3.5/5

This was a lot of fun (even if a bit ridiculous at times though); some of the jokes were great and some not as much. It is definitetly not a to-be-taken-seriously plot, as much of it is just having fun with as many cliches and tropes as possible.
Boob jokes aside, Rae was actually a very fun protagonist, and the isekai element of the story is really well used for both comedic and dramatic effect.
Moira Quirk was, as usual, an outstanding narrator!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I would like to thank NetGalley for giving me an audio-arc in exchange for an honest review.

THIS IS MY FAVORITE RELEASE OF 2024. I couldn't put this down for one moment. I don't even know where to start.

For one, Rae. Rae makes a bargain to go into the fictional world of her favorite book... and ends up a villain. She uses the knowledge of the books to help her as she navigates this world and attempts to make it through and back to her world. While there, she gathers a team of villains and begins her scheming. Amongst them, we have an insane love interest who I loved from the moment we met him.

But what I loved, besides the fantasy world she finds herself in, is as she's scheming, she changes the path the story is supposed to take and things go absolutely off the rails.

And that ending?! What a cliffhanger!! What an absolute beast of a book. I'm now dead and need book 2. HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO WAIT?!

As for the audiobook, definitely worth it. The narrator does an absolutely fantastic job with this. Highly recommend.

Long Live Evil, the first installment in Sarah Rees Brennan's new fantasy series, takes the classic bookworm's daydream and twists it into something fresh and unexpected. When Rae's life collapses around her, she clings to the solace of her favorite fantasy series. In a desperate moment, she seizes a chance at a magical bargain that transports her into the very world of those beloved books. She awakens not as the hero but as the villainess in the tale of the Once and Forever Emperor—a character she adores and has always seen as the story’s centerpiece.

From the start, Brennan cleverly subverts expectations by casting Rae not as the heroine but as the wicked antagonist. However, Rae embraces her new role with a mix of humor and determination. After all, villains often have the best wardrobes and sharpest one-liners. She quickly gathers an unlikely band of villains to her cause, intent on rewriting the story’s narrative and escaping her supposedly inevitable doom.

Brennan’s writing is engaging, filled with wit and charm, but it can also be quite disjointed. The narrative occasionally jumps erratically from one event to the next, making it difficult to keep track of the story’s progression. Rae herself is a compelling character—smart, funny, and relatable in her fangirl devotion to the Emperor. However, she also makes some baffling decisions that left me scratching my head.

The world-building is intriguing, populated by a cast of captivating characters, each with their own unique motivations and secrets. Key, Rae’s loyal bodyguard, particularly stands out, bringing a depth and loyalty to the story that adds layers to Rae’s journey. But as Rae starts to meddle more deeply in the world she thought she knew so well, the story takes a turn. Her unwavering belief that she knows how the plot will unfold becomes a frustrating flaw, especially when her presence begins to change the very fabric of the narrative and we as the reader see it immediately while it tales Rae far too long to come to these realizations.

I would, however, recommend reading this book as opposed to listening to the audiobook if possible. The narrator did a good job as the stories narrator but the voices she used for the characters themselves wasn't for me, especially how she voiced Key. It just didn't fit with his character and the jarring juxtaposition between the English accents for everyone but Rae and the Cobra threw me out of the story more times than I could count.

Despite those narrative bumps, Long Live Evil is a fun, fresh take on the “trapped in a book” trope that explores the complexities of villainy and the nature of storytelling. Brennan invites readers to question what it means to be a hero or a villain, and whether one’s fate is truly set in stone. It's a promising start to a new series, and I’m curious to see how Rae’s story continues to unfold. If you enjoy stories with a twist on classic fantasy tropes and morally grey characters, this book is worth picking up.

Thank you to Orbit and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

I really liked the premise of this novel where a person gets pulled into the world of an epic fantasy series as one of the villains. However, I really struggled with the pacing, which made it difficult for me to ever really get immersed in the story.

Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan has a really intriguing premise, and I was excited to dive in. The idea of a character embracing their evil side in a twisted fantasy world sounded like a lot of fun. However, the execution fell a bit flat for me.

The story itself felt strange, with some parts being overly campy and others dragging on without much substance. The characters were hit or miss—some were really interesting, while others felt underdeveloped and, honestly, very boring. I was hoping for more from the 'evil' aspect, but it didn’t quite deliver on that front.

On a brighter note, Moira Quirk did an amazing job narrating the audiobook. Her ability to switch between different voices and accents really brought the characters to life and added a layer of enjoyment to the experience. If it wasn't for her narration, I honestly probably would have DNF'ed this book.

