“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.

This was a fun, casual romp; I loved the characters (especially Key), the isekai part wasn't overly annoying (as I thought it would be), but the writing still needs a lot of work.

If you're looking for something easy to read and casually fun, I definitely recommend this!

I have no idea how to write this without getting mad
If i see one more time the words vile, villain, villainous, i’m goint to go insane
This books was not for me at all, i had such high hopes for this one, but it turned out worse.
The writing, it was like reading messages and not a narration, i couldn’t get over that. The main character is so annoying, we get this picture that she s going to be a great villain but she never lives to her expectations ( and also ours??))

Im so disappointed of how this turned out I can’t believe this was bad

Really grateful for this ARC!

Unfortunately this was a DNF for me, I loved the concept but I just couldn't get into it personally. I found some scenes quite cringey and I felt quite lost sometimes.

The plot was fun and I did find it quite humorous. I wasn't a fan of the dialogue and the constant pop culture references. I was really excited for this book as the idea was really interesting for me, but this book just wasn't my cup of tea which is a shame.

Long Live Evil explores in an entertaining way the dream of visiting the world of your favourite book series. It was a really quick and fun read. We just need to remember not to treat this book too seriously and let go of any expectations of high fantasy or overwhelming romance. It’s a story of a dying girl, who enters the world of her favourite book series to steal a flower that could grant her health. She finds herself in a body of the wicked sister and decides to embrace evil and become a villain. She has nothing to loose and plans to spend her time having fun. Rae takes nothing seriously and treats everyone she encounters as fictional characters, which leads to many hilarious situations. I think my favourite part was watching how the original book’s plot changes and unravels because of Rae’s influence. Also, the ending made me excited for the second book in the series.

Sarah Rees Brennan did it again. Somehow made something so intricate of something that sounds like it would be a joke. The rollercoaster of emotion I felt while reading this, the amount of times I’ve laughed, cried, despaired or got frustrated…

I loved every single one of the characters and they were so incredibly well written that I liked the ones I was supposed to dislike just because she wrote them so well. Key was my absolute favorite and I definitely definitely need more of him in the next book. Actually scratch that I want everyone back.

The story is both goofy and heart wrenching at the same time. Sarah Rees Brennan managed to make a plot I would have been pretty disinterested in based only on the summary into one of my favorite reads of the year. I loved everything I’d normally dislike, and adored everything I’d just like.

I really really tried to not finish it, because If I finish it, it’s done and I’d have to endure probably over a year without my evil plotting favorites .

I absolutely can’t wait for the next one!