Let me start off by saying fall of 2022 can not come out soon enough for the sequels release. I will be getting book 2 as soon as I can because I can't wait to see where this story goes. Now back to this book, I loved it I was hardly able to put it down it had a nice pacing and I wanted to know what was going to happen next. An ancient curse has forced 7 families to send one child of theirs every 20 years to fight to the death and the last one alive wins high magic for their family until the next game. This has created some unique family dynamics and some truly villainous characters. After centuries of this happening in secret someone writes a tell all book and that attracts intrest from the outside world and puts more pressure of this 7 contestants. There are 4 main characters that tell their tell in first person perspective and some I liked a lot more than others. Some types are villains just appeal to me more. ;) The ones I didn't like as much were because they were not a villian I wanted to cheer for because I didn't liek their motivies. Talk about having some great written baddies where you get uncomfortable when they appear. This wasn't a perfect novel but hey nothing really is. Some characters made persnality changes a little quickly but hey they are facing almost certain death, that's bound to make people act unpredictably. Kinda spoilery the book was getting near the end and the story seemed to have so much to tell and lo and behold it had a nice dramatic ending but it was a cliff hanger if I ever read one. Hence, my mentioning that book 2 needs to come out asap! I will be reccomending this to others for sure!

* I received an eARC/e-galley of this book via Netgalley. All opinions in this review are my own.

I have been hyped up for over a year to read All of Us Villains. I’m not super familiar with Amanda Foody and Christine Lynn Herman’s previous works, but I didn’t need a lot of convincing to pick up their joint project after I read the premise. If you’ve ever wanted a magical Hunger Games, look no further and pick your champion before the Blood Veil falls.

In the city of Ilvernath, a secret curse has been affecting seven magickal families for generations. Every 20 years, a champion from each family enters a tournament under the red tinge of the Blood Veil. The survivor grants their family control over the supply of a mysterious and powerful high magick. Except now, this violent game is no longer hiding in the shadows. Someone has written an expose on the families’ dastardly deeds, shocking violence, and selfish hold on high magick. The book sends the media into a frenzy and the once anonymous champions have been outed and thrown to the wolves. As four teenagers begin to prepare for the tournament, the government and people in town are making their own moves. But the choices these teens make will have everlasting effects on this bloody family curse.

Cheers to Foody and Herman who combined their writing powers to create an engaging, plot-driven story. The curse that encircles the families is brutal and unique, making it a great centerpiece. The magick in Villains is also intriguing because it’s so varied, and there’s a whole system to how it’s used and created. The spells and curses are created by collecting raw magick and combining it with the necessary ingredients on a septogram. The spell or curse is then housed in a jewelry piece called a cursering. A cursering can be as simple as a cosmetic spell or as dangerous as Dragon’s Breath. And everyone’s abilities with magic differ, too. One champion may be a powerful spellcaster, but can’t craft the high-level spells needed to win. It’s a dynamic magic system and it’s awesome to see which powers our characters lean towards.

The tournament is obviously the focal point of this story, but the build-up to the event is where Villains was strongest. This is where Foody and Herman set the stage, and they devote a lot of effort to setting up the world. Although we barely scratch the surface of the four characters, their backgrounds are interesting and we get a behind-the-scenes look at their family and tournament preparation. I enjoyed seeing the choices these characters made as the event approached. Their desperation led to many mistakes and horrible revelations, and it had me excited for what the tournament would bring. But once the game began, I feel like the story lost its steam. Those shocking moments I experienced earlier outshined the tournament’s play-by-play. I had a lot of anxiety leading up to the event, and ultimately the story unfolded in a different way that diffused my fear. However, I still really enjoyed this story and was interested in the new direction.

