This book had me SCREAMING. When I say off the rails, I mean crashing through the Cauldron, into the dread ravine at 1000 mph. This book was unhinged and I loved it. Poor Ray spends the entire book trying to improve and control, and it gets more and more out of her hands.

A young Cancer patient is very close to the end of her battle. Abandoned by everyone but her sister, Ray takes solace in a story. When a mysterious woman offers her a chance to enter the story and save her own life in the real world, Ray goes. The story mocks her and twists itself every chance it gets and Ray is fighting for her life from the start. The ending is tremendously satisfying and brutal.

I listened to this on Audio and the narrator has a lovely voice. Even listening at a higher speed her performance was clear and beautiful. Her accents were fantastic and enhanced the character's personalities.

When her whole life collapsed, Rae still had books. Dying, she seizes a second chance at living: a magical bargain that lets her enter the world of her favourite fantasy series.

Y’all this book was everything I wanted and more. I found myself giggling, flipping through pages at a maddening speed and gasping with shock at THAT certain scene. And to have the narrator reading it to me as well, it was absolute perfection.
To be able to read and listen to this book is such an honor.
They couldn’t have chosen a better narrator to bring Rae’s story to life. The fear, the anger, the sarcasm and the flirting was perfection.
I couldn’t praise this book enough for being unique, engaging, heart wrenching, causing sides hurting from laughter and leaving a long last impression after turning the last page.
I highly recommend this book to everyone looking for a breath of fresh air in the crowded book market.
5 ⭐️ and favorite read of the year
I just wanna thank NetGalley for an Audio and eARC of this book. You guys are the best. My review is a honest reflection of my feelings towards this book.

An intriguing beginning, and a stunning ending. I went into this book not realizing it was a series, and thought it would all be wrapped up neatly in the end, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that more is to come!

Isekai is all the rage, nowadays, and this one is set in a very dark fantasy. Rae, our narrator, is obsessed with the Time of Iron books…or, more accurately, obsessed with the wicked Emperor, and a few of her OTPs. If she can twist the plot to her convenience, she’ll be given a second chance at life, but it’s hard to manipulate people when she has literally lost half of the plot already.

What begins as a power fantasy, with Rae convinced she can be the ultimate mastermind, quickly gets out of hand as Rae’s minor plot changes lead to MAJOR shifts in the narrative. And the characters aren’t twisting to her whims like she thought they would. It’s almost like they’re…people.

The romance aspect of this book is interesting, as Rae is supporting her OTPs, but her very presence winds up killing a few halves of the pairings, or their feelings develop quite differently. It’s actually a delight whenever we see a pairing that defies Rae’s understanding of the book. Especially amusing was when a supposedly gay character professes his love and, as the court stands confused, he reminds the court (and Rae and the reader) that people can be into both.

Besides the lovely rep of a bisexual character in an opposite-gender relationship, there’s also a fair bit of queer romance in here, though it takes time to develop. One of the pairings doesn’t even get hinted at until a good half of the book is done, and then it’s done in such a way that I wasn’t getting behind the ship, until it was brought up again…when the book is nearly over. I wish more had been done with these couples, but perhaps we get that in book 2. There’s certainly enough conflict left and character development to develop to bring them back in book 2.

Overall, I was pleased with this book, and will definitely be getting volume 2, when it’s out.

Advanced reader copy provided by the publisher.

**ARC provided by NetGalley for honest review**

Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan was another fantastic story about a sick girl transported into her sister's favorite book series as the villainess. Many crazy and fresh antics occur. There are zombies, villainous heroes, heroic villains, and many more fleshed-out characters. The world is rich and interesting and mysterious. AND THE SASS! The sass is on point and I ate up every minute I could experience with this audiobook, I could not put it down. I am just sad I have to wait for the follow-up because that ending was not fair, Brennan is doing this on purpose and I just want happiness for all, even though that might be asking too much in this dark world setting.

Honestly, I was really looking forward to this book. However, I had a hard time connecting with the writing and main character off the bat. So much so that I felt I forced myself through the first third and then had to switch over to audio to finish. The endi no definitely made up for the beginning! It felt not edited well. There were jumps in the plot and dialogue that left me confused and having to back track to figure out what I had missed. I also felt that the writing tried too hard to make the MFC a villain.

