The narrator on this was really engaging but I found myself almost constantly lost about what was going on. I think this needs to be one that is read physically. I'm DNFing the audio at around 20% and will get a physical copy from my library. The plot is intriguing!

This is absolutely a book you should pick up this summer. You have a dying girl who is isekai'd into the in world equivalent of Game of Thrones and her attempts to survive, all while being a larger look at the idea of villainy, and how well meant actions can actually end up twisting things beyond all recognition. At the time of writing the release date has been pushed back a bit, but that is apparently because there is something additional being added. When it comes out, I'll be picking it up to see what the extra material was! I'll be picking it up regardless, as you can tell that Brennan had a great time writing this, and In Other Lands is an all time recommend on my end. And my god the audiobook is fantastic.

Overall this was fun if not light hearted. In places, I found the way the MC thinks about possessing her own body and how illness has taken it from her to be done in a heavyhanded way. There were other more interesting ideas too though - the parallel between feeling we are being punished or at least at odds with our own lives anx rooting for the villain. For instance. I love this author's work , this wasn't a favourite but I did enjoy it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book.

This book was quite a wild ride and I don't quite know how to feel about it, but I enjoyed it overall.
It was cringey at times and I didn't love the writing, and it was also quite info-dumpy.
However, I did enjoy the plot and the world a lot. It also got pretty serious (TW: Cancer) which I didn't expect.

I also enjoyed the characters overall, though some of them annoyed me at times.
The world was really nice and other than the info-dumping, I thought the worldbuilding was done well.

Overall, this wasn't my favorite but I think I might just not have been the target audience.
I did still enjoy it and I do recommend it.

The thing that drew me in with this book initially was the cover, so firstly, kudos to the designers. Truly. It's giving My Lady Jane x Regina from Once Upon A Time.

Now onto the actual book...

I kind of enjoyed it. I wanna put that out there. Did it suffer from info-dumping and cringey moments? Sure. But as a whole, it was a fun fantasy that you could turn off your brain and fall into for the most part. Though I didn't expect the cancer element to hit as hard as it did, and I kind of wish that had almost been more of a trigger warning/highlighted in the blurb.

Alongside the magic and comedy was pain and heartache, so it was a nice balance of dark and light, and overall a unique enough idea to set itself apart from others in the genre. I appreciate what the author was trying to do here, and though it's bordering on being too cringey at times for me to look past, I can see why it would appeal to other readers. So on a personal enjoyment level, maybe more of a 2/5 stars, but objectively and story-wise, 3/5.

I picked this up based on the appeal of villains in general, as well as a love of female characters with bite. I have to say, this was such an interesting ride! For anyone who has ever thought about diving head first into the world of their favourite fantasy novel. I'm keen to check out the next instalment! (Three and a half stars, although netgalley doesn't allow it)

Thank you for providing a eALC of this book.

Have you ever wanted to pop into the world of your favorite book? Of course you have, we ALL have! It's the deal that's almost impossible to refuse, especially if your circumstances aren't great. Especially if you're ill. Rae is ill, and with time running out is given the deal of a life time: go into your favorite story, find a flower, and be healed. Except that details weren't hammered out and Rae goes into the story as the villain whose set to be excavated int he morning! Long Live Evil is a wild ride filled with foreshadowing and world building that gets easier the second time around. Key characters and plot points may or may not be static and trying to help the story along just might make it worse. But no matter what happens, Be Evil.

Will note the TW / CW of Cancer that we didn't hear being highlighted in this eALC. But the audio version definitely seemed to help differentiate where we were with the characters and the narrator's dialogue. Think "The Princess Bride."

LONG LIVE EVIL has now ushered me into my villain era. Brennan gifts her readers with fantasy that pushes past preconceptions of genre and opens up the possibilities of what it means to be the evil one.

From the opening pages to the very end, I was hooked. The way the tale unraveled was fast-paced and filled with sinfully delicious plots to gain our Villainess her way out of this fictional world. For most of the reader’s time, the setting is a fantastical world Rae only read about with her sister in the “real world.” But somewhere, as things progress, the home of the Once and Forever King becomes a very real place to the reader as well as the Rae. Every action she takes has repercussions and alters the narrative and the sequence of events she once knew so well. In many ways, Brennan explores the butterfly effect in a fabulously entertaining way.

There is so much to love about this book. LONG LIVE EVIL brings humor, action, a little murderous activity, and duplicity to a down-right addictive tale. And yet, it is the author’s ability to explore the emotions and complexities of the characters that make this reader desperate for more. I cannot wait to see what happens next.

Audiobook Note: Listening in part to this book was amazing. Moira Quirk gave life to Rae and the full cast of villains, heroes, and all those in between. Listening to the book was just as enjoyable as it was lost within the paperback pages.

The audiobook of Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan offers a unique and chaotic fantasy experience, brought to life by narrator Moira Quirk. Quirk’s performance captures the humor and intensity of Rae’s journey, though her exaggerated Oklahoman accent for the protagonist has been polarizing for listeners, with some finding it distracting at first. The narration shines in comedic and emotional moments, but the tonal shifts between Rae’s modern slang and the dark fantasy setting occasionally create a jarring effect. For those who enjoy layered character dynamics and unpredictable storytelling, the audiobook ultimately delivers a lively, if imperfect, listening experience.
The story itself is an ambitious blend of villain tropes, emotional depth, and chaotic energy. Brennan’s personal connection to Rae’s struggles adds authenticity to the protagonist’s fight for survival in a hostile world. While some listeners found the audiobook engaging after adjusting to its quirks, others preferred switching to the physical book for better immersion. Despite mixed reviews on pacing and narration style, Long Live Evil succeeds as an entertaining exploration of morality and agency in a richly built fantasy world.

