I absolutely love trial / tournament books and this one was not disappointing. I feel like it could be teamed as an updated Hunger Games story.
I have always loved character driven over plot and this definitely was true for All of Us Villains. I was quickly attached to the characters and that pulled me into the story.

DAMN THIS BOOK JUST LEAVE IT LIKE THAT. In the most scariest and taunting way. The story, the twist and that ending though… gives me shivers. Oh Lowes, what have you done to me?

This book already has a nerve wrecking start and I already know the story would be a bloody ride. THIS IS HUNGER GAMES WITH GOT AND MAGIC! It can never be better to have this kind of reading and sooo perfect for spooky reads! This book is set in a secluded town of Ilvernath where seven families select one of their sons or daughters as their champions to compete for a chance to get high magic every Blood Moon. There is only one champion to claim the high magic and the six will be slaughtered during this event. Here's the catch: Someone out there wrote a book called "A Tragedy of Treason" where all the secrets and the stories of the seven families are not hidden anymore. As the seven champions wrote their names in the Pillar, the tournament and bloody game began!

We have 7 champions but in this book we only have 4 POVs: Lowe, Macaslan, Thorburn and Grieve. I think these four characters have a big part and i'm already digging it! I'm a big fan of multiple POVs and this one is so perfect knowing what the other characters are thinking of the tournament. The complexity of these characters are well-developed throughout the book and I'm very happy to see this through. I love the authors combining the cruelty attitudes and their softness inside. Each of them have these unique traits and this made me think throughout the entire book.

The story is a little bit slow for me but as the story progresses it's getting more action. Slow burn attraction to the characters are well done, I'm rooting for some shipping out there but I'm not gonna spoil them :DD the twists are soooo good. There are points in this book that made me shocked and feel sad but overall emotions are there. The ending is... wow. This leaves me no choice but to wait for the second book. There's been a lot going on in the story and I'm really looking forward to it. The only downside for me is that I just wanted a more bloody battle, I'm really expecting this to be a gore battle ground since we are talking about villains but I know we will get this part so maybe in part 2? more battles and deaths? hehe.

You should watch out for this book once it releases in November! I'm happy and grateful to have this book early and it's punishing me to wait for the next book! I cannot wait for you to read this twisted and pure villain book!

All of Us Villains is truly a magical, more violent Hunger Games. Definitely a must read!

All of Us Villains is a multi-POV, fantasy that follows seven powerful families who must battle to the death in the Blood Veil Tournament. The world-building and magic system is well developed. All of Us Villains is a dark, twisted book where loyalties shift, the characters are flawed and you are left not knowing who to trust. The magic filled tournament had so many twists that I couldn’t put it down. The ending will leave you wanting the second book immediately.

Thank you to Tor Teen and Netgalley for the advanced copy.

What I really liked was the concept. I can already see how it would appeal to so many readers, especially if you enjoy multiple POVs. Fine execution, decent writing(sort of? Maybe a bit repetitive but ok), charismatic characters. Romance was insta lovey but I didn’t hate it.

However, the pacing was a bit off. The set up took forever. The actual competition didn’t start until ~40% into the book. The characters weren’t uninteresting or anything like that, it’s just I wish we had gotten to the point faster.

The writing, as I’ve said was on par, except the repetitiveness of emphasising Alistair’s monstrousness. I dare u to count how many times the word “monster” was used to describe Alistair. Let me spare u the labour, AT LEAST 70 TIMES. It was hard to take him (or other characters for that matter) seriously.

The premise led me on to believe the book would be darker. Obviously, this is a YA fantasy, so it’s me who had the wrong expectations. But still I wanted more…stakes and ruthlessness from the characters. I had a love-hate relationship with the characters, mainly bc they never followed through with their plans, I got so frustrated LOL. But most had very interesting families and backstories. I was genuinely surprised by some of the choices they made towards the end! My preferred character changed so many times thru out the book, but I’d say Gavin is my fave for now, bc he satisfied my bloodlust lol (this sounds so messed up I’m sorry if you’re traumatised).

The magic system was vague, whether this would be a problem depends on your reading preference. It did seem a little odd to me that the families would send their children off to a competition that basically guarantees death for something that didn’t feel that significant.

Review to be shared on instagram closer to pub day. Link will be updated then.