Overall, Long Live Evil didn’t live up to its potential for me. If you're a fan of campy fantasy with a mix of humor and Disney villain "darkness," then you might like this book.

4 ⭐️

If you want to feel like Evira, Mistress of the Dark got thrown into a campy version of The Neverending Story….look no further. This was a very self aware story that was a little cheesy at times but overall it was quite a fun experience. The audiobook narrator really helped up the fun camp factor and really improved my experience. My major gripe would be this book sells itself as were following the villain, but we aren’t really she is still quite a good person who ends up in the body of a villain if the story which isn’t the same thing. But don’t let that deter you, I would highly recommend giving this book a shot.

Thank you to Orbit for providing me a copy to review.

This book sounded like it would be such a fun adventure, unfortunately it did not live up to the expectations it set within its premise. Overall, I found it really underdeveloped. I felt no real connection or stakes regarding any of the characters and the events that transpire with them. When I began reading it I felt like the writing was not up to par with other adult fantasies I have read. When checking the authors bio I realized that this was her first work outside of young adult, and it definitely reads as such. This book is a lot, A LOT, of exposition. The author is trying to build depth in the real world, the original book world, and the book as it changes with our main characters entrance into it. Which gets confusing and convoluted most of the time. I don’t know if I can say much else without getting into spoilers so keep reading at your own discretion.

‼️Spoilers ahead‼️

Honestly, this is just going to be a list of grievances I have for this book in no particular order. There was, NO LIE, reference to the main characters boobs in every chapter. It added nothing to the plot or to her as a character. In the real world Rae is suffering from cancer. There was one time when it was brought up in reference to this fact, making note of how wonderful she feels to have full strength back. But mostly it boils down to “I have big boobs”. This really could have been something special but the way to author utilized the references just didn’t read the way I think she intended. There was not one, but TWO times where “and then everyone clapped” was used seriously. Not that big of a deal but not particularly something I enjoy. This book is very meta and breaks the fourth wall constantly with references to pop culture. I didn’t really find this fun, it mostly just took me out of the story. For example Rae is telling the characters of Time of Iron stories, they end up just being episodes of Friends. In another scene the Cobra is just able to make sunglasses for everyone? Even though based on all other context of time period that is not something they would have. Also it seems like there is magic, but no magic system was ever explained. Literally it would be like and then the magic gauntlets punched the undead to death. What/how/why never explained, it’s just magic I guess. There’s more nit-picky things but I don’t want to harp on this book too much, so I’ll leave it at that. I can’t say I recommend it as a read but I wouldn’t tell anyone not to if they were truly interested in it.

Honestly, the best thing I can say is that it kept me intrigued enough to not DNF. (I really, really wanted to). Though that shouldn’t be something you strive for. Thank you NetGalley for early access to the book.

This was a great book! The story was so good! This book was from a very unique story and from a very different perspective. I would recommend this book!

rae seizes a second chance at life through a magical bargain allowing her to become part of her favorite fantasy series. she wonders if her life isn’t just as threatened in the fictional world, though, when she awakes in a kingdom that’s on the brink of war and filled with dangerous monsters. despite this, she’s elated to have the chance to get to know her favorite fictional character, the once and forever emperor…until she finds out that she’s not the hero of this story, but the villain.

this was such a cool concept, so i was very excited to read it. i didn’t have very many expectations going into this, but i was still surprised. i enjoyed how the plot played out, from the magical bargain that placed rae into this world to her taking on the role of villain. the juxtaposition of the world of time of iron (rae’s favorite series) and rae’s upbringing in the modern world was pretty funny at times.

overall, this was a fun book, and i’m eagerly awaiting the sequel!

narration: the narrator, moira quirk, did a wonderful job bringing this story to life!

Thank you to NetGalley, Orbit, and Hachette Audio for the chance to review this book, all opinions are my own.

Why is it so much easier to write reviews for books you didn’t like than books you loved? I literally just want to leave 30 exclamation points and call it a day. This book is easily one of my favorite reads of the year, ALL the stars, and I am already dying for the sequel!

Long Live Evil is the story of Rae who is dying of cancer in our world but then given the chance to go into the pages of her favorite fantasy world in order to save her life. She arrives in the book world only to realize she is playing one of the villain roles! Oh, and she’s about to be executed. What follows is a wild ride through every fantasy trope and character arc you can think of.

