Brilliantly done! I've never rooted for the villain so hard. The audiobook was also great!

This was a hilarious and yet emotional read for me. I found it hard at first to get through but when the world-building clicked into place I loved every second of it. Our main character's quick and witty personality had me laughing out loud!

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I went into this expecting entirely too much and was a bit disappointed. Its still worth a read, but not my cup of tea.

I enjoyed the idea of the book more than the execution. The beginning kicked off with an interesting premise..the FMC is sick in the hospital and suddenly finds herself transported into one of her favorite books. And not just that, she's one of the (alleged) evil characters! It was a refreshing take on morally gray villain and I did enjoy the side characters and the dimensions they brought to this story. But the midway through I struggled with the pacing and wished things could have been sped up a bit more.

Special thanks to Little Brown Group UK and Netgalley for proving me an advance copy of the ebook in exchange for an honest review.

3.5

i wasn't really expecting to love this much but it does hurt that i really didn't love this much... it was perfectly okay and i've had my fun, but everything felt silly and juvenile while also trying to be serious

Something about this book spoke to me from the beginning, the undercurrent behind all the humor, the banter, Rae’s sass. There was melancholy, there was trauma, there was pain. As much as I laughed and grinned to myself while reading this book, I got emotional just as much because its message is so powerful. It makes you understand that when people don’t care about you, you have to care about AND of yourself. And yes sometimes this can be selfish and paints you as the villain but at the end of the day you have to fight for what you deserve. In Rae’s case: When she ( a 20 year old girl fighting cancer) gets the opportunity to save her life by venturing into her favorite fantasy series and completing a quest, she literally jumps at the chance.
Little did she know, she’ll end up in the villain’s role of the story. So that makes her mission definitely a bit harder and lots of court intrigue and drama to best.
They call her The Beauty Dipped in Blood, Long Live Evil’s most wicked villainess. And I can’t tell you how excited I was reading the POV of a selfish and ruthless FMC for once.

I loved this book so much!! And I can’t wait for the sequel

I went in to this book with absolutely no prior knowledge apart from it being a "villain" story- but it was so much more and my advice would be to do a little research as there are definite triggers. The graphic descriptions of illness at the start of the book are hard to read and I found it quite slow to start. This is such a great concept but times the world building did feel clunky and I struggled a little with the pacing.

The second half of the book really picked up, I enjoyed Rae as the main character I loved the way that they were written and were utterly obnoxious it fitted their character and a complete opposite to other characters that we meet early on- this is definitely a nod to traditional fantasy stereotypes and Sarah Rees Brennan turns that on it's head, and there's romance...

The humour in the book was my type of humour and the story twists and turns and I had no idea where it was going to end up and I found myself hard rooting for villains- I am really excited for the next book.

I absolutely adore isekai manga so this book was a highly anticipated read for me. I enjoyed it a lot. The characters are very interesting but none more so than the main lead. I adored her so much and was totally rooting for her right from the start. The pacing is slow at times and it takes some time to build but I was enjoying myself so that's fine. This was a great book and I'm very excited for the next in the series!

I ended up giving this a 3.5 star rating! It took me some time to get into this book as I was very confused. it’s a good concept having your main character be sent into their favorite fantasy book, but it made it difficult to understand what was happening. none of us readers knew about this world building and so it took some time to understand who was who and what was happening

Thank you for my earc of this book. I liked the premise but found the world building clunky and difficult to get into, I also found the characters having 2 names really annoying.
I DNF

Long Live Evil wasn't quite what I was expecting going in - there was more focus on Rae's illness than anticipated- but I absolutely loved the concept of Rae slipping into the story of Age of Iron and finding herself in the shoes of the villain.

As a reader who can't retain every detail myself, I found it funny how Rae's patchy recall of the storyline complicated her mission in Eyam, and it was also fun to see the ripple effect of her actions as she was trying to overturn her storyline.

Overall, it was a book that entertained me, offering an interesting concept and perspective, and some clear favourite characters. I was firmly on team 'villains' and loved Rae, Key and the Golden Cobra - what can I say, 'evil's just sexier." Pick this one up if you're ready to enter your villain era!

