If you ever wondered what could happen if "Hunger Games" and the Harry Potter series got together and had dark, violent offspring, "All of Us Villains" will answer your questions. A secret, murderous competition among teenaged tributes from magic's most powerful families is outed in a book published by an anonymous author, and it turns out this game determines which families maintain the most magical power for decades at a time. Amidst societal hate and criticism, the families carry on with this year's competition, but one snubbed would-be competitor thinks she can fix the curse that requires the game to carry on at all. A fun, magical twist on a "Hunger Games" concept was interesting and unique, an anomaly in Young Adult fiction these days.

All of Is Villains is pitched as The Hunger Games with magic. Interesting premise, right? Every 20 years, Ilvernath has a tournament to the death among the prominent 7 families, where they chose one teenage champion per family. The magic system was a bit confusing, and while some characters were morally grey, I don’t know if I would classify them as villains. Of course, it ends on a cliffhanger.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

All of Us Villains is The Hunger Games meets Triwizard Tournament meets Game of Thrones. I was very interested in the magic system and how the world was built around it. All of the characters were morally grey and I went back and forth between connecting with them and recognizing that they were terrible people. The plot moved pretty quickly and was told from the POV of four of our champions. It was interesting to see things from each perspective while not losing pace in the story. The ending tied up enough of the loose ends while also providing a cliffhanger and left me interested in what will happen in book two. Overall I enjoyed it and look forward to reading the next book! Thank you Netgalley and Tor Teen for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Once every generation, in the city of Ilvernath, seven families must choose a champion who will represent them in a tournament where the contestants fight to the death.

The prize is an inexhaustible supply of high magick, the most powerful resource in the world. The family whose champion wins, gains control over that magick for their family until the next tournament. Obviously, this is extremely important and puts a whole load of pressure on the contestants.

With this tournament in particular, thanks to a recently released tell-all book, the contestants are thrust into the spotlight like never before. Will the contestants be able to use this difference to their advantage, or will it distract them to the point of death? Can anything ever change the cycle of the Tournament? Does their world have to be this way?

All of Us Villains is basically The Hunger Games if it were fought exclusively by members of Slytherin House. Well, Slytherin and maybe one Gryffindor. If you read this statement and you're thinking, why would I want to read that? I've read those stories. I want something new. I will just stress, this is something new!

Even though it channels those vibes. Particularly, the vibe of Knockturn Alley at night in the midst of a thunderstorm, this is its own thing.

I loved how the authors formatted this, with the Reader finding out who the champion of each house would be along with the rest of the citizens of Ilvernath. Following some of the contestants perspectives, we get to know each one of them and the challenges they face in pursuit of their goals. There's plotting, scheming, strategizing and like a good season of <i>Survivor</I>, a lot of alliances.

The writing in this story is just beautiful. It's exceptionally detailed, lush and dramatic. I could definitely feel both Foody and Herman within these pages; the darkness, monsters, violence, despair, but also highly developed and likable characters, even in all their antihero-ness.

Honestly, these two authors working together is everything I have ever wanted. I feel like they have created something truly memorable here. You may be wondering after all of my gushing, why I only gave this 4-stars, as opposed to 5. For me, I don't think I ever truly understood the magic system. I am not sure if it is because I was so distracted by the characters themselves, that perhaps I missed out on some details, but I feel like there was something missing. With this being said, I still really enjoyed this story and would love to read it again actually. Most likely, before the next book is released, I will do so.

Basically, this book is the love child of Draco Malfoy and Katniss Everdeen. It's amazing and feels like a dark fantasy reader's dreams come true. Yep, that's right.

Thank you so much to the publishers, Tor Teen and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. This was one of my most anticipated books of the year and it did not disappoint. I cannot wait for more collaborative efforts from these authors!!!

Perfect for fans of the Hunger Games and suckers for morally grey characters (spoiler alert: I'm both).
this. book. was. so good.

I wanted to enjoy this but I didn't really find it intriguing. Additionally, I'm not a big fan of one of the authors and unfortunately couldn't get over that. But I am sure this book will find its' readers!

"Hunger Games but evil" my toes

It's really more like...I wanna say the Triwizard Tournament with murder, but I haven't read Harry Potter in ages. Either way, it's neither campy murderp*rn nor superintense murderp*rn, which is what I was expecting with that description. It's more a solid fantasy adventure, with a large cast, multiple POVs, and a lot of teens in bad situations, most of which are muddied ethical conundrums. Major props to the authors for creating characters who seem different from inside their own heads than as seen by others, usually cooler, but are still always themselves. That's a fine line sometimes with multiple POVs.

