I didn't know what to expect from this book, given that the first one felt like a Goth Hunger Games in the best way possible. But I enjoyed it. I felt like I knew what to expect from this book, and it brought a lot of what I expected. However, it also brought a lot of unexpected plot points and character development I didn't see coming until I was fully in it. Great thriller to read, full of dark magic and some crispy character development.

I honestly enjoyed this second installment as much as book 1! Sometimes sequels just aren't quite as exciting, but the author did a great job of throwing in new twists, expanding the world even more, and keeping the pacing interesting. A fantastic series for fans of The Hunger Games x Harry Potter!

I stand by my thought from book one that this duology should have been a standalone book- I am always down for a 500-700 book.

This book had a sense of urgency but was boring all at once. Too many povs and too many plans from different people that constantly switched back and forth - a tad bit of whiplash. I think that they genuinely all became both heroes and villains in different ways through this story, which in a way, stayed true to the book.
Magic remained creative and exciting. Sad just how much these kids were raised to die; at that point, is it like hunger games, I will admit.

Short review, but unfortunately, this is all that stuck with me - not too much.

TLDR:

All of Our Demise is the sequel to All of Us Villains by Amanda Foody and Christine Lynn Herman. It is the final installment in the duology.

Notable elements:

- Moral Ambiguity
- Break-the-Curse
- Self-Preservation

Reminds me of:

- The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake

Content warnings:

- Death, Violence, Blood

Thoughts:

I think the most respectful and constructive way to express my disappointment in All of Our Demise as a sequel is to address my primary grievance with the duology as a whole: I think it should have been a stand-alone novel. The first book ends abruptly, and the second picks up without exposition. Moreover, the two books lack independent, complete story arcs and, instead, read as one over-extended, diluted story.

I’m glad I picked up All of Us Villains last year, but the conclusion of the duology fails to provide sufficient reason for continued investment. I expected more from this uniquely thrilling premise.

Having enjoyed the previous book in the series, I was eager to get started with this one and interestingly the characters moved in totally new paths in this one which was quite surprising. The development of various relationships was interesting and organic as well. Though I knew Reid was going to have a lot of impact but did not expect this level of involvement. The first half was slow and could have had more pace but the last quarter just flew through. My main gripe is that it could have been like 100 pages shorter and it would have been more impactful!

I love this world and the worldbuilding done in this duology. I found myself going between the audiobook and ebook and both methods were amazing and the audio has multiple voice actors.

I got serious hunger games vibes as the story progressed. This world is dark and felt relatable as each family/character are in the tournament for what they can benefit from it.

Some want change, some are privileged and essentially want to remain privileged.

I definitely recommend this one to fans of darker fantasy with hunger games vibes!

Thank you to the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

As a huge fan of the first book, it did take me a little while to get back into the swing of things and even kind of forgot some of what was happening with each character. I liked how we were eased back in and my memories came tumbling back!

Although I loved the first better, this was a wonderful conclusion to this duology. The multiple POVS can be a lot at times, but I do love seeing the development of each character each time we circle back, as well as finishing up the story itself.. This was super action-packed, suspenseful and just an all-round good time.

All of Our Demise by Amanda Foody and Christine Herman
Published: August 30, 2022
Genre: Horror, Supernatural
Trigger warnings: Violence, magic, suicide
4/5 Stars
Summary from Amazon: All of Our Demise is the epic conclusion to Amanda Foody and Christine Lynn Herman’s New York Times bestselling All of Us Villains duology.

“I feel like I should warn you: this is going to be absolutely brutal.”

For the first time in this ancient, bloodstained story, the tournament is breaking. The boundaries between the city of Ilvernath and the arena have fallen. Reporters swarm the historic battlegrounds. A dead boy now lives again. And a new champion has entered the fray, one who seeks to break the curse for good... no matter how many lives are sacrificed in the process.

As the curse teeters closer and closer to collapse, the surviving champions each face a choice: dismantle the tournament piece by piece or fight to the death as this story was always intended.