If there was anything I struggled with in Villains it was the characters because they don’t have much personality outside of their tournament goals. There was a moment ¾ into the book where I stopped and realized I didn’t know a thing about these people. The only knowledge I had was if a champion wanted to be in the tournament or not and what they were going to do about it. I can confidently describe to you one person out of seven, this person being Alistair, who is the only one that has another facet of their personality that isn’t “I’m in a death tournament and it sucks.” It should come as no surprise that Alistair is also my favorite character but given the shallow character builds, I can’t help but gravitate towards him even if he’s as deep as a puddle.

I was expecting a violent, ruthless story of survival and while All of Us Villains certainly had its moments, it was not the brutal book I hyped it up to be. Instead, I encountered an interesting curse and a group of teenagers looking to change the history that defines their family. It was certainly not the story I expected but it was one I found to be engrossing in its own way.

Rating: All of Us Villains - 7.0/10

All of us villains was an quick and thrilling read with its intriguing of atmosphere of hunger games with magic along with aspects of generational familial pressure. The backstory and system of magic and curses were relatively easy to follow along with each of the seven families' histories of champions and losses on how that affects the present day teen champions. Being multi-perspective made this story fly by much faster in my personal reading experience, but honestly two out of the four point of views carried. It was a bit slow paced towards the beginning but expected with a fantasy series first novel, but it definitely picked up once the tournament started. Alistair Lowe, son of the infamous deadly Lowe family who have had the most winners of the tournament, is of course the most multi-layered character we get to see ranging from his boundless power to the spin of his mind to the grief he is put through. Isobel Macaslan, is one quite interesting as she was thrust into the spotlight as her name was thrust into the media as champion though she had never wanted. She deals with the most fighting much internal battles but also external with her split parents, her father expecting perfection as their family champion meanwhile her mom wants the exact keeping her safe from all harm along with complicated past friendships and new ones. The development of the dynamic between Alistair and Isobel was one well done with its slow burn and one could see it coming with how they met and how their story would could with all the foreshadowing. After the chaos and plot twists of the last ten percent, I'd be fascinated to pick up the sequel and see where Foody and Herman take this story!

Oh. My. Gosh.

All of Us Villains is your next favorite blood-bath tournament. Think The Hunger Games with magic, where the families of the town put forth a champion to bring high magic to their family until the next tournament cycle.

This world and its magic system was so unique and incredibly written, I couldn't put it down. I loved the idea of the stones they wore containing the spells, and I really enjoyed how many spells were actually included throughout the story. There were so many really cool ones, I couldn't wait to see what else the authors came up with. And the world--it was so dark! It made for the perfect fall, spookytime read.

The characters were by far my favorite part of the book, and I loved how many POVs we got! I immediately knew Alistair was going to be my favorite, and boy did he not disappoint. It was so great seeing all of the different perspectives of the characters, and though they all thought they were so alone, they don't know just how similar they are. Tortured souls and all.

They aren't kidding around with the "All of Us Villains" title, no matter how much you may want to think otherwise by the end of this novel.

Sign me up for book two! I can't wait to get my hands on it already!

The Hunger Games mixed with magic? Yes please!

I thought this was a fun book to read. Unlike The Hunger Games (which this will be compared to) in this story we actually get to know all of the champions and see all of their personalities along with their redeeming qualities and their flaws (the story is told from the points of view from four of the champions). You end up rooting for just about all of them. My only problem with the book is the magic system. I feel like it wasn't really explained that well so I would have liked a little more information on that. Otherwise, I am very excited to read the 2nd book to see how this all ends.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Okay, I think I'm in the minority here, but I didn't love this as much as I was hoping - I loved the set up of The Hunger Games with 7 families championing young family members for control of the High Magick in there town/area/ect. I didn't love the magic system in the book and that did make it a little hard for me to enjoy the magic set-up overall. This also follows four different characters and I found it got a little convoluted as there were 7 families to keep track of. I did like some of the characters and of course the tension of them in these "games" together is interesting - I liked their moral greyness and made it interesting. Then there was their families and additional characters and it was a lot. I did like the writing and it was interesting, but I'm not sure if I would carry on the series personally.

📖 What a story! I love a good villian story and this book didn’t disappoint.

