This did not live up to the hype. I don’t know why people love this one. I did not care for the characters and I had no idea was was going on. Suddenly a person was dead and I had no idea how or when it happened

I was late to the game requesting this book. For some reason I wasn’t feeling the cover. That, plus the title. In theory, the title should be good, but I’ve been burned too many times by these morally grey protagonists books where I go in expecting villainous characters and all I get are totally-justified-in-their-actions heroes. And, while this book did largely turn out to be that, I think the fact that I was resigned to that from the start helped. Plus, it was just super well-written and enjoyable!

The world is full of magic but its sources of high magic have all been tapped and drawn by their respective nations. All but one, a secret source that has been passed down to various families for generations. However, for the privilege of wielding this powerful supply, the families must all sacrifice a son or daughter to a battle royale where the only survivor wins access for their family for the next twenty years. But for the first time, this secretive competition has become known to the world and this year’s contestants face a level of scrutiny and pressure that none have known before. With all eyes on them, who will survive?

I really enjoyed this book! Like I said, I really wasn’t sure that I would when I started out. But, it turns out, after more than a decade, I was more than ready for a new “Hunger Games” style story! And really, that’s what this is. There are even powerful objects that drop periodically from the sky that help the contestants. That said, the rest of the set-up is incredibly unique and well thought out. The magic itself, created and directed through the use of spell-rings. The history of the various families who participate in this competition. The effect of the sudden revelation of a new source of high magic to a world that had thought it all run out. Very compelling stuff.

And, on top of all of that, all of the POV characters were interesting and unique. I’m a tough sell on multiple POV stories, as has been well-documented on this blog. All too often, they either all blend together with voices that sound all too similar, or there are one or two particularly strong characters who take over the story, leaving the remaining characters feeling bland in comparison. Here, however, I was equally intrigued by all four main characters. I may have still had a preferences, but I was never disappointed to start a new character’s chapter.

Each of the four had such distinct, personal arcs that had been so well laid out at the start of the book that I was equally invested in each of their stories. We have Briony, the girl who has prepared her entire life for this moment, but when it comes, discovers that her goals may have changed. Isobel, the young woman who has become the face of the competition to the public but whose struggles with her family and her magic leave her on the back foot when the competition begins. Gavin, the young man from a family who has never won and whom no one expects anything from but who push himself beyond the limits of magic to do what he must to survive. And Alistair, the young man from the family most known for its wins and for its villainy. Each were so, so interesting and had stories that seemed to naturally weave in and out of one another’s.

The story was also appropriately dark and graphic when it needed to be. As I mentioned earlier, none of the four were as villainous as the title would imply. But they each did have their moments, and the general set-up of the competition and the world was grim and bloody. There were a number of real surprises where the book “went there” when I didn’t expect it to.

This book was an excellent surprise! I went in expecting little and came out with a front-runner for my “Top 10” list. I definitely recommend this for all fantasy lovers, especially those looking for a book with a compelling cast of characters and a darker take on magic.

Rating 9: A magical “Hunger Games” that delivers on all fronts: excellent characters, a dark world, and exciting fantasy elements.

Ok y'all. I'm a sucker for these types of books. Oh hello kiddos with all your magick power in a battle where the last one standing wins? Sound familiar? I bet it does but this time we get ALL VILLAINS... which just means that I get to root for them all. 😉 Give me all the world building, teach me about some of these families - SOMEONE TEACH ME TO MAKE MAGICK! Did I say that I love villains?!

I love first in a series books that's high on the character and world development, but also gives us a lot of action too. What I DO NOT like, is the enormous cliffhanger at the end. Ok ok ok... I expected but UFF - did y'all want to make sure we'd go to book two? BECAUSE YOU WIN. I'm in for the ride. I do think we'll learn more about the other houses, about where these characters are going because they're growing no matter which way they decide to go. And there's a couple of questions I have left in my head re a couple plot lines but I'm sure those will be answered in the next book. I HOPE.

Honestly readers, this is a fun dark(ish) fantasy of kids trying to live up to their family, their own and the world's expectations. I love tournament action and wish we head just a *bit* more of it but I do expect great things coming. Anyone else in love with Alistair? *swoon*

*eARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Quotes have been checked against a final copy.*

"Alistair was thinking about death. More specifically, about causing it."

After hearing my friend go on and on about this book, I knew I had to read it. Plus, you can never take me away from a good villain story.

"Seven rotting families in an insignificant city, fighting over the most powerful magic left in the world. Why do any of you deserve it?"

The story follows four characters as they start a game to the death, which should end with one of them winning the grand magic for their family. While this game has been a long-held secret, a tell-all book was recently published, exposing these families and their dark game to the world. Now, all eyes are on our contestants as they fight for their lives and for their families. Some want to end the game, some want revenge, and some just want to live.

While there are seven contestants, we get the four POVs. While two of the POVs were fantastic, the other two were not. And to be fair, I understand why the others are important! This story could not be told without the information provided by the others. Yet, they were just kinda boring.

