All of us Villians was a high tension, part action, part mystery story I could not put down. Despite every character objectively being a villian, I was on edge the entire time at the possibility of losing anyone.

All of us Villians is told in alternating POV between 4 main characters: Briony, Alister, Gavin, and Isobel. In a story that takes place around a battle to the death, this creates an unnerving impending sense of doom. Typically I'm able to reassure myself the main character will live be the sheer fact they are the main character, instead I found myself scanning each sentence for a possible loop hole and watching the pages go by in terror as the end creeped ever closer.

The magic system was unique but the world building was fairly simple so as to not bog down the story. The set up is done subtly as background allowing me to focus in the characters. Each time I wrote down a question or plot hole it was answered later.

DNF - I struggled to connect with this young adult novel. Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the early copy! I hope those who read it will enjoy it.

Add this to your shelves asap!
A bloodier version of the hunger games??? Count me in! The fresh concept of this novel did not disappoint.
All of us villains is a story about how seven families will send one chosen member to fight to the death. Only one out of the seven will come out alive during this villain tournament. The prize, you may ask? Well, whoever wins will be labeled as the best magical family for 20 years. They will also get control over the high magick supply the city has.
The world-building and the mood the book set were one of my personal favorites. The mood was created well enough during the first couple of chapters. I was able to understand much of the book with little confusion. The magic system was a fascinating and memorable one.
In All of us villains, we get to read about four main characters who are Alistair, Briony, Gavin, and Isobel who each have separate personalities and different backstories. Additionally, each family was intriguing on its own.
The writing was what had a part in me giving All of us villains four stars. While the book was written exceptionally by the authors, ultimately it was the pacing. At times I felt myself not wanting to read the book because it had felt like a slow read. Another thing that
Do I recommend this book? Yes! I would to those who enjoyed the hunger games and are looking for something similar. All of us villains is entertaining and wild!

e-ARC provided By Netgalley and Publisher. (Thank you!)
I received a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and thoughts are mine.
EXPECTED RELEASE DATE: November 9th, 2021
REVIEWED: 7/21/2021

After YA dystopian novels oversaturated the market in the 2010s, books written in the vein of The Hunger Games and Divergent just didn't get as much recognition anymore. The whole 'teens fighting to the death' premise seemed overdone, somehow. After reading "All of Us Villains", I am convinced this book will be the resurrection of the genre. I can picture it becoming super popular. The story follows seven teens who represent their powerful families as they compete in a gory, magical tournament. The magic system is unique and the world seems fascinating; I can only hope that the authors reveal more worldbuilding in the sequel.

Thank you Netgalley and TOR Teen for the ARC!

The Hunger Games but with magic? I didn't need to hear anything else to make me want to add this to my TBR. After reading the description, this book became one of my most anticipated reads of the year. I was hooked by the time I finished the first chapter and the pacing kept my interest until the very last page. The magic system is unlike anything I've seen in other books, but it was very easy to understand the concept and how it works.

To briefly describe Ilvernath, it is a place where both common and high magick exist. Each generation, seven families must nominate a champion to fight to the death. The winner claims the ultimate prize for their entire family: complete control over the high magick supply that's left. The Blood Veil competition has always been a well kept secret between these families up until this year, when a tell-all book gets released and the general public is let in on the high stakes event. Now, all eyes are on this years champions and the competition that will soon take place.

This book is character driven with four POV's and although it can seem like a lot, you quickly get to know and root for each of the characters. With multiple plot twists, betrayals, and big reveals, the alliances are constantly rotating. Since this is about survival, they all make decisions that range from morally grey to straight up villainous. There are even a few favorite tropes (specifically the one bed trope) that leave no dull moments.

Overall, I was incredibly happy with how the storyline panned out. I went in with high expectations and WAS NOT disappointed in the least. I'm already counting down the days until I can get my hands on the sequel!

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan - Tor/Forge for sharing a digital arc with me in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Thank you to Tor Teen and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

First off, I was so excited to get this ARC! Not only is YA fantasy my favorite genre - Amanda Foody is one of my favorite authors! I've read all of her books, and I adored the Ace of Shades trilogy. If you haven't read Ace of Shades yet, make sure to check it out! When I saw that Amanda Foody would be working with Christine Lynn Herman on a new series, I knew that I needed to add it to my TBR list right away. Thank you again to the publisher for this opportunity!