I wanted to love this book because I always felt like THG was missing magic, so sign me up for something similar but with a magic system. Yes! Except it was really missing the world building for me. Where was the political intrigue and social injustice that we got in THG? There should be more communal outrage, and it didn't seem like this story existed outside the city. I wanted more and more.

I was given an eArc of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

God, I'm torn on this book. On the one hand it's a spellcasting hunger games where like they try to unionize?? Sign me up.

On the other, this book is so slowly paced, it took forever for the games to actually start. Frankly I think the novel would be better if it started in media res and we figured out all the situations the characters were in rather than dedicating a hundred plus pages to setting up each character's predicament.

Incredibly good fun and lives up to it's villainy name. I thought the world-building was first class, and it was so enjoyable to learn the details of this magical society. Also, having multiple POVs was a great choice because the reader becomes invested in more than one character so that when the competition begins, there's a real sense of danger as the story could keep going even if a main character doesn't make it. Lots of twists make it a fast and entertaining read. Looking forward to the next book!

All of Us Villains
By: Amanda Foody and Christine Lynn Herman

The Hunger Games with magic? Yes please. All of Us Villains was incredibly twisted with a nightmarish feel. It was so hard to put down once I started. The characters were amazing and well developed. They were villainous and did some terrifyingly evil things, but they each had their reasons for being horrible. The story itself was addictive and mesmerizing.

It starts off with a tournament that begins every twenty years when the Blood Moon rises over the town of Ilvernath. Seven of the great families are bound by this curse to offer a champion from their bloodlines to compete in this tournament. The prize is high magick, which has left the world long ago after being used up…or has it? The remaining high magick is tied to the seven great families bound by the reoccurring curse. One of the seven families can claim the magick as their own, but only after they win the tournament. Every family in this bloody curse must keep this secret to protect their legacy.

That is until now. After a book was released about their tournament, everyone gathered in the small town of Ilvernath to watch and judge these seven families. Will revealing this secret cause a turn of events in the tournament?

Lowe. Macaslan. Thorburn. Grieve. Payne. Darrow. Blair. Which family will win?

Let me start off with how much I loved the characters in this book. There are seven champions, but only four of them have their perspective in the book. This doesn’t mean you won’t love all seven, but you’ll probably be more invested in the four. One is Alistair Lowe’s perspective, a monster and villain at heart. The next is Isobel Macaslan, powerful yet frightened. Another is Gavin Grieve and he is viewed as weak. The last is Briony Thorburn seems narcissistic. Each of these characters are villainous, but what made them that way? Are they all really horrible? I found myself changing the way I thought about loyalty with every chapter.

Lastly, this book ended on such a huge cliffhanger. I was angry when I finished and wished there was more. I haven’t been able to get this book out of my head. Besides the cliffhanger, this book was everything that it needed to be. I am utterly obsessed with the story and can’t wait to see where Amanda Foody and Christine Lynn Herman take it.

Thank you NetGalley and Tor Teen for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

ALL OF US VILLAINS was so much fun to read! It reminded me a lot of The Hunger Games, but obviously with a ton of different plot points. I am so happy with the characters in this book and already can’t wait to get my hands on the sequel.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted this book to be five stars. I've been hearing about it for months while watching rave reviews roll in so I was so excited when I was given the opportunity to review it early. That said, I just don't think this book was for me. It's still going to be a smash hit because it has a ton of potential, but it's just not my style.

There were some things that I really enjoyed about All of Us Villains. The idea of a tournament like this having deep familial patterns in terms of common strategies of monuments and artifacts was fascinating to me, as was the tournament's style of releasing artifacts. The snippets of a Tradition of Tragedy at the beginning of each chapter were such a fascinating glimpse into the town's psyche and foreshadowing what we were meant to expect from the champion archetypes. I liked that the magic system was unique and intriguing and also the relationship between characters and their chosen style of magic. Gavin Grieve kept consistently surprising me as I read, and his character arc was perhaps my favorite although all the POV characters were well developed and compelling. Though it's a slow start, once the tournament begins the story really begins to flow nicely and the twist of the ending had me so curious for the direction this series is heading and intrigued to see just what's in stake for these champions in the books to come; the symmetry of the beginning and opening chapters was absolutely gorgeous.

