I heard a lot about this book pre-release, and so was very eager to read this book that was being compared to the Hunger Games and hyped so much. I wasn’t disappointed-this was a great book, and calling it “Hunger Games with Magic”, while not untrue, would be a vast oversimplification. I really enjoyed the characters, especially Alistair, and loved how they developed as the story went on.
One thing I would have loved more of though, was actual “villainy” as per the title. There’s not much moral grey or black areas to be found.
Can’t wait for the sequel!

Thank you to Net-Galley for the e-ARC!

4.5 stars. I really enjoyed this book! I flew through it. It follows a handful of teenagers in Ilvernath as they prepare for and fight in a tournament for control of high magic. A group of teenagers supposed to fight to the death, all of them villains? It was such a great atmospheric read for fall. The book has a longer lead up, and we get more backstory on the families and how/why they choose their champions. I like the build up and I thought it was fun to read, though it is not as action packed as the tournament itself.

There are four different POVs in the story, though the full cast of characters is bigger. I think the book did a good job in distinguishing the voices of the characters in the POVs.

I think the main thing I would say I wanted more of is world building outside of magic. There are mentions of other towns that have high magick, and it seems to be adjacent to the real world, and I want to know more on how that works.

All in all, I really enjoyed this and I’m looking forward to reading the next one when it comes out.

4.5 stars

The Hunger Games with magic!

WOW! This book was amazing! Seven families have a tournament to fight for control of high magick. While there is common magick that anyone can use, high magick is special. Hundreds of years ago these seven families decided they wanted the high magick for themselves but couldn’t agree on who should get it. They’re solution, one person from each family fighting to the death and whoever is victorious wins the high magick for their family until the next tournament.
I loved that this book included chapters from the characters perspectives. We see the chapters from 4 of the 7 champions, aka the kids competing. I do wish we got to know the other 3 champions more, with their own chapters, rather than just small snippets here and there throughout the book.
I also loved that each chapter is started off with quotes from the book “A Tradition of Tragedy”. This tell-all gets their bloody tournament on the map to outsiders of Ilvernath, where the book takes place.
I cannot wait for the next book with an ending like that!!


I received an advance review copy for free for NetGalley!

Absolutely raging because I needed SO much more! I am thrilled this will continue on but wow having to wait to find out what happens to these kids?! Unreasonable. But seriously, excellent book, such a cool concept with a public relations twist that I really enjoyed. I loved this book and am thrilled for it to be released so I can chat with others about it!

Special shoutout to NetGalley and TorTeen for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Well, wasn't this a nice lil surprise.

I've had this book on my radar for a while. In Ilvernath, during the Blood Moon, seven families offer a teen champion to compete for the chance at control over magic, but only the winner can come out alive. What's usually a private affair gets blown up by the release of a book by one of the family members that details all the goings-on, and for the first time the competition has a high press presence. This was such an interesting premise; like a high fantasy, less dystopian more family drama Hunger Games (though honestly media eating up the fact that children have to kill each other is still pretty dystopian).

This is split into four POVs, of which unfortunately I really only liked Gavin. Don't get me wrong - seeing the different family dynamics and what certain characters were really thinking during certain moments is great, but there was something about Gavin that I genuinely cared about in the way I didn't for literally everyone else.

It's not that this book was bad, it's that.... it didn't quiiite give me what I wanted. I'm not really sure why! Everything about this book was fine, I have no major complaints. But that's just it. It was fine, and I don't have much to say about it, when I really feel this should've made me more excited. I might be the only person in the world who's lukewarm about this book! Most of the other reviews I've looked at have raved about it!

There's definitely a cliffhanger ending so I might pick up the sequel and hope that colors this one in a better light. If the premise sounds interesting to you, or you've liked either authors' previous work, go for it!