We get the POV of over 7 characters (which I happen to love) but our main focus is on Rae and her descent into villainy in order to survive.

I love the way the book uses humor and heart to poke fun at women’s roles in fantasy (harlot or heroine) and also explores why we fall in love with certain characters (even when they do bad things).

And because this is an audiobook review I will say that Moira Quirk does an amazing job (seriously, her accent work is always so impressive) and infused some much voice into the story. I already want to reread it!

All the stars!

Along with the novel angle of an antagonist's story, the book also carries a tinge of humour that made all the scheming such an easy read.

The story is a take on what you would do if you were literally immersed in the story you are reading as a villain 🤔. For all the book lovers who can't help but root for those grey characters, I feel this would be a fairly entertaining way to live what we all have been imagining for a while.

It was interesting to see those characters have a different curve of development inside and outside the story. And just when you feel like you know how things are going to turn out next.... whooosh💨, it's no longer happening.

FLEW through this excellent, incredible book. Tightly written, earnest, laugh-out-loud funny at several parts—one of the best witty fantasy meta books I've read in ages

I was first interested in reading this book because of Leigh Bardugo and Alix E Harrows amazing reviews. I definitely enjoyed the story and became way too invested in some of the side characters. I don’t normally pick up books that would be make me cry but I almost shed a tear because of the fate of my favourite side character. Some reviews say the characters are typical archetypes and the twists are predictable but I didn’t find that at all! I had a faint idea of one twist but nothing else. I’ve also heard this described as a fantasy romance but I didn’t think the romance was the main plot point, I almost thought there could have been a bit more. I had both the e-ARC and ALC but I wasn’t a fan of the audio, something about the narrators voice didn’t work for me, I found the accents a bit hard to understand. Overall I thought this was a fun read, and I’m really excited for the next book. For me, this did really live up to hype.

Thanks to NetGalley, Orbit, Hachette Audio and Sarah Rees Brennan for the e-ARC and ALC

Moira Quirk is such an excellent narrator, it was a little disappointing to hear how many technical blips there were. Overall I didn't care for the story as much as I anticipated I would. I found the characters more grating than enduring. And it bothered me that Rae knew exactly the sort of fantasy story she was in and yet didn't try to act like she was from that time period.

Campy, tropey and just very silly at times, Long Live Evil is a cheerful homage to villains simply embracing who they are: evil bastards.

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Spice: none, but definitely some steam ♨️

This book has many wonderful elements; Beautifully descriptive narration full of unusual metaphor. Strongly outlined and trope-y characters that are both intense and silly. A so-wrong-it's-right romance to make your (cold, dead, villainous) heart beat faster for a while. Overall it was a very enjoyable listen set in a world I desperately want to know more about.

Brennan's fantasy world is strongly stylised. Her narration richly features her character's inner thoughts and feelings - except when they make the most important decisions. Sure, this might be to avoid the reader realising too soon what a character is about to do, but the lack of explanation doesn't get satisfyingly fixed soon after. It leaves gaps in the narrative that leave the reader bereft. The narration also rarely gives us the thoughts characters think but do not say. This is a downright shame, I think. So much more lovely tension and connection could have been built up that way.

Perhaps because of this, the plot progresses almost jerkily, springing from one step to another without a clear thread connecting every step. It makes the reading experience disconcerting and unpredictable, and not in a good way. The only thing we know is it heads towards doom, and it is not like the story Rae expects it to be. I truly wish the twists and turns were slightly more predictable, the ride a little smoother. Instead of bringing me along, the story ripped me through itself.

Rae is both incredibly clever and very stupid at the same time, which gets frustrating. Other characters are also incredibly dense (looking at you, The Last Hope), but Rae outpaces them all in both brilliant plotting and unimaginably stupid clinging to the narrative she knows, despite being shown at every turn that things have changed. I found this hard to rhyme although considering the state she was in before entering the magical world of Ayam also explainable.
It pulled me out of the book's narrative, though, wanting to shake the characters for their ignorance when alle the facts were right there. Her insistence to keep using Earth idioms and refusing to explain herself when wrongfully accused just fully made me mad, however. There seemed no good reason for someone who's self-proclaimedly and gleefully self-serving and self-saving not to do just that.
All this density just makes the story seem slower, almost dragging at times, because as the reader I could see disaster coming so long before it actually came.

The chaotic and shattering conclusion is worth all the sillyness, in my opinion, and redeems a lot of characters that I had lost a lot of patience with throughout the book.
It's massively well done, neatly bringing a lot of the plot together and making the reader truly root for Rae.

