To be honest, I have no idea how to rate this book because I can't decide whether I even liked it or not. All I know for sure is that I'm disappointed.

All of Us Villains takes place in the town of Ilvernath, where, every 20 years, seven families choose one champion to fight to the death in a magical tournament for control over the high magick. Controlling the high magick means you have all the power - both literally and metaphorically. Essentially, it's the Hunger Games with magic - that alone would have sold me on the book, but the fact that the word "villains" is in the title set my expectations so high.

After reading this, I propose a title change to All of Us Cowards .

Before the tournament started, I adored this book - I found some of the main characters interesting, I was invested in some of the family dynamics, I loved the magic system, and I just thought everything was so exciting. Even though nothing had happened yet, I just knew the build-up was going to pay off.

And then, it didn't.

I think I need to stop reading books with magical tournaments, because they are never done well in my opinion. I thought this book would break my "losing" streak, but no. This is the fourth time now. Although I did think that this tournament was probably the best one, but when you're the best only because the other three are awful, does that even count?

That being said, the tournament was a snoozefest. Apart from a few intense action scenes, it was just a person trying to push their "agenda" to no avail...until they do, which is cool except for the fact that I don't care. That particular part of the story is kind of what made everything fall about. The moment that plotline was first introduced, I started to have my doubts, which were for good reason, as it turns out. Especially since the word "villain" is in the title, I didn't think them acting like villains would be too much to ask for? To scheme and betray each other and kill each other with no remorse? Alas, I expect too much.

I must admit the ending was definitely more action-packed, but what was "revealed" was not nearly as interesting as it was supposed to be. I hadn't completely decided whether I was going to read the sequel or not, but now I definitely don't think I will.

As for the characters, I wasn't that impressed overall. Alistair is by my far my favourite, then followed by Gavin. I have mixed feelings for the others, except for Briony...don't get me started on Briony. I also hated the main romance. It felt so forced. The development for it was horrible, it brought out the worst in the characters and felt written purely for the sake of being able to say, "this book has enemies to lovers :)" :/

Overall, this wasn't awful - but it kind of feels like nothing truly substantial happened in this book. I don't know how long this series will be, but I would have LOVED to see this as a stand-alone. Instead, it just feels like a waste of time - it developed the plot for the other books so that they'll be more interesting, but this one had to pay the price. It still gets three stars because it did get engaging at times. Immediately after, I would have to force myself to keep reading, so I'm definitely conflicted.

I tried VERY HARD to get into this one, but it just wasn't for me. :( I enjoy the authors too but I really think at this stage, I am just not into YA like I used to be. Even creepy YA.

Final rating: 4.5 stars

With a unique magic system, complex and well-developed characters and a touch of romance, this book has something for everyone. All of Us Villains certainly delivers on the Hunger Games comparisons, and serves as a fast-paced, addictive read that will have you clamouring for the sequel. Highly recommend.

All of Us Villains was a wild ride from start to finish, and once the plot really got going, I struggled to put it down and found myself thinking about it at all hours of the day. I can't pinpoint the thing I loved most about it: the characters, plot and magic system are all equally compelling, and when mixed together, this book will become your new obsession.

As I've already mentioned, all the characters in this book are very well-developed and complex. They're multilayered, each with their own histories and motivations, their desires and plans for the tournament changing as the plot progressed. Of the seven tournament champions, four are point of view characters: Alistair Lowe, Gavin Grieve, Briony Thorburn and Isobel Macaslan. My favourites were probably Alistair and Isobel - their storylines came together in a way I wasn't expecting, and I loved the romance plot line between them. If you want lots of angst, forbidden romance, and an 'only one bed' scene, these two have you covered. Emphasis on the angst, though!

I loved the magic system in this book – I don't think I've ever read about anything quite like it. Spells and curses are crafted using a spellboard and stored in jewellery (necklaces and rings), and there are different classes of them that take different materials and skill levels to craft and cast. I also liked how crucial the magic is to this world: without it, people's lives in Ilvernath wouldn't be the same and the tournament simply wouldn't exist.

