Okay, since no one else will, I'm going to be the bitch to give this book one star. No, I haven't made it past the second chapter, and after reading some of the other reviews, I won't be trying to. Some people did say that it gets better after chapter 9 -- and if you have made it that far, I salute you.

When I read the synopsis I thought this would be like those "a girl from this world gets mysteriously reincarnated into a villainess destined to die" isekais, but while the inspiration is there...

I obviously can't speak about the plot, but I'll speak about what I can: the prose and the absolute corniness of every single dialogue.

But let's start with the prose.

Maybe I'm still in my editing mode from having finished a novel of my own recently, but the prose is abysmal. At first I thought it was just ME PROBLEM but then I started noticing pure craft mistakes. I know this is an arc and I shouldn't comment on the prose because it can change, but I highly doubt that someone is going to do a complete rewrite this book needs two weeks before publication.

The prose its very repetitive, which you'll especially notice when you're reading the same paragraph thrice to figure out what the hell did the author mean to say. The text is full of similies, but someone control F-ed and deleted all "LIKE"s so you get sentences like these:

"Rae swept across the marble floor, her skirt a darting red snake behind her..."
Which gets tired REAL FAST.

The author also tends to repeat the same metaphors, sometimes in the very same paragraph:
"Now Rae found herself drowning in a broken pieces of the world. Fragments blue as the hearth seen from space, with cracks running through the blue as if someone has shattered the world then fitted the pieces back together."

Not one, but three different words keep repeating in this paragraph: pieces, world, blue. If I did that, ProWritingAid would have gone nuclear on me.

Not only the author can't write transitions ( character moving from a to b ) so every now and then you feel like you have skipped a paragraph or something -- but also there are outright continuity errors, things appear and disappear, parts of the dialogue appear unconnected to each other.
This book series is the MC's favorite of all time, but also it's really her sister's obsession and she never read it, or wait she did, but not the first book, and it's the only thing keeping her afloat, but also she doesn't care.

I'm not sure if these were mood swings or just inconsistencies. And oh the dialogue.
Most heroines in Isekais try their best to blend into the world they found themselves in, but not Rae. Not only does she spurs modern slang -- and not even modern slang, internet slang, because I refuse to believe someone would say some of this stuff aloud unironically -- but also talks openly about scenes, tropes, etc. And none of the characters find it strange!

I knew I was signing up for corny. Still I never thought I would read the lines "launched into a villainous monologue" or "villains unionize!" outside of a tumblr post. But that would be fine. I would forgive the corniness, as much as it made me cringe, if the prose didn't try to be so lyrical a flowery at the same time. Like the author desperately wants you to know that she is a big girl, that can write high fantasy, but that's the only part about the book she takes seriously, so we end up with this one hell of a confusing mash up.

Gosh, I can hear the author giggling at herself with every corny line. Eleven year old girls on Wattpad show more maturity in their writing. The publisher sure knew why they allowed reviews only few weeks prior to release.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for prividing me with an arc in exchange for a honest review.

If I had to describe this book in one word it would be fun.

Long Live Evil takes a refreshing twist on the fantasy genre and feels very meta - which was both a pro and con for me as sometimes it worked really well but at other points it felt a bit cringey. The side characters were great, but the main character did annoy me a bit. The plot also fell a bit short for me at points and although I enjoyed the writing this isn't a story that has stayed with me.

3.5 STARS

I had so much fun with this book! I think that its best feature is that it is refreshing in some unique ways. And I really appreciated this. It is original, it is quirky, it is a lot of fun and it was, all in all, a really enjoyable read. That said, I have to add that I was hoping for more. I think my main problem with it is that this is one of those books where the characters don’t talk to each other (meaning that they don’t talk about relevant things, not that they are giving each other the silent treatment!) and this overcomplicated the plot in some unnecessary way.

Another great thing about this book is that it is so satisfying! Our MC is strong-willed and she makes no excuses for herself. She wants it all, and she is not ashamed. And it was soooo good! Rae is evil, without being really evil, and I loved her. I think we need more of her energy around.
Go girl, go! I don’t have anything to add.

