Long Live Evil

RECOMMENDED: Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan is $1.99! This came out in August. It was recommended by both Bree Bridges and Sarah in the Rrrrromantasy panel Sarah moderated, by Courtney Milan in the SBTB podcast episode, and in a Rec League on Pure Escapism.
This adult epic fantasy debut from Sarah Rees Brennan puts the reader in the villain’s shoes, for an adventure that is both “brilliant” (Holly Black) and “supremely satisfying” (Leigh Bardugo). Expect a rogue’s gallery of villains including an axe wielding maid, a shining knight with dark moods, a homicidal bodyguard, and a playboy spymaster with a golden heart and a filthy reputation.
When her whole life collapsed, Rae still had books. Dying, she seizes a second chance at a magical bargain that lets her enter the world of her favorite fantasy series.
She wakes in a castle on the edge of a hellish chasm, in a kingdom on the brink of war. Home to dangerous monsters, scheming courtiers and her favourite fictional the Once and Forever Emperor. He’s impossibly alluring, as only fiction can be. And in this fantasy world, she discovers she’s not the heroine, but the villainess in the Emperor’s tale.
So be it. The wicked are better dressed, with better one-liners, even if they’re doomed to bad ends. She assembles the wildly disparate villains of the story under her evil leadership, plotting to change their fate. But as the body count rises and the Emperor’s fury increases, it seems Rae and her allies may not survive to see the final page.
THIS IS A TALE FOR EVERYONE WHO’S EVER FALLEN FOR THE VILLAIN…
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RECOMMENDED: Throne of the Fallen by Kerri Maniscalco is $3.99! I enjoyed this one and it reminded me a lot of sexy, early 2000s paranormal romances (which may or may not be your thing). I gave it a B+:
Throne of the Fallen is a “yes, and…” sort of book that you just have to lean into, which I happily did. It’s extremely cliched and tropey, and I’d eat this nonsense for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
The adult debut of #1 New York Times bestselling author Kerri Maniscalco, Throne of the Fallen is a seductive new standalone novel set within her fan-favorite Kingdom of the Wicked world, perfect for readers of fantasy, romance, and mystery alike.
Sinner. Villain. Ruthless.
These are wicked names the Prince of Envy welcomes. They remind him what he isn’t: a saint. And when a cryptic note arrives, signaling the beginning of a deadly game, he knows he’ll be called much worse before it ends. Riddles, hexed objects, anonymous players, nothing will stand in his way. With a powerful artifact and his own future at stake, Envy is determined to win, though none of his meticulous plans prepare him for her, the frustrating artist who ignites his sin—and passion—like no other…
Talented. Darling. Liar.
The trouble with scoundrels and blackguards is that they haven’t a modicum of honor, a fact Miss Camilla Antonius learns after one desperate mistake allows notorious rake—and satire sheet legend—Lord Phillip Vexley to blackmail her. And now it seems Vexley isn’t the only scoundrel interested in securing her unique talents as a painter. To avoid Vexley’s clutches and a ruinous scandal, Camilla is forced to enter a devil’s bargain with Waverly Green’s newest arrival, enigmatic Lord Ashford ‘Syn’ Synton, little expecting his game will awaken her true nature . . .
Together, Envy and Camilla must embark on a perilous journey through the Shifting Isles—from glittering demon courts to the sultry vampire realm, and encounters with exiled Fae—while trying to avoid the most dangerous trap of all: falling in love.
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RECOMMENDED: The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen is still $2.99! Sarah loved this one and gave it an A-:
If you like fantasy with characters that might sound like your neighbors sometimes, in a world with big stakes and little stakes and magical talking animals who deliver the mail, and especially if you like epistolary novels that lead to characters becoming more of themselves, you’ll like this undertaking. (Bad dum bum.)
Hart Ralston is a demigod and a marshal, tasked with patrolling the wasteland of Tanria. The realm the exiled old gods once called home is now a forsaken place where humans with no better options or no better sense come seeking adventure or spoils, but more often end up as drudges: reanimated corpses inhabited by the souls of those who’ve died in Tanria before. Hart tells himself that his job is simple: neutralize the drudges with a quick zap to the appendix and deliver them back to polite society at the nearest undertaker’s, leaving the whys and hows of the drudge problem for men without the complexities of a god in their family tree. But working alone, Hart’s got nothing but time to ponder exactly those questions he’d most like to avoid.
