I think that unfortunately I wanted to like this more than I ended up actually enjoying it. It’s silly and goofy and camp, and I loved the concept so much. There’s a lot of court intrigue, it’s twisty, and it’s a lot of fun. However, it did bring me physical pain and a lot of cringing when real world dialogue was brought into this medieval fantasy setting (dialogue that nobody IN the real world would ever actually say out loud, at that - with a character literally saying “A.F.” out loud. Just no), that musical number - I actually had to close the book for 5 minutes after reading that to get rid of the secondhand embarrassment. I did like the characters though - they’re all a bit unhinged and you don’t quite know what anyone’s going to do next, which is always fun! I also found the incorporation of terminal cancer into the storyline really interesting, particularly after reading the author’s note about Brennan’s own battle with cancer.

The style, plot and humour is so specific and unique that I definitely think this book will be divisive. in the book world! I don’t think everyone will like it. Less skit like than Assistant to the Villain and in someways as ‘tropey’ as powerless, but I do think if you like that you should like this. It’s very meta and breaks the fourth wall in a way, and I enjoyed it!

The book starts with the main character and her sister who love this book series and they have opinions on love interests and ship certain characters. But the main character gets sick and a mysterious women offers her the chance to go into the book and try her hand at getting the flower of life and death, which only blooms once a year. It's a very different read which is nice! It was funny and I enjoyed this one!

I will fully admit I had no hopes for this book going in. The summary is the exact type of cringe that straddles the line between ‘brilliant’ and ‘terrible’ and frankly, and I had no faith it would be the former. Still, I’ve grown up reading translated Asian isekai stories and I was really curious how a Western take on it would go. It almost didn’t.

Long Live Evil is a Western take on Eastern Villainess Isekai genre. For those unfamiliar, isekai (JP) (or isegye (KR)/chuanyue (CN)/transmigration) is a genre where a character finds themselves in the body of someone else and has to deal with the consequences. Oftentimes, they end up in the body of a fictional character and are either perma-stuck there or have to complete some objective to get out. As the name suggests, in villainess isekais the MC gets stuck in the body of the ‘villainess’ of a story, a character competing with the heroine the main love interest’s hand and have to figure out how to navigate themselves out of said position. Occasionally, this comes with constraints of being unable to act ‘Out Of Character’ (OOC). Now onto the story itself.

The first 10% of this book is DNF-ably bad. My god was it hard to read. The main character, Rae, embraces her villainess-era lifestyle with an uncomfortable gung-ho, dropping every villain-aesthetic cringe one-liner known to man. Every vaguely villain-sequence symbolism is embellished. I’ve seen someone on Goodreads describe it as the Taylor Swift-esque Repuation-era villainism and that’s uncomfortably spot on. I wouldn’t fault anyone for reading that first 10%, closing the book, and never opening it again for just how off-putting it was.

However, I told myself I would make it to at least 25% before calling it quits and I can’t tell if I love or hate myself for that. Around the 20% mark, we’re introduced to the best (and probably only tolerable) character of the entire book, the Golden Cobra. Who’s secretly, gasp, another transmigrator! He’s got this deliciously tortured love-hate enemies-but-not-really relationship with the world’s most Lan Wangji-coded character in Marius and it makes you want to scream ‘just kiss already!’. Really it was their antics and Marius’ “progressive for my time because I think women are capable of independent thought” mentality that really really carried this book and tempered Rae’s absolute insufferability.

I will give credit where credit is due. Sarah Rees Brennan, for all her faults of writing terrible POV characters, knows her craft. The plot of Long Live Evil is genuinely good. The story itself is incredibly compelling if you just kind of ignore Rae’s bullshit and the twists and turns it pulls you through as a Western take on the Isekai genre is shockingly well written. Brennan does humor really well and I found myself laughing quite a bit. Of course, then there’s moments like the musical chapter that I just had to skip entirely for my own sanity, but you win some you lose some.

Really, my only other complaint about this book and a warning to anyone else considering picking it up is that despite its cover, no one is actually a villain. Not even in a tongue-in-cheek manner. This is one of those, actually villains are just misunderstood people who have been demonized by people in power. And occasionally we like to wear blood red and brandish a knife around. I’m sorry. That’s boring as fuck. Let characters actually be evil!! Don’t be a coward!!!!!! Again, strong parallels to the Taylor Swift Reputation villain era of villainry

Overall, I rate a this book a 3.5/5. It would have been a 2 without Cobra, but also I would have DNFed without Cobra. The book is exactly what it says on the cover and this will be very much a love it or hate it novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group for the advance reader copy.

I was very excited to read this book and found that it didn’t live up to that expectation.
I found the over use of ‘young’ phrases and the info dumping took away from what I could imagine would be an interesting story and premise.