Unfortunately, there are a few reasons why I couldn't give this book a solid 5/5. The first is a minor thing, but something to flag up anyway: I'm a little confused as to the setting of this book, as one character used the word 'mum' (and not 'mom'), but another used 'restroom' (and not 'toilet' or 'bathroom'). It might just have been that someone in the mix is from Fantasy UK, but this isn't made clear at any point throughout the book. Secondly, I would have liked a little more worldbuilding, besides the magic system. It would have been nice to know more about Ilvernath aside from the tournament, and more about the families, some of whom we are told little about. My last complaint is about the ending. Maybe I was subconsciously expecting some sort of mega, last-line cliffhanger ending, but I didn't feel I got that. That being said, I did like the ending though, and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens in the sequel! As a quick additional thing, I didn't see that reveal coming at the end with [redacted character]! I could sense something was off about them, but that reveal near the end surprised me.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my experience reading All of Us Villains and I have no clue how I'm going to wait over a year for the sequel.

Thank you to Tor Teen for the eARC!

I'm dnf-ing this at about 2% completed, this is NOT about villains. This is about about a group of angsty teens who THINK they are villains.

Wow, where to begin…

I recently developed an obsession with morally grey characters (thank you Kaz Brekker) and let me tell you, All of Us Villains definitely has its fair share.

The city of Illvernath has a dark secret, every generation, a champion is chosen for 7 dangerous families to compete is a fight-to-the-death, Hunger Games-style, tournament in order to gain complete access to the city’s supply of High Magic, but this time around some unknown member of one of these families have exposed their centuries-long secret to the public. In All of Us Villains, we follow the story of Alistair Lowe, Isobel Macaslan, Briony Thorburn and Gavin Grieve as they battle the pressure of the deadly tournament and the watchful eyes of “cursechasers”, whilst relationships, friendships and alliances, old and new are constantly threatened.

I was introduced to Amanda Foody’s work through her debut, stand-alone, Daughter of the Burning City (which I LOVED) and whilst I have yet to read any books by Christine Lynn Herman, the two authors have come together and created a captivating, twisted and intriguing story that I just couldn’t put down. I loved it and I can’t wait to see what they have in store for our favourite villains next!

Thank you to Macmillan-Tor/Forge and NetGalley for providing me with an E-ARC!

All of Us Villains is compared to the Hunger Games, yet there is so much more to it. With a much more limited cast of characters and multiple POV's, this story gives a different view to these sort of '"competitions."

With reluctant participants and those raised to kill from birth, the dynamic between all the characters. I enjoyed the characters a lot, although I would've like to see them a lot more villainous for a book titled All of Us Villains. This could just be because this is a YA book, but overall they were still fairly ruthless and prepared to do what they needed to win. I did really love them though. I can't wait to learn more about them. Alistair Lowe had my heart from the beginning, morally grey and ruthless and protective.

The world building developed using sections from the tell-all book incorporated into the story was a unique and creative aspect that I thoroughly enjoyed. Each chapter started with a sentence from the book explaining different aspects of the tournament which helped avoid an information dump.

I hadn't realised this was a series but I'm excited for the next one. This seems to be a consistent theme for me.

Excellent story! Totally engrossing!. Looking forward to reading more by this author! Could not put this down!

The Hunger Games + magic = All of us Villains

The narrative takes on four perspectives, that of Alistair Lowe, Isabel Macaslan, Briony Thorburn and Gavin Grieve who make up four of the slaughter seven. Every 20 years, one member of seven families is selected to take part in a tournament to the death with the prize being control of high magick - the most powerful magick in the world.

This was a really brilliant book that whisked me away into the the little town of Ilvernath. It was such an easy read, kept me hooked throughout and the character development was fantastic. I felt a connection to all the characters and thought the proportion of character background and plot was balanced perfectly.

There are a few points though that I felt let the book down ever so slightly, but I reckon most of these are down to personal opinions.
Firstly, when reading a novel in a completely fictional world such as this, I find it a little distracting when activities from our world are mentioned. For example, in All of us Villains, a game of netball and watching docuseries’ were both mentioned which sort of snapped me out of the fictional world. I felt like those activities didn’t belong in a world of spell and curse makers.
Secondly, although I really enjoyed the set up of the story and the pre-tournament section, I felt that the tournament itself suddenly started out of nowhere. I would have preferred it to have been developed a little more.
Similar to this, *spoiler alert* when the Blood Veil breaks down and the competitors can wander the town’s streets, it feels very random and under-developed. I felt like it wasn’t really explained and almost felt like an easy way for the competitors to be able to go and speak to Reid.