I really liked it and am looking forward to the next one.

𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐁𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐀𝐥𝐥

Thank you so much @NetGalley and @torteen for gifting me a copy of All of Us Villlains in exchange for an honest review.

😈 Mini Review 👹
Y’all! That ending! 😳 Okay, let me start with how friggin excited I was when I got approved for All of us Villains by Amanda Foody and Christine Lynn Herman. After reading the synopsis to this, I had to have it. Also… I am getting the Goldsboro version of this book, and y’all, it is insane!!

This book has been described as The Hunger Games with magic, and it definitely has some similarities. In All of Us Villains, every 20 years there is a tournament that is fought to the death. Champions from 7 different families of magick are chosen, and the winner, the one left standing, will have control over high magick. This competition is different from others because months before the tournament a book was released that spilled everything about it and the families involved. So now the world knows about it, and the champions are thrown into the spotlight.

We follow 4 different POVs, Alistair Lowe, Briony Thorburn, Gavin Grieve, and Isobel Macaslan. Each of these characters is a chosen champion, save for one. They all are struggling with their own demons and are handling them the best they can. I loved each of them so much 🥰 Alistair was def my fave tho, and continued on as my fave to the end! I enjoyed each of these POVs and thought they were all written so well. We got to see the competition through their eyes and learn more about their families as well.

I started out reading the eARC, but ended up getting the audio and finishing it that way. And I’m here to say that the audio was BRILLIANT 😍 Each narrator really captured their character and made me feel connected to them more than I already was.

If The Hunger Games with magic on steroids intrigues you, I definitely recommend All of Us Villains. There are so many twists and turns that you won’t be able to put it down. I gave it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Thank you to Tor and NetGalley for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Seven families. Seven children. One victor. Six dead. The whole world watching.

I have read a lot of disappointing fantasy YA. Sometimes it's not gritty enough, sometimes it's not built out enough, sometimes I don't care for the characters. But I was incredibly pleased to read this and realize that it hit all the boxes: gritty, scary, full. It's got great characters and a good plot -- sometimes a bit surface level when talking about murder -- but it had the same thrill as the Hunger Games.

I can't believe I have to wait for another book -- that's my only complaint. I think the first third was too long and this could be one long book, but I will eagerly await the next one.

4 stars.

All of Us Villains was a captivating tale. I throughly enjoyed the book and its many twists and turns!

I couldn't put this down! Such a wickedly dark take on The Hunger Games. I really enjoyed reading the POV of various characters and getting to know what made them tick. That just added a rich layer to the overall story. Two thumbs up!

I received this book from NetGalley as an eARC in exchange for a review.

This book took me a bit longer than I anticipated to get into but once I got in a groove with it, I didn't want to put it down. We got some dark academia vibes with magick and a teenage battle to the death. What's not to love? The characters had pretty good arcs, but dig dang, did it have to end so soon????

'Dark Hunger Games ' is the description floating around that made me interested in reading All of Us Villains. While this seems a fairly apt description at first, All of Us Villains quickly becomes so much darker, and so much more than expected.

I didn't particularly like any of these characters, but they each had their good moments. Let's just say that the title is very accurate; they are all terrible people, trapped in a terrible cycle, forced to do terrible things. Well, actually, there is one fantastic character, but he's separated from the others anyway as he is neither one of the chosen nor one who wants to be: Hendry is the fucking best. He's just his chill, charming self, napping in graveyards and trying to make his brother smile.

At one point or another, I wanted each of the champions to win and for each of them to die horribly. The brainwashing done to them by their families, virtually from birth, to prepare for this tournament is psychopathic. Considering how long this has been going on, though, it's likely the same was done to them as children, which would mean generations of transferred abuse and brainwashing. It's easy to be mad at the parents (and grandparents) in All of Us Villains but they likely deserve empathy as well. Once again, everyone in this story is terrible (except Hendry), but a lot is working against them, making them this way. Generations of horrific actions with no end in sight; it's no wonder the champions are not only prepared but willing to do morally indefensible things in the name of the tournament.