That being said, I felt the plot got better and I fell more in love with the side characters! The narration was done very well and kept me interested enough where I felt the writing didn’t. The ending definitely surprised me and may have even convinced me to pick up book two! Although it felt much too long and drawn out for book one in a series.

This book is an absolute delight. It's dark, but not so dark that I was uncomfortable or unable to enjoy it. I loved the found family. I saw the ending coming a mile away, but I was still in awe of the way it all unfolded. I was worried that the ending was going to be too much of a cliffhanger or too depressing, but it was satisfying while keeping me interested in reading the next book.

4.5

It was fun, silly and hella meta. Seeing a story thru the eyes of somone who knows a lot of the story but is un/mis-informed enough to learn all the twists and turns WITH US, had me at the edge of my seat.
But aside from the expected comedy, and the sheer chaotic energy, what suprised me was how tender the narrative was. I felt for her, a lot. She was dying, lost her friends and family, she felt like a shell of the person she once was. She made mistakes, she was careless with people, but i got where she came from. That was my favorite part, it always is in isekai stories: for the MC to grapple with what she considers to be real and how that developed from selfish single-mindedness to compassion.

And as much as i thought Rae to be a brilliant focal point in this series, i was as swept away by so many of the other characters too!

I loved the Golden Cobra, he was probably my favorite overall. His motivations, his loyalities, his friendship and his determination! He truly was and is more than what met the eye at first ♥︎
I also didn't think i would like Marius that much but here i am. I think the book wouldn't have been half as good without his dynamic with the Golden Cobra.

Even characters that normally wouldn't catch my eye that much, like Lia, had me hooked.
And my little murder mew mew Key, how i love a solid morally ambigious right hand man.

Octavian, Emer, the Ice Princess, even minor characters like the twins and the Cobras Entourage fleshed out the book in a way that made it lived in.

To make a long-winded story short, characters are above anything else for me - plot, world building, magic systems idc, although i loved them here too - give me good characters and i am yours. Long Live Evil did give me that.

And with an ending like that? You can bet i will wait like a tragic lover for my beloved sequel to finally come to me.

(The half star is mainly bc i hope to see more development regarding one of the potential romantic relationships that got teased in Book 1. It's there but we don't see much, especially compared to the others)

(Also fun fact: i did think the ending would be a point i would criticize, given that it was to some extent predictable, but than i did get bambozzled nonetheless. So 0:1 to you, Brennan 😂👉.)

Aside from the plot & characters
To the narration: Moira Quirk did a fantastic job with the narration. The characters were bought out to live in their own unique way. They were distinct enough that it made following the audiobook really easy (i say this as someone who normally has a bit of a hard time following narrations otherwise). Maybe aside from the old men voices that had me listening to it twice, every other one sounded GREAT! And they fit so well (favorites are probaly Rae/Rahella and Lia, the contrast was solid).

This book was amazing! As a villian arc lover myself, I really felt this story from the begin. The twists expected and unexpected hit hard. The ending has me begging for the sequel already! One of my top reads, and inspiration for my own writings.
If you love villians, and being sucked into stories, Long Live Evil is the book for you. Evil wins at last!

This was so much fun!!! The isekai villainess plot is a very familiar and cozy spot for me, but I loved that the FMC was actually… kinda mean?!? We support women’s wrongs in this house. I did find the writing to be messy and memes to be very old, but I also found that to be charming in its own way (looking at you, Gideon). Will likely pick this up again when I need something familiar and rompy and just pure fun!

*Full disclosure: I rated this book 3.5 - 3.75 stars on review sites that allow it.*

I wasn’t sure how I felt about it at first but once I gave in and embraced the camp, I had a really good time with Long Live Evil. I love the concept of the book and the idea that entering a story can change its plot. It’s a lot like the idea that if you travel to the past, you can’t change a single thing or the future will veer wildly off track. Rae’s presence in the book and the decisions she made changed the future of every character, and it was a lot of fun to see if those changes were for better or worse.