All of Us Villains by Amanda Foody and Christine Lynn Herman is an amazing YA fantasy that is basically The Hunger Games meets Harry Potter. Just like those two hugely successful series, I see All of Us Villains as the next big thing in YA literature. After reading the book, I have a feeling that this book is going to become a massive bestseller. The plot revolves around a group of teens who have been selected by their families to fight to the death in a magical tournament. Their prize is the ability to control the supply of magic in their world. Each teen has their own motivations for winning and tricks up their sleeve. Get ready for action, romance, drama, betrayals, death, and magic!

Here is an excerpt from Chapter 1, which introduces us to the Lowe brothers, who are seen as villains because their family has won the tournaments and controlled the supply of magic for many years:

"Hundreds of years ago, seven families had clashed over who would control Ilvernath’s high magick. And so a terrible compromise was reached—a curse the families cast upon themselves. A curse that had remained a secret . . . until one year ago.
Every generation, each of the seven families was required to put forth a champion to compete in a tournament to the death. The victor would award their family exclusive claim over Ilvernath’s high magick, a claim that expired upon the beginning of the next cycle, when the tournament began anew.
Historically, the Lowes dominated. For every three tournaments, they won two. The last cycle, twenty years ago, Alistair’s aunt had murdered all the other competitors within four days."

After I read that excerpt, I knew that I was in a wild ride. The plot is original and executed well. Just like The Hunger Games, you will root for your favorite competitors, only to watch them get violently attacked and possibly killed. Just like Harry Potter, you will despise the villains, only to realize that they may be more lovable/morally grey than you thought. I devoured this book in one day, because I could not put it down. After I finished reading, I was so happy that this book completely met and exceeded my expectations. This is one of the best YA fantasy books I've read this year, and can't wait until the sequel comes out! If you're intrigued by the excerpt above or if you're a fan of YA fantasy in general, you won't regret checking out this book when it comes out in November!

Once you get past the obvious Hunger Games conceit mingled with a Harry Potter tournament, and the story starts laying it's own framework, it really comes together into something new. There is a LOT of buildup. Some twists are inevitable but some quite surprising. All in all a solid outing that is definitely getting four stars for the last quarter or so (and anytime it moved away from it's predecessors in tone and style). Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. And here's to the followup.

*Thank you NetGalley for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review* WOW. This book was crazy fun. Each character was so incredibly interesting and I was on the edge of my seat throughout the entire book.

This was absolutely delightful. Both Amanda and Christine have such a way of making their characters come absolutely alive. And while these characters are certainly gray, I couldn't help but to root for every single one of them. The magic system was so unique, and I just really loved this and cannot WAIT for the sequel!

You’ve met the victors of the hunger games, now meet the villains of the blood veil.

All of us villains is a dark fantasy with a magick twist based around 7 champions all with important families. This year, thanks to ‘A tradition of Tragedy’, the tournament is the star attraction in Ilvernath, it must be penned in blood.

I thought this book had a lot of potential in it and it definitely did. The characters were very well-written so much so that you could never tell who was truly good or evil. Alistair was a very interesting character that was the basic idea of a villain whereas Briony was supposedly the hero.

I found the parts with fighting to be very fun to read yet nothing really happened in them until halfway through the tournament. However at the start of every chapter I loved the excerpts from ‘A tradition of tragedy’.

It was very easy to get drawn into the character’s speech because I found myself marking every conversation they had with one another. The book was quite different to what I expected but I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish.

Last note- the ending was jaw dropping and I hope there is a second book.

Tw- murder, death, grief, violence, blood/gore, parental abuse, generational trauma, emetophobia, self-inflicted wounds

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

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨/5

WHOA!!!

Firstly, a huge huge thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for kindly providing me with this eArc!

This was amazing and I genuinely can’t put it into words. I’ve read and enjoyed Amanda Foody’s previous books and this one didn’t disappoint! I cannot wait to get this amazing book in my hands and on my shelf!

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

A darker version of the hunger games with magick, and the villains as the main characters.

This is a thrilling book that sets up to be an even more thrilling duology. I read this pretty quickly in the span of a few days and it had me at the edge of my seat a couple of times.

What was really nerve racking was the characters’ actions and the choices they made. I didn’t always agree with them and it had me screaming at the characters, often in annoyance. But that was what I signed up for, wasn’t it? A book about villains and morally grey characters, who’d been told all their life that they had to win the tournament no matter what. And they’re willing to do the unthinkable to get what they want.