I think what fell flat for me about this book is that the world didn't feel any bigger than the town of Ilvernath and that the tournament didn't begin until 40% of the way through. While I understood the motivations of the characters and the authors did a good job of laying out the plot, I just kept finding myself asking so many questions about how the world worked, the larger stakes, and high magic, although maybe these will be remedied in the sequel. Mentions of the media and global attention tried to make the story feel bigger, but even the town itself felt tiny as everyone seemed to know everyone and outside of the seven major families and some of the spellcrafters, there didn't seem to be too many other visible people. The comparison to the Hunger Games is what threw me the most because I was expecting Collins' the sort of social commentary in Foody and Lynn Herman's creation of their tournament and it just didn't carry the same weight. There were even scenes where I felt that Foody and Lynn Herman pulled punches and shied away from depicting some of the darker scenes characteristic of this kind of bloody tournament, unlike Collins and the Hunger Games. If I had stepped back from that comparison, I probably would have been better prepared, but once I started I couldn't stop.

I'll still pick up a copy of this book when it comes out in November, give the second book a try to see whether it can answer some of my more pressing questions, and recommend it to friends. While it might not have been entirely my cup of tea, I think that overall All of Us Villains was a fun start to spooky season and definitely worth a read!

Based on the description, I thought I'd love this book. Sadly, that wasn't the case. The story was told in multiple POVs, yet all the voices sound similar, which made it hard to keep them straight. The pace was a bit off, as well. There wasn't much action for large portions of the story. The world building was not what I'd expect with this genre. The romance felt forced, and while there were plot twists, they weren't that surprising.

All of Us Villains is an epic fantasy story, with phenomenal world building and characters.
I thoroughly enjoyed the dark atmospheric elements of this book and cannot wait for book two!

All of Us Villains is what it promises: a bloody and deadly game where everyone is villainous (in their own, unique way.)

I found the characters to be the most compelling part of this book. Never have I ever alternated between liking and hating a character so many times during a book, and never have I felt this way for every single character. The author did an amazing job crafting each character's personality and goals, which becomes clearer and more solid as they have to face one challenging situation after another. The characters are very complex, consistent, and diverse. Still, one thing I would have probably like to see more is character development, either in a "good" or "bad" way (these words take on new meanings after this book) because I find them all to be quite predictable towards the end of the book.

The game itself is quite interesting. The magic system somehow makes a lot of sense, which means it's also quite predictable, but that doesn't make it less fun. The same goes for some twists that happen towards the end. I was not surprised by anything, but I enjoyed seeing them unfold anyway. And I think they set up a great stage for the sequel, which I cannot wait to read!

4.5 stars
“We’re raised to call them champions, but I would argue there’s a better word: sacrifices.”
I am not excited that this ended in the middle of the climax of the story! There are cliffhangers, yes, but this story is far from being done. Do I love that? Somewhat. Do I hate it? Yes!

This story is a darker version of Hunger Games that involves magic. Every 20 years, a curse requires 7 families to offer a competitor to play in a tournament. The one remaining contestant will win “high magick” for their family for the next 20 years. It is highly coveted, therefore, the contestants (teens) kill each other for this glory.

Anybody who knows me well knows that I love HG. I get it, it’s not for everyone (teens killing teens rarely is!) but I eat it up. I love the intrigue, the psychology, the strategy and the drama.

“Our families kept this secret for centuries. Seems to me that means, on some level, we all know that what we’ve been doing is wrong.”

There are so many things wrong with this tournament that it made a great drama! Thank you to @torteen and NetGalley for sending me one of my highly anticipated books of the year. It releases November 9, 2021.

Engrossing. Exciting. Intriguing.

A story about a town where every 20 years seven families choose a champion to slaughter one another until only one is still standing for the control of a magic well.

The moment you pick up this book you're immediately immersed.

The characters are the highlight of the book. I appreciated the author's precision and detail in setting the main character's dynamic with their families members and among the other champions before the plot took a relevant step in the narrative.

My heart fell for all of them. They all had to put on a mask to protect themselves and their respective families.

The character's constant duality of fulfilling their desires, meanwhile, wanting to survive is an interesting concept many can relate to. Their personalities were so distinctive, one wouldn't know how they could work among themselves. Their primal need to be cruel and ruthless is also a fascinating aspect that makes the book engrossing and captivating.