Long-held alliances will be severed. Hearts will break. Lives will end. Because a tale as wicked as this one was never destined for happily ever after.
Review: After meeting the characters in All of Us Villains, the authors advanced the plot of the tournament of champions in Ilvernath. I found this sequel much more action-packed and faster paced than the first in the duology. The writing improved from the first novel – the authors had to fully explain and develop the setting, the tournament and develop the characters’ histories in the first novel, so expect much more plot driven situations now that you met everyone and have a firm grasp of this world.
Briony, Isobel, and Finley along with the spell maker Reid are trying to match the relics with their corresponding landmarks to finally break the tournament of Champions so that no family sends their child to die. The tournament breaks quicker than the relics can fall. With every mistake they make, a new crack shows up on the wrong side of The Champion Pillar. If the pillar cracks on the wrong side they will all die as well, leaving no winner, leaving the high magic to fall into the hands of the powerful or in the hands of the government. If they crack the pillar on the right side, the champions will live. Meanwhile, Alistair, Gavin, and Hendry work against them seeing no hope in their pointless efforts. They want the tournament to continue unchanged until only one champion is left standing to wield the high magic. Alistair’s concern is his brother’s fate. None of the champions trust anyone else, including themselves.
This novel had much more conflict, tension and was full of action. I recommend this duology as it grew stronger as the story unfolded, especially in this second volume.

All of Us Villains was one of my favorite books in 2021. I had high hopes for this follow up and All of Our Demise exceeded every expectation. I was excited to see where the story was going to go after that ending in the first book. Getting to see these characters again and watch their growth was mesmerizing. Knowing that the process of healing after the tournament could be crippling, I felt for these characters. I wanted them all to win. This was action-packed but had moments that were inspiring as well. I really enjoyed this duology.

All of Our Demise picks up where All of Us Villains left off. The remaining champions are still competing and the Blood Veil is on the verge of collapse. The contestants are left with the choice to finish the competition and keep the high magic for their family or bring down the veil and deal with whatever consequences come from that.

I thought these books were great. I fell in love with the characters and they were each unique in their own way. The first story gave a lot of background on the characters while this one focused on finishing up the tournament. I would recommend these books to anyone that enjoys books like The Hunger Games.

Very satisfying ending for this cross-up Harry Potter/Hunger Games duology. Believable character development and I loved the different POVs to see what each protagonist was thinking and their rationale for some of their tactics.

I had to read this to make sure I got to find out what my characters ended up doing. As usual they were well written and really maintained my interest. The plot wasn’t shocking nor was the conclusion but it was satisfying. The book is extremely long which made it feel a bit slow at points but the ending wrapped it all nicely in a bow and is well worth finishing.

I liked the conclusion of this series, however it took me a while to get into this book to finish it.

That being said, I do like the world and story told, as well as the representation that’s included. It makes me happy to see that more and more often.

"In this story of murder, mayhem, and madness, all of us were tempted by the thought that one of Ilvernath's Slaughter Seven could rise above their bloody destiny. That was our mistake."

I was so excited to read this book because I loved All of Us Villains so much and I think I read it in a day. Unfortunately All of Our Demise just didn't hit for me in the same way and it actually took me almost a month to get through it. The last 25% of the book was my favorite, and I did have a hard time putting it down once I hit that mark, but it didn't have the same "magick" as the first one.

All of Our Demise opens and we are thrust immediately back into the tournament. A few things alliances have changed (i.e. Isobel and Alistair) and a few have stayed the same (Briony and Finley). Alistair was my favorite character as All of Us Villains closed, and he remained my favorite--with the unlikely addition of Gavin Grieve.
"The Grieves had raised gavin to die. The Lowes had raised Alistair to kill. Both of them deserved a better story."

And while there were many twists and turns, overall the story felt clunky to me and just entirely too long. All of Us Villains ended on such a cliffhanger--maybe it would have been better to extend that part of the story so this one had less bulk? I don't know, I just know this one ultimately didn't work as well for as it's predecessor.

I was given an advanced copy from the publisher via Netgalley for an honest review.

2.5 stars
I really wanted to like this novel, however, this felt like it was way too long and droned on during parts that I was going through it and completely blanked...yet I feel like I didn't miss anything. There are good novels and there are novels that just drag out too much and I feel like this dragged a bit.

The good news is that this is a duology and it was well written and complete, just not for me and felt too long. I remember there were definitely bits of the first novel that seemed to drag as well. I feel like this may be the first two novels by these authors and I am willing to pick up novels by them again, as the base of writing is not bad. Just not for me.