The characters’ flaws are directly linked to their families. This curse has been going on for many generations and the families have different expectations for their champions. And I love how these expectations (and lack of) drives the characters to do the things they do. It makes them so much more complex, knowing they have an actual reason for doing what they do.

The Lowes did not tell their children monster stories so that they could slay them.
The Lowes told them so their children would become monsters themselves.

We follow four different characters from four different families. The first part of the book takes place before the tournament, where we got to meet the characters and we were introduced to the environment they grew up in.

The book wasn’t hard to get into, per se. I just went into it hyped for a book about a bloody tournament where kids kill each other, and of course the tournament didn’t start on page 1. We had to learn about sponsorships, outsiders’ reactions, the champions, their families etc.
At first glance it seemed unnecessary and I was impatient. I wanted to get to the tournament, where I was sure the real action would start. But as I read more I started to understand that all of this information was important so we could learn to know the characters better and the reasons for their actions. We needed to know the characters, so we could care for them and feel like something’s at stake when we’re reading about the tournament. And besides, the tournament definitely wasn’t when the book first started getting thrilling. It was thrilling from page 1 and there were dark turns and twists in the first part of the book that I didn’t see coming.

Building it up more slowly at the start, definitely made a more complex story, but still I felt impatient and couldn’t find it in me to care about some of the stuff we had to know about - such as the sponsorships. which is a really important part of the story, but it wasn’t interesting to me.

I mostly enjoyed the beginning of the tournament. The first part of the book was really interesting as we got to see the world, but I thought it dragged on at points. A lot happened in the last part of the book and I was certainly intrigued, but there was also a lot that passed by my interest, since so much was happening so fast. Still, I did enjoy the book as a whole, but the middle was my favourite.

This is the first book in a duology and that’s very clear from the way the book ends. I find it hard to judge the ending without knowing how the next book will pick up from where we left off and continue the story. I would love to see how the events from book 1 influenced the characters and their developments, and I hope it will be darker and more gruesome.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

A dark young adult urban fantasy, with a new spin on the battle royale genre. 7 families are trapped in a curse which says every generation a champion from each family must enter an arena and fight to the death. We switch between the POV of each teen champion chapter by chapter, each has their own trauma, their own strengths and weaknesses, all of them are likeable but each has the capability to be the villain, having been raised and trained to kill each other, which makes it a dark read when you know from the start that this isn't going to be a situation they all make it out alive from.

The magic system is interesting, with the spell names, the crafting intricacy, the different areas of speciality and the various levels, it feels quite a bit like a video game style system, which I personally enjoy. The book is set within a world where magic fell from the sky and can be harvested in different strengths. So you have technology and tourists and paparazzi, and also spellstones and curses. The winning family will get to control the most powerful magic of all, but of course... the government wants to control that family and their magic. Aside from the magic, the world building is a little light, it's not clear if this is our world with magic or a new one and if it is ours, I couldn't tell you where it is. There's little sense of geography, climate or culture.

It was a slow build up with a lot of character development before we get to the action, and the book ends without resolution - we'll need to wait for the sequel to find out what happens, a bit frustrating because I'm desperate to know, and the ending seemed quite abrupt. I'll definitely be picking up that sequel the moment it comes out to continue this story.

This was a captivating read.

I found it picked up halfway through and I really enjoyed it.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow wow wow! Where to even begin?!
All of Us Villains promised Hunger Games but make it dark and magical and let me tell you it DELIVERED!

Our story takes place in Ilvernath, a town with a dark secret. Every twenty years, the blood vail descends and a sacrifice must be made to maintain the wellspring of high magic. That sacrifice is the strongest child from each of the seven families.

Children train all of their lives crafting curses, studying history, and making spells to come out on top. The seven strongest are sent into the blood vail with the hope of eliminating the other 6 in a Hunger Games esk battle. They leverage landmarks, relics, spells, and curses to protect themselves and defeat the others. Whoever makes it out alive, secures a 20 year hold on high magic for their family. If no one is victorious in three months time, everyone goes without magic until the next blood vail (in 20 years)

But one champion has a different plan. They want to find a way to break the curse, save the champions, and free the children of Ilvernath from this bloody cycle forever.