Even though the pace towards the end of the book felt rushed, it was the only appropriate conclusion for the characters. I can't wait for its sequel and

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!

‘For if you loved the hunger games’ isn’t wrong. It’s got the same vibes and that intrigued me. It had a slow start but once the tournament began I was more invested, unfortunately that didn’t win me over. I wanted more drama, more tense scenes, more battle, but it felt like most of the book was characters deciding if they wanted to be allies or not. I don’t think all the POV were necessary either, it could’ve been told in a different way.

I was intrigued by the premise but what really annoyed me was that it just ended randomly? Like with absolute no resolute or real ending. I didn’t know it was a series, and whilst there was a slight cliffhanger, there’s then a random last chapter, so now if I was really invested I’d need the sequel but I don’t think I will bother.

A shame because I was really hoping to love it!

A triumphant tale of villainy.

First and foremost Hunger Games being pitched as a comp title truly was a proper fit. After all, when you think of teenagers locked in a deadly battle to the death, I think Hunger Games is the first thing that comes to everyone's minds. That being said, while this book is similar in that regard in other aspects it is wholly different.

In that, prior to the start of the book, the tournament was not a spectator sport. The champions and their families were not governed by any overseeing body. They were all tied together by a curse. This fight was a tradition they upheld in secret. It was a fight for power - for magick. With a K. The world-building was both interesting and elusive, in the sense that I was given enough to sort of dip my toes into things but then I'm also still wondering how everything has been held together for this long.

Fortunately, this book is quite character-driven. Thus, our narrators really helped carry this book as I actually cared about what happened to them. So I wasn't upset that the world wasn't quite as fleshed out, and I think more of it will be revealed in the next book as the characters continue to unravel the inner workings of the curse.

My Character Rankings:
Alistair > Isobel > Gavin > Briony

Alistair Lowe: My precious, wicked, boy. He deserves the world, and I want that for him. But mostly I want his family to choke on their own blood.

Isobel: A very, very close second favorite. Our girl is the nationwide social-media darling/face of the tournament that absolutely does not want all the attention. Hell, she did not even want to be the champion. But wears her mask well and when faced with challenges she does not give up or back down.

Gavin: Poor, poor Gavin. He's a Grieve. The apparent lowest rung on the seven-step ladder. Under-estimated, under-valued, he enters the competition with something to prove. And he's willing to do whatever it takes to win. To prove that he matters and that he is someone to fear.

Briony: My absolute least favorite. She is simply too starved for glory. Even when she claims to be selfless I cannot bring myself to believe her.

Many of the events towards the end truly left me quite surprised. And for me, that's rather delightful because I tend to see twists coming.

All and all, a solid read. Probably one of my favorite books I've read this year.

A book to keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last sentence. 🦹‍♀️🧙‍♀️🔮

#AllofUsVillains centers around 7 elite families who compete in a Blood Moon tournament every 20 years where the victor takes the high magick back to their family.

As the moon rises, the bloodshed begins and there can only be one winner. Can these champions win the honor for their families? Or are they realizing they would rather rewrite their fate?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and really wish it kept going. It needs to keep going! The spooky elements along with the fight for freedom was just the recipe I needed for spooky season. A cross between Hunger Games and magic, you’ll enjoy every bit of this book.

Thanks @netgalley and @torbooks for letting me read All of Us Villains! You can grab your copy on Nov 9th!

Book Title: 𝓐𝓵𝓵 𝓞𝓯 𝓤𝓼 𝓥𝓲𝓵𝓵𝓲𝓪𝓷𝓼
Author: Amanda Foody and Christine Lynn Herman
Genre: Fantasy Fiction / Urban Fiction
Rating: 5 stars

Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan- Tor/ Forge for providing me this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Review: Now this book just landed on 𝕄𝕪 𝔽𝕒𝕧𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕥𝕖 ℝ𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟙.

Described as Hunger games meets Harry Potter but it is more than that. It's story has a very unique magic system, characters that you will love despite being ruthless villains competing in a vicious blood sucking competition and packed with jaw dropping twists, too many OMG, WTH moments that I just can't wait for November to get a physical copy of book and reread it.