This is Sarah Rees Brennan’s first adult novel but the writing and especially Rae’s dialogue read to me like YA. I actually struggled to like Rae very much. At first I thought it was because of her childish dialogue and obsession with her new body’s boobs, and while that didn’t help, I think my main issue was that her insistence that none of the characters were real made it hard for me to care about anything, including her. By reminding so many times that no one was real, she was also reminding me that she isn’t real. She was telling me not to care for her either, and I decided to go ahead and listen.

Despite Rae’s best efforts, I found most characters interesting and each had a lot of depth. My favorite character, Key, is one of the first that Rae meets when she wakes up in the world of this story and he’s fascinating. I’m not much for book boyfriends but I might make an exception for Key.

I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Moira Quirk. That’s right, Mo from Nickelodeon GUTS narrated this audiobook. God, I’ve always wanted a piece of The Crag. Anyway, sometimes it seemed like she was reading parts of conversations too quickly, faster than the person speaking would actually say them, but for the most part I enjoyed her narration and I think she did the voices of the many characters very well.

Despite the few issues I had, Long Live Evil was ultimately a satisfying read. The ending left me wanting more so I’ll definitely be reading the next book!

Long Live Evil is a delightful, dramatic story that celebrates and lampoon's some of the more popular themes, especially in YA fantasy. I loved the journey and the characters, laughing at their witty insights and shaking my head at their missteps. I can't wait to share this book with others.

I just left this review for another title and ugh!!! I really liked this title, but honestly, if I had known it would have been left open-ended and/or part of a series, I'd have never read it. 17+ hours is a long time to commit to a title not knowing it wasn't going to have a conclusion. Other than that, I loved the spunky attitude of Rae and the pop-culture references included in it. It was an interesting take and the opportunity to live vicariously through a "villain" and it was a treat!

This book was not for me. I am sure there are going to be a lot of people who love it, I am just not one of them.

It is listed as an adult fantasy, but it reads like a YA. My favorite genre is epic fantasy, so that might give you an idea why my rating is so low for this book. It is no where near that level of writing.

Cons:
The dialogue was too modern for a fantasy book setting.
I didn’t care for any of the characters, None of them were interesting or memorable.
The “evilness” of the main character just felt forced.

The idea was good, but the execution was lacking. I wasn’t sure if the book was meant to be a parody or a serious read.

3.5 stars

Nothing more evil than a cliffhanger ending, so I guess it's fitting, but I hate when so little is resolved at the end of a book. There is a bit of closure for a few characters and plot threads but for the most part the ending here felt frustrating to me. You are forced to keep reading the series if you want any kind of actual ending.

I listed to the audiobook ARC and the narrator was great. I struggled with the main character's accent at first, it felt off somehow, but I soon enough got used to it. Apart from that small quibble I think the narration was top notch. The way the chapters begin was a little confusing at times, because they start with an excerpt from the fictional book the main character has entered (Time of Iron), so suddenly we are hearing this story we haven't actually read that contains characters doing very different things from where the story we ARE reading left off. I think there needed to be more distinction between the excerpts and the regular story.

I found this book to be a mixed bag. For the most part I had fun while reading it, though the main character did really annoy me at some points. I felt emotionally invested in some of the side characters, though frankly, for most of them there wasn't much to invest in. There just wasn't enough backstory and character development with most of the cast. There were a few too many minor characters. And the motivation of a lot of the characters was either so simplified as to be uninteresting or so muddled that I couldn't figure out what their deal even was. Possibly much of this will be addressed in future books, but as it was it made this book feel a bit of a mess. I think tighter plotting and more fully realized characters would have gone a long way towards making this one more of a favorite. There were a number of things that just flat out didn't make sense to me. This might be on me, or might be cleared up in future books, but I had to really suspend my disbelief and stop trying to figure out why any of the characters were doing what they were doing. There were times when the humor made me laugh, but a lot of it was of the eye rolling variety. It's definitely got a YA tone, which I'm fine with, I like YA, but readers should go in with that expectation in mind.

Because the main selling point of this book from my experience is that it is fun, the juxtaposition of devastating late stage cancer and silly fantasy world felt at odds, and for me as a reader that jarring back and forth actually detracted from the book. I hate saying this, because I know this is a personal book for the author and of course the experience of being extremely ill for a long period of time is worth writing and reading about. But I never felt it fit together here. This is a book with really graphic and gut wrenching descriptions of terminal illness, it could never be recommended as a light read. But I think a light read is really all the fantasy aspects of the story are, I don't think they holds up as anything beyond that, at least thus far in the series.