"The Lowes did not tell their children monster stories so that they could slay them. The Lowes told them so their children would become monsters themselves."

The romance in this, while not the main plot (IMO), is very enemies to lovers. My favorite. Only one bed trope. :)

"Villains. All of them"

This book is kinda hard to rate because the scenes that were good were amazing and the scenes that were not good were tedious. However, I do think it deserves four stars and I will definitely be picking up a copy of the second book when it comes out!

"The only part about the tournament that makes it a fairy tale is that it's definitely gone on ever after.

Amazing I loved it!! The character development was so strong and the plot kept the reader hanging till the last page. Super excited for the next installment.

Many thanks to the publishers and netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.

I was honestly so so excited to read it! Unfortunately things just didn’t work out for us.
Here’s why:

Okay so the basic premise is that there’s two types of magic: high magic and low magic. It’s never really explained how these work we are just meant to understand. Anyway high magic was thought to not exist anymore but a few years ago someone outed the final high magic users. They’re a group of old families who have a curse on them: this keeps the high magic in their bloodlines but they must compete to control the magic. When they fight each family chooses a champion and they essentially have the hunger games. The family who ends up with a child alive they get the magic until the next bloodbath.

The book is told from the perspective of several of the champions. We of course have our classic underdogs etc. They all have forgettable names. We have rich boy meanie whose family always win anyway, girl who is in the spotlight as her family’s champion but doesn’t even want to compete, the perfect champion who doesn’t get picked to be her family’s champion, and underdog who’s family never win so he bets big to help him have an edge.

They live in some kind of modern day world but with magic and it feels very British somehow. Like if it was set in York or somewhere small with cobbled streets. I picture Canterbury as I lived there for a while. It’s modern but then also fantasy, and I’m not sure it always blends well?

As we skip between these characters it makes it hard to care about any of them as they all have their reasons for doing things but you don’t get to know any of them well enough to really feel invested. Nevermind that, the male characters especially were hard to tell apart as their voices aren’t too distinct. The level of callousness in the book is also alarming like I know it’s about killing children and stuff but the family that always wins literally kill the guys brother to use a spell to give him an edge. Like it was so unneeded as he had all the advantages anyway and his brother was the only character I kind of liked. And they murdered him off screen so it was also kind of anticlimactic.

The whole thing felt like a cool idea that didn’t really have any real weight or realism to it and I could t get invested in these characters at all because they’re all basically stereotypes with no real voice or agency. No one makes their own choices they’re just pushed around by their families.

There is some LGBT+ rep but it’s so minimal. One of the characters is definitely bisexual but it’s not an important plot point and doesn’t really have much screen time after it being mentioned.
Overall, I think it was villainous to put the book out as it is because it just feels…unpolished like an idea that didn’t get fully rounded out.

When I read the description and saw that this was similar to The Hunger Games but with a more paranormal twist, I was immediately in. This held my attention from the very beginning as we get to know the electric cast of characters. The personalities of this lively bunch really make the book worth reading. I am excited to see where this goes in the next installment because this was an excellent debut. I really enjoyed it but don't want to say more without giving spoilers. I did not find myself getting bored with this at all and was pretty satisfied with the ending.

All of Us Villains in a YA fantasy novel that takes place in a town named Ilvernath. Every 20 years, the sky above the town turns crimson, signifying the start of an ancient curse that affects the lives of seven magical families. Each family must name a champion that will compete in a tournament to the death. Whoever wins will allow their family to control the most powerful magical source in the world.

Let me just say, this book is wild. It’s kinda like the Hunger Games, but with magic and more unhinged characters. I’m not going to lie, I did snicker a bit at the fact that these teenagers are hell bent on murdering each other without thinking of the consequences of their actions. But the more I read, the more these teens began to show their multifaceted qualities and prove me wrong. Additionally, with four rotating POV’s, you really do get an in depth look into the characters and what motivates them in participating in the tournament.

All of Us Villains is definitely more of a character driven book, which I sort of loved and hated. I loved learning more about the characters, especially Alistar’s, because who doesn’t love a villain? The stories surrounding the characters are so dark and messy and had me hooked since the very beginning of this novel. However, with a high stakes plot like the one in here, I did want to see more action. I think the way that it was executed fell short for me and I wasn’t a fan of how the ending played out.

That being said, I'm extremely excited for the release of All of Our Demise and see how this story will end for the characters!

Everyone I know who read this tells me that it's Hunger Games but with magic. Say less. I'm all in.

This book is so very much more than that. It's about class struggles and family obligations and the relationships we form with people. It's about expectations and reason and overcoming adversity. It's about morality and drama and love and sacrifice. And, yes, it's about magic.

I loved this book, not because it was a work of great literature, but because the writing made me really know each of the seven descendants from great families who were pitted against each other, tasked with being the last surviving competitor so that their family could earn the right to use high magic. It was kinda like Hunger Games, but like a version of that where you were invested and had a back story for each tribute, and honestly felt torn about how you wanted it to end. I would really like a sequel.

