Erica’s Pick of the Week: Long Live Evil

Romantasy, it’s safe to say, is having a moment. Fantasy book with a long title featuring A Deeply Admirable Heroine battling The Forces of Darkness and her feelings for A Complicated Hero? It’s romantasy, and it’s everywhere.

Sarah Rees Brennan’s adult debut, Long Live Evil, delivers all the things readers like best about the genre, with an modern, meta twist. It’s a hilarious, whip-smart book that combines an intriguing premise with an unexpected antiheroine.

Rae is dying. Years of cancer treatment have left her weak, exhausted, and lonely. Her only solace is the time she and her sister spend reading Time of Iron, a romantasy series featuring a cruelly charismatic hero, an ethereally virtuous heroine, and a scheming hussy of a villainess. The books provide an escape from her illness until one day, a mysterious stranger appears in Rae’s room with an offer she can’t refuse…and a literal escape. Find the Flower of LIfe and Death, and she will return to our world, cured. Fail, and she’ll be trapped inside the book forever. 

Rae’s no dummy – she takes the deal and promptly walks into the magical land of Eyam. But she isn’t the heroine, or even an unnamed side character. She’s the villainess. She’s Lady Rahela, the Beauty Dipped in Blood, a seductress and evildoer who happens to be perfectly healthy. And Rae, after being trapped in a hospital bed for years, is going to take full advantage of her newfound strength and her reputation. She’s already been branded evil in this world, Rae decides, so why not lean into it? She assembles a team of side characters to help her retrieve the flower – but her actions have a ripple effect, changing the story, and the lives of her co-villains, in unexpected ways. 

Long Live Evil hits all the right romantasy notes – intricate worldbuilding, questionable alliances, and forbidden romance. But it also pokes fun at some of the genre’s tropes and expectations, making the argument that sometimes, it’s better to be the bad guy. Rae is smart, tough, and snarky. She leans into her villainy with plenty of one-liners, a killer wardrobe, and a deep knowledge of the genre she’s living in. But as the world of Eyam feels increasingly real, Rae has to dig deep to figure out exactly how bad she’s willing to be. 

While there is a romance – a swoony, closed-door one – the real fun of this story is Rae’s journey, plus the nonstop banter and richly imagined worldbuilding. It’s a great fit for fans of Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows and Hannah Nicole Maehrer’s Assistant to the Villain.