I know this review is full of negativity, but in fact I did mostly have fun reading this. I do think I'll probably read the second book. I would recommend it to readers who are willing to completely suspend their disbelief in pursuit of having a good time, and those who like lighter YA reads, with the caveat that the cancer elements of this book are the opposite of lighthearted.

4.5 stars

Wow, what a FUN ride! This book manages to cleverly balance humour and wit with pain and loneliness, trauma with hope, and villainy with heroics in this whirlwind of a story.

I <b>could</b> criticise this book in areas if I wanted to- the pacing was off a bit with timeline jumps, and some of the plot twists were really obvious- but overall I had such a good time listening to the beautiful chaos of the story that I'm not going to.

Rae is ill, and the outlook is not good. So when a women turns up in her hospital room and tells Rae she could have a chance to live, all she has to do is pick the flower from her sisters favourite book series, she think the woman is crazy. But when she wakes up in a stronger and healthy body, she sees a chance she is going to seize. The only problem? The body she is in is that of the Villain of the story, and on the eve of her execution.
But Rae won't let a little problem like that stop her- after all, she is armed with knowledge of how the story is supposed to go, and she's willing to lean into the villainess' shoes and gather herself a merry band of minions to ensure her character lives long enough to get the flower of Life and death and return, healthy and hale, to her own world.
After all, these are just book characters and not REAL, so what does it matter if a few of them get hurt along the way? <I>'Being nice was nice. Being nasty got sh*t done'</I>

Honestly, this was such an enjoyable read, with a brilliant story-within-a-story, great characters, a fun play with storyline and character arch-types and villains you were routing for.
I loved the way every decision that was made had unintended and accidental consequences, and watching Rae trying to right the story so she can stay in it long enough to get the flower and return home was a blast.
I was racing to the end eager to see the disaster play out, whilst simultaneously dragging my feet in the sand, not wanting to see all the wrong decisions be made.

Honestly, if you've ever wondered what its would be like to go into your favourite fantasy story, be a villain or if you love a villain, you should read this book!

I listened to this book and I have to say the narrator was absolutely fantastic! The different character voices, the emotion and feeling was just so on point and engaging- I honestly struggled to hit pause and get on with stuff as I just wanted to keep listening and find out where the story went!
***Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for offering me and E-audio of this book in exchange for an honest review.***

Thanks to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for an advanced copy of the audiobook.

This audiobook is a delight.
Long Live Evil is cheeky, joyfully unserious, yet at the root of it all, there's the pain of loss and mortality. This book is a portal fantasy where a sick girl is given the chance to survive, she only has to enter the world of her favorite book series and against all odds survive enough to pick up the Flower of Life and Death. If you are familiar with Sarah Rees Brennan, you'll know her strength lies on humour, the way she builds up characters and relationships, and of course, how she can throw an emotional moment after making you laugh like no other. This book is no exception. However, because I've seen some reviews, if you are looking for a generic by the numbers fantasy, or even romantasy, be aware, this book is not that. It's camp! It takes fantasy tropes and character archetypes and comments on them, twisting them, and all of it with a irreverent humour and a protagonist ready to scheme and become a villain while being aware of narrative constrictions and the twists in the story.

Let's talk more about the plot.
Rae is a 20 year old young woman who has been battling cancer for the last four years. Her little sister has been her companion while her friends have abandoned her. In these years, Rae and her sister have shared the love for Time of Iron, a fantasy book series full of heroes, villains, revenge, death and love. But Rae has a secret from her sister, she actually has never read book one. When she started, while on chemo, her mind struggled to retain any information. But book two and three has a her favorite character, so through the fog in her mind, she can remember more of the sequels.
One night, after a really bad day, Rae is woken up in the hospital by a strange woman. The woman tells her she's dying, but offers her the chance to survive by inviting her to the world of Time of Iron.
In there, Rae wakes up as Rahela. A minor villain that dies in the first book. The evil step sister of the heroine. The previous lover of the King. The woman currently incarcerated, waiting for execution the next day.

