the snippets of advice from the Dread Empresses and Emperors at the start of each chapter. Those were entertaining! Lots of learning, quite a bit of murdering, fun snark, and even a bit of necromancy. It definitely keeps Catherine busy and I am looking forward to seeing where she is going to end up next (and the next showdown with a certain lone swordsman!).

This was a great audiobook to listen to! The narrator, Amber Dekkers, did a wonderful job in bringing Cathrine to life and the other villains and characters populating a strange and interesting world. I really want to find out what happens next and I wish Catherine the best in her tough journey ahead!

A very interesting premise w/ expansive world building— I love the play on good v.s evil, but not in your typical way. The lines of who’s considered good and who’s evil are blurred into the story and left up to Catherine to decide.

In a world where no Gods or Monsters rule, but STEEL ⚔️ This is a complex read, I feel like I need to delve in one more time to really fully enjoy this.
*Pls excuse my rating, this isn’t my typical read!!
Although, it’s piqued my intrigue and I would love to continue this series 🫶🏽

Overall, if you love an epic fantasy read w/ big world building, detailed writing, and very in depth characters— Give this a shot!!
Amber Dekkers did an amazing job narrating 🤍

I would like to thank the publisher for sending me an audio-arc in exchange for an honest review through NetGalley.

Catherine is an orphan raised in a kingdom that was conquered twenty years ago. She knows that the people in charge are corrupt and need to be stopped, but that seems to be impossible, especially since everyone knows how the stories go. What they need is a hero, but what they have is a villain who is willing to do what it takes to take the kingdom for himself, and he might just be Catherine's only shot. Now, apprenticed to the Black Knight, Catherine must train and ready herself to fight for the title of squire, and only the most evil among them will win it.

Well this was absolutely amazing. Let's start off with Catherine, because she is fantastic. She starts off knowing that the Black Knight and his followers are evil, but she continuously tells herself that they're evil for a good cause, and she doesn't have to be truly evil, just evil enough. But things eventually shift for her and we see the ruthless girl underneath who has learned the hard way that being only slightly evil is, in a way, worse than just being plain old evil. Her magic and her fight scenes were so well done, and I couldn't get enough of her by the end. The plot itself was well done and I loved the way the author actually incorporated the formulaic way that hero/villain stories are written/told into the actual book as conversations and lessons that Catherine is learning. I loved the world building, though I'm still confused over who is a villain because even the hero (especially in that final chapter/epilogue) seems to make terrible choices. The writing itself was gorgeous, and I was hooked from the very first line, and for my audiobook friends -- the narrator does such an awesome job bringing this book to life. I would 1000000% recommend this book.

This was INCREDIBLE! Wow!

A story about a girl who wants change at any cost. She dreams of going to the war college to fight through the ranks to change the empire. She wants the innocent to remain innocent and be able to live in peace. It's a dream since birth and will take decades to achieve. Who is she to deny an opportunity to make that dream a reality much, much faster. When the Villian Lord Black comes into town, she impresses him and is asked if she wants to take on a Name. A Name is a storybook idea that gives you power as long as you follow the Fate of the Story. Will she be able to stay good while learning to be a Villian? What will this cost in her quest to change the world for the better?

HOLY FREAKING COW! This was so good. The world building is on point! It flows into the story and is given as needed. The characters are so well developed I forgot they were fake. The idea of a person having a Name based on the idea that Fate has a plan for us all is incredible. Even the small ways Fate is cheated is amazing.

I CANNOT wait for the rest of the series!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.