Although the world building is somewhat lacking the magick system was very unique, and having an interesting history that keeps you wanting for more. Marked by the Blood Moon every twenty years, in the city of Ilvernath - seven families send one champion to a gruesome, do-or-die, vicious blood- sucking competition for a chance of obtaining immense magick power. Think Hunger Games but more gruesome and champions using death spells and fatal potions.

This book consumed me, I couldn't put this book down, there is just something addictive in the characters of All Of Us Villains. It follows the POVs of four characters, whilst all of them are ruthless and commit heinous acts for different reasons, you will find your self rooting for them. I like how each POV's allows us to understand where each of the champions are coming from, their family relationships and goals in competing in the said vicious tournament. Lowes Alistair for once is my favorite, he is just the definition of a cold-blooded, calculated villain. :)

I love all the deceptions and mistrust you get even from the start and all those moments where I'm just WTF?! This book really got me at the edge of my seat and it I have a really good feeling that the next book is going to be more gruesome and villainous!!

Overall, this book is exciting, entertaining and superb! Easy to read and perfect for binge-reading.
I recommend this to all readers out there!

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

I was quite excited when I was approved for this e-arc because that one line that made me think “this could be a really cool book” was: You Fell in Love with the Victors of the Hunger Games. Now Prepare to Meet the Villains of the Blood Veil.
I loved the THG books and I’m a sucker for deadly tournaments and quests in books. I just love reading about them.

This tournament is a magical one. Every 20 years, the 7 high families of Ilvernath send one of their own to fight in a deadly magical tournament. The prize is complete control over the town’s resources of high magick, the most powerful substance in the world - one long thought depleted.
But this year everything is different for someone within the inner circle of the families has published a book, telling the world about the scandalous and bloody happenings in Ilvernath. The 7 champions are thrust into the spotlight and the whole town begins to suspect that this tournament will be unlike any other.

I want to start by talking about the book’s strong suit: the characters.
We have
Alistair Lowe
Isobel Macaslan
Elionor Payne
Carbry Darrow
Finley Blair
Innes Thorburn
Gavin Grieves

They are all still quite young but very determined to win the tournament. Some simply want to make their families proud, others see it as a chance to escape the horrors of Ilvernath forever and some just want a taste of power.
While the characters weren’t as diverse as I had hoped (all of them are white, there are one or two where it was mentioned in passing that they are queer), they each have very different reasons for partaking in the tournament and their unique character traits and perspectives made for an interesting read.

While the book doesn’t include a perspective from every champion’s POV (the reader only gets to read Alistair’s, Isobel’s, Gavin’s and Briony’s POV), I still think it was a good and necessary choice to split the narrative because that way the reader is granted exclusive insight into the characters’ thoughts and feelings.
However, the ever-switching POVs made for a confusing start and it took me a while to get comfortable with the different characters and the concept of magick. Thus, the build-up was rather slow and I didn’t think it was very engaging but once the tournament started I was well and truly hooked.

Now while the tournament itself was super interesting, I was a bit let down that the novel fell short of its own self-advertisement. All the promo consistently talked of the champions as “villains”, however, they are rather morally grey teenagers who, by the middle of the book, don’t want to kill each other and instead start working together to end the curse. After that, I felt like the stakes dropped relatively quickly.

The characters’ villainy simply fell short for me. I wanted more deaths, more blood and gore, more gruesomeness. Basically, I wanted the stakes to feel as high as they were in the first and second Hunger Games round but they weren’t. There are only seven main characters. Some of the characters are romantically involved. I think you can guess that the authors aren’t going to kill more than 2-3 characters, otherwise, there wouldn’t be anyone to write about.
I wish the authors had included more disposable characters, more deaths, just more downright evil actions executed by the main characters so we could call them actual villains. Sadly, they rather resembled morally grey teenagers who all enter this tournament quite blood-thirsty and ready to kill but end up agreeing not to kill each other :(

All in all, I still quite liked the book because the idea of a magical tournament and selected champions fighting for magic is quite unique. I do wish the stakes would have been higher and some other bits just need to be improved (the cishet relationship melodrama, the hinted-at but never executed mlm thirst/attraction between Alistair and Gavin) before I could rightly give this or the second book five stars.