High 3 stars, a book worth revisiting another time.

This story follows a woman who is sick in hospital and ends up being transported into a fantasy story she is familiar with.

The twists throughout the book and bizarre villainess experience was the highlight.

It’s a great concept and I throughly enjoyed the idea, characters and story but something about the book just felt very strange throughout.

Because the character seemingly knows most of the story and character within the fantasy world it felt like a weird dynamic reading something that was quite modernised through Rae’s POV but outside was a ‘real’ fantasy world- it’s like we are simultaneously looking through a window at a commotion but also being the centre of the commotion.

The book felt like a very camp, flamboyant and fun ride which you just have to roll with it, I really did enjoy the book when I was feeling it but I found myself entering a reading slump half way (no fault of the book, just busy) and this made it hard to get back into the headspace for this story which is why I felt like the times I enjoyed the book it would be a solid/high 4 stars but dipped to 3 by the end. I’d definitely need to revisit another time.

The characters did get confusing, it felt like characters were thrown at us with different names and a lack of introduction for us to familiarise us with them, then they’d come back under a different name which was just confusing. The book also had chapters from different characters and I personally listened to the audiobook so this made the experience more confusing.

Though I gave the book 3 stars I still feel like it’s worth trying as I’m going to believe this book will be loved by a niche but passionate group, I’d definitely want to revisit when I’m in the mood for this story and believe I’d love it much more.

Rae’s life fell apart when she got cancer, and she lost everything except her books. They were her escape, and she and her sister would totally immerse themselves in their favourite fantasy world series, completely lost in the tales of princes, princesses, witches, of good and evil, a powerful Emperor and evil villainess. Rae knows the world inside out, and would spend hours discussing it with her sister, who was the best character, who would they marry, kill, how would they rule if they were by the Emperor’s side, and more.

One night in the hospital Rae realises that she is close to the end. Desperate and alone, she accepts a bargain that gives her a second chance at life - and plunges her into the world of her favourite fantasy series. She collapses, on the brink of death, and wakes in a castle, in a kingdom at war and full of suspicion. In a world full of monsters, people continually plotting and scheming, a powerful and slightly mad Emperor and much more. Rae discovers that she is not the beloved princess, nor a soldier, nor a mere courtier. She is the much hated Lady Rahela, villainess of the story, due to shortly be executed. She decides to embrace her new role, and use her knowledge of the books to change her fate, and that of the motley crew of followers she gathers. Convincing the Emperor she has visions will be a start. But can she survive her favourite tale in real life?

If you take this book at face value, it is a barmy concept. However if you overlook the slightly obnoxious Rae, it is a fun and wacky read. The idea is wild, and every twist and turn brings you through even more of a wild, fun and creative story-in-a-story journey. Rae herself can be slightly hard to like at times, caring little about others, playing into the villainous role all too well. There is no gratitude for her second lease of life, just her focus on what she needs to do, and what she needs to do to achieve it. She starts to change as the story moves on, and becomes more likable, but still the person you love to hate.

Overall, this is a very fun adventure, which after a slightly slow start, brings you on a fun journey, poking fun at the fantasy world in a joyful and humorous manner. The ending introduced that it will be a series, which will be a fun little one, and I look forward to the next instalment.

*I received this book from NetGalley, but all opinions are my own.

I will admit, I almost DNF-ed Long Live Evil in the first few chapters. I found the graphic descriptions of the physical & mental toll of cancer treatment personally triggering, and some of the writing seemed overly complicated. There were a couple of sections that I had to reread, because the sentences were so long I wasn't sure what was actually being conveyed. BUT all that being said, I'm so glad I persevered with it. Once Rae entered the realm of the story I found myself fully invested in her and her mission.
Yes, it's silly at times (I couldn't get my head around the musical!), no, it's not particularly believable, and yes, the writing can stray into being too florid on occasion... But it's so much fun!
It pokes fun at the usual fantasy and fairytale tropes; helpless fair maidens, handsome princes, and oversexualised villainesses, and turns it all on its head. The humour was absolutely on my level, and I loved it. I fell for Rae and her not-so-trusty band of villains, and they made me question what it is that really makes someone villainous. The twists and turns the story takes, while not always unpredictable, kept me on my toes. And I loved the premise; stepping into the world of your favourite story may seem thrilling... stepping into the world of your sister's favourite story, that you have questionable remembrance of at best...maybe less so!