But my favorite character here was Key. He stole the scene. And okay, he is evil. Sort of.
Okay, okay, without “sort of”. But he is just soooo good! I don’t know what really made such a strong impression here, but he was my favorite. My absolute favorite and you need to meet him!
And around these two we have other interesting characters, because the Golden Cobra and Lord Marius are good characters and they are worth meeting. I really liked them both, not as much as Rae and Key, because they really were my favorite, but they are good. And some of the minor ones have good moments too.

It is also a book with a strong meta component to it, and this was great. It made for a lot of funny moments, and it made me think about How To Become the Dark Lord And Die Trying, a book that I loved to pieces.
What didn’t really work so great for me was the plot. It is overcomplicated because all the characters are scheming so nobody talks about things and this makes things more complicated, even when there is no need for it. The twists aren’t really so original or so unexpected, I seriously think that the plot is not the main point here, because it is all the rest that steal the show, but still… I think that a tad more effort into it would have been good.
Another thing that didn’t work so well with me was the ending. It is not bad, and it works well with the book but it is not the kind of end that I usually prefer, and this book is not exception.

I think that this book is worth a read, especially if you want to read something a tad different from all the rest. The “evil” perspective here is good, the meta is well done and together they made for some really good moments. And the characters are pretty good, too!
But still, even it is worth a read because it is not bad (not bad at all) and there are a lot of good things here but… but it is not a must-read.

This was a fun and chaotic read that I definitely enjoyed. Imagine being able to live in your most beloved book world and staying one step ahead of others because you already know how it ends. This was incredibly fun to read and I loved every moment of it. Definitely would recommend it.

Long Live Evil was my first Book by Sarah Rees Brennan and it was quite a ride! I did not expect to laugh this much nor the way I had to cry at the end. I liked how Rae was portrayed and how she puts her family and friends first. She is a witty and smart character that was very easy to be liked. The writing style was interesting to me but I did need some time to get used to it. I do have to say that the plottwists were a little bit predictable and didnt shock me the way I expected they would, nontheless was the book very easy to read and had a bunch of interesting and funny characters that sort of created this "found family" trope. I will overall recommend this book to my customers, especially if they like fantasy, morally gray characters and a sideplot of romance.

Will be reading more books from the author!

Thank you Little Brown Book Group and Netgalley for the Advanced Reader Copy
#NetgalleyUK #LittleBrownUK

“Brilliantly self-aware- a fantasy of the year!”
A brillianty self-aware take on being lost within the pages of a good book! Perfect for fans of the Assistant to the Villain series. Such interesting dynamics between characters and relationships as well as phenomenal plot twists in a setting usually fairly predictable. A fantasy highlight for 2024 for sure!

Holy wow, this book is so freaking good. One of the absolute best that I have read this year.

First of all, I LOVE and adore the concept. Lately, I have really been enjoying the trend of characters falling into the real life setting of books they have been reading. It's such a fun and quirky idea, and I think it works really well. However, this one elevates it even more, by the main character being the villain in the book - so a brilliant twist! Personally, I think it would be really fun to be a villain, so I'm fully on board!

Something I really loved about this book is that when you strip away the humour and the fun, there is a lot of tragedy. It's not all fun and games, there is a lot of heart, heartbreak and pain in this book, and I think it's handled really well by fusing it with the humour. It gives it more depth, while also lightening the story a little; I think it's a really good balance.

The characters are the heart and soul of the book; Rae is everything and I love her. She's such a FANTASTIC character (is she the protagonist or antagonist?) who just completely steals the show whenever she's on the page. She's fun, sassy, evil (but in a fun way); while also incredibly caring and loving. She's also such an interesting character because she has such a tragic background and history; there is depth to her character. I just think she's really well drawn. I loved Key also; he was such a fun and blood-thirsty character who added so much humour to the book. How is he such a likeable character?! Lia was possibly the most interesting character; there was so much to her that surprised me. She's not who she seems, but in the best way possible.

I will say that it did take me a little while to properly get into the book; you're thrown almost in the deep in in the first few pages, just trying to understand everything that's thrown at you. I did struggle a little at the beginning, but the story very quickly picks up!