All of Us Villians by Amanda Foody & Christine Lynn Hernan is a YA Sci-fi-/Fantasy book. First installment in the series. If you loved the Hunger Games, you will enjoy this one. Though, instead of following the “good” characters, we follow that of the “villians” in a world of evil magic ✨

Every generation at the coming of the blood moon, seven families name a champion to compete in a tournament of death for a chance to control the secret high magic, which is the most powerful resource in the world that was thought long gone. Hence, it being a secret.

We get four perspectives as the story progresses even though seven compete. We follow their struggles for survival and their gruesome acts. Yet, we still root for them. At least I did, and if you’re anything like me, always rooting for the darker side, so will you 😁

Overall, the story is compelling and intriguing. The magic system was unique and the writing was enthralling. It was quite the adventure, for sure.

The book is set to publish November 9th. Don’t forget to grab your copy!

One thing to note: This book does end in a sort of cliffhanger for those that prefer disclaimers on topics such as these.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book.

All us villains is like a brutal version of Hunger Games. Though any book that pits teens against each other to the death is brutal... but this was even more so. There were almost too many characters for me, but they were what made the book. Seeing their perspectives and their families expectations etc really made me feel for each and everyone one. I think it would be more fair to say that these kids are more like martyrs than villains. Most of them are there because of their families and the curse-- not because they have a thirst for all things evil... they're just trying to survive.

This book was dang good. Hunger Games vibes with some shady characters (and even shadier families) along with a tell-all book that opens the small town to the public. Seven families send a champion into a kill-or-be-killed tournament with the winning family getting control of the high magic that the town is known for. But when a tell-all book is published by an anonymous writer, there is an increased focus on this generation’s tournament. As the champions are named and thrust into the tournament, will they keep playing by the same rules the curse has laid out, or will this be the tournament everything changes? So much goodness here. Fantastic world-building, morally grey characters, and twists and turns that keep you guessing. I highly recommend this book and cannot wait until book 2!

All of Us Villains is the first book in the young adult fantasy by Amanda Foody and Christine Lynn Herman. This is a great read for those looking for a dark, character-driven fantasy. All of Us Villains is full of fantasy with magic and plenty of twists. Fans of The Hunger Games will not want to miss this one.

4.25 Stars

Thank you to Netgalley, Tor, and Macmillan Audio for an arc of this book!

Every 20 years, the blood moon rises and seven families put forth a champion to compete in a tournament. The prize for winning? Exclusive access to High Magic, the most powerful kind. Losing? Death.

This book was delightfully dark! I loved that there are 4 different character pov's. Sometimes multiple pov's can kind of confuse a story and lessen the character building, but I think it went really well for this one, especially as the start to a series. The characters were all unique and different levels of morally grey, which I found interesting to read about. I also liked to see the way they all interacted with each other.

I love the idea of the competition here and what they have to do. I liked the way the characters tried to thwart expectations in this.

I think some of the magic systems could have been better fleshed out, but I have hope for the future of this series to do just that! And with that ending--I am ready for the sequel!

Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death, Blood, Gore, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

After suffering one of the worst reading slumps in recent history, All of Us Villains reignited my love of reading. It is as if this book were written for me as it is a smorgasbord of all my favorite dark tropes: morally gray characters, ruthless families, enemies to lovers (and lovers to enemies), a corruption arc, and a goth cursemaker wearing too much eyeliner who I am probably much too obsessed with.

All of Us Villains is told in the third person perspective of four main characters: all of whom from one of the seven notorious families of Ilvernath who send one champion into a magical tournament to the death to control high magick for the next twenty years. High magick that the world thought was long depleted until a tell-all book on the families, the tournament, and the curse that keeps it running was published the year before.

“Most associate high magick with other distant brutalities of the past: pillaging, plague, and lawlessness. But in Ilvernath a piece of that history lingers, every bit as threatening as it once was.”