Would I recommend it? YES! Have I bought my own copy after reading the ARC? Absolutely! Would I read a sequel? In a heartbeat!

Thank you to Netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group (Orbit) for giving me the opportunity to read an advanced copy.

What a great story and the beginning of what I'm sure will be a brilliant series! This feels like the self-insert fanfic of my childhood, but much better written and grounded in so much realism despite the fantastical exterior. Rae is a wonderful protagonist and I couldn't have imagined this story from anyone else's perspective. I really liked the world that Brennan draws together here — it feels simultaneously so fresh but also familiar in a good way, which is why I think Rae is able to play the story against itself in such a meta way! I will be nail biting until the next book is out!

I didn’t pick up that this would be a series but I’m totally fine with that. I think my favourite part is when Rae made them believe AF stood for As Foretold. Think about it! If you were in a fantasy book and the villain who claims and then proves herself to be a seer tells you a certain phrase means something – you’d believe it! There’s no Google to back it up. Which is why I think Rae was able to be successful here, why this bizzare plan worked. While there are obviously modern elements in the book, it’s largely set in a world where there are things as seers and prophecies. So if she said something weird, she can just chalk it up to a prophecy! Normally I’d side-eye it and say “No, that absolutely cannot work” but Sarah Rees Brennan made it work in a way I really enjoyed.

I liked how we had a modern insight and character experience a fantasy heavy world. It was almost like we were speaking through her because I could see myself react like that in those situations. While I found myself not liking Rae in every scene, I grew to like her, her personality, personal growth throughout the book. She realized that the characters in the book were people instead of just fictional characters. She found strength in her that she likely didn’t even know she had. I can’t wait to see her journey in the next book, what Brennan has planned for her.

The secondary characters were so fun to read and get to know. I think my favourite would probably be Key – he was funny and even though he did annoy me for a good half of the book – he certainly made up for it by creeping into my heart and stabbing anyone who wanted to come close. Seeing the other secondary characters encounter and communicate with Rae was also quite fun. They either had no idea what to do with her or just did whatever she demanded them to do. Which Rae definitely enjoyed and utilised to her heart’s content. I think next book she’d probably ask for more/make them do more because she has the experience now and knows they’ll do what she says. I think I might be rooting for a villain arc for Rae here 😅.

I found myself just really letting go and enjoying myself. Don’t worry about how it doesn’t matter work, how it’s a slightly (largely) wacky concept; just fun! And fun I had indeed. Even though there’s tons of fun, Brennan manages to create an interesting plot and kept me eager to turn the pages (well tap the screen). It’s character- and plot rich but both are well balanced.

I had such high hopes for this, the premise was so good, but the execution just wasn't there for me. I liked the general storyline, but thought the ending was pretty obvious. Also, I didn't know this wasn't a standalone when I went into it, sigh. The thing I really didn't get on with was the character voice and narration. It was so cringy, all the time. People don't really talk like that, do they? And it was trying so hard to be funny and make social commentary points and be meta or whatever, it was just too much. It just ruined it for me, which is a shame because like I said, the premise was great and I was really looking forward to reading it.

I was very excited about this book because the concept sounds super fun, but I couldn't get into it - the writing style gave me whiplash, and the MC came across as unlikeable in a way that felt too cringey and put on (like a reverse pick me girl?)

DNF on chapter 1

I really wanted to love this book, I've been a fan of Sarah's writing for such a long time. However, something about it was just NOT working for me at all. It was kind of dull? It doesn't help that I read another book with a similar concept so I couldn't help but draw comparisons.

I sadly DNFed this book at around 35%.

The pop culture references and the millennial humour was a bit much for me but i do want to keep reading the series!! The characters and the plot were very intriguing

Thank you netgalley for this review. I expected this book to be a 5 star read for me given the description, unfortuanetely it let me down. Not to say it isn't an enjoyble read, there's just nothing memorable or fantastic about it.