Whaaaaaaat?!
That’s all I’ve been able to think for the last twenty minutes after reading this gorgeous book.
This book surprised the heck out of me. I was excited when I read the description for this book. The hunger games but with magic? Yes please. What I wasn’t expecting was how beautifully written and deeply crafted this book was. The characters had SUCH depth and dimension they walked right off the page and into my heart almost immediately. With four POVs of four of the seven champions of the tournament, each POV I read had me sweating because I could only think about one thing: only one of these people is going to walk away alive at the end of this, but I love them all. You see, they all have terrible flaws (which arguably makes them more human, more real, more loveable) but they also each had, in my opinion, a really good reason to live.
The world building in this novel was another thing that knocked my socks off. The magic system was intricate and clever and *unique*. I loved the spell rings with their different funny names that really felt like what would happened if you made magic a commercial product; advertisers are going to get cheeky with it.
This book is worth reading for the prose alone. I highlighted so many lines while reading because these poignant sentences just kept coming, one after the other.
I wasn’t sure what to expect in terms of the arc of the book and where it would end, it certainly felt possible that it might be a standalone, but after that ending? I’m dying for the next one.

Thank you Macmillan and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title before publishing in exchange for an honest review!

Oh. My. Goodness. I don’t know what I was expecting when I went into this exactly, but I was SO pleasantly surprised by how quickly I devoured it. Let’s get into it.

Ilvernath is the last real SUS roving hub of high magick in the world, controlled by one of the 7 “great families” in the area. The secret is: every generation, a child from each of these families is sent to duel to the death in a tournament that lasts 3 months, or until the last champion standing. Here we meet our 7 villains, who have been born and bred to complete this tournament, no matter who they have to kill to do it. Alliances are made, some of them extremely unexpected. Power players reveal their true faces, and those faces don’t always look like what you thought they would be.

I DEVOURED this book in about 3 settings. The champions have such distinct personalities, which I often find to be the biggest mistake authors make in multiple POV stories, making them all seem to similar. I loved Isobel and Alistair, and I loved the way their motives shifted and changed. Every character here is a certain amount of morally grey, which is only to be expected in the circumstances they are in. The action begins fast, but the magic system, which is one of the most unique and developed I’ve ever read, is explained flawlessly and naturally. This is a very quick read, and for the best reasons.

I am sad to say that toward the end there were only a few small details that have caused me to knock this down a half a star (I’m considering this a 4.5 star read). (SPOILERS TO COME HERE): Namely, the motivation for Isobel to use her death spell on Alistair at the end is really quite flimsy. I could see this making sense if there was more time spent developing and illustrating that Alistair would not let them destroy the curse, but it had all happened in a matter of pages from him being very on board with this exact thing, and all he was asking for was time. Isobel had been so dedicated to keeping him safe up until that point, and I can’t reconcile this choice with her previous notions. This seemed like a plot driven choice, and a poorly executed one. This, however, is literally my only complaint.

I LOVED this book. I can’t believe that the reader is left hanging where we are, and I’m going to be on the absolute edge of my seat looking for the release date of the second book. This really was hunger games meets magic, while still being so incredibly unique and developed.

I was underwhelmed by both Ace of Shades and The Devouring Gray, so I definitely had some doubts going into this one.

Luckily I was very pleasantly surprised by an engrossing and enjoyable read that felt relatively original given The Hunger Games-esque premise.

The morally grey protagonists are done pretty well for a YA novel, not perfectly when the writing falls back to teenagers acting like normal teenagers, but still better than average.

I'm definitely curious where the authors will take the story from here and look forward to the next installment. 3.5 stars rounded up.

Objectively I don't think it was a bad book, it was just definitely not my thing.

There were too many pov's and only Alistair's story interested me if I'm honest. The middle felt like a lot of filler with nothing that really happened, I know because I kind of scrolled through it and didn't seem to miss much.
Because of the many characters having similar names and also switching it up with last names it was so tedious to try and remember which character was which (especially when it wasn't that interesting to begin with).

There were some nice twists and it's a great concept but I think it's one of those books that should've been a series to actually remember all these people, or should have less characters.

Since I recently read the 'three dark crowns' series, this one just felt like a copy. Also a lot of pov's, kids trying to kill each other to win power and they're magic kids who can be evil while not all of them want to fight. Maybe I would have liked this book more if I hadn't already read something so similar.

“Maybe it’s you who should be afraid of me.”

4.5 stars for All of Us Villains by Amanda Foody and Christine Lynn Herman. This is a story about 7 teens who are forced to compete against each other in a competition to the death due to a centuries old curse. Definitely hunger games vibes but with a much different vibe, background, cast, and execution (literally and figuratively :D). I really enjoyed this book and devoured half of it in one sitting. I absolutely could not put it down!