Each character in this book is unique, dark, and twisty. We have “monsters”, jealous sisters, underdogs, and family outcasts. All dark and broken people. You’ll want to root for each of them, despite their morally grey natures.

One of my favorite parts of the book was the small insight into history at the beginning of each chapter. It was really interesting to see tiny pieces of the past unfold as we progress through the story.

There were times that I cried, times that I cheered, and others that I sat in sheer shock. This book wrapped me up and took me for a ride. I’m dying to know more of what’s in store for our blood vail champions.

3.5 stars

All of Us Villains tells the story of Ilvernath, a town with a dark secret, where once every twenty years when a blood moon rises 7 champions from the 7 founding families must compete in a tournament where one will emerge a victor and claim control of the high magic for their family, and the others will be killed. Following the recent publication of a book spilling all the towns secrets this years competition is under much scrutiny and spotlight from the rest of the world.

I (mostly) really enjoyed this book, its a very addictive story and complusively readable - with a great backstroy to the town, dark family secrets and strong writing. However I don't think it quite fits its premise, I wouldn't really describe the characters as super morally grey or villains, more like people stuck in a very bad situation trying their best to achieve the best outcome. I did enjoy the characters (I will talk about them a bit more individually) and really liked the setting - it sort of gave me new england witchy vibes. The magic system was also pretty strong and well thought out.

We mainly follow 4 POVs:

Alistair Lowe
Alistair is from the infamous Lowe family, widely known across the town for being the big bad villains of the competition, having the most victors from prior competitions. When Alastair learns the dark lengths his family goes to to secure their victory he is torn between his legacy and his heart. I really liked him as a character, you know deep dwon he is a cinnamon roll and I loved seieng the bond between him and his brother. The only thing that bugged me slightly about his POVs was we spend a lot of time hearing about how evil and bad he is but then never any actions to prove it (tbh he is the sweetest character in the book for most of it).

Isabel Macaslan
Isabel was probably my least favourite out of our mains. She wasn’t a bad character by any means I just didn’t feel like I really connected with her. I did feel for her though and how she has been forced into a role that she never wanted. I thought she was quite a clever character and I liked seeing her change her loyalties based on whoever she thought would best serve her purposes. There is a section of the book where she loses her ability to see/cast magic for a while and this added a very interesting element to her story and was probably my favourite part of her POV.

Briony Thorburn
I really liked Briony, especially since initially she is not chosen as one of the 7. She has spent her whole life believing she will become the champion and preparing for it however when her little sister is chosen instead of her Briony must reckon with the fact her destiny might not be what she originally thought. I really liked how she did not just accept her fate and was willing to challenge the way things are done. She ultimately decides to try and break the curse of the tournament to prevent future killings and is therefore the driving character of events in the book. I also liked exploring how she kept trying to do things to protect or help others but ultimately ended up backfiring and the lessons she learnt from that.

Gavin Grieve
Gavin was probably my favourite character. He is the underdog of the competition and goes to great lengths to secure himself as a serious competitor. I loved his chemistry with everyone and his ambition and drive to succeed. I especially liked his interactions with Reid, a cursemaker who has a vested interest in the competition and is generally very mysterious. I'm also super excited to see where his character goes in book two given how events left off.

I think I have been partially ruined for murder competition books by Battle Royale, nothing hits the same after that haha!!! I felt like I wasn't completely invested/believed in the stakes, there isn't actually that much murder that happens and it becomes more of a story of them trying to dismantle the game from the inside - which I did really like this direction but just don't expect a lot of bloodthirstiness haha. I did enjoy the alliances and backstabbings that went on though, I thought it was interesting seeing the characters loyalities changing based on new infomation and revelations about the dark nature of the magic.

One thing I wanted to talk about was the queer rep, I'm not sure if this book is advertised as queer or not but I wouldn't go into it expecting it to be super gay. A couple of the charcaters express interest in both genders however all the relationships were m/f (I just want to emphasize that I firmly believe if you are bi/pan and in a m/f relationship you are still 100% queer and you are so valid) but I think what bugged me in the book about it was the fact that some of the same sex pairings clearly had so much better chemistry however they were pushed aside for instalove and some relationships that just felt like they were there to serve the plot.