My only other comment would be that the ending felt rushed and incomplete. I understand that there will be another book to continue the story but it wasn’t left on a cliffhanger for me - it just left me a little confused.

Having said all of this, I did really enjoy the writing, the ease, the plot and the character development and I didn’t feel that any of the “negative” points took away from the enjoyment of the book. I really look forward to reading the next book in the series!

A lot of worldbuilding, maybe a bit too much: high magic has disappeared from most of the world, but in one town, seven families fight to control it every twenty years in a duel to the death among their teen champions. But someone revealed the secret of the contest, and now the government has sent overseers, though the curse itself can’t be interfered with. This year’s teens include an assortment of types, including at least one who’d like to destroy the whole thing if possible. It was brisk enough once you got all the data dumping out of the way; the contest starts in this book but does not finish.

Promising start but I wanted more.
It is the first book in a series, and it did a great job of setting the scene and the world building and the characters, but plot wise nothing really happened.
The atmosphere was fantastic but the story moved very slow and it took me half the book to actually get invested in what was happening.
My main complaint tho was that I expected the characters to be more "villainous", more morally grey, more conflicted and I didn't get that.
That being said, the way the book ended really set up for the next book to deliver on everything that I felt was missing in this one and I will definitely continue reading this series.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I absolutely loved All of Us Villains, it was the perfect villainous read to get me in the mood for fall. The characters were dynamic and intriguing, I couldn't look away in fear that I would miss one of the little details that made these characters so captivating. My only critique is that I wish it were longer so I could have gotten to know each of the characters more deeply. I can't wait to see what the rest of the series has is store for me.

I wanted to five-star this one so bad, but the world building needed a heavier hand. Harry Potter meets The Hunger Games? Um, yes, please, I just wish the world building has lived up to those comps. I love Alistair and Hendry and sometimes Isolbel. I wish the non-perspective champions had a few more dimensions outside of cannon fodder. And ending it in the middle of the tournament was aggravating.. But I did enjoy it, outside of these critcisms.

This book! I love quick, tension-filled, character-driven stories and this delivered on every level. I enjoyed Christine's books but I've never read anything by Amanda Foody and this book was such a fun intro to their writing. I LOVED these characters - they were all so terrible and unique in their own way. Allistair was a quick favorite, a terrible boy with an even more terrible family but Isobel and Gavin were close seconds. This book has a big cast, but the POVs were balanced in a way that left me constantly turning the page.

I found myself wanting a touch more worldbuilding to explain the set up and circumstances of the book, but since this appears to be book one, I have the feeling it'll only expand as we move forward with the book. Overall, this lived up to the hype and I'm very excited to see what happens next.

I am in love with this book! Why did I think this was a standalone? and what am I going to do until the next book comes out!!!
Every 20 years or so a blood moon comes around and 7 people are chosen to compete in a tournament.. The winner will be the only one left alive, and will control the resivoir of high magick.. When everything starts and we are introduced to all the players, your not sure who exactly to root for.. After all they are all villians willing to murder each other.. even if they don't want to, they will do whatever it takes to survive.. and of
course my favorite person has to be Alistair.. he is the self proclamed worse of them all.. a monster. . and I hope that he ends up making it to the end of the story. His mother has been telling him these scary stories since he was little.. Hoping to make him strong, and to have no fear.. He tells us some of them and I loved them all. I hope we get to hear some more of them in the next book.
When the competition starts its every person for themselves.. A few have formed an alliance, but that will only last so long.. As there can only be one in the end..
Each one of the participants has their own reasons for wanting to win.. To save a family member, to prove they are not a looser like everyone thinks, to show they are the monster everyone believes.. But when it starts and new information comes to light that the curse could be ended and they could all walk away.. That changes everything.. The group is basically torn in half, those who believe it can be ended and those who don't. Those who are going to work together to stop it, and those who only want to kill the others and stay alive.. They want the high magick for their families..
By the end of this book, only some of the original 7 are left alive, and I hope those who are left make to the end and are able to stop this curse. I can;t wait to see how everything is going to play out with 2 of them.. They seemed like they were beginning to have feelings for each other than BAM! things go down between them..
This was an amazingly dark tale of magic, curses, loyalty, hope and betrayal.. What more could you possibly need?

"The most dangerous monsters are the ones who sneak up on you. Haven’t you heard the stories?"

