I'm not into the conceit of this type of plot. It's been done so many times. I cannot care about this many unlikeable characters.

Amanda Foody and Christine Lynn Herman have joined forces and co written the upcoming YA fantasy novel, All of Us Villains.

I try always try to post my reviews within a few days of the book's publication date. All of Us Villains was next up on my Netgalley shelf, so I got started reading a few days ago. I got to page 86 and the galley ended. It was only then that I remembered it was a sampler copy!

So, from what I did read, it's pretty good. In some time and place, Common Magick is used by the masses. High Magick is thought to have disappeared to have disappeared.....but it hasn't. Seven families in the town of Ilvernath know, use and protect the High Magick. Control of it is determined by pitting a young 'champion' from each family against each other in a Magick tournament.

I know what you're thinking - because I thought that too - The Hunger Games right? Very similar, but with magick instead of food. Indeed, the publisher uses that comparison in their marketing. "You Fell in Love with the Victors of the Hunger Games. Now Prepare to Meet the Villains of the Blood Veil."

Foody and Herman have created a large cast of characters - the seven champions, their families and those who back the tournaments - the spellcasters and makers and someone from the government this time round. The masses are also aware now that High Magick is indeed still alive....

You'll easily find the champion you want to back, decide quickly which family are devious and manipulating, and wonder - what Foody and Herman have in store for the tournament...

And that's where it ended! So, yes my curiosity is whetted! What I've read so far is well written.

Wow, just from this chapter sampler I can tell this is going to be an awesome book! I can't wait until this comes out! I'm already loving the characters and the unique story. I need more!

Thank you for allowing me to read a sample of this book.
I definitely got Hunger Game vibes with the whole "one child from each family fight to the death every 20 years" plotline. And how some children come from richer/ stronger backgrounds with a better chance to win support of cursemakers than others. Then it got a little more copychat when she said items can fall from the sky during the tournament to help the contestants.
The beginning kinda seemed like a character dump. No one was really using Magick as they were saving it for the tournament. But what's the point of going in with a class 4-5 protection spell if your opponent has something much stronger? Then again, this was only a sample, so I did not get too far.
Unfortunately I was not interested enough in finding out what happene to buy the book.

From the few chapters I was able to read, I know this is going to be the next ya favorite. The characters dynamic chemistry and plot twists help keep the reader guessing what's going to happen next. Amanda and Christine are two of my favorite authors, and I'm ultimately excited to see what happens in the rest of the book.

You know that feeling when you find a book and it’s unique and amazing and completely new, and you’ve never read anything like it? That’s what I’m feeling right now. No one talk to me until November 9th, because I’m not going to have a single coherent thought until that day.

All Of Us Villains is incredible. This is the next book to be added to my favourites list--and I’ve only read nine chapters so far. The characters are incredible, the storyline is wickedly compelling, and the worldbuilding had left me wanting nothing more than to leave the city life, buy a one-way ticket to Ilvernath and watch everything unfold firsthand.

The story follows the youngest generation of seven families, each of them readying to compete for the chance to earn high magick in what’s sure to be an incredibly bloody event. There can only be one survivor.

The POV switches between four of seven teenage champions. The first one we meet is Alistair Lowe, whose this year’s projected winner, as his family has won nearly every year before. Then we meet Isobel Macaslan, who didn’t even know she was going to compete until the entire town was talking about it. Gavin Grieve is the underdog, the one most people believe won’t even last one night. And finally, we meet Briony Thorburn, whose been waiting for the chance to prove herself since the very first time she heard the word champion ever mentioned.

Everything about this was gloriously done. You walk into this novel knowing that, out of the four of them, there can only be one winner, but who do you root for when there’s no central figure? The mystery of it is masterful.

Every wheel in my brain is currently working on overtime, and I am soooo here for it. I can’t remember the last time I was this invested in a series, and this is only the beginning.

This is the villain origin story of the decade. You have no idea where their morals lie, especially not who of them is good or bad, but more than that--you can’t decide whether you want good or evil to win in the end.

In conclusion, this is the book I needed to get out of every reading slump I’ve ever been in. This is the only book I have ever needed. I’ve legitimately never been happier to have stumbled across a novel in my entire life.

Five stars, and I’m not even halfway through. Sometimes, you just know.

I was provided with the first nine chapters of All of Us Villains in exchange for an honest review.

