I think I just read the newest bestseller! All of Us Villains sees seven teens from seven different families fight to the death under the Blood Veil in a contest that determines which family gets to control High Magick for the next generation! The description of this book compares it to The Hunger Games, but I would also compare it a bit to The Maze Runner as well!

There is so much to love about this book. While there are seven "Champions" in this tournament to the death, the story is told from the perspectives of four of them: the monster Alistair Lowe, the sure-fire loser Gavin Grieve, the first named Champion Isobel Mascalan, and the one who was never actually officially named Briony Thorburn. These four champions each have their own skills, their own strategies, and the own weaknesses and secrets. Throughout the story, you will find yourself rooting for each of them at different points and you will also be sure each will win in the end. The ending, no doubt, will leave you surprised and definitely wanting more!

Set for a release of November 9th from Macmillan-Tor Publishing, this book is going to be huge! Thank you for the advanced copy and I can't wait to buy a copy or two for my classroom next school year!

There is an audience for this book, in the hands of youth who crave gloomy stories about ancestral homes and dark magic. I enjoyed the unfurling about each family story, some of our seven "Villains" are given a lot of detail. I would have liked to know them all, since it was semi-apparent that the less detailed characters were going to bite it immediately.

While I felt that our main characters were understandable, and clearly had a lot of stress heading into this tournament of blood, I still did not understand why they were so fickle while in the tourney. They changed allegiances and crossed into each other's paths so often I thought maybe they weren't really into the "fight to the death" part. It made the fear less believable. Maybe we were meant to question if they were really killers? I would have liked a bit more about that.

Overall, I enjoyed the premise and worldbuilding, but was a little disappointed.

All of Us Villains is Hunger Games meets Harry Potter. This book is filled with some terrible people. Every generation, seven families name a champion to compete in a tournament to the death in order to decide who controls the city’s high magick supply.

The story is told from alternate POVs of each of the families’ champions. The characters were incredible. They’re full of flaws and have dreams, and I loved how realistic everyone was. The competition was brutal, turning friends against each other, and I loved how you never really knew anyone’s true motives. The plot is fast-paced and full of twists and turns. The only issue that I have, and I should’ve seen it coming, was that this is a series, so it ends on a pretty substantial cliffhanger. I really wish that books that are part of series didn’t do that. Especially since I have to wait twice as long for the next book!

I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Told from multiple points of view, this story follows seven "champions" (think: tributes from The Hunger Games). These teenagers are from the 7 families in a town where every 20 years, each family presents their champion for
special tournament and they have a fight to the death. The victor's family then has control of the high magic in town until the next tournament cycles around. Most families train their children for this from the time they are born: casting spells and making spells and curses.

Okay, it took me until maybe 88% in this book to realize that they were NOT wrapping things up and there was no possible way it could end. It wasn't until I checked it on Goodreads that I noticed that this book is listed as #1 in a series. I wish I had known this up front.

Readers will enjoy reading the story from each individual champion's point of view. I especially liked Alastair, who seems to be the favorite going into the tournament because his family is known to win by any means necessary.

This book was SO GOOD. Whenever there are multiple POVs, I'm a little hesitant but each POV felt really well developed and unique; each one had a purpose and drove the story forward in some way and there wasn't one POV that felt weaker than the rest. The Hunger Games like tournament felt exciting and I was invested in seeing what would happen, especially as alliances were built and fell apart over the course of the book. I was hooked from the start and am excited to see where this oe goes.

While the plot of this book definitely has a Hunger Games feel to it, it is NOT the Hunger Games.
An ancient curse forces each family to submit a champion to a tournament every 20 years. The winning family gets to control the High Magick.
I liked the magic system in this world- curses and spells must be crafted and stored in stones. The characters were all multi faceted and sympathetic in their own way. I found myself rooting for all of them.
This would have been a 5 star book except that it ended SO abruptly. I feel like I was in the middle of a sentence and there were no more lines!
Here comes the endless wait for the sequel 🤷‍♀️
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an early copy for review.