Rae is dying when she's offered a chance to live if she fulfills a quest in a fantasy world. With nothing left to lose, she accepts the challenge, only to find she's in the world of her sister's favorite book series. Unfortunately, she also learns she's an evil character who's about to be executed, so she has to think fast.
This was so much fun! Rae thinks she's the only real person, but she finds another person also trying to fulfill a quest, and she also starts to care about this world.
The narrator was perfect, sparky and fun. My only complaint is that apparently there isn't going to be another book in this world soon enough.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me listen to this audiobook

A really interesting concept that kept giving me Webtoon vibes. Overall I liked it but did find it had to follow at times. If I were to reread or recommend to a friend I would probably read it rather than listen to the audiobook as I found it hard to keep track at times with all the new people. Overall I did enjoy and would recommend to a friend.

That ending should be illegal.

This was just such a fun, campy, meta, bonkers read, and I'm so mad that the next book isn't coming out sooner because I want more now! The audio was particularly well done, just very fun and tongue-in-cheek and engaging throughout (though I do wish they'd actually sung the musical bits but that's me being a musical fangirl).

I loved most of the characters, loathed the actual bad guys, and kinda saw the big twist coming (though not until close to the end, tbh). All in all, I really enjoyed this wild ride and can't wait for the sequel.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me access to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed it.

I was not a fan of this title. It took quite a while to get into the meat of the story, with the narrator skipping between POV at the beginning of the book. I did not follow the story easily and often felt confused which character was the main. Not for me. Perhaps the physical book would be easier to follow, but regardless the story did not deliver enough fantasy action fast enough to keep my attention.

I read this as an audiobook and I have to say I was very impressed by the voice actor and production. I found the American accent somewhat jarring but overall, no complaints.

I think the concept of this book is really intriguing, and I like that Rae treated the story really frivolously because she didn’t think it was real, I think it allowed for the story to be really camp in a way it wouldn’t have otherwise pulled off.

It took me a long time to get through this book, the pacing wasn’t great; it definitely got better towards the end when more action was happening, but I struggled to get there. I found the fantasy world cliché in a way which wasn’t super appealing. I imagine that was intentional, because the book is more interested in the main character’s engagement with that world than the world itself. Nonetheless I think it could have been better with a more interesting world.

I’m not sure I’d recommend this book but I did have fun with it; if you like Game of Thrones but wish it would take itself less seriously then this is probably your kind of book.

WOW. It's criminal it took me this long to read this, the characters were incredibly well written, and at each turn the story subverted my expectations, it was a campy in a fun way while still managing to be incredibly profound, ALSO it was queer AF which made me really happy - I have no idea what to expect from the next book but I'm so excited to find out
Also - I listened to the audiobook and the performance was a masterpiece

This was spectacular. As a huge fantasy reader I have always wanted to fall into a fantasy book as one of the characters. Having a book embrace this and to do it so well was everything I never knew I needed. I need the next book in my hands immediately!

I listened to this as an audiobook and the performance given by the actress was stellar. She gave each person their own identity and was easy to distinguish from one another.

The story itself felt a little cliché, but was well developed and I did not expect the twist at the end. Rae as the main character felt over the top, but then again, she is dying and has nothing to lose. It did seem to be going a little over the top with the whole "let's be evil" premise, which might be more suitable for younger audiences who are in their rebellious phase, As much as I rolled my eyes at it, it was easy to overlook as it was the main selling point of the book.

It does appear that there will be a sequel, but I'm not sure that I will continue simply due to the fact that I'm not the target audience, therefore it did not make me feel the way it wanted me to feel. It's obvious the author had fun writing this book and did so in a fun and clever way.

⭐️⭐️.75

This book was all over the place. It was kind of hard to follow! I was really excited by the story just from hearing what the book was gonna be about but as soon as I started reading it, I just couldn’t get hooked in. I love the fantasy aspects of this book. I just could not grasp being thrown all over the place.

I even went so far as to get the audio thinking that maybe it was just the e-book that was throwing me and still I kept zoning in and out of the story.

The narrator did a great job. I do not think it was the narrator at all just because I did try reading this book on my Kindle first, but I just didn’t love this book.

At first, it gave me the never-ending story vibes, but then it just morphed into something else and I really had a hard time following the story just because I couldn’t stay hooked in it. I really wanted to love this book.

I started with the e-book in August and I am now just finishing with the hybrid in December if that tells you anything. I am normally a fast reader.

This was entertaining, but not engaging.. if that makes sense. I chuckled and many parts were cleverly written, I just couldn’t connect to the characters.
Story: 3⭐️
Audiobook narration: 5⭐️

This was a fun campy read, I had a great time with Rae as she navigated being transported into her favorite book and becoming a villainess. Moira Quirk does a fantastic job narrating as always, she’s able to convey a great deal of emotion while speaking clearly enough that the book is understandable at even higher speeds.