I highly recommend this book, it is hilarious and action-packed!

Huge thanks to the publisher for sending me an eARC for an early review.
I must admit that at the start I wasn't a fan. At all. Honestly, I was about to cancel my pre-order of the physical copy but WHAT AN ENDING!
If you like fanfiction, if you have ever read a portal fantasy fic where the MC ends up in her favorite fantasy world this book is for you, if you love villains romance this book is definitive for you.
I absolutely loved the final plot twist even if I kinda suspect it at the start of the siege.
It's not one of the best book I ever read, not at all, but that's ok. It was a good guilty plesure. 3.5 stars.

i had to dnf this one - the writing just felt so silly and immature, which is really unfortunate as the premise sounded amazing

"Long Live Evil" seems, at first glance, to fill a special spot in my reading heart: One reserved for evil women being allowed to be evil, which shouldn't be a novelty but somehow still is. The description sounded delightful, for several reasons: There's the idea of suddenly becoming a part of your favourite fictional world, and the concept of not being the great heroine but the evil wicked stepsister when you arrive there. Sounds delicious, sounds like just my thing.

And I did have a lot of fun with Sarah Rees Brennan's adult fantasy debut. I'm not familiar with her as an author and haven't read any of her YA books, but she seems to have many fans and I'm always excited for YA authors dipping their toes in the adult fiction sphere. That being sad, this book reads very YA in many ways, just with more violence.
Good things first: I loved the way our protagonist's cancer was treated. An ongoing trauma that doesn't just disappear once she steps into this other world, but that haunts her and defines a lot of her actions. I wanted even more of that actually, instead of said protagonist, Rae, constantly talking about her "huge rack". But what was there I really thought was great, and after reading the author's note it makes a lot of sense. Brennan is a heroine in her own right, and I'm so happy she got to write a book that is so personal to her after all she's been through.
The writing was also enjoyable, and I liked most of the characters and the constant court intrigue they found themselves in. The general theme of expectations based on clichees is a good one and I wish would have been expanded on in a more serious way, and the big finale is just bonkers and super fun.

I did have some gripes with the book, though. For one, it's just way too meta in a really cringey way. Rae, our protagonist, never even tries to adapt to her new surroundings, she just plays a role and does it rather badly. There is some cringeworthy language here ("powerful AF" is only one terrible example), and her using a modern saying that some other character then doesn't understand is funny the first one, two, three times, but then the joke gets old. I just sighed and kept rolling my eyes at some point. It gets exponentially worse when she meets another character that is from her world and they both start doing it constantly. The joke is dead, please stop kicking it.
There are other instances of scenes that go far beyond the line between "funny" and "cringey", like an absolutely terrible musical number or Rae constantly telling everyone how very wicked and also sexy she is.

The character writing is also not the best. Rae has a lot of potential, but becomes very annoying due to the aforementioned meta-ness of her. She shines whenever there are moments of actual depth, often with side characters like Key or Lia, that allow her emotional complexity to show. These moments are why I overall still like her, but I also can't take her very seriously because of all the rest.
Rae's serial killer minion, Key, is a really interesting character made even more intriguing by later developments, but it's also clear that he was supposed to be a certain kind of sociopathic villain trope that wasn't used in a very nuanced way. But he has potential to become amazing.
There's also the Golden Cobra, who is a walking Flamboyant Promiscuous Bisexual clichée who starts out incredibly obnoxious, but gains a little more complexity later on. His relationship with his favourite character, Marius, is intriguing, and Marius himself seems boring at first but might turn out to become my favourite of the bunch. Yes, I'm surprised too. There are more side characters that admittedly didn't manage to really caprivate me in any way, which is sad because two of them are sapphic, but maybe they get expanded on in the sequel. Generally, I sadly don't find any of the characters very memorable.
The plot was a bit all over the place and it often just seemed like ideas plastered together in order to get to the next funny scene. I never felt any stakes. The constant back and forth of serious, emotional scenes and completely wacked weirdness gave me whiplash. The pacing felt meandering, thought at least the finale made up for it a little, even if it felt a bit rushed and confusing.