“All of Us Villains” walks us through a deadly competition to control the high magic sending one champion from each powerful family to fight to the death. With each harboring their own secrets and desires for glory outside of this massacre, some find themselves looking to undo the sins of the past and keep their hands clean while other hunts for blood.

A pretty strong start for a new series setting up this world where magic exists but is fragile for some families which helps set up the motivation for some to be the victor over the others. A little Hunger Games like in the set up only with a magic twist which was fun though there’s some of the actual structure that left me scratching my head.

The characters themselves really care the book where the confusion over everything else might have suffered. We are given multiple POVs throughout giving us an almost Breakfast Club arrangement of Alistair being the monster lurking in the shadows, Isobel as our princess, Gavin the one willing to risk it all to prove his family isn’t a joke and finally Briony the one with the most to lose if she’s wrong. Together they have their moments of true villainy as well as humanity but when they are alone you can see the truth behind the mask so to speak and I really had fun with them all.

This book is bloody and vicious and the length some of the families go to ensure the win was just as gritty as I would have hoped and it will be exciting with the way it ended to find out what will come next, and more importantly who will survive to see it.

**special thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review**

This book is true to it's name - all of them are villains! Every time I think the characters are going to find a solution so they can be happy - bang - a plot twist happens so their plan doesn't work. I am so mad that I don't have a second book to read right now, with the way the book ended. During this book I was equally rooting and cursing every character. The bloody curse of a contest was made more interesting to read as the story was told by multiple characters. I can not wait to have this book in my hands and I will most certainly be rereading this book soon. Thank you so much for allowing me to read it - I love this book and it's characters so much!

4.5 stars rounded down because I was unsure.

Okay, so first of all I’m not sure where I went wrong, but I was expecting more of an incantation magic system in some sort of high fantasy world. Instead, it was more of an contemporary fantasy (new places, just modern setting) with really commercial magic. Also, I thought the only Hunger Games portion was the death competition, but it really was very similar.
Honestly, the only things I didn’t like were because of my own expectations. I loved the characters, especially Gavin and Alistair, and the world was really easy to get into. It took a second to figure out some of the aspects of curse and spell creation and use, but it’s really consistent. I also liked that there were only seven contestants. I could not have handled having more names to learn.
The characters were all really well-developed and complex, and I truly had no idea what would happen next or who to be rooting for. I love Amanda Foody’s books, and this was no exception. However, the Shadow Game Trilogy confused me so much, but ALL OF US VILLAINS was intricate AND understandable.

I loved this book so much. It took the Hunger Games and transformed it into something that is darker in a way because almost all of the champions have wanted to be a part of this challenge that happens once every 20 years. It took a lot of the political aspect out of it in a way as well, which allowed us to see it in a new way. The champions are the focus of the book together rather than one tribute. Even though it follows the same basis with a fight to the death, this book brings in a new light. I'm excited for book 2 to see how the Blood Veil continues and what happens next.

It's here! A great book to inherit the love of hunger games and divergent series!
All of us Villains paints a world where teens must fight to the death every 20 years. They are
reprening old magical families and the winner controls magic for the next 20 years.
The world is believable and best yet, there are multiple heroes and villains (characters are usually both!)

Who will you root for ? You may be surprised. Highly recommend this new stellar series.

#AllofUsVillians
Thank you to Macmillan-Tor/Forge and NetGalley for an advanced copy of the book. The book is crammed full of plot information. Take your time, a good read.

Thank you to Macmillan-Tor/Forge and NetGalley for an advanced copy of the book.

All of Us Villains is the first installment in a new YA Fantasy series by writing duo Amanda Foody and Christine Lynn Herman- great for fans of The Hunger Games!

In the city of Ilvernath, a tournament is held every generation to decide which family will control the city’s supply of high magick. The book follows seven champions (one from each family) who are thrust into a fight to the death.

This book excels in both shocking horror and thrilling action. Readers will find themselves gaping at the page in utter disbelief, as this tale is full of sinister surprises. What else would you expect from villains? It can be easy for a multi-POV novel to lag in some parts, as you “speed read” to get to the more exciting bits. But not this one! Every champion’s storyline is equally compelling, and readers will be deeply invested, hanging on to every single word.

