All of Us Villains is like a magical Hunger Games, where a group of teenagers fight each other to the death for rights to a special kind of magic in Ilvernath. The problem this year? The once secretive tournament has now been published in a tell all memoir and has brought a lot of attention to this year's tournament. Told in 4 POV's, readers get a peek into some of the challengers as they begin the tournament and try to win.

The magic in this world is pretty interesting, you can craft spells and save them in rings for use when needed. The families involved in the tournament are very interesting as well, but I would have wanted more information into the family histories. This is also a YA version of Payback's a Witch - but with more families and more dangerous of a tournament. I think there were likely too many families for this story but at least only 4 of them were really given page time.

However, when compared to the Hunger Games this book falls flat on the aspect of ~why~ the teenagers need to fight to the death. This is not a dystopian, there is no tyrannical regime. There is a lack of background given to explain where this tournament originated and why it is to the death. This question really took me out of the story because I generally need to understand the reason why this drastic of an event is occurring.

Overall, I did really enjoy the book even after those concerns. The plot was very compelling and I'm glad there is a sequel without trying to put all of it in one book. I will definitely be finishing this series.

**Thank you to Tor Teen and Netgalley for an early copy in exchange for an honest review**

I loved this book. LOVED! In the beginning, you think you know who's the villain and who's the good guys, but as you read, your opinions are forever morphing, your allegiances changing. You didn't quite know who to trust, or if they would give in to the urge to win for the honor of it all.
There was some romance, which I didn't quite expect, but loved. I was grinning like a fool with each sweet word.
I loved getting to know about the magic system and the tournament, about each family and their backgrounds, the victors the families had and didn't have.
The end has a huge shock, and I cannot wait for the next book.

If Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire joined The Hunger Games, they would produce the town of Ilvernath. Ilvernath is a town under a curse, one that, every 20 years, requires a teenage member of each of seven families to participate in a tournament, which only one of the seven competitors will survive. The competitors fight with low magic, available to anyone. The family of the survivor then controls the high magic, which only they can then access - and which gives them unassailable power; if all seven remain alive after three months, then they all die and no one can access the high magic until the next tournament; those are the terms of the curse. But curses can be broken - even old and powerful curses such as this one. Breaking such a curse will require belief and self-sacrifice of a type that the champions, born and bred to their position, will have difficulty producing. Will they be able to find a way to break the curse? And if they can - will they?

This is a rather dark novel, starting, as it does, from the premise that six of the seven competitors will ultimately die, killed by one of the others. Told from a rotating perspective that encompasses all of the characters, readers can see the person underneath the persona, can see how each champion was groomed by his or her family to be the winner, no matter the cost. If you enjoy magic, intrigue, and mystery, you will enjoy this novel. Recommended for high school and older.

This review has been provided in exchange for an ARC from NetGalley.

I love, LOVE this book. The writing was fresh, the characters were diverse and the story had a firm grasp on me.

The plot twists were fun and really added value to the story.

As someone who loves morally grey characters, the concept of this really spoke to me. The characters were definitely my favorite part of this story. I love a multi-POV story and I really enjoyed following these character arcs. Unfortunately, I am starting to realize that magic competitions aren't really for me. The magic system was super interesting but I wasn't super obsessed with the competition part of it. I also found the ending a tad flat but I will probably still pick up the sequel!

𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬

Every generation, seven families in the city of Ilvernath each name name a champion to compete in a tournament to the death. The prize is exclusive control over Ilvernath’s secret store of high magick, which is the most powerful resource in the world.

𝐦𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬

Since the moment I read the description of this book I knew that I’d have to read it. I love books with competitions, just as much as I love reading about villains (does that make me weird?).

What I mostly liked about this book is the interesting and unique magic system, the promising plot which moves quickly and doesn’t let you to put the book down, the story which is written in multiple POVs, and of course the morally grey characters.
I definitely liked some characters more than others, and I also hope to see more development on some characters in the second book.

My only critique would be that since the book is about villains, I wanted the story to be more villainy. I was expecting a lot more ruthless antiheros and was a little disappointed beacuse they actually aren’t. I really hope the second book would be more villainous.

𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: murder, death, grief, blood, gore, parental abuse.

• ARC received from the publisher (Macmillian-Tor/Forge) and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, thank you!

A blood-soaked fairytale that twists your heartstrings and makes you question everything you thought you knew about loyalty. With morally ambiguous characters sneering on every page and a dangerous world threatening to destroy them all, All of Us Villains is a classic,

This book was absolutely fantastic! I love a story with morally grey characters, and this was overflowing with trickery and betrayal in the best way possible. I love the multi-POV structure; I found it added so much tension and left me guessing the whole way through. I absolutely cannot wait for the sequel, especially after that ending!

This imaginative story has amazing character development and a fun, if not intense, premise. It's similar to Hunger Games infused with the magic of Harry Potter. I can't wait to see what comes next for this cast! Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for an advanced reader copy of this book for an honest review. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5 stars.

It took me some time to get through this book, Unfortunately I still have been unable to finish it. It started off just ok and didnt really grab my attention the way I thought it would. Took more than half the book for the tournament to even start. There was a lack of the whole fun killing expected like from hunger games for example. It was toned down a lot. The title implies VILLIANS and it didnt feel so much like it.