So in the end, this is a middle of the road kind of book. It's a fun time, especially if you like isekai stories, and it has some cool ideas. It lacked the exploration of evil I was hoping for and the humour got a little too much for me, but I can see why this will have many fans.

2,5 stars, rounding up to 3.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this arc! I gave this book 4.25 stars as it was amazing! I loved the plot, the characters and the world building. The FMC was just pure sass and awesomeness, and I loved seeing her grow as the book went on and I loved her interactions with other characters. The ending had me SHOOK as I did not expect it at all, but it was soooo good and I need book 2 rn. I need book 2 as we cannot have a cliffhanger like the one we had here, please send me the arc of book 2🙏🙏🙏🙏

Tropes:
- Found Family
- Love Triangle (?)
- Pining

DNF @ 20%

The premise is what initially attracted me: a story where the protagonist gets to experience reality in her favourite book series? And as a villain? Sign me up NOW.

Unfortunately, the writing style was not for me. I found the exclamatory statements to be jarring and the meta references a little cringe.
The portion of the book I read felt too YA for my taste.

I’m sure this book will be enjoyed by others - if you’re looking for something with stronger young-adult vibes, this book is for you.

Thank you to Little, Brown Book Group and NetGalley for an electronic proof of this book.
All opinions are my own.

I was blindsided by this book. I was, forgive the colloquialism, SHOOK. To my CORE.
I didn't expect this.

Long Live Evil opens on a very sad, bitter note. Rae is sick, very sick, as in dying. Of cancer. It's a bitter taste in my mouth on the best of days, but I sensed the author wrote this part out of a cruel, first-hand expierence (and upon reading the acknowledgements, I found out I was right). Having a mother currently going through chemotherapy - it was hard, reading it. But it was devastatingly accurate, and I can appreciate that.
Our heroine (or villainess, if you will), Rae, has one bright light left in her life: Her sister. Her sister, Alice, who loves to read her her favorite book series, to provide comfort and love and something to bond over while fighting this terrible disease. In-universe, it's called Time of Iron, and is written by an anonymous author. Rae also loves the books, but she loves the characters best of all, and among those, her favorite is the Emperor. We all have loved characters like this before. Remember the Darkling in the Grisha Trilogy, or the way girls went mad over Dr*co M*lfoy, or even Gale from the Hunger Games. The bad one. The not-ovious choice.

But Rae is dying, and fantasy books cannot save her, until they do. She is given the change to save herself: Step into The Time of Iron in a body that is not your own, and pluck the Flower of Life and Death when it blooms, and you will be back in your own body, cured. Done. Healthy. Alive.
Rae doesn't quite believe it's true, until she wakes up in the body of Lady Rahela, the heroine's evil stepsister, on the eve of being executed for treason. And by god, it's time to be evil to get to that magical flower.

This shouldn't work. This couldn't work, I said as I started reading. I expected a camp-y romp across a bland fantasy with some Disney's Tangled (trademarked) magic thrown in.
But no. The fantasy in this has legs to stand on. Such stable legs, in fact, that I ended up actually BITING MY NAILS. It's fantasy unlike anything I ever read, and I absolutely goddamn loved it. I haven't read characters like this in a long time, and I wanna scream and cry about some of them (Key and Marius and Emer in particular) BUT I'm not gonna take away anyone's enjoyment of reading these plot twists for themselves. Just know that I went absolutely feral over them, and I never expected this. Rae goes into this world, thinking that these people aren't real, because they're just characters in a book, and we, as readers, are strung along on that chain of belief, until we, together with Rae, slowly begin to unravel that thread and watch them become real and dimensional and achingly important. I simply haven't experienced a shift like that in fiction before. And sure, we still get the campy real-world references, from a horse called Google Maps to sunglasses being invented to Rae constantly referring to the novel feeling of having Really Big Tiddies -
But I loved it, in the end. I really, really, really loved it.

Thank you.

And now I have to suffer and wait for the next book. Ugh. I'm gonna fling myself into a ravine of screaming corpses, and hopefully look good doing it.

