In Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan, Rae has been fighting a probably terminal illness for a while now, and she’s tired. So when a mysterious figure appears in her hospital room and offers her a chance to save her own life, Rae agrees. Next thing she knows, she’s been transported into the world of her favorite book series The Time of Iron… but in the body of Lady Rahela, the antagonist who dies in the first book. But Rae is determined to change her circumstances, and so sets out tweaking things to ensure her survival. It becomes complicated, though, when the story starts changing in ways she can’t predict or control. As things begin happening in different order, new events transpire, and the palace teeters on the brink of war, Rae decides to lean into the villainous nature of her character, lest she lose the plot (and her life) entirely.

This is yet another instance where I should have noticed that this is the first book in a new series. I thought it was a standalone, until the unpleasant realization a few minutes from the end of the audiobook that there wasn’t enough time to wrap things up.

That said, this is a decent series opener. After seeing how miserable Rae’s life is in “the real world,” it’s understandable that she would take a risk to try to save herself. Then, given the character whose body she’s transported into, it also makes sense that she would try to be the villainess. Rae is angry at the hand she’s been dealt, but she’ll also make the most of what she has. That does a lot to make her sympathetic, even as she makes some morally questionable choices.

One issue I had, however, is that it took me a long time to connect with any character other than Rae. I think the meta-narrative of this being a fantasy land within the real world, all inside a novel, made it harder to get invested in anyone else. I suppose this reflects Rae’s own journey through this book, as she learns to care about these characters as people, not as fictional figures, but it still made my own reading experiences slightly less than satisfactory. It didn’t help that I was having to piece together the lore of a fictional book series which I (unlike Rae) haven’t read.

Still, once I got a handle on the other characters and the backstory of this magical realm, I enjoyed myself. Lia, the sweet princess who’s hiding more grit and darkness than most would believe, and Eric, the roguish young man who calls himself the Golden Cobra, were standout supporting characters for me. As for Key, the guard whom Rae finds herself very attracted to despite his violent tendencies, I didn’t really like him. I’ve never been one to enjoy the “bad boy” archetype, though, so if that’s your jam, you’ll probably have a good time here.

Then there’s the king (though Rae knows he’ll become emperor soon) and the loyal fighter Marius. I liked the latter well enough, and he has an excellent subplot regarding his bond with Eric, but King Octavian didn’t do much for me. There was a lot of politicking during his scenes, and I felt I didn’t know him that well as a person, despite Rae’s affection for him as a character.

That said, a lot of Rae’s actions, driven by her knowledge of her beloved book series, felt a little directionless. I didn’t have a solid idea of what her goals were, beyond “survive” and “be evil, I guess.” There never was conveyed a concrete goal to give her any forward momentum; to me, it felt like she was reacting to what was happening, then attempting to guide and manipulate those around her, then reacting to them, and so on. But ultimately I didn’t know what she was actually trying to do.

However, the final act was pretty exciting. There are some decent action scenes with lots of tension and stakes, plus some revelations that land quite well. Then, the final twist really got me, but in a slightly irritating way, because it’s also the moment I realized I only had a few minutes of the audiobook remaining. But still, as a twist and a cliffhanger, it’s quite effective.

In the end, Long Live Evil feels like a book written for fans of Sarah J. Maas and similar authors. There’s courtly intrigue and brooding love interests, sassy protagonists and side characters, dark magic and betrayal. I liked how Brennan played with tropes of the romantic fantasy genre, leaning into them and pushing back against them at other times. Additionally, Moira Quirk’s narration for the audiobook is wonderful! I had some issues with the book, from slightly confusing lore at the beginning to sometimes-lackluster characterization, but I think that’s not going to be the common reaction to this. I’m not sure I’ll continue with the series, but I can absolutely see people loving this book.

Long Live Evil is available now!