In my opinion the characters were the best part of the book. I really enjoyed the multi-POV of the four main characters Alistair, Isobel, Briony, and Gavin. They are certainly complex and I’m here for it! There was so much to learn about each of them including their motivations and desires and it really kept things intriguing. Because of the multi-POV everyone is pretty well developed: each with their own backstory and different reasons for wanting to win this competition. Throughout the series I found myself rooting for each of them at different times. You will definitely find something in each of them to love. I did occasionally get confused at which characters POV I was currently reading, especially in the dialogue heavy areas. But I often have that problem in multi-POV books and I don’t think it was a reflection of the writing. In fact, I thought the writing was beautifully done!

The story is set in the town of Ilvernath which houses a bunch of magical families and even fun spellmakers and spellshops. I would have loved a map because it helps me with imagery but it's not necessary to understand the world as it is just an isolated town and pretty simple. I just think it would have added to the fun. The magic system is quite unique but I did have a little trouble understanding it at first, especially how the spells are made and cast. However, I did finally catch the gist of it once the plot and competition got moving. These are some of the reasons why it felt just a little short of 5 stars for me.

There are plenty of plot twists and turns through the competition to keep you entertained. Some of them could be deduced if you are any good at catching foreshadowing, but the aftermath of these twists definitely proved to be shocking. Be prepared for a cliff-hanger as it does end somewhat abruptly and things are NOT wrapped up. But what more would you expect for a story about villains?!

I recommend this book for fans of morally-grey characters, fun magic systems, and competitions. It also set up a VERY slow burn enemies to lovers romance that I imagine will be fleshed out more in the next book. It is absolutely a fun book for fall with its dark, gory, twisted vibes! But be prepared to be mad (in the best way possible) that you have to wait for the next book to be published.

CW/TW: violence, death, foul-language, strong negative emotions

e-ARC provided by Macmillan-Tor/Forge (Tor Teen) and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

“In every story his family told, the villains won. They crossed the lines no one else would. They struck when the hero least expected it.”

Having read books by both of these authors, I was ecstatic when I heard they were teaming up to write a series together. That the main characters were villains? I could barely contain my excitement – morally gray characters are my favorites.

Monsters couldn’t harm you if you were a monster, too.

This quote represents the philosophy of some of these families when it came to bestowing beliefs upon their children. Talk about your twisted parenting styles. From a young age, a few of these seven characters knew they were the chosen champions of their family. If that title was up for grabs, some of them even campaigned for it. They were extensively trained in spells and magic, knowing that they may eventually face their friends, boyfriends, or girlfriends from the other families in the tournament and have to kill them.

Control of high magick is what they’re fighting for, and I liked that no one completely understood how it worked or the consequences of every spell. Throughout the story the characters learn maybe everything isn’t as they were taught, and there’s a complex puzzle to be solved. A way they don’t all have to die.

Seven participants in the tournament and four POVs are a lot to keep up with, but each of these characters is distinct and well-crafted. I have to say Alistair, the predicted champion, and Gavin, the underdog, are my favorites. Alistair’s story is especially tragic, and I just wanted to hug him. Gavin wants to show his family and the rest of the town he’s not a loser and makes some bold choices to prove it. Just when I thought I knew these characters, game-changing twists had my head spinning. Considering they’re all villains, I should have known better than to make assumptions.

Wicked, dark, and full of surprises, this is an addictive series, and I won’t rest easily until I get my hands on the next book. Highly recommend!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is an absolute firecracker of a book.

Set in an alternate world (that seemed to be inspired by Edinburgh/Scotland, though I might be wrong), ALL OF US VILLAINS is a brutal combination of magic and modernity, where teenagers can fight to the death over ancient curses AND have to deal with the social media fallouts. Ilvernath has seven such teens, seven champions who are given one goal: claim this generation's high magic for their family, no matter the cost.

I won't go into all the characters and subplots, because there are a LOT and I don't think I'd do them proper justice. All you need to know is that Foody and Herman are master writers; every line sings with all the lyricism and sharpness of broken glass in the moonlight. The magic system is SO fascinating, and despite heavy heapings of moral grayness, every POV character was fantastic to follow ... like, somehow I found myself rooting for everyone? Even though they were all terrible humans?