Every generation, seven powerful magical families send a representative from among their descendants to compete in the Ilvernath Blood Veil tournament. Inside the tournament, each of the seven champions must use every curse, spell, and tactical skill at their disposal to survive--it's a fight to the death, until there's only one competitor left standing. The last one alive earns the right for his or her family to control all of the high magick in Ilvernath.

"Sacrifice makes any curse grow stronger, and few curses in history have been given this much blood."

The Blood Moon has risen again, which means that it is time for seven new champions to be chosen. And the stakes are even higher this time: there is a chance that, if they agree to work together, they can break the tournament's curse once and for all, allowing all seven competitors to escape alive. But this would require forging alliances, earning trust, and acting like heroes, and these seven fighters have been raised to believe that they'd really make better villains...

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

All of Us Villains presents a multilayered and complex magical world, with a magic system that is appropriately deep without becoming convoluted. The storytelling is outstanding, and the plot moves so quickly that I couldn't stand to put the book down! I was so absorbed in the action of the tournament and the underdog plot to break its curse, and couldn't wait to find out exactly how the story would end (and which characters, if any, would make it out alive!).

"An invincible curse demands an unthinkable price."

So when the book ended on a massive cliffhanger, I was infuriated. First, because I thought this was a standalone novel and didn't realize that it was actually a first-in-series, so I wasn't expecting that at all, and second, because the ending just came out of nowhere. Like the book just stopped. And I wasn't done reading yet, dammit!

"The monsters can’t hurt you when you’re a monster, too."

All of that to say, I loved this book; I binge-read the entire thing in a day; and I am already eagerly awaiting the sequel.

——

A huge thank you to Amanda Foody, Christine Lynn Herman, Tor Teen, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This had a confusing magic system, which didn't seem to have set and defined rules and changed as suited the story. I also didn't like the way in which characters were referred to by name until about midway through the novel - then they changed to be referred to as "The Payne" or "The Grieve". Lack of consistency in any book can ruin a reading experience, no matter how good the rest of the novel is.

5/5 stars

Thank you to Tor Teen for the early review copy!

I went into All of Us Villains expecting greatness and the authors definitely achieved it. In All of Us Villains there is common magic and high magic and the high magic is controlled by the family that wins a tournament each year. The tournament involves 7 teenagers fighting to the death and the Victor and their family get to control the high magic. This is all because of a curse. The magic is really interesting because they use a spell board and craft spells and curses and store them in rings.

We get to read from the PoVs of four of the "champions" involved in the tournament: Alistair, Briony, Gavin, and Isobel. Each character has their own strengths and weaknesses and each is involved for a different reason. Of the characters Alistair is definitely my favorite.

I cannot wait to continue this series! It is so good!

Conclusion? It was solid.

It took a bit for the story to kick in proper and definitely suffers from “part 1 of 2” syndrome where there’s not really a proper resolution to most of the year overarching stuff at the end because there’s a whole second book to come along, but overall it was entertaining and intriguing enough even if I think I’m more interested/invested in the character who proved to be the antagonist. The cast of characters was a bit homogeneous so I’m HOPING the one POC-coded character (who didn’t have a POV) doesn’t die in the next one but the story at least acknowledges WHY most of the characters are white (because they’re probably all slightly inbred since nobody wants to marry into families that send their kids to die which…fair)

One thing I will say is that I’d seen other comments saying this was pitched as having queer characters but “the main romance is m/f” or made it’s not gayer and I will defend the bi/pan/otherwise multigender attracted character vehemently. The m/f romance doesn’t cancel out the fact that one of the pov characters is expressly attracted to multiple genders so there is rep by virtue of him existing. Not saying I wouldn’t appreciate more in the sequel though.

So yeah, there’s my thoughts. Entertaining, if very much the setup for the rest of the story as opposed to its own complete arc

Hunger Games meets the world of magic and curses. Who knew I needed a book like this in my life?! The premise of the book is there are seven families that are involved in this curse that envelopes the town every 20 years. Each family sends a champion to compete until the death leaving one family with control of high magick until the next competition. This was very reminiscent of Hunger Games but stands on its own in this genre. I can't wait to read the next in this series and find out how the story continues since it ended on a bit of a cliffhanger.

Trials, tournaments and battles to the death? Heck yes! This book man! This had me at the edge of my seat the ENTIRE time! The ending?! Damn!! 4.5 rounded to 5⭐