Too much time alone is the opposite of Mercy Birdsall’s problem. Since her father’s decline, she’s been single-handedly keeping Birdsall & Son undertakers afloat in small-town Eternity—despite definitely not being a son, and in defiance of sullen jerks like Hart Ralston, who seems to have a gift for showing up right when her patience is thinnest. The work’s not the problem—Mercy’s good at it, better than any other Birdsall—but keeping all her family’s plates spinning singlehandedly, forever, isn’t how Mercy envisioned her future.
After yet another run-in with the sharp-tongued Mercy, Hart considers she might have a point about his utter loneliness being a bit of a liability. In a moment of sentimentality, he pens a letter addressed simply to “A Friend,” and entrusts it to a nimkilim, an anthropomorphic animal messenger with an uncanny connection to the gods, (and in Hart’s case, a bit of a drinking problem). Much to his surprise, an anonymous letter comes back in return, and a tentative friendship is born.
If only Hart knew he’s been baring his soul to the person who infuriates him most–Mercy. As the two unlikely pen pals grow closer, the truth about Hart’s parentage and the nature of the drudges creeps in. And suddenly their old animosity seems so small in comparison to what they might be able to do: end the drudges forever. But at what cost?
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RECOMMENDED: The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch by Melina Taub is $2.99! Carrie gave this a B+:
This was simply delightful. I’ve always wished for Lydia Bennet and Mary Crawford to run away together and be pirate queens. This is not that book – but it’s the next best thing.
A NEW YORK TIMES BEST SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY PICK FOR 2023
A “witty, magical, romantic and altogether brilliant” (Lev Grossman) reimagining of Pride and Prejudice, told from the perspective of the troublesome and—according to her—much-maligned youngest Bennet sister, Lydia.
In this exuberant retelling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Lydia Bennet puts pen to paper to relate the real events and aftermath of the classic story. Some facts are well known: Mrs. Bennet suffers from her nerves, Mr. Bennet suffers from Mrs. Bennet, and all five daughters suffer from an estate that is entailed only to male heirs.
But Lydia also suffers from entirely different concerns: her best-loved sister Kitty is really a barn cat; Wickham is every bit as wicked as the world believes him to be, but what else would one expect from a demon? And if Mr. Darcy is uptight about etiquette, that’s nothing compared to his feelings about magic. Most of all, Lydia has yet to learn that for a witch, promises have power . . .
Full of enchantment, intrigue, and boundless magic, The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch, has all the irreverent wit, strength, and romance of Pride and Prejudice—while offering a highly unexpected redemption for the wildest Bennet sister.
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As a fan of otome isekai manga/manhwa I gasped reading the summary of Long Live Evil – instant one-click for me. So, if that premise speaks to anyone, there’s a whole genre to explore of women being transported to another world that was a novel or game on Earth, many times as the villainess (or alternately, traveling back in time after experiencing a bad end), and having to navigate with their knowledge of the plot. It’s my current favorite ‘turn your brain off’ kind of read. You can find a bunch of discussion and recommendations on reddit /r/OtomeIsekai
Sadly, the Sarah Rees Brennan and the Megan Bannen are not on sale in my country, or I would be one clicking so fast!
But The Cottage Around the Corner by D L Soria is on sale ($1.99) – a cosy witchy romance that got a solid 4 stars from me.
Remarkablely Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt is $2.99 it’s supposed to be made in a feature film in 2025. The studio was in talks with Sally Fields according to the Today Show. I liked the book and would recommend getting it from the library if possible,
I’ve just finished LONG LIVE EVIL and … immediately started a re-read. The first time through I felt — accurately — that I’d been dropped into a story everyone else knew by heart. Rather like Rae, who barely paid attention while her sister read the books to her, there was a lot of catching up to do. Despite massive confusion on my part (multiple names for the same character, forex) I really enjoyed Rae, her sharp tongue and the completely unintended consequences of trying to change an established narrative. The re-read has helped and offered quite a few “oh, that’s what they meant” moments. So, highly recommended.
@darlynne what’s forex?
Ooh, LONG LIVE EVIL and HART AND MERCY are both excellent. Highly recommend both.
@Liz—i think she means “for example.”
@FashionablyEvil oh! *facepalm* makes sense, thank you
Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch was my favourite vacation read this year. Did I have some Notes? Yep. Did I love it anyway? Also yes! Have recommended it to several of my friends, who also enjoyed it.
I read Long Live Evil immediately after the election, and it was exactly what I needed–glorious escapism, hard to put down once it gets going.