The short: I'm furious that Foody and Herman left us on a cliffhanger like that. I'm furious I'm going to have to wait a YEAR AT LEAST to figure out what happens with [redacted x1110]. Those last few chapters pack twist after twist, so haters of cliffhangers ... beware.

A pulse-pounding, bloodsoaked, masterfully written YA fantasy with a modern edge. I'm so ready for this series.

I'm not going to try to describe this one, because someone already wrote a perfectly good explanation and there's a ton of worldbuilding - the curse and it's trappings that sort of make up the backbone of the book are pretty complex. The bright side of that is that any sort of qualms you have around the premise are addressed. The book is narrated by four different characters so there's also a lot of character development to do, and I found myself not so patiently waiting for the action to start in earnest (and it eventually does). It's definitely one of those books that felt very "part one" - things were just getting going by the end.

This was certainly a creative, entertaining read that has the fight-to-the-death stakes of The Hunger Games with all the teen angst of a CW show. It's very Three Dark Crowns, actually. While that's not exactly my thing, it was a fun read that I think teens will love. 3 Goodreads Stars - I liked it.

All of us villains turned out to be even better than I expected. It reminded me of the hunger games at times with the teenagers fighting each other but with magic instead of weapons. With the whole world knowing about the tournament now thanks to a tell-all book, the tournament is a little different this year. Once the veil falls over the stadium no one can see what’s happening with in other than the chosen champions.

All of the characters have a different reason for why they are competing. This book is written from four different points of view. I feel like this is part of what made the story so good. All four of them have totally different reasons on why they are the champion for their families. They are all pretty unique when it comes to their characters and I really liked watching the growth each character made through out.

All of the events throughout the story really pull you in. I had a hard time putting it down just from the storyline alone. I couldn’t wait to see what would happen next and who might make it out alive. This is not a standalone novel and does end on a cliffhanger ending. I think the second novel will definitely worth that ending though.

All of Us Villains is the start of a new series that follows a group of teenagers as they use magick to fight to the death in a tournament that happens once a generation.

I really enjoyed this book! I was sucked into the plot and liked the twists and intrigue that was built in. I liked that it was told through the perspective of 4 of the champions. Sometimes, when a book is told through multiple perspectives, there's one or two that fall flat and the reader is just rushing through to get back to the "good/engaging" perspectives. I didn't feel that was the case here. I loved them all and felt they all had a unique tone to differentiate the path they were on.

The only two things I would note are the following:
- I thought some of the changes/growth in character development happened rather abruptly
- The book seemed to end kind of abruptly (and with my favorite character on a path I'm not crazy about)

All these things I can easily overlook. I'm so excited to see where the next book takes our four villains and I will definitely be continuing on in the series!

I was so grateful when I saw that NetGalley provided me with an ARC of All of us villains.
First of all, the rhythm of this book is phenomenal. You get to experience the story through the eyes of 4 characters and the proverbial ball bounces perfectly between each of their point of view. I flew through the book so fast and cannot wait for the sequel.
Per this book’s title, you realize quickly that the story will not be a fairy tale, but what is probably my favorite part of the writing is that nightmares and horror stories are frequently used by the characters as a way to cope with their nightmarish fates. This play on the perspective that fairy tales- even horrifying ones - are used to alleviate your everyday life by taking you out of it even for a small moment is what kept me reading way into the night.
I really enjoyed the plot and the characters as well as the writing. I will now have to wait impatiently for the sequel!

Before we get into the bulk of the review, I want to say a quick thank you to both NetGalley and the publishers at Tor Teen for allowing me to read this one early in exchange for an honest review. All of Us Villains is the start of a new duology written by co-authors Amanda Foody (the Shadow Game series) and Christine Lynn Herman (the Devouring Gray duology). In this book, the blood moon rises, the blood veil falls, and the tournament begins. Every generation seven families in the remote city of Ilvernath each name a champion to compete in a tournament to the death. The prize? Exclusive control over a secret wellspring of high magick. All of Us Villains is set to release on November 9th and is available for preorder now.