I love when books quote from an in-universe history book to enhance the worldbuilding, and the fact that “A Tradition of Tragedy: The True Story of the Town that Sends Its Children to Die” plays an integral role in this generation’s tournament adds an extra touch that tickles my fancy. The book brought the dirty secrets and traditions to light, changed how the main characters are viewed by their friends and townspeople, and catapulted their town into stardom with tourists and paparazzi.

✨ Alistair Lowe is the typical dark and broody bad boy who was raised to be the villain by his family; said to be ruthless and favored to win.
✨ Isobel Macaslan was the first champion announced – like 9 months early – and catapulted into stardom that she didn’t really want.
✨ Gavin Grieve just wants someone to believe in him; his family has never won the tournament and his family stopped trying.
✨ Briony Thorburn is a high achiever who has always wanted to be a champion, believing in her destiny as a hero.

But our characters are not what the book and their families’ histories would make them seem. They each have their own complicated history and relationship with the role they were born into, as well as history with one another that adds to the tension. Everyone is basically doing their best for survival and honestly they are written so well that the reader can’t help but root for all of them.

“Survival can make villains of any of us.”

The growth and development of the characters so far is amazing for one book with the four POVs. Seriously: this book is a prime example of multiple POVs done right. The narrative is tightly woven and each perspective shift enhances our understanding of the world and the characters. How their preconceived notions are challenged and how they grapple with that new information. How they each struggle to survive and who that leads them to become. We have both a redemption arc and a corruption arc, and let me tell you that they are delicious.

The worldbuilding is amazing and vast. I love how it is introduced slowly and unveiled in a way that expands the reader’s understanding without ever becoming boring to trudge through. The magic system is intricate but explained well and has clear rules and limitations.

Betrayals and shifting alliances in an already high stakes tournament environment kept me glued to the book, unwilling to put it down. The number of times that I screamed ‘no’ are plenty as this book tugged on my heartstrings like I were the authors’ marionette. And here I am begging for more because I need book two in my hands immediately.

Highly recommended to fans of dark and morally gray fantasy. Lots of thought went into the development of this world, its history, and the magic system so fans of immersive worldbuilding will be intensely satisfied. While not quite a cliffhanger ending, it definitely leaves you wanting the next book immediately.

It's been so long since a book gripped me from the get-go, and All of Us Villains is definitely an engrossing read! It's the magical Hunger Games/Battle Royale book that you didn't know you needed, but wow, it is a powerhouse! I can practically imagine this as a movie or a Netflix series, it's that good.

The unique magic system draws you in, the tournament hooks you, but its strength lies in its characters. Who do you root for? You'll find yourself torn in different directions, and that's a good thing. Highly recommend!

All of Us Villains is excellent in concept but struggles in execution. The conceit sounds dramatic and exciting -- magic and murder are always a winning combination, and with the added element of fairy tale deconstruction, Villains sounds on the surface like a fantastic ride.

Unfortunately, what it mostly is is dull. The prose is repetitive, often repeating information we've been told two or three times for no discernable reason, and the story moves painfully slowly. The novel does not resolve the plot, clearly leading up to a part two, and it is hard not to feel like it could easily have been one book if the authors had simply written with a modicum of urgency.

The characters are hard to distinguish from one another, all with similar speaking patterns and without any clear differences in character beyond the most superficial. With an instalove romance that feels oddly forced, All of Us Villains simply does not work. In spite of all the mysteries set up for the next book, the odds of me picking up, even to assuage my moderate curiosity, are slim to none.

Thank you to Tor Teen and NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’m not a fan of fantasy. In fact, it’s my least favourite genre and I’m not a fan of third pov either so one is more shocked than me with the rating of this book. I don’t know whether it was the cover or the blurb which which kinda compelled me to sign up for the arc of this one but I’m really glad I did cause this book was so amazing!

The book revolves around a tournament which happens once in twenty years where 7 families would put forth a champion to compete in the tournament to the death. They winner would award their family exclusive claim over high magick till the tournament happened again.

