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.

I was sooo excited about this because of the way it was pitched as a new Hunger Games! But I don’t know, it fell pretty short to me. I made it about a quarter through before deciding that I didn’t feel connected to any of the characters or the plot. I think I’d like to read this again but in a physical book instead of digital - sometimes that makes plots feel more real to me.

The Hunger Games meets magic? Yes please! I really enjoyed diving into this fascinating and dark world of magic, family pressure, and a tournament to the death. The characters are so real and interesting and by the end I felt for each of them in a different way and rooted for them. To be honest, this book wasn’t quite as dark as I thought it was going to be, with less death and backstabbing than the summary led me to believe, but I still really enjoyed it and I can’t wait for the next book!

If I had to rate this based on the first half, it would be one star. It was excruciatingly slow going between the plot and too many POV’s. But if I had to rate this for the second half? Four stars. It picks up speed at around 50% when the tournament finally begins. The first half took me a week to read, I was dragging my feet; the second half a couple of hours, it sucked me right in. I do have several issues with it, besides the first half moving so slowly- but my biggest issue was that it ends, I wouldn’t even call it a cliff hanger, it ends like a regular chapter ended. So for this to be the book’s ending, it was really abrupt. The way things were left, I’ll be tempted to pick up the next book to see what happens next.

All of Us Villains really is a magical Hunger Games.

The blood moon has recently appeared, meaning that it's time for the seven families to compete to see who has magical dominance until the next blood moon. But this year is different, one of the families has published a tell-all and put Blood Veil on the map. Now the public and government are interested in seeing who will come out the victor.

All of Us Villains follows the POV's of 4 characters:
Alistair of the Lowe family, who have dominated the competition for generations;
Isobel of the Macaslan's, who use funerals as a means of gaining magic because the dead no longer have use for it;
Gavin of the Grieve family, the only family to never win
Briony of the Thorburn's, who have been painted the heroes to the Lowe's villains.

Who will win? Or is there a way to end the competition?

All in all, this book delivered on its premise and I really got invested in the storylines. (I also really wish the sequel was out). I really loved seeing past each of the character's masks. While I liked some character's more than others, I never really wanted to skip over chapters (which rarely happens in a multi-POV book),

If you like magic, curses, the Hunger Games, backstabbing, or just morally grey characters, All of Us Villains proves to be a solid addition to the realm of darker fantasy stories.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Tor Teen for an eARC of this title! I really appreciate the opportunity to read this novel!

Seven families in Ilvernath hold a big secret. Once every 20 years one person from each of their families is selected as champion to fight to the death for ‘High Magick’. However just before it begins a tell all book is released and now the whole world is watching and waiting.

I absolutely love all the characters and they are so distinct from one another with their personalities and background. It was great to see how they all interacted with each other.

The book begins introducing you to four of the champions and learning all about their families which I thought was a great build up and didn’t seem too slow paced.

The book is definitely character driven and it was a bit hard to imagine where everything was as I didn’t expect Ilvernath to be so large. You feel connected to each of the POV characters more than the others as you don’t learn as much about them.

Towards the end when the POV’s were changing more quickly it was a bit hard to keep up with what was happening with each character but I loved all of the twists we got.

Quotes:
‘Monsters couldn’t harm you if you were a monster too’

‘This tournament wasn’t a place for heroes. It never had been’

‘In this story, the princess slayed the dragon’

Although definitely dark and gritty and full of fast paced action, there were too many slow in between moments that made the story drag a bit.

*Received for free from netgalley for honest review* Can't wait for the next book!! will buy this and reread it for sure

(2.5 stars rounded up)

When the Blood Veil falls, 7 teen Champions from 7 historically magically strong families are forced to compete to the death to reclaim "high magick" for their families. But this time, maybe 6 teens don't have to fall? Maybe this time, the curse can be broken?

