Review: Long Live Evil

Author: Sarah Rees Brennan

Genre: Fantasy, New Adult

Rating: 4 / 5

Feature:

• Real world character thrown into a fantasy world 

• Main characters are the villains 

• Quirky and funny while also exploring more serious themes such as death, human nature, and what it really means to be considered a ‘villain’

• Book about books 

Summary

Rae is dying. A long battle with cancer has already denied her the life of a normal teenager and now it looks like she will never get to truly experience adulthood either. However, when Rae finds herself in the fantasy world of one her favorite book series, it seems she is being given one last shot to save herself. There’s only one problem: she woke in the body of this story’s villain and her execution is tomorrow. 

Thoughts

Long Live Evil is simply a good time from start to finish! This is both a parody of fantasy/romantasy stories and a deeper examination of how we define ‘villains’ and the importance of stories in general. It is quirky and has a lot of charm while also containing some really impactful moments. Brennan does a good job showing how Rae’s past experiences influence her approach to people and situations without allowing the topic of Rae’s battle with cancer to drown out the adventure she is on. Rae enters this fantasy world like a bulldozer and it is fun to see her grow and become more in-tune with the world around her, even if growth ultimately means being a more effective villain. The other villains that she pulls into her orbit along the way are really enjoyable even if they don’t feel particularly deep. Rae truly seems to be having fun immersing herself in her favorite fantasy world despite the high stakes and it makes me want to jump in and have fun with her!

Though endearing and enjoyable, this book certainly has its flaws. Though it makes sense in the context of the story, Rae is self-absorbed and feels somewhat immature for her age, so it took me a while to really appreciate her as a character. A large part of this book’s humor comes from Rae’s frequent use of modern references and slang while in a fantasy world where they don’t exist. However, I feel Rae does this way too often and it doesn’t always hit right. Whether it is the way something is worded or how the other characters respond, the commentary sometimes just feels silly and awkward in a way that doesn’t add much to the experience of the story. That being said, when the humor hits, it really makes for some fun moments. Overall, this book lacks some detail and finesse, but it is still incredibly fun to read and that is what counts for me in the end!

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Special thanks to Netgalley and Orbit for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review!