All of Us Villains really takes me back to my first steps into YA with books like The Hunger Games and Divergent. With an added element of magic and a more contemporary setting, All of Us Villains presents similar themes with distinct Slytherin and Tarantino flavours

For generations, the city of Ilvernath's High Magick supply has been under the control of one of it's 7 most prominent families. Every 20 years, when the blood moon rises, these cursed families prepare their champions to risk it all in the name of success. Once the Blood Veil falls, it will not rise again until 1 champion remains. Prepared with spells, curses and their own wits, the champions will do anything it takes to survive and ultimately win the tournament.

The Blood Veil has been a closely guarded secret of Ilvernath for generations with outsiders blissfully unaware of the horrific events taking place. When an anonymous author publishes the secrets of each family and exposes The Blood Veil to the world, tourists, protestors and papparazzi descend on the city. With the world watching and the government interfering, The Blood Veil may never be the same.

All of Us Villains is pleasantly paced. I found it an incredibly easy and captivating read. With 7 families to consider I expected to lose a lot of time to their histories and motivations. Thankfully this was not the case. The novel focuses on the perspectives of 4 champions and is not in any way difficult to follow. We have an interesting mix of champions who both do and do not want to compete, champions who are downright bloodthirsty and others who are searching for an alternative. Having been raised to distrust the other families and to remain loyal to their own, the champions struggle in their desires to win, form alliances, save friendships and bring glory to their name.

The story takes some interesting turns that I didn't see coming. The traditions and secrets of the 7 cursed families run so deep that they're kept hidden from outsiders and from the champions themselves, resulting in some unpleasant and traumatic revelations.

All of Us Villains ended far sooner than expected. With about 100 pages to go I realised there was no possible way for this book to wrap up cleanly. The authors drop some significant surprises but fail to answer any existing questions. The ending feels lacking and I wonder if the series would have benefitted from being a single novel. I enjoyed reading All of Us Villains and would recommend it but think it will find its feet when readers can finish the series cover to cover without waiting.

Thankyou to NetGalley and Tor Teen for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Hunger Games meets Riverdale. I can see how this will be a huge success with people, personally just not for me. I am not a Hunger Games fan, but I thought I would give this a go as it involved a really cool magic premise.

I've never been comfortable with the idea of kids and/or teenagers killing each other for a tournament. I also found there were too many POV's which made it a jarring and disorientating read. The start is slow before any real action begins.

The magic system is original and fascinating, and the world-building is a creative urban-fantasy blend.

If you do like the Hunger Games, this will be your next read.

This book is a lot of fun. It’s very similar to The Hunger Games, but with magic and a lot more morally grey characters.

The magic system in this book is easy to follow and I liked contemplating whether each character’s decisions were “right” or “wrong”. I think because they are all so morally grey, you really question what you’d do in their situation. I enjoyed doing those mental gymnastics with them.

The only thing I didn’t love was the pacing and how the book ended. It took me some time to get into the story because there was a ton of world building. By the time the action is starting, the book quickly ends.

I’d recommend going into this book knowing that you’ll be left hanging, but it seems like it should be worth it for book two.

I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I like the way it's written and the characters are interesting to follow. I like the inner thoughts displayed in italics, it always makes it more fun to listen to the character.

YA Fantasy Suspense. There can only be one winner; who will survive the onslaught of spells to place their family on top?! This novel has the feel of a spell-casting Hunger Games -- one family member hopes to survive by utilizing cunning strategy, spell-casting skills, and historical perspective. Young adults who love fantasy will appreciate the storytelling and competitive nature of this novel.

This book is absolutely fantastic, it is Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire meets Hunger Games.

The story follows 4 ‘champions’ in a battle to win the high magick for their family. The story is told from 4 different perspectives, with each chapter following a different person. This is great as it allows us to understand what each character is thinking and feeling.

The book ends on a major cliffhanger and I have simply no idea what I will do until the next one is written.

I loooved this book! It was like the hunger games but all participants are careers. The seven leading families are cursed to compete in a tournament every 20 years. They each select a champion to enter and it’s a fight to the death with the victors family having control of the high magic until the next tournament. It was brutal and shocking at times and while I did guess some things that happened there were plenty of times when I was shocked! The main characters are villains but there were times when I pitied them or warmed to them in some way, and one storyline touched my heart so much! If you liked the hunger games and game of thrones then snatch this up.
Thank you to netgalley and Macmillan tor for supplying the arc of this wonderful book

I've been a fan of Amanda's since Ace of Shades and this dark and disturbing book gave me serious Maggie Stiefvater and Roshani Chokshi vibes.

I love books with multiple POVs and morally Grey characters. Add in unique magic and a murderous plot point and I was hooked. I'm looking forward to recommending it to my club closer to release.