This was like Hogwarts meets <u>Hunger Games</u> and the premise was very interesting and thought out. But after the first 50 or so pages of this book, when the cast of characters and all their families and all the spell-makers were laid out before us, the pacing really slacked. Until, of course, the last 10% of the book when everything just came crashing down at once again. I find this is often a problem in YA adventure/fantasy novels, and <u>All of us Villains</u> falls victim to the same plague. A promising start, a dry and dull two thirds of a novel, and then a chaotic ending that will, obviously, usher in a sequel. I went ahead and rounded up to 3 stars because I liked the writing and the overall idea, even though I had a hard time finishing this one and a difficult time getting attached to any of the characters...I may or may not pick up the second installment of what I'm sure is to be a trilogy.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
I was a bit disappointed by All of Us Villains, honestly. It’s pitched as “Hunger Games but with magic” which isn’t wrong, but I just didn’t love it.
We meet Alistair first. He’s supposed to be a monster. This is a self given title as well as one that’s been thrust upon him by his family and the rest of the town. But his actions and feelings don’t support that title at all. We’re told he’s a monster but we’re not shown anything monstrous from him. The same goes for Briony except in the opposite direction. She claims to want to be a hero when she’s wanted a place as one of the seven champions and to win the tournament her whole life. But when she’s not chosen, she doesn’t some pretty monstrous things. We’re shown that she’s a monster even if she’s whisky and pathetic about it.
As for the other characters, I just didn’t care about them. I didn’t care about the romance between two of the points of view, I didn’t care about their struggles or any of it. They all knew what they were getting into with being champions of their family and going into the tournament. I was intrigued by what Briony was trying to accomplish , but not enough.
I think the magic could have been really interesting, coming from magic that’s stored in stones to be used at a later time. But the silly
Names for the spells really took me out of the story every time they were used.
Overall, I wanted to like this story more than I did. I didn’t really like any of the characters because were told they are one thing but they act completely against that. I think the setting was an interesting one that was entirely over looked. Finally, the ending really put me off. They never finished the tournament one way or the other. So many thing were left still up in the air and the story felt like it just cut off before it was over.

I received a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review
This is not what I was expecting at all. I guess I was hoping it was a little better than the authors other books but i guess I just don't like the way they write...

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced review copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was super excited for this book that was pitched as a queer Hunger Games with magic. Unfortunately, I feel a bit let down. The characters all compete against one another in this battle to the death that is reminiscent of the Hunger Games, but that is basically where the similarities end for me. I was honestly kind of bored throughout the book. It was very slow to start, with the competition not even beginning until we are already a good chunk into the story. There was also very little action or thrill once the competition starts, and instead a bunch of discussion of alliances and a romance between two of the characters. I also didn’t really care about any of the characters. None of them really grabbed me. They weren’t nearly as dark or villainous as they were made out to be. I didn’t feel sympathy for any of them and none of them really made me want to root for them. With all of the comparisons to the Hunger Games which commented a lot on society, privilege, government, etc. I didn’t really know how to feel about these families that cursed themselves and then sent their kids to go fight each other. Plus, when they all enter the competition, they’re all chilling in their castles and their cable knit sweaters and their other things that they were allowed to bring with them. I just found the premise hard to really get behind, and because I usually love books with compelling characters, this was a bit of a let down for me.

dnf 30%
This book seemed like it would be really exciting and entertaining and I guess I was measuring it up too much to the hunger games.
I think the biggest issue was the pacing. The backstory is just way too long and I did skim through to figure out where the actual plot starts, and I just found it was not worth it to read all this backstory to get to the actual story.
Backstory isn't bad, but this in particular, while interesting, was hard to get through. There are also multiple points of view which is fine, but I found myself getting confused often and I had to backtrack to figure out who was who and how they related to each other.
I did like the general vibes of the book it seems like it's a really dark interesting book, but the way the pacing was, I just could not get through the book.

I LOVED this book. The premise was creative, and the magic was so intriguing. I’m a big fan of magic having limits and consequences, and I thought the way that played out for Gavin in particular was really interesting. I really enjoyed reading the different perspectives of Alistair, Isobel, Briony, and Gavin; there were several times that I thought “surely they won’t go that far” and then they did! I wish I could read the second book right now.

It has taken some TIME to come up with my thoughts on this book. Firstly, I think Christine Lynn Herman and Amanda Foody's voices blend wonderfully in this. But the issues I have with Christine Lynn Herman's writing individual really shine here in that it all seems so cheesy in worldbuilding where that it does not benefit from that type of storytelling.

Overall, I am unsure if I will be picking up the sequel.

I really enjoyed this. There is something Dark academia meets the hunger games about it that just really made it so easy enjoy. It's just so easy to binge read as the writing has such great flow and pacing that you just forget to put the book down.

I loved the idea of the magic system. This is where it really got its dark academia vibes from. The use of spell boards, ingredients to craft spell laden jewellery seems darkly delicious but also that it is common place in this world also just felt really natural. I loved the town, besieged by paparazzi, and the glimpses we got into all the old families. The fact that it is told from four perspectives all with complex and detailed backstories not only personally but also their family history in the tournament just made this story so absorbing. They are all despicable in the best possible way, yet I still loved them. I found myself caring so much for these characters so easily even through they are all trash fires! The story is so character driven that you can't help but sympathise with them.

The plot itself is really engaging. I love the build but to the tournament how we meet and learn about the four perspectives and then how they are thrown into the thick of it. It is jam packed with twists and turns that your would be hard pressed to predict. There are so many angles to play and elements up in the air that its so hard to guess what is going to happen next so it really makes you feel like you are right there with the characters.