There is so much to love about this YA Fantasy novel. I love the premise as a whole (I’m the queen of dystopian literature, how could I not?). I also love that in this world you have common magick and high magick that can be wielded by so many people, but at the same time you have common technology (like pinball machines) and yet this doesn’t feel like an Urban Fantasy. This feels like a High Fantasy novel that just happens to have regular old human technology in it as well. I also really enjoyed the fact that these authors went there. I’ve talked before about authors whose works never feel like they have any stakes to them because I knew they were never going to get dark or put any of the characters in any real danger. But these authors do a great job of giving the reader the stakes and letting them feel that fear for their favorite characters. However, I think there are two key things that these authors have done really well. First, I think these characters are as realistic as you can get. They have their own desires and fears, but are flawed and contradictory as well. I especially love seeing the different between how other people see these characters and the stories they tell themselves about who they are. Second, I haven’t seen a magic system like this in a long time. Also, it is explained really well how all the magic works. It’s necessary in order for the reader to get to the meatier parts of the story. But it also isn’t info dumped or dumbed down so much that you feel like it’s being spoon-fed to you.

I think there are a couple of reasons this book didn’t make it into the five star range for me. The first one is pretty obvious and it’s that this book is quite obviously influenced by a handful of other series which wouldn’t be so bad if I couldn’t pin point the exact scenes they’re taking their influence from. I don’t mind that the authors used other novels as inspiration for certain plot points or characterizations. I just wish it was a little less obvious. Also, I have to say that I didn’t love that ending. I know it has left us on a cliffhanger for a reason (to get you to pick up the next book in the duology), but it felt abrupt. I wish we had gotten a scene or two in the lead up to the ending so that it could still end on that cliffhanger but it wouldn’t feel so forced.

Overall, I had a really good time reading this one. I probably would have read it in one or two sittings if it hadn’t been for real life getting in the way. This is a perfect read for anyone looking for a darker/grittier Fantasy novel. Or people like me who will read any dystopian novel any time a new one comes out. I can’t wait to pick up book two whenever it comes out next year.

In a world where magic still exists, 7 families who make use of it hold a fight to the death to see who will hold exclusive claim to the magic. And it is their children who will fight and die. The seven champions are world known and everyone is watching with bated breath. Who will be the winner and who will literally die trying? Will they follow in their families footsteps or finally balk the system?

With a bunch of characters who are all morally shades of gray, this follows Alastair Lowe and his opponents into a modern yet magical world that would be well at home in the "Game of Thrones" world or Districts 1 and 2 of "The Hunger Games." It's a very character-driven story that will sweep readers along its dark path.

Amanda Foody and Christine Lynn Herman, my lawyers will be in touch.

The ending...SO SICK for that. All of Us Villains is magical, it's dark, it's bloody, it's gory, it's perfect for this spooky season. It's also sad. A group of seven children are selected every twenty years from a small town's seven most powerful magical families to compete to the death to control "high magick" aka really powerful magic. There are four POVs: Alistair Lowe, who sees himself as the villain of the story, whose family almost always wins; Isobel Macaslan, part of a family that is seen by others as low class, the bottom of the totem pole so to speak; Briony Thorburn, who sees herself as the hero of the story and whose family is supposedly the most "honorable" of the group; and Gavin Grieve, whose family has never won the tournament and who is written off as dead before the tournament even begins. Ultimately, the story is tragic because it is, after all, a group of essentially children fighting to the death for power. And the title is fitting, because these characters have no choice but to do their worst to each other to survive. But when they learn there might be a way to break this curse and end the tournament forever, it becomes a race against time to try to rewrite the end of their stories.

I finished this in one day pretty much. It was so good and I loved Alistair and Isobel (there's only one bed!) The ending was a cliffhanger and I am devastated and ready to sue. Now comes the long wait for the sequel...

3.5

This was fun, but lacking. I think the rules of magic needed to be explained a little bit more, because I spent the first half of the book going ??? every time someone did magic. I also wish there had been even just a little info dump about the tournament near the beginning, because a lot of it didn't really make sense to me. Nobody knew that 6 teenagers died every 20 years? Nobody realized they couldn't go to certain places in the city/town because of the blood veil?? Maybe I missed something, but there was definitely some confusion going on in my brain.

I liked most of the characters that had a POV, and liked seeing how their arcs went. Some of them got better and some got worse, and it was interesting to see which ones got worse, you know?

I didn't realize there was going to be a sequel so the ending truly upset me; it was like a jump-scare when I clicked to the next page and it said 'ACKNOWLEDGMENTS'.