In her mission to survive enough to pluck the magic flower that blooms one night a year, Rae finds companionship in the villains of the story. She has a pretty good idea of the plot of the first book, though she does not remember everything. With the goal of going back to her sister in the real world, she's ready to embrace the fantasy tropes, the violence and dangers, while telling herself over and over that this world is not really real. However, friendships, feelings and losses start to weigh Rae's heart more than she cares to admit.

I have to be honest, though I'm reviewing the audiobook provided by NetGalley, this is my second time reading this book this month.
I read the hardcover in four days. And though I ended up loving the characters; the ships (oh, the ships, there's one in particular totally unaware of their feelings that I'm dying to see next book); and the ending HURT me, I did not truly love the book the first time. Sarah is the writer of my favorite YA stand alone, In Other Lands. So I went with high expectations. However, this second time around, experiencing the story narrated by Moira Quirk was a delight.

Moira was the perfect narrator, the way she gives life to Rae, most importantly, Rahela, was amazing. Rahela, the character Rae plays in this world, is a seductress. She's the harlot of the tower (or at least that's how people refers to her). So a lot of times we are reminded that Rahela's voice is a seductive purr and Moira embraces all of it. I loved it. I also really love how she portrayed other characters, like the sarcastic, but dangerous criminal Key; the serious scholar with berserker blood Marius; or the playful, yet kind-hearted spy master The Cobra.

This is an amazing production and I think the story benefitted a lot from Moira's narration. It's clear she had fun embracing the humorous and villainous aesthetic Sarah created. It was such a joy to experience the book through this medium.

I can't wait for the sequel. Sarah writes portal fantasy in such a distinct way, I'm ready for more jokes, tears and adventures.

3.75 Stars
After a bit of a slow confusing start, this was such a fun and unexpected read! It’s one of those books that is going to require you to look below the surface and dig into the actual story crafting process of fantasy writing, and explore how a single character can change a story. If you are not willing to do that, I don’t think you will enjoy this one. If you are someone who enjoys a plot to wrap your brain around and you enjoy campy, swiftie, meta comedy, you will absolutely love this story! I did find the beginning a little slow, but I’d say about the 30% mark I was fully immersing myself in the story, anxious about what would happen next and caring about all of the characters! The ending was fantastic and definitely made me want to continue on with the next installment!!

I thought the narrator did a fantastic job with characterization and keeping the pacing of this book, which felt lengthy at times, moving along. I always appreciate when a solo narrator adds enough dimension to each character’s POV to help immerse the listener in the story without distracting from it!!

So fun and funny. I'm a sucker for a Stranger in a Strange Land type of tale and this ticked the boxes for me.

Where high fantasy and low fantasy meet, the characters here were so interesting, and what fun to be on the side of villainy.

I'm excited to get stuck into this when more books are released.

I love the ability to look at the antihero - different (and more fun) than a typical fantasy! The prose got a little tedious at times, but I overall enjoyed.

Long Live Evil was non stop fun! This is a highly original twist on the character from our world finding themself in their favorite book, only to wreak havoc on the original story. I appreciated how the difficulties of Rae's cancer are woven throughout the story- both in terms of her flashbacks in the real world, and the way in which she is able to live in a strong healthy body in the book world. With each beat the story kept me guessing. Just when I thought I knew what would happen, there was a turn I didn't expect!

I also loved how the story makes us think about what is real and what isn't- for Rae and all of the characters, what is happening in the world of "Time of Iron" is real and it is wonderful to see Rae begin to grapple with how her villainous actions affect the other characters; not to mention how she grows to care for many of them. For anyone who has wanted to visit a bookworld they have loved, this is a great exploration as to what it might be like.

While I would have liked to see more of this wrapped up by the end, I didn't also enjoy how the book closes. I am looking forward to seeing where this story goes in the future.

The narrator of this audiobook made the story all the more engaging and humorous. This narrator hits all of the jokes with just the right tone and keeps the story moving, even when I began to feel it drag just a bit. I loved being able to listen along and feel these characters come alive through the narrator's different voices and personas. With such a big cast of characters that was a difficult thing to do! Bravo.