TW // grief, death, violence, gore, murder, blood, mentions of suicide and suicidal ideation

I heard ‘Hunger Games but with Magic’ and immediately I was intrigued. Next thing I know I hear it has queer rep and got even more excited! I was like, okay, cool so this is gonna be about a bunch of morally gray, murderous teenagers who are gay? Sign me up! After actually reading the ARC, though, All of Us Villains did not completely live up to my expectations.

To be fair, I didn’t know that there would be LGBT rep until I already started reading, so I didn’t even expect much in that department. However, from what I remember from my reading this book, there was only one openly LGBTQ character and his sexuality is only touched on very briefly. It’s easy to miss if you’re not paying close attention. If something went over my head, I apologize. He doesn’t really specify his sexuality, though I assume he’s either bi or pan. I do ship him with this one character but I don’t know if we’re supposed to ship them or if I’m just reading their dynamic wrong and seeing things that aren’t there.

Anyway I just wanted to touch on that and explain the LGBT rep situation a little bit. I will say that the main canon ship so far is m/f, so don’t go into this expecting the central ship to be gay.

Also, I felt this book was somewhat lacking in terms of world building. I understood that this was a fantasy setting, but it wasn’t clear to me if it took place in the modern world or a completely different fantasy world. I think the thing that tripped me up was the presence of cameras and the fact that there seemed to be some sort of high school. Those things kinda pointed towards a modern setting, but I’m just not 100% sure. Also, it mentions the government every so often but it wasn’t clear to me what kind of government they had? Maybe this will be clarified in the next book.

Another thing I didn’t like that much was how the characters weren’t as morally gray as I expected them to be. I blame the title for putting ideas into my head. Also, the pacing wasn’t the best in my opinion. In some places it felt like things were dragging on for too long, especially in the first half of the book until the tournament started. However when things picked up I got really invested.

This book was also just not that diverse from what I can recall, in terms of POC rep. In fact if there were any POC, they were probably so minor I can’t remember them. I feel like I read the words “fair skin” so much in this book when being introduced to new characters for the first time, it’s like, okay we get it!

As for what I liked about this book, I thought the magic system was unique. I don’t remember reading any other fantasy book that had a magical system quite like this one. Also, even though I do have a headcanon ship at the moment, I did enjoy reading about the main m/f relationship I mentioned before. Enemies to lovers back to enemies again? The angst, the betrayal… What else could I want in a ship?

That said, I believe that the four core characters were what carried this book for me, once I got past the ‘not as morally gray as I wanted them to be’ thing. The four core characters all were so interesting and had their own approaches to the tournament. To be honest though the stand out characters for me were Alistair Lowe and Gavin Grieve. They just seemed like the most developed out of the mc’s to me, but again, the other characters were interesting as well.

It might sound like I didn’t like this book from all the criticisms I presented here, but honestly despite any issues I had, this book was very entertaining and it was easy to get lost in these characters. It kept me engaged and honestly, that’s all I ask for from a book.

I want to be excited for the sequel but as I was looking at other reviews of All Of Us Villains, I found out something about one of the authors. To be clear I wasn’t aware of this going into this book, but apparently Christine Lynn Herman was called out for bullying authors of color. Do with this what you will. Because of this, I’m conflicted about the sequel to this book. I guess I’ll see how I feel at the time.

This is the first instalment in the All of Us Villains series.

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

Every twenty years the quiet town of Ilvernath becomes the setting for a tournament to the death. Seven individuals enter, representing seven families. Only one will walk out of the arena alive, leaving all others behind as corpses. The Champion's family become the guardians for high magick for the next two decades, meaning their life, their honour, and their abilities are all motivations to win.

The novel included a perspective from almost all the potential Champions competing in this year's tournament. The first entire quarter was spent introducing their various characters, as well as their personal motives and struggles. I appreciated this slow build-up as it aided in my understanding of the magick available in this contemporary setting and bonded me with the individuals vying for control of it. I had some I preferred over others, but every one was intriguing and engaging.

Once the tournament begun my early interest only sky-rocketed. Any fictional game involving the death of its competitors is going to be likened to The Hunger Games but I really felt like the brutality yet ingenuity of the former was also present here, yet presented in its own, original format. The focus on potential allies, the brewing mistrust, the ever-present fear, and the bloodshed all made this such a captivating read.

This might be a general concept I have read about before, but the actual bones of the novel were entirely unique and I couldn't stop reading until its twisted conclusion. This author duo have proved themselves as the perfect pairing and I can't wait to find out what transpires in the sequel!

All of Us Villains is a is a wonderful and incredibly rich fantasy novel, so well built and fast paced that I wasn't able to put it down till I reached the end. I was absolutely captivated by the atmosphere, and the characters.