The four main characters were so bland. The only one I came close to liking was Gavin -- HE actually acted like a good villain and wasn't a complete fool. Coming from a hated and loser family, he strives for success -- not for his family, but for himself. He's willing to do anything to win this tournament and is not at all afraid to resort to killing in the most brutal manner. The other characters were mediocre and not to my liking at all.

I suspected a twist at the end but I couldn't get to it. I was bored and uninterested. As much as this book was hyped up to be and the summary the way it was written was misleading in my opinion.

A unique story with such a fun magic system. Definitely not for everyone but one of the best books I have read recently. Kept your attention through the whole book. The variety of characters and representation is good, the characters themselves are such a great part of the story.

Oh man oh man was this such an excellent fantasy book. Easily one of the most engaging YA Fantasy books I’ve read in a long time.

Summary: This book centers around 7 families. Every 20 years each family chooses someone to participate in a competition to control all of the land’s high magick. The book follows multiple perspectives: one from each of four of the families.

Review: This is an easy 5 star book.
Things I liked: Hunger Games with Magick vibes, different character perspectives, background of the families and the competition itself, book is easy to read and fast paced.

Things I thought could have been better: none. I can’t wait for the second book to come out!

I received an ARC of this title from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and were not affected by the free copy.

Every 20 years, the Blood Veil falls over Ilvernath and seven champions must fight to the death over the last remaining wellspring of high magick. This book is told from alternating chapters told by Alistair, Briony, Isobel, and Gavin, with Finley, Elionor, and Carbry rounding out the ranks of the "Slaughter Seven."

Man, this book was GRUSOME and I loved it. Curses flying, people exploding (may or may not be literal ;) ), and hefty doses of ego and pride, it's right up my alley.

I enjoyed most of the characters (except Gavin), but I wasn't terribly invested in them (except Alistair-I want to protect him forever). I don't hate multiple POVs, but for the first time ever, I kinda wish this book had been written in MORE. I know, crazy. But I wish we would have seen things from the other three, especially Carbry. But I understand why it was written the way it was, four can be hard for many to handle.

The plot was fairly well paced, there were a few slow spots, but they were short enough I moved through them pretty quickly. I also wish there had been more world building, I never quite got a grasp on how the magic worked in this world. However, I will most certainly be continuing on with the series, the dark, twisted story was more than enough to keep me engaged.

4.5 stars

All of Us Villains is a special book in that it very obviously has borrowed from other books, in this case The Hunger Games. But while it seems like this book may have big shoes to fill, it becomes clear that it doesn't want to try to fill the shoes. All of Us Villains stands on its own and it does so very well. The plot made sense within the book and used it as a vehicle to argue against its own themes.
My only dislike with the book was the fact that only four of the seven kids get a POV which feels like it spoils how the story ends up going. If all the kids were given a POV this would have easily been a five star book.

The Hunger Games is one of my favorite series of all time so when I saw this was marketed as Hunger Games with magic, I was instantly intrigued. I love a good competition just as much as anyone else that was reading nonstop during the YA dystopian era. The characters were definitely a highlight of this book but at the same time, since they're "villains", I guess I was just expecting more... villain-like characters. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is still a Hunger Games fanatic and is interested in investing themselves in a new world of magic and the intrigue that comes with learning about a new system, and of course, everyone's favorite: morally grey protagonists. Fun and interesting read but not anything to write home about, at least for me.

This was a fast paced, compelling book. I was hooked right from the beginning. I really enjoyed the magic system. Some of the plot points were slightly predictable, but I still enjoyed seeing the characters figure them out. I felt that the relationship between Alistair and Isabel felt a little forced.

Thanks to Tor Teen, the authors, and Netgalley for an e-arc of "All of Us Villians" in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This is a Hunger Games meet Maze Runner meets Harry Potter. I loved that despite of this book being seemingly widely influenced by all of the mentioned, it's characters and plot was unique. It had me curious and interested until the end.

7 families fight for control over a well of high magic, the most powerful resource on earth. Each generation a champion is chosen and the last one left alive gets the control of the magic for their generation. The concept for this book was a really cool idea and was fairly well executed. The world building and development was well flushed out and gave a clear Indication of the rules governing it. My biggest issue was that of of the book was spent getting in depth knowledge of the characters which made the first half of the book very slow going. However this made the second half much more engaging and that twist at the end! Can’t wait to see how it goes.

Wow, it really just left it like that.
I loved this book and need the next one, like, now. The only complaint I have is with the worldbuilding... sometimes if felt like all decoration and no structure, but I think that was more of a stylistic choice to have things piece together slower. I just found it hard to follow at times. Great book!

While the plot is somewhat Hunger Games in premise, Foody and Herman quickly dispel any notions that the books are the same. Here, families are sending one of their heirs to fight to the death for magic, but up until recently, this had been a secretive endeavor. The pov transitions do an excellent job of helping us understand the history of the competition as well as each family's stakes and reasoning within the larger process. As a series started, the authors spend a fair bit of time setting up the world and characters, leading to readers wondering when the action might actually start. However, the plot did set up well for a sequel and it will be interesting to see where they go with it.