Many Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing the digital review copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
I honestly haven’t loved a book as much in ages, so much so that I instantly bought it when it came on release. Yes it has a few problems, the character development wasn’t that great, and I would have loved to have seen more action from the side characters like Lia and Emer, but Key was just altogether amazing, and the plot twist was chefs kiss.
I will 100% be keeping an eye on anything from Sarah Rees Brennan in the future.

BOOK REVIEW: Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan

A huge thank you to @orbitbooks_uk and @littlebrownbookgroup_uk for giving me an E-ARC through @netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This one is dedicated to all of us who have ever fallen for a villain.

When @misterkristoff said this was one of the best books he had read this year, best believe I smashed the hell out of that request button - and he wasn’t bloody wrong!

When Rae’s illness slowly consumes her and her days are spent in a hospital bed, she gets given the opportunity to do the one thing all us book lovers dream of - enter her favourite fictional world!

This was such a character driven, campy book which had me turning the pages ridiculously quickly. I had so much fun reading this book and genuinely had fun with our FMC whilst also relishing in her complexities and quirks.

For a first book in a trilogy I am seriously impressed and cannot wait to follow Rae and her antics!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Such a brilliant concept, with characters I found genuinely funny. The plot was perhaps a tad complex, with a lot of different threads/stories going on at the same time - but, for people who like fantasy board games, I feel like this book would be absolutely perfect! A great twist on the heroine/villain/hero dynamic too.

I seen a tagline that went something along the lines of 'for anyone who has fallen in love with the villian' and I was sold

Here we follow Rae who is terminally ill and in hospital. She is approached by a strange woman who offers her the chance to dive in her her favourite book series, to hunt a fabled flower which will also save her in the real world. But if she fails she won't be back.

Rae is transported into a character in the book that doesn't have much time left, so she needs to buy some time with the King to give her a chance at finding the flower when it blooms... can Rae help herself without sacrificing the story and the characters she knows and loves....

I really enjoyed this book, I was giggling at bits at pieces early on and I really loved the 'villians' and 'heroes' of the stories and what it means to be either

I love self aware media, like a horror movie that knows the rules, and I had a niggling thought in my brain right through reading that this reminded me of something I loved but I couldn't put my finger on it.... until I got to the acknowledgements.... Pleasantville.... Completely different vibes but the idea of jumping into a story has always stuck with me, and considering Narnia is a favourite of mine since childhood and Labyrinth as well (who wouldn't choose the 'villian' there) I had high hopes and wasn't disappointed

Great read and I stare in anticipation at any news for books two!

Thanks to NetGalley and Orbit books for the review copy, all opinions my own. Out now!

I could not get into this book and ended up dnfing the book at around 50%. I wanted to like this book so badly as the concept sounded amazing. However, I didn't like the writing style and felt this made it hard for me to enjoy.

First of all thankyou to sarah and little brown books for having me review such a great fantasy read .

I have read the chilling adventures of Sabrina by Sarah few years back now and loved them very much so when I had the chance to review this book I was over the moon .

Sarah writing I thought was epic she definitely makes you think and twists your mind so that you will be thinking about this story in your own dreams ,she left me always wanting more with each and ever plot twist ,she has you falling very much in love with the fun parts of the book then yet she will also be pulling on your heart strings, a brilliant balance if you ask me .

I loved the plot to this book it was alot of fun , Rae the main character Enters her favourite fantasy world . But we all know it comes at a cost , and man it dose get dark which I love , I loved how she makes you see the Villains in the story become so morally grey in our minds. Key has got be one of my favourite characters. You know saying be careful for what you wish for well, yep.Desperate will have you thinking that alot !!!

I'm already. Excited for what is to come next?There's so many questions still in my head.That I feel needs answering.

I'm giving the book a deliciously wicked five stars

Another witty, pacy, intricately plotted novel from Sarah Rees Brennan, the world building is gorgeous and she handles the darker subject matter with relish and flair, but also respect for the complexity of being a human and the stories we tell and are told. I gobbled it up and was very disappointed to not have the sequel in my hands instantly.