Thank you to Tor and NetGalley for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Sequels can be difficult when they pick up in the middle of the action again -- I wasn't sure who was who, what was what, etc. But the narrative did a great job at reminding me as soon as it could. I remembered who was still alive, at least.

And I think this was a great YA book that harkens back to the brutality of things like Hunger Games with hints of adult series like Red Rising. It was fresh and violent and emotional and while things went in a direction I did not totally expect them to, I think every story wrapped up well.

Except for the government conspiracy. I mean, really?

4 stars.

I adored this sequel to my favorite read of the year so far! I was not ready to leave these characters, all my favorite people that I loved to hate. I hope to read more from this author duo in the future!

Ohh! It's here! Time to finally see how the All of Us Villains series comes to an end. I know it's only been a year – but it feels like I've been waiting for ages to see how this all wraps up. Written by the duo Amanda Foody and Christine Lynn Herman, All of Our Demise portrays a dark tournament of magic, sacrifice, and the highest costs.

Every generation, a new tournament begins. The tournament's winner (and sole survivor) decides which family will be in control of high magic. Until the next tournament, that is. However, this latest tournament isn't going as planned.

Mainly because the contestants aren't willing to lay down their lives for their families. Instead, they are rewriting the rules and hopefully breaking the 'games' in the process. But what will it cost them, assuming they even succeed?

“Footsteps thudded down the stairs, and the flickering figure of Hendry Lowe appeared outside Alistair’s prison bars.”

I've been counting down the days to the release of All of Our Demise. I can't speak for everyone else, but I, for one, just had to know what would happen next in the tournament.

Duologies with high stakes can be tough. Either the second novel lives up to the expectations, finding ways to up the ante, or it doesn't, leaving readers disappointed. All of Our Demise falls into the former category, raising the stakes with every chapter.

As with the first novel, All of Our Demise is split into several perspectives; Gavin, Isobel, Alisair, and Briony. Each one has a unique story to tell. First, there's the boy whose family gave up on him. Then there's the girl thrown to the wolves. Next comes the boy raised by darkness. And finally, the girl has more determination than anyone else in the room.

Naturally, this series wasn't afraid to get dark – this helped set the tone for everything that follows. There's no doubting the darkness of certain families, though I couldn't help but feel like they were all corrupt and horrible by the time I was done. Why else would these families willingly risk their kids for a little bit of power?

There were a lot of surprises in All of Our Demise. Some were dark, while others were bright – little pockets of hope to carry readers onward to the conclusion. It was the right balance of tones.
The conclusion was everything I could have hoped for. It carried the weight of sacrifice and felt in keeping with the whole of the story up to this point. I'm sad to see it end, but I can't complain about how it went.

Honestly, I wouldn't have minded seeing more of this world. Do you think that there will be a spin-off series or two? That'd be fun.

Amanda Foody and Christine Lynn Herman have done it again with All of Our Demise! The characters developed in ways that were both surprising and beautiful, leaving you unable to not care about each and every one of them (especially Alistair and Gavin). With the plot pulling in elements of the world outside the "arena", with menacing characters, murderous ghosts, and public interference in the games, readers will be astonished by how effortlessly it all comes together, culminating in a story arc that is both extremely satisfying and leaves you wanting more.

This is the book in the All of Us Villains duology; as with the first volume, if Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire joined The Hunger Games, they would produce the town of Ilvernath, a town under a curse which, every 20 years, requires a teenage member of each of seven families to participate in a tournament, which only one of the seven competitors will survive. Participants have no choice in entering; if they are selected, and choose not to enter the competition of the curse, they will die. The family of the winner wins control of high magick - more powerful than the common magick most people use - for the next 20 years, until the next competition. Completing the competition locks in the cycle of the curse until the next round - but what if the curse can be broken?

The remaining five champions set out to do just that: break the curse, something that can only be done if they work together. But in a winner-take-all format such as the curse competition, working together will be hard, if not impossible. Shifting alliances and goals among the champions will complicate everything, and, in their focus on the competition, their families have twisted each champion in some way, turning their personalities from whom they might have been in an attempt to create the next champion. Told in rotation by each of the remaining champions, it can sometimes be difficult to remember which character is speaking, so it is important to check the chapter titles, which name the character. The two novels, "All of Us Villains" and "All of Our Demise" form a complete story, and it is recommended that they be read in sequence; the second volume would work as a stand-alone novel, but many of the nuances would be lost that way.