My only qualm is that the book heavily Cliff-hangers. There is no resolution to the story in any way so if you are not a fan of having to hold on to find out what happens this isn't the book for you. Its one of the most brazen cliff hangers I have read in a long time and it made the book fall flat. I wanted a huge crescendo but instead a got a fizzle which is just a little dull.

"You Fell In Love With The Victors of The Hunger Games.
Now Prepare To Meet The Villains of The Blood Veil."

Bloody, dark, twisted and brilliant. Gripping and full of twist and turns from start to finish. It takes a lot for a book to make me actually gasp out loud, but this one really delivered.

This would have been an easy 5star read if the first 30% matched the last 70%. It was a struggle to make it that far. The pacing was slow, there was a ton of info and backstory. Which I mean, yes, we needed, but it wasn’t that interesting to me.
Now when we got about 35% in and the villains all started interacting and got into the tournament, that’s when it got good. The heat turned up, petal to the metal and they did not slow down. If possible it was even more tense the last 10%. I need the sequel like now!!
I loved the enemies to lovers between two characters. I was buddy reading with a friend and thought it would have been even better if <spoiler>Gavin and Alistair </spoiler> got together and I gotta agree with her.
There was betrayal, sabotage, action, and murder. I’m not sure how much more you could want.
Recommend for any fantasy lover!

All of Us Villains is the first installment in co-authors Amanda Foody and Christine Lynn Herman's All of Us Villains series. While there are seven champions, there’s only four perspectives in the book: Alistair Lowe, Isobel Macaslan, Gavin Grieve, and Briony Thorburn, with Finley Blair, Elinor Payne, and Carby Darrow as secondary characters. For the first time in 20 years, this year brings the arrival of the Blood Moon and its tournament to see who is the strongest. These are the same kids who grew up together, were friends, and even lovers, and now they will be enemies.

7 families in the remote city of Ilvernath each name a champion to compete in a tournament to the death. Instead of being picked at random, the champions are chosen by their families. Some having been forced into the role by their family and would like nothing more than to escape. The prize? Exclusive control over a secret wellspring of high magick, the most powerful resource in the world—one thought long depleted until the next tournament. Only one family line may claim the magick, and only after defeating the other six competitors by winning the tournament in a fight to the death. Very much like the Hunger Games except with magic.

In this tournament, there are 7 Landmarks, and 7 Relics that fall from the sky throughout the tournament. Gain one of the relics, and it will give you powers to use on your rivals. Gain one of the Landmarks which corresponds to your family, and it becomes your castle. Thanks to a salacious tell-all book, A Tradition of Tragedy, the tournament and the champions have been thrust into the worldwide spotlight while also exposing the truth about high magick still being around.

This years competition has everyone talking and more visitors that usual to the sleepy town as well as a representative of the Kendalle Parliament who is deciding if they will execute everyone involved. The book granted the public valuable information previous champions never had—insight into the other families’ strategies, secrets, and weaknesses. Between each chapter, there are sections of the book that outlines different aspects of the challenge. Pay close attention.

Alistair belongs to the Lowe Family. They are the winningest family of all seven and are will do do the shocking things imaginable to win. Alistair is wicked and vicious, yet he would do anything for his brother and wants his family to be proud of him and to love him. Alistair and his brother Hendry are nearly inseparable thanks to the families rather unorthodox way of raising the boys.

Isobel belongs to the Macaslan's. Because she was the first champion outed, she's become a paparazzi darling and talented spellmaker of the family, but her family is viewed as distasteful vultures by the rest of the Seven. Isobel is her family’s champion because she is the strongest, but she never wanted to be part of the tournament and is stuck between her loyalty to her family, and her desire to flee.

Gavin Grieve comes from the weakest family, the one everyone makes fun of, the one that never ever won a tournament, and he is determined to prove to everyone that the Grieves family is worth something which means trusting cursemakers to make him stronger and able to stand against the rest of his nemesis.

Briony Thorburn was born-for-heroism of the respected family but commits a grave sin at the beginning of the tournament after learning that there may be a way to permanently end the tournament forever. Now she has to convince the other six to lay down their goals of winning, while finding the right combination to destroy the tournament. Then there's the real villain of the story.

One cursemaker in particular puts ideas in the aspiring champions’ heads about whether the tournament’s curse can be changed—or broken. The competitors teeter wildly between heroism and villainy, especially once the tournament starts and their preconceived ideas of themselves and each other are challenged in lethal combat. I do have to issue a warning to potential readers: this book ends on a massive cliffhanger. I can't in good conscious review a book without telling you that expect the unexpected. Expect to be shocked. Expect to be stunned, and expect to hold onto your seat for a wild ride right to the last page of this book.