Quirk's narration is equally fluid and beautiful as Brennan's writing style, forming a wonderful addition. She switches between accents and voices incredibly well, and narrates the evil on the pages almost joyfully. All this makes for a great audiobook experience.

While I found plenty to critisize, this book gave a lot to love, as well. It's quirky and fresh, not shying away from larger-than-life scenes in both comedy and tragedy. Intense and plain cool world-building, interestingly complex characters. Brennan's writing style is wonderfully descriptive, and Quirk's narration is absolutely phenomenal. I'll definitely be checking out Brennan's next work!

Thank you to Hachette Audio and NetGalley for a free advanced listener’s copy. I received this copy in exchange for my honest review.

DNF'd at 10%

I was curious about this book the moment I read the description. I was a bit sketched that none of the advertisements mention the already existing popular genre of isekai or even the specific subcategory of villainess isekai because the similarities were glaring! Still, I was willing to give it the benefit of the doubt that it wouldn’t follow the story beats and tropes expected of the already existing genre and would be different enough that it wouldn’t have needed to mention this trend.

It was hard for me to get into because, off the bat, I wasn’t super endeared to the main character, not even because she was a self-proclaimed bitch (that was honestly a point in her favor, we love a self-aware queen) but mostly because she was kind of bland, a lot of her “villainy” relied on her just saying she was evil or wicked or villainous to convince others which got a bit tired early on. The info dumping in the beginning was hard to ignore, in general there was a lot of showing and not telling. Overall, the narrative and the characters oversimplified a lot of the discussions surrounding villain romance in western fiction while also relying quite heavily on tropes found in the villainess isekai genre that didn’t make sense outside of the context of webnovels. The tone also felt a bit confused. I got whiplash more often than not, particularly with this book being set in what’s meant to be a grimdark high fantasy a la Game of Thrones but the narrative insists on being a comedy without trying to let go of the stakes required of the setting.

I got this book as an audiobook and I will say that the narrator’s voice and tone was wonderful, but I was mildly annoyed by the accent switches between Moira Quirk’s natural British accent into an American accent for whenever the main character spoke, it was weirdly jarring and took a while to get used to.

This book wasn’t really for me but I definitely think it will open a whole new world to some other readers. My expectations were just too biased to let the story be what it wanted to be. Seeing as I did not finish the book, I don't normally give a star rating but it's required to submit my review. Please disregard it.

DNF @45%

Since I got past 25%, I figured it was fair to write a review of sorts. Ultimately, I just think this author isn't for me. The story just dragged for me and I haven't been able to get into it. I just felt a bit lost. I would catch myself drifting when I was trying to listen. The narrator is amazing. I could definitely listen to another book narrated by Moira Quirk. The premise sounded so interesting. I love the feminist rage of sorts and it is very reminiscent of Jumanji, which is fun. I love the idea of rooting for the villains of the story. I don't think this story is inherently bad, I just think it may not be for me. I have been trying to power through for a few days, but it's just not working for me personally.

Omg 😱. First of all thanks for this audio!!!! Second point the voice is soo damn good wow. Love it.
Now the story, this was different fresh and fun, like I have laughs so much with it , I have to said definitely worth it. Of you want something different but fun and entertaining. This is for you !!!!

Have you ever wished you could get lost in the pages of your favourite book? Do you think the story would change with you in it?

This was an intriguing concept which took a little while to get going, but once it did it was very enjoyable.
I loved how Rae realised how much we don’t see about a world when we read a book. VE Schwab uses a metaphor about how a world is a house and when we read a book we can only see in through the windows, and I think Long Live Evil demonstrated that perfectly. So much that Tae assumed about her favourite book and certain characters wasn’t quite what she thought it would be.
Plus the perspective of a.) a villainous character and b.) a villainous character who has a real world understanding of how villains work in stories made for a fun dynamic.

Overall, I really liked Long Live Evil and would read more in this series (if it is one).

3.5 Stars
I will admit that I didn't really know what was happening half of the time but this book was still a lot of fun and I loved the concept of transporting into a book. I actually liked the "villains" in this as well - it was interesting to get that side of the story. I sympathized with Rae and enjoyed her perspective of the "story" she was in but my favorites had to be Marius and the Cobra. I'm definitely excited and interested to see how this story continues after the way it ended! I listened to the audio version of this and the narrator did a really great job at keeping me invested in this story.

Thank you NetGalley, Hachette Audio and Orbit for the ARC!