All of Us Villains starts at such an elevated level of violence and intensity, and it's impressive that it manages to get darker, more violent, and more complex as the story continues. By the end, I was appalled by what was happening but entirely enthralled. This story is gory, depraved, and filled with so much desperation. You don't have to like any of these people to want them to find a way to a better life than the one they've been given. The ending is incredibly abrupt, leaving the story heading in a direction I was not expecting, leaving me frustrated that I can't just pick up the next book and keep reading. It looks like the next in the series, Glory Spares None, isn't planned to be released until Fall 2022, and I do not know how I will wait that long. Fingers crossed for another eARC...

4.25/5 stars

*Thank you to Tor Teen and Netgalley for sending me an eARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

This is another one of my most anticipated reads of the year, and it delivered exactly what it said. Morally grey characters? Check. Hunger Games style competition? Check. Unique magic system? Check.

Its not much of a secret that I love ensemble casts, and this one showcases a group of the competitors in a brutal fight to the death that determines which of the well off families will inherit 'High Magick.' Its sort of like what would have happened if only the career districts in THG had competed.

The thing that I enjoyed the most is that this story focuses on the characters, their motivations, and their development, whereas it would be easy to slip into a plot-only story as the storyline is complex enough to get by on its own. If you are a fan of scifi/fantasy and dystopian, but you prefer character based stories, I think this is a great example.

While the characters are definitely villains in their own right, this book doesn't actually have that much blood and gore. Many of the opportunities to showcase the immorality are kind of shrunk back from, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I do wish that the faults of the characters were showcased more instead of faded to black or implied. The ending scene (no spoilers don't worry) was a great opportunity for this, but instead we just get implications.

There is subtle queer rep in the main cast, but I'm hoping that we see more of it in the sequel. One of the protagonists is a bi man, and a mlm relationship with another mc was sort of teased, and I really hope it comes to fruition. As of right now, he is the only one that is confirmed queer, but some of the other cast members might be?? (crosses fingers)

I do wish that the magic system and world was explained a little better, but the pacing was spot on, writing was great, and I honestly loved this book. I think the series has a lot of potential, and I'm already super excited for book two.

A magical Hunger Games? Sign me up! While I was initially thrown off by all the switching between several POVs, I got so immersed in the story that eventually I was able to sort things out. Definitely a book that I had to go slowly through, since a lot of information is thrown at you and the plot is very detailed and involved.

SO so fun! Also a tad messy. But super fun!! I've missed a good magical tournament in my book reads. I am super excited for book two.

All of Us Villains was different from what I expected, in a very good way. This book follows young magicians, all from prominent families, who once a generation, fight for the right to rule over the high magick in this world.

As these champions begin to prepare for this tournament (think Hunger Games with multiple-POV and magic) they must do anything they can to have an edge over their competitors. All of them have trained their whole lives for this moment, and the pressure they face leads them to do some dangerous things. Alliances will only take them so far, and in the end, only one can be the winner. This is an epic dark fantasy, and I got lost in it.

The writing style was beautiful. I loved getting to know our main characters, who all had different voices and motivations. The settings and the magic systems were wonderfully described and it was a great read. I really enjoyed it.

The Blood Moon rises. The Blood Veil falls. The Tournament begins.


Each generation, a tournament between seven families to gain control of powerful high magick source occurs in the remote town of Ilvernath. No one in the world knew about this event…until now. A revelatory book is published detailing everything and now this year’s champions find themselves the subject of worldwide attention. Now the champions have valuable insights into the other families’ strategies. Most importantly, it gives them a choice… fight or rewrite their futures.

Promoted as the Hunger Games meets Harry Potter, the blurb grabbed my attention straight away. It’s a bit slow-paced at times but I like how the two authors’ styles work well together in this book.

The story is told from the perspective of four of the champions (the other three are definitely secondary characters). I liked how the authors brought their characters’ back stories into the book which really gives you a sense of where they are coming from & what makes them tick!

Loved the elements of magic and the darkness that pervades this story. It’s not a happy tale for any of the characters involved and I really loved the “monstrous” Alistair Lowe the best (dark brooding, broken- the typical “bad guy/I’m misunderstood” vibe. What the families of the champions do to ensure that they win is..disturbing to say the least. Each of the champions must decide whether they want to continue the tradition of the tournament or break away and it’s not an easy decision for any of them.