Till last year this whole thing was a private affair but someone wrote a book called “A tradition of Tragedy”
which made everyone (public) aware of this tournament.

So basically, there’s lots of lies, betrayals, magic, darkness, sacrifices, killing, morally grey characters and blood which totally screams of the things I love so I’m not shocked at all that I enjoyed this book so much.

Rest assured, this book was a pleasant surprise. I really didnt know who I was supposed to root for but yes, i already had decided on my favourite character when I read the first line lol (*wink* Alistair *wink*)

I really enjoyed the third pov too! It gave me so much to think about and know more about the other characters. I loved how everyone had a motive to win - may it be because of family pressure, media pressure, wanting to prove everyone wrong - it made me want to root for everyone which wasn’t really possible because only one would be left alive.

The characters were very refreshing to read. I loved Briony’s theories, Isobel’s confidence, Gavin’s eagerness to prove everyone wrong and Alistairs villainous yet kind heart and his love and loyalty towards his brother.

The writing style was phenomenal. The writing flowed flawlessly and the world the book was set in was wonderfully described and made.

Overall, this book was a pleasant surprise! The ending killed me and I can’t wait for book 2! I need it like RIGHT NOW.

<i> Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for providing me with an eArc in exchange for an honest review. </i>

This way for magic and monsters, curses and spells!

I'm not a fan of multiple POV books, but these authors executed this well and I didn't mind so much. The world building was done well, no huge info dumps. The pacing was just right (for me anyway).

I cannot wait to get my hands on a finished copy!

Too many characters that I don't like. The Battle Royale thing is played out, we've seen it over and over again.

Reading this book was such a letdown and it was perhaps one of the most difficult books for me to finish this year because I was just not enjoying a single page of it. Reading it was very frustrating and tbh most of my notes on this are just complaints. I was very intrigued when I read the premise because the plot sounded good, also I loved The Hunger Games when I was a teenager so it really piqued my interest when I found out that this would have kind of a similar concept but with magic and a cast of morally grey characters. Except that wasn't what really happened. Honestly this book could've been great if it was actually executed well but... alas. The thing is I actually liked the first half of this book more than the second half even though it was basically just an exposition. That said, with the amount of time spent on that, the magic system shouldn't have been as vague as it was to follow once the tournament actually started. Moreover, this book suffered from too much telling and not enough showing that it got so so annoying for me. I was constantly rolling my eyes whenever I would read about the characters talking about how wicked and cruel they are and blah blah because I couldn't take them seriously. It was like the authors were trying way too hard to convince me that these characters are morally grey to the point where they forgot to actually show it. The romance also happened so randomly ??? Like, I know it was literally shoved in our faces that those two characters would be the love interests from the very first chapter, but they literally had 0 to none connection and chemistry (also they were so wrong for marketing this as a "queer thg" when it has nothing to do with the romance and there's only one character who was truly queer). Tbh I basically just skimmed this book when I reached the 80% mark because I wanted it to be over already. It had those moments where it was finally getting compelling but then it would literally just derail right after and I'd go back to being frustrated. Anyway, this is obviously an unpopular opinion but this book did not give what it was supposed to give and that was disappointing.

HOLY COW! This book was not at all what I expected, and I mean that in the very best of ways! I anticipated yet another riff on the magical tournament trope and while yes, there is a magical tournament, it isn’t for the faint of heart. This is a YA grimdark tourney to the death where only one can survive, because if a winner doesn’t rise in three months time then all the contestants die. All of Us Villains stands out from the crowd and is definitely one of the best YA books I’ve read all year.

The story starts off by slowly introducing us to our contestants, how they're dealing with tournament preparations, and showing the reader how different this tournament is compared to those long past. You see, someone wrote an exposé on the town of Ilvernath and the seven families who vie for control of the last high magic in the world. It aired all the dirty secrets and now the world has their eyes on Ilvernath and the "Slaughter Seven" as they've dubbed the teens who are about to fight to the death. Paparazzi, reporters, and even a few meddling government representatives are constantly lingering about. As if it's not difficult enough, the teenagers who may have to kill their classmates, cousins, or even a boyfriend or girlfriend in the coming months also have to put on a good face for the world.