The most significant area of growth for All of Us Villains is the tying of loose ends to justify the many subplots of the novel. This is the first in a series, so it’s perfectly normal for there to be cliffhangers and/or questions that lead into the next installment. However, in this case, the intended cliffhangers come off as uncertainty and lack direction. There are so many elements introduced throughout the book, that readers may feel dissatisfied when they reach the end to find there is no true moment of catharsis. The story feels incomplete as a book on its own.

While the ending is somewhat abrupt and uncertain, it is undoubtedly an engrossing novel that will leave readers eagerly awaiting its sequel.

CW: mental health

3.0/5.0

*Thank You to Tor Teen, the authors and Netgalley for an E-ARC of "All of Us Villians" in exchange for an honest review*

This was a really dark, villious read. I have to say Alistair is probably my favorite character. I really liked how all of the kids are morally grey.

This book was so evil but amazing! I absolutely loved the characters and where the author took the story. I loved it so much that I read it in 1 day!

I was given an arc for this book on netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I loved this book! It was just as dark as I was hoping it would be, and it filled my dark soul well. The characters were intriguing nd each perspective was well written. Multiple perspectives can be tricky and sometimes the characters blend together and while the happened a bit for me in the beginning, I was able to know each character and perspective better as the book went on.
The book was well paced and the writing was smooth and easy to read. The world building was very well done and the magic system was creative and easy to follow.
I loved the dark atmosphere but I also liked the touch of light and hope so it didn't feel like drowning in darkness.
This book is perfect for everyone who is more in touch with their dark side and is a little bit wicked.
I will he recommending this book to everyone!

👉🏻 I can’t believe I have to wait until November for the physical copy of this book to be published — I need it now to decorate my prestigious 5-star shelf! 🤩 This was a 24-hour bingefest and a heck of a wild ride.

#SpoilerFree #BookReview: “All of us Villains” by Amanda Foody and Christine Lynn Herman

🧟‍♀️ Fantasy 🧟‍♀️

“Blood Before All.”

📚 Every generation 7 children from great magical families are chosen as champions to fight for Ilvernath’s secret store of high magick, long eradicated across the world. But this year, a salacious tell-all novel has come out thrusting the once secret tournament into the limelight, and all of its villains with it.

👍🏻 The Good: I knew from chapter 1 that this book was a five star read. The premise is stellar — think Hunger Games with old magic and monsters, and with curses and spells woven into jewelry. Magic is everywhere in this book, from daily chores to fierce battles there is a spell and a strategy for everything. The writing is impeccable, with lush descriptions and witty one liners that had be cracking up. You can’t tell that it was written by two authors as the writing flows beautifully throughout.

I am a HARSH critic of multiple POVs — they are so often disappointing. But the POVs here all have great unique voices, and each character flourishes with distinct desires, morales, and shades of villainy. They are all wickedly broken and willing to sacrifice it all — I honestly can’t pick a favourite out of the bunch! (Maybe Alistair cause I love my dark and brooding men ha)

The world building is done well and has good pacing, unlike many magic worlds that often are info-dumped onto your lap. This will clearly have at least one sequel, and the set up for what’s to come had me at the edge of my seat!

If you’re into magic, morally grey characters, and risk-it-all competitions then you need to keep this book on your radar 🙏🏻

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Plot: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Characters: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
World Building: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Writing: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

All of Us Villains is about 7 families who hold a competition to the death every 20 years to see who can take power of the high magic that is left in the world. Each family submits one teenager to the competition, which lasts 3 months or until only one is left. It is told from multiple POVs from the competitors.

This unfortunately, did not live up to what I had in mind. Once I head Hunger Games, magic competition to the death, I was 100% down, but it just fell really short for me. There were some good action/violent parts that kept it interesting, but I just did not like any of the characters. Not because they were all for the most part morally grey, but because they were all just so whiny. I just could not get into the magic system, and I felt like I lot of it was unexplained. I had high hopes when I heard the concept, but just ended up really not liking it. 1.5 stars.