Just deliciously fun. Loved the hunger games vibes and the magical intricacies that made the whole thing easy to get lost in. Was never sure who exactly to root for, but I’d call that great character development!

Thanks to NetGalley & Macmillan-Tor/Forge for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.

"All of Us Villains" follows 7 families that have sacrificed one child from each family for centuries in order to please an ancient curse that demands blood in exchange for magic. The children compete with one another in a bloodthirsty arena and only one will emerge, alive, and bring honor & magic to their family.

Whew, this was entertaining from start to finish! I had trouble putting it down. The suspense was inteeeeense. I really enjoyed the worldbuilding and interesting magic system--it's definitely not the typical magic system.

My biggest problem with the book is that it felt like everyone was kind of the same "jerk" and I honestly had trouble telling them apart. I know I'm bad with names but it was just...really difficult half the time to keep up with who's who. And when I did figure out who was who, they died, or did something so monumentally stupid I was so angry at them. Ha!

Gavin was my favorite but I did find Alistair interesting. Honestly, a lot of them have really solid motivations and the main reason why everyone is fighting to the death is mainly to stay alive. So it's no wonder not *everyone* is ruthless-they just want to live and go back to their lives with their families. I will say that most of this book could easily have been avoided if they all TALKED to each other which is hilarious but also very frustrating.

Briony was my least favorite, very self-centered and terrible at emphasizing with others. Still a great character though! Definitely a good read for any craving a magical Hunger Games but with selfish and morally iffy characters.

A fascinating and dark story! I wanted to know the characters more, so I'm excited to read the next one. The cliffhanger you're left with is sure to get you to read it!

This book was kindly given to me via NetGalley for free to review, but my physical copy I had pre-ordered ended up arriving a day before my approval for this book came through.

This book blew me away. The writing of the book was phenomenal, there are very few books I have read that are so beautifully and well written they transport you from a 3 hour bus ride into their world. I was clawing at the end of the book for more, and I cannot wait for the second and final book to come out.

The characters are written in a way you either love them, or love to hate them. Each with their own story, and own pride to battle, emotions run high and family legacies are at stake.

There are truly no words to explain what I felt while reading this book, and how I felt after. All of Us Villains is so intricate and suspenseful, and had had me questioning everything I knew at every twist and turn.

Blood Before All, is how All of Us Villains began and ended, and I cannot wait to see what happens once All of Our Demise is released. I anxiously await the day I can return to our champions and the Blood Moon Tournament.

Incredible! Wish I’d read it sooner. Absolutely loved this. Amanda Foody and Christine Lynn Herman are a match made in heaven. I found it fast paced and read it in one sitting!

Unfortunately, the writing in this book is just not good. Within the first handful of pages, the reader is bombarded with some of the sloppiest lore construction I have encountered in awhile. Ease the reader in a bit first! I'm all for complex world building and magic systems, but you can't just throw that at me like a handful of mashed potatoes and expect me to care all that much.

And for what? Where is the urgency in delivering all of this information? The trial is not for several weeks. Give me time to acclimate, actually introduce me to the characters with more than a couple of opposing physical traits between the brothers. Why do I care about this tournament, how is this world similar and different to our own, and what are the consequences and nuances of that? I'm not a writer, but even I can tell that this was just really rushed and sloppy. Poor writing prevents me from making it any further into the story, I'm sorry.

3.5*
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!

I wanted to love this book so much but it just felt super slow. I started to like it a lot more towards the end where there was more action and more of the actual plot happening. I liked the concept and the overall idea, like I said it just felt slow to me. The characters were amazing and I loved how each of them had their own unique backstories. Alistair was definitely my favorite. Another thing that didn’t make me love the characters as much was that it felt that there wasn’t a lot of chemistry between someone of the relationships. Towards the end I saw and felt the chemistry but when the relationships first started developing it just didn’t click for me. Overall, I had high expectations for this book but it just didn’t meet those expectations. I’ll still be reading the next book to see if it’ll redeem this duology for me.

I’m not sure why this book didn’t work for me bit unfortunately it didn’t. I dnfed this book at 150 pages. I may revisit it at a later date but right now it’s a no for me. For a book that’s focused on a competition, not starting the competition in the first 25% was an interesting choice. I found it difficult to connect with most of the characters.

Solid 4 star read. Morally gray characters combined with the contrast of expectation versus reality and you have a perfect mix of intricate YA fantasy.

Hunger games meet magic! The book was a bit tough to get into, but the more i read the more i loved it. 3 stars because it was hard to get into and a bit slow.

All Of Us Villains certainly lived up to the hype. I can definitely see the comparisons to Hunger Games, but add some darkness and some magic and you have this book. I enjoyed each character equally and while I first thought the introduction of the characters to be a bit slow, it helped with the development of the story and gave you a peak into who they were. Looking forward reading the rest of their stories.