Another slight negative I had was that I felt just as things were starting to get really good the book ended and it didn't stand alone very well as its own book - I think if you were to read this once book 2 was out you wouldn't have this issue as you could just hop straight into the next book but it left me a little unsatisfied as it felt like we left off in the middle of a story.

In conclusion, an enjoyable fast paced YA fantasy read that tells a good story but isn't quite what you expect from the synopsis/general marketing. You can tell the authors are both talented ladies and I honestly couldn't tell this was dual authored - the writing styles blended seamlessly and it felt like a mashup of the devouring gray and ace of shades - so if you enjoyed those books I think you will enjoy this!!

this was definitely strong on the premise aspect but did not deliver up to the mark. the twisted and dark spin was pretty cool, i didn't connect with the characters enough to be invested (rtc)

Pitched as a dark Hunger Games with magic and V.E. Schwab vibes, All Of Us Villains really came out swinging. This book had me from the get go. It featured some of my favorite tropes, enemies to lovers (to enemies) and “there’s only one bed”, both of which are written beautifully.

Foody and Herman have crafted what is easily my favorite book of the year. The plot and characters are wonderfully developed, the magic system is so unique, and the dark and moody atmosphere is perfection. This is the perfect book to binge read thanks to its fast paced plot and amazing one liners.

I loved all the characters so much. Each of them are so different from each other and there’s no need to worry about them being muddled up or sounding the same. The Lowe brothers were by far my favorite. Their situation captivated me from the start. I also appreciated how each of the seven families featured their own special traits, from bravery to the meddlers to the monsters. Each has their own reason to fight for the control of the towns high magic.

This book starts with a bang, setting up the story by introducing the Lowe family, who remind me a lot of the Addams family, sinister isolated estate with a towering wrought iron gate and all. The town of Ilvernath is a creepy, disorienting place filled with gloomy stone architecture, perfect setting for a book about curses and magic. What a glorious setting!

The seven cursed families get to enjoy 20 years of peace until the coming of the Blood Moon signals that once again, the tournament to the death is approaching. It truly is like the hunger games, with a bunch of kids fighting to the death for 3 months under the blood moon, but at least it’s every 20 years instead of every year I guess? The curse is no secret, with paparazzi, magazine covers, and media coverage throughout it all. Competitors realize that partnering with the right people and spell makers is life or death, so in true hunger games fashion, they need the world’s favor.

The characters are deliciously sinister and the addition of magic makes the plot so much more complicated. For example, there even is a type of spell that can temporarily protect the castor from death. Rather than physical armor, the competitors are armed with spells. Don’t think that this is a complete repeat of the hunger games because despite the similar concept, magic is the lifeblood of this book.

Overall, this book was really really fun. I loved the concept, loved the magic system, loved the diabolical characters. The story did lag a bit towards the middle but the concept and characters were so interesting that I could overlook it. Books like these remind me why I enjoy reading so much; I get to be immersed into the most terrifying situations and worlds, but safe and cozy with a cup of tea. Looking forward to more world building and a more solid conclusion in the next book. I most definitely will be picking up the second book!

Thank you to Netgalley and Tor for sending me an advanced copy in return for my honest review.

ARC Review:
Have you ever wanted to read a combination of The Hunger Games, The Atlas Six, and Three Dark Crowns? Well All of Us Villains is the book for you. Set in the fictional town of Ilvernath, every twenty years, a member of seven families is elected the champion and tasked to compete in a tournament to the death to determine which family will get to control high magick. This book has a rotating point of view from the perspectives of four of the seven champions:
Isobel Macaslan, the media's darling who never wanted to compete in the first place
Alistair Lowe, the boy thrust into the role of villain
Gavin Grieve, the underdog that's fed up with being overlooked
Briony Thorburn, the girl obsessed with being a hero and isn't even supposed to be there

My only real problem with this book is its pacing. The real action of the novel doesn't begin until about 40% through and it drags a bit up until then, but once we actually get into the tournament, it rushes by. I would've loved to see more of the time Isobel and Alistair spent in the cave and I think that would add a lot more to the characters. There were a lot of surprises at the end that I did not expect and that's rare for me, so I loved it. I think the concept overall is really intriguing and I kind of hate that I read the ARC because I'll have to wait so long for the next book. The characters were super compelling because I don't think a single one of them truly had noble intentions and that's a cool thing to see from a genre that usually has the classic "hero" archetype.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and i can't wait for others to read it. Fingers crossed the second one will be published next year!