I unfortunately had to DNF this book and may come back to it at a later date.

I couldn't get through this one - the world building was infodumping and jarring and I just cannot figure out why I should either like or hate any of these characters to care about them one way or the other.

Unfortunately this was a DNF for me at 30%

Felt the dialogue was cringy and there were too many pop culture references for me personally.

The lowest I give a book I DNF is 3⭐️ as it’s hard to judge without reading the entire thing

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

'For anyone who has fallen in love with the villain' immediately sold!

This is a slow start but once it found it's stride I was drawn in. I found it really easy to read, even if the pacing was off. It was entertaining and I was laughing and giggling a lot throughout the book. The characters were enjoyable too but I think my favourite part of this was the sarcasm. I was thoroughly entertained with it which made up for the obvious plot twists. Now I won't say this is a brilliant book but I had a fun time with it. I was invested in the story and in the characters and overall had a blast.

This book was the most fun book i've ever read. It instantly fell in love with the characters, and Sarah Rees Brennan took us on a wild ride! I dont think i've read a book with this type of plot before; it was a different vibe and I absolutely loved it. I received a Fairyloot copy of Long Live Evil, and the cover is stunning.

I couldn't finish the book. The storyline did not make sense to me, the characters had no depth to them and the writing style just didn't appeal to me.

I've been waiting for this book since Leigh Bardugo mentioned it last year on her hell bent tour. And it did not disappoint I loved every single page of it

A DNF for me. Really couldn't get on with the characters. The point where the two main characters gladhanded each other and basically said, "We're great!, aren't we!" was the point I left. I can see that the books meant to be fun, but I found it a drag, sadly. Having said that, a fellow reviewer I work with loved it and felt it was going to be one of his books of the year!

This is a really funny, interesting take - I love the twist on ending up being the villain. I struggled a little to get into it with Evie's voice and found it hard to get invested in the relationships, but I loved the world-building and the concept.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher Orbit for the digital ARC, it has not affected my honest review.

TW: cancer, death, murder, blood, violence, terminal illness, misogyny

Terminally ill with incurable cancer, Rae has tried to cope by turning to books. Her favourite series ‘Time of Iron’, and her sister’s biggest coping mechanism, is one of the only things she has left that feels normal. When Rae is offered a strange bargain to enter this world and find a flower that grants a wish, she jumps at the chance to be healthy again. However if she fails, her body will die and she'll remain trapped inside the story. Waking up, Rae finds herself in the body of the villainess of the series on the verge of her execution. Deciding that it’s better to be bad than good, Rae throws herself into this world of monsters, courtiers and magic, catching the eye of her favourite character- the alluring, evil Once and Future Emperor, though he isn't that man yet and is destined to love the hero. Rae soon assembles a group of villains to support her, hoping to change their doomed fates from how it happens on the page. However, as the body counts become increasingly higher and the Emperor’s anger increases, Rae and her team begin to realise that they probably won’t survive in this world either unless she starts to change things.

Darkly funny, moving and emotional and an incredibly satisfying retelling of fantasy fiction if the villain knew the story, “Long Live Evil” is unlike anything I’ve read before. I loved Rae as a character, she's so strong but also so badly vulnerable because of what she's been through. Every time she mentioned the hospital or how her life was changed I wanted to cry and hug her (she'd probably stab me). Her sense of humour and her gradual growing attachment to the characters was so well written. I loved Key, the insane and murderous royal guard she recruits and Cobra, a man everyone underestimates because he's always brightly coloured, the most but I also really enjoyed the character of Marius as well. This whole book felt like a love letter and a challenge to the fantasy genre, taking all the tropes and clichés and turning them into something new and original. While reading “Long Live Evil” I found myself wanting to read the books that Rae ends up inside. This was so good and so different, I can't wait to see what might come next in this series because its so unpredictable.

Long Live Evil was an interesting read, at times chaotic (maybe a little confusing) but also vastly entertaining and funny. It is / has:
🗡️ Portal fantasy, with an element of body swap
🗡️ Morally ambiguous characters, a celebration of villains

Initially I found the book a challenge to get into but when I did I enjoyed it. It was action packed and over the top at times (in a way I could best describe as panto-esque) which I didn’t mind.
In the story we follow Rae, who via a Faustian style bargain, is transported into the world of her sister’s favourite fantasy series. Only the character she ends up as is about to die and is regarded as more villain than heroine. This means she has a predicament she needs to get out of fast and a brilliant cast of morally grey characters around her.
It was these characters that made the story. I have favourites (yes I mean Key). But I also liked reading Emer and Marius.
As this takes place within a fictional fantasy story, the author can play with (invert and change) cliche, trope and narrative / character expectations, which they do. But Rees Brennan goes further and reflects within the narrative on doing this. I found this enjoyable and fun, but by the end of the story I was a little tired of reference to plot and character arcs.
However, I’ll be continuing the series when future books are released.