I did only get a sample, but I wish I had more because this book has me hooked! I've preordered a print copy for myself because I'm dying to find out how it ends! I loved it already.

it's just an excerpt but it made me want to pick up and read the book so bad that I added this to my tbr,

I can't wait to get my hands on the rest of this book! I just know it's going to be one of my favourites of the year!

Loving this so far! So glad I also got approved for the full ARC, more in depth review when I finish that.

I was lucky enough to read the short sampler of this book, and wow, I don't know where to start. I will definitely purchase this byook. The story begins the pretty dark way, I even didn't like it. But when you keep on reading, actually it turns quite interessant. The story is told from the different POV of the tournament participants, so to ou can see and know what thinks each of them. It gives you more visibility about what happens. Plus, the characters are very different and seems very good built. The story hooks you since the first page, the pacing is good and very interesting. You won't be bored reading this book.
And the big plus of all of this is, that the book is a clear mix of The Hunger Games and Sabrina. Games where you're using spells and magick, and where only one will be a winner. You will find here blood, cruelty and teenagers that will do absolutely all kind of things to win this tournament. Seems pretty terrible and dark.

I received this and as an eARC to read for free in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Teen for giving me access.

More of a 3.5 stars rounded up (for sampler review only)

The thought of a Hunger Games style story was very intriguing. Families that fight to the death for power. Sounds like something that I would be 100% invested in. Unfortunately, I was left a little disappointed. I could seem to connect or find interest in the story until the very end of the sampler when the real story starts. Once All of Us Villains is published, I will happily give it another go in hopes that the full story is better than the opening.

Great sample! I’m looking forward to reading the rest and I am putting this one on hold at my library!

Thank you to Netgalley for sending me a sample ARC!

This book is dark on another level. It reminds me of Lore meets The Hunger Games with magic. Honestly, im not sure if this book is for me, its interesting but so far not interesting enough for me to seek out the rest. I'm not sure which character I'm supposed to care about but that might be the point? It told in several points of view which is interesting but also confusing to make a complete assessments on the book. If you are into something darker this might be for you but I don't think it's my kind of story

Wow! What a thrilling, twisted ride! This sampler was so good!
Every 20 years, seven contestants enter a tournament to the death where only one can be victorious. The winner becomes the keeper of the high magic, so winning the tournament is very much coveted by all.
Magic, interesting characters and lots of action, this story had it all! I like that we got the perspectives from each of the contestants competing in the tournament and the ending was great! A unique and excellent story!

This was too hard to read! The formatting was very weird, with lots of odd spacing, blocks of text. Its just a formatting issue, not the actual content of the book, but I don't think I can read the book at all because of the formatting.
What I could read before I gave up was very flowery prose, fairytale-esque. It was...fine? I don't know that the prose was actually strong enough to carry it.

The worst part of being given a sampler!?
It’s not close to being enough.
We have different POV’s and while that may seem intimidating, if it’s well written, it’s not. This is one of those that I NEED to read more of!

I was approved for the full ARC after requesting this, but this sampler (and the book itself) were both so good! I am very excited for this release.

This just was not for me. I tried many times to get into the storyline. The characters were introduced just fine, the problem was me.

Amanda Foody and Christine Lynn Herman have taken a lot of risks in this book and in the excerpt the risks are well done enough to make me want to read more, with one glaring problem. First off they set up a situation with a fairly standard YA "kill all your competitors" challenge, but then they show the points of view of most of the competitors. Knowing most of them are going to die (unless something very strange happens during the curse) and yet helping us see inside their heads and making them all sympathetic characters is an incredibly interesting choice (and very risky if they actually do start dying off!). And they have done a really good job with the characters, showing how the town and the curse and their families and power have warped and traumatized and affected all of them. They all seem like interesting kids, and it's refreshing to have a story with lots of people to root for (I see lots of divided reader loyalties and discomfort in the coming chapters). The setting is interesting, with the gothic feudal Hogsmeade vibe and the magic seems interesting (although there are some things that don't quite add up, like who keeps marrying into all these families? Why does anyone else actually want to live there? How does collecting magic at funerals actually work? What are the rules of the magic? Why does the government only send one person? Why haven't anyone assassinated all of the Paynes or Lowes when they are out of power?). But the final problem is that even though the characters are all interesting and sympathetic, they are all also clearly evil. The town and the curse may have made them this way, but as they have to attack and kill each other they are likely to become more unsympathetic. I'm looking forward to the rest of the book, but I'm half expecting to not enjoy the rest of the story.