This novel submerges the reader in a landscape so imaginative and detailed that the information of the world building/plot never feels forced, and is never difficult to understand or picture in one's mind. I had an enjoyable time reading this and it held my attention the entire way through that I finished it within the day! I enjoyed every page and thought that the plot/story was very unique. Would recommend to anyone!

This was an interesting story to date. The multiple shifts of perspective took getting used to, but it gradually got easier to follow. I felt like this was a "Hunger Games" mixed with some "Harry Potter". A very interesting mix.

Pitched as the Hunger Games with magic, this is going to have readers on the edge of their seats!
Super dark and gritty with morally grey characters you can't help but love?! This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2021 and it did not disappoint – I loved this book! Will 100% be picking up a physical copy where this book is released.

I’m going to give it to you straight. If Hunger Games, Beautiful Creatures, and Red Rising had a magical love child it would be this book.

Brilliant. That’s the long and short of it. When the book started and suggested there would be seven characters vying it out in a magical Hunger Games-like battle, I was worried. Seven characters is a lot. Would there be enough character development. Would I be able to keep them all straight. Would I fall in love with one character and get bored with the others.

I had absolutely nothing to worry about. The authors took their time. They developed a great backstory while creating characters that I absolutely adored…even though they are all supposed to be villains.

Volunteer as tribute, cast a spell, give yourself over to the game or do whatever you have to do to add this book to your TBR list. You won’t be disappointed.

What I Liked
There was so much to like. Great character development, great setting, great backstory. This is book one in a series and I cannot wait to read book two. Better yet, to see this turned into a movie.

I like YA Fantasy but it’s not my first go to. It’s gotta be good to earn a nod from me. And just in case you can’t see it from where you are sitting, I’m practically a bobble head typing out this review.

For a story I couldn’t put down, an entire cast of characters I loved, and a satisfying yet intriguing ending, this book easily earns five stars.

Thank you to the publishers and author for giving me the opportunity to read this book.
I really enjoyed this book!
I loved the Hunger Games vibes in it and if I'm being honest I found it even better then the Hunger games!
I definitely can't wait for the sequel!

So good! I devoured this book in a day or so.

Light spoilers: all of the characters are unlikeable. But with a name like all of us villains what more are you to expect?

A cardre of children raised for a once-in-a-generation slaughter fest. The prize is more power for their families. The cost? Only one survives. It’s a generations old curse that they must participate in- if they the curse will pick someone at random.

All of them have different ways of dealing with it, and the results end up being truly mixed in success or failure.

I can’t wait for the second book in the series!

Thank you NetGalley and Tor Teen for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.
I absolutely devoured this book. It was described as Hunger Games with magic and I was already hooked. But the authors took that premise and made it their own. The writing was vivid and detailed so that it felt like you were with the characters during the action. Of and this book have it all. Magic. Alliance. Betrayal. Surprises and twists that keep you reading to the end and leave you wanting more. Each character shines on their own and each have their own unique perspective and agenda to fulfill.

The moment you get to the end of the book…and you’re… Calvert confused. And then you realize that it’s only the end of book 1 and it’s a series. I never like that moment, but at least it made sense why I was super confused.
This book is being marketed as the next Hunger Games. I can see that and I’m there for it.
I’m enjoying getting to know the main characters and I’m intrigued to know more… when ever book 2 might come out.
I received this book from NetGalley and I’m very grateful for the opportunity to review.

Give me book 2 and give it to me now!

A magical Hunger Games is already going to be a great sell for readers. But I do think this has more depth than Hunger Games. Is some of the pacing a bit slow as we have to get introduced to the characters, setting and story? Yes. Is it utterly predictable who will die? Yep. But there is something about the blurred lines of good and bad that make this truly captivating.

For Libraries: The hype of this book is going to be huge around publication time, so you are going to want this book. Plus, it's good!

Every 20 years the seven “pure blood” families must send in a member of the family to fight to the death. They do so to maintain or gain control over high magick which is only available to the winning family. Otherwise, only raw magick is available which can be strong but when high magick is used it causes the spell’s power to double. I found the setup of the story and the environment to be fantastic. This book has four point of views which follows four of the chosen champions. POV stories can be hit or miss for me as when used poorly it makes reading through an unlikeable or boring character a churn. This book didn’t have this issue. The characters and their backstories are interesting. You fear for them as you start to like them but know this death tournament can only end in tears. Only one can be victorious — if more than one survive at the end of two months the curse kills them all and punishes the families to 20 years with no one having access to the high magick. This is a brutal world. No one can be trusted. No one is safe. If you’re ready for a Hunger Games type story with magick, some romance, and a ticking clock with betrayal and fear then definitely pick this up. I’m only sad now that I have to wait so long for the next book.