The characters are a varied bunch, though all are skilled enough at magic to give their family a chance for success. Alistair Lowe was raised to be a monster and the Lowe's win two out of three tournaments, so he's clearly one to watch out for. Isabel Macaslan was touted as the first champion, just after the scandalous book was released to the world and everyone snubs their nose at her for seeming too eager and desperate for attention. Briony Thorburn is/was Isobel's best friend who's wanted to be champion since she was little and sees herself as a heroic figure. Finley is Briony's ex-boyfriend - they broke up because Briony told him she'd kill him on the tournament. I mean, that's pretty harsh, but at least she was practical. Gavin Grieve is the most likely to die on the first night. The Grieve's aren't strong magicians and he can barely cast a class five spell. Grieve is desperate to win and it definitely shows. The other two champions are less memorable- Elionor Payne and Carbry Darrow are cousins and aren't given too much page time. 

The cast is excellent and between the champions themselves, their families, the media, and the spellmakers there's plenty of drama to go around. And I mean PLENTY. It's juicy stuff that will horrify and fascinate you by turns. Like, these families are hiding some shady stuff that even the exposé didn't reveal and honestly, this book is even better than adult fantasy in that regard. 

I loved this book and I can absolutely see myself re-reading this before the next installment comes out (whenever that may be), so I'll probably pick up a hard copy. As you get further along in the story, the title will 110% make sense - this isn't a jolly happy story, it's basically a tragedy but it's so good! The book ends with another reveal that wasn't entirely surprising because that particular character was suspicious AF from the get go, but MAN do I need the next book soon!!! Highly recommend you check this out and don't let the YA label deter you too much!

What works
First up, All of Us Villains handles exposition really impressively. Each chapter begins with an excerpt of the tell-all book mentioned in the above summary meaning we get valuable background info that doesn’t bog down the actually story. Great choice.

Also, even though they may behave horribly at times, the characters themselves are really likeable. They’re complex, with motives that shift as the story unfolds. The idea that everything is a story and that they can always change said stories or even the story is cool.

All of Us Villains is some really dark YA, with an intriguing plot. I really, really wanted to know what was going to happen, and the narrative momentum made this a quick read.

Finally, this might seem small, but the authors employ the phrase “died by suicide,” the term mental health advocates prefer. It’s so, so important.

What doesn’t work
While Amanda Foody and Christine Lynn Herman have drawn their characters well, their world-building isn’t quite there. I didn’t understand if this story takes place in an alternate universe or in the future; and if it takes place in the future, where is Ilvernath? On that note, the authors could have handled the characters’ interpersonal relationships a bit better. I’m fine with the insta-love trope; however, when you omit even the paltry week’s time the characters spend getting to know one another from the narrative, what’s left?

The other big issue I had definitely affected how I read All of Us Villains … but that was totally on me, since I hadn’t realized this was the first book of a duology. I kept expecting this to lead to a more satisfying conclusion. It became obvious at about the 70% mark that there was no way the story ended in one book, and I was able to relax into it a bit more.

There’s some ableist language about mental health that goes unchecked. Yuck.

Should you read it?
Just to get this out of the way, if you couldn’t handle the kid-on-kid violence of The Hunger Games, you absolutely should not read this book. But, if you can read that kinda horror, I’d say yes, All of Us Villains is totally worth a read. I do hope the sequel rectifies some of the issues I have with the first book, but since I still want to read the sequel that means, on the balance, All of Us Villains is worth recommending.

One final note: All of Us Villains is shelved as LGBTQ+, and while there is queer character representation, queerness doesn’t come up much. So don’t go in expecting this to be a LGBTQ+ book, exactly. (That’s not a knock against the book, by the way).