Such a fun book, I was nervous going in because I thought this might lean towards being a little young feeling. I was pleasantly suprised by everything about this, a tonne of fun! Really loved the characters and this took turns that I wasn't expecting which helped the story feel fresh and excting.
I'm really looking forward to reading more from this author!

I was influenced by Leigh Bardugo into picking this up. I wish I hadn't bothered and listened to my gut feeling as it didn't sound like something I would enjoy and it proved me right. Complete waste of time.

If someone said you could live in the world of your favourite fantasy series, would you do it? Rae decides it’s her only option as she is dying of cancer. Grabbing at a second chance at living, Rae is transported into the world of her favourite series and her all time favourite character, the Once and Forever Emperor. She wakes in a castle teetering on the edge of a terrifying chasm and she soon realises she has been cast in the role of the villainess in the Emperor’s Tale. Assembling an equally villainous group of rogues and murderers to help her change the fate of those in the story, Rae and her allies may not make it to the final pages.

This is Brennan‘s debut adult epic fantasy and it stands out for its originality, the wicked one liners from Rae and her allies and the deliciously dark humour and plot. This is a story of a protagonist struggling to come to terms with her impending death and leaving her loved ones behind. What makes this theme even more poignant is that Brennan had experienced cancer herself and you can feel all of that denial, pain, and anger poured into Rae, making you feel even more sympathy for Rae’s predicament. The motley crew accompanying Rae includes an axe-wielding maiden, a shining knight with dark mood swings, a playboy spy master and a homicidal yet charming bodyguard. You will become so invested in each of these characters arcs alongside that you will struggle to see why they are pitched as the bad guys in the story. Brennan shines a spotlight on how in a world where evil is the common denominator, sometimes it’s up to the morally gray characters to save the day.

The world building is excellent, the character development is on point, and be prepared for brutal fights alongside moments of hilarity courtesy of Rae and her companions.

Brennan expertly plays with many of the favourite fantasy tropes particularly readers love of the bad boys. The ending was pretty obvious but still satisfying. If you are looking for a fun fantasy story go check out Long Live Evil which is out now. Oh and you can keep the Once and Forever Emperor – Key is the true star of the villains here!

Thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK and Orbit for the arc.

4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A fun and easy read. I enjoyed how the plot evolved and how modern element intertwined with those characteristic of fairy tales!

The book throws the reader into the story quite quickly and I found it difficult to find my way around the world at first.
It took me a while to warm to the protagonists because they remained somewhat two-dimensional at the beginning and the pacing of the story was very fast.
A trigger warning right at the beginning: every reader must be aware that the beginning of the book deals with death and that the protagonist is ill with no hope of recovery.
The serious topic at the beginning of the book caught me off guard and made me very thoughtful.

The protagonist is transported from the “real” world into a book world where she takes on the role of a villainess who is to be executed right at the beginning. She then struggles with the prospect of avoiding this execution so that she can either live a healthy life in this world or return to her world and live a healthy life there.

I had high expectations of the book and was unfortunately somewhat disappointed. I was looking forward to a story with an antagonist who is evil and puts her evil plans into action. Instead, I got a protagonist who constantly mentions how evil she is, but doesn't put any of it into practice. So the whole time I was waiting for a twist in the story, which unfortunately never happened.

I did like the intrigue at court and the fact that the protagonist could never be sure and always had to be on her guard to avoid being outwitted or killed. But even that got lost in endless dialogs and too little action.
The plot is confusing and almost nothing actually happens during the whole book! There is no depth to the story, or the characters.

The only interesting thing could have been the moral dilemma faced by the protagonist, who is transported from a modern world similar to ours, to a historic one, where she has to carry out evil deeds. Unfortunately, it was only mentioned in passing and dismissed with humor.

What I also didn't like was the writing style, which was too modern and didn't fit in with the historical world at all.

Everyone loves a bad boy right? Especially hot fictional ones. When Rae, a terminal cancer patient, wakes up in her favourite fantasy series she grabs her second chance with both hands. But she’s not the heroine, she’s the character everyone loves to hate and her good girl sister is set to marry the hot Once and Forever Emperor. Rae gathers a rag tag group of villains to keep the plot running but will Rae and her allies survive her second chance. This is quite a difficult book to reviews as it’s deeply personal to the author and her experience. First off I hate cancer story lines and I probably wouldn’t have read this if I’d known going in that it was a major plot point. However all the fantasy world stuff is excellent and funny and tropey and all the good things. The ending was obvious but absolutely satisfying is in the best possible way. It was the best of times but also the worse of times and a quality read from Rees Brennan as usual.