The only downside I have about this book is the ending. It literally just slams on the brakes and leaves you with a complete cliffhanger. I hate when that happens and will have to wait until the sequel is written!

It’s a story full of magic, darkness, power struggles. It’s dark and twisted and I think it’s going to be a very interesting series. I’m really looking forward to seeing what happens (fingers crossed we won’t have long to wait for book 2!)

4 ⭐️

I normally don't like reading dark fantasy but All of Us Villains definitely changed my mind. I did find the multiple perspectives a bit tricky but it did add to the story. Definitely will read again.

Magick is everywhere, but the most elusive kind, high magick, is only found in one place, Ilvernath. There, 7 ancient families fight for control of the most powerful magick in the world, every generation sending a family member into a tournament to the death, with the Champions family earning control of the magcik for that generation. But this year things are slightly different, thanks to a tell all book that was released, the world now knows about this competition, and not everyone views it in a favourable light. This group of champions have been given a spotlight no others have received, and with that the chance to change things for the better. There may be a way to unravel the curse, but can a chance outweigh years of in family fighting and tensions. Tenuous bonds will be formed, and relationships will be tested, but if this group of champions manages to work together they may just end the curse for good, but being villainous is easier than being good, and they are all villains.

All of Us Villains is told from the POV of four of the champions: Alistair Lowe, the last to be announced as champion. The Lowe's are one of the more renowned families, winning 2 out of every 3 competitions. Alistair has been raised on stories of monsters his whole life, and when he enters the competition he knows why, The Lowe family is made of monsters, and if Alistair wants to win this year, he may just have to become one himself. Isobel Macaslan was the first Champion to be announced, only she never wanted to enter the competition. She believes herself too weak, unable to kill the people she has grown up with, but when it comes down to it, Isobel will do what it takes to survive, even if that means consorting with the enemy and abandoning friends. Briony Thornburn has always known she would be chosen as her families champion, so sure of herself she has trained for it her whole life. But just before she enters she receives some news that changes her whole outlook on the competition. She's sure she knows a way to defeat the curse for good, she just has to stay alive long enough to convince the others. Gavin Grieve is determined to bring up his families status. The Grieves have always been looked down on, the gum under all the other houses shoes, but Gavin is sure he can win this time.

We also get to see the other 3 champions, as well as members of the families, the town and magical law enforcement sent to overlook the competition. I really loved reading the differences in how the 7 families raise their children and instil their beliefs etc. Their are families who are definitely a little on the creepy/crazy side, and there are others that come across as slightly more normal, but when it comes down to it, they all want their champion to survive and will do whatever it takes to ensure that happens. None of these characters are 'good guys' they all complete some pretty heinous acts within and before the competition, but there's just something about them that resonated with me. Some are definitely more 'villainous' than others, gleeful that they have been chosen as champion, whereas others feel more resigned to their roles, but I couldn't help but root for them the whole way through.

Foody & Herman do a wonderful job of introducing us to the magic system, the seven ruling families and the world in general without it being info dumpy. At the start of each chapter we get an excerpt from 'A Tradition of Tragedy' the tell all book that was released about the competition that gives us little insights into everything, and through the four POV's we learn an awful lot of history about the town, families and competition. There was a pull to this story that just made it impossible to put down, I found myself picking it up in every spare minute I had, I was enamoured with the characters, and thanks to the pacing and well placed plot twists, the one at the end killed me, I found it a struggle to stop reading.

One of the things I loved most about this book was, though it's violent and brutal, it also has a soft underbelly, one that showed that although these kids may be willing to kill for their families, they're also just kids. It shows that living under your families shadow can turn you into a monster, but once you're out of it you can wish to be something else, something more. The addition of romance, as well as friendships between the characters truly showed the brutality of the story, of a town where every generation families sacrifice their young for a chance to rule. But it also shows that coming out from the shadow of your family isn't as easy as it seems. Raised to believe you need to kill everyone else to ensure your families survival, it's hard to put that away, and the authors showed this brilliantly through the parallels of the characters and how they act through the book.

This book is perfect for people who like their characters a little more morally grey than usual, and your stories full of darkness. It's filled with romance, some epic magical fight scenes, and plenty of WTF scenes that actually had me gasping out loud. Definitely not for the faint of heart, but a story that wormed it's way into mine nonetheless. This is an easy 5 stars, and I'm desperate to get my hands on the sequel after that absolute shocker of an ending.