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

I was extremely excited to receive an arc of this book and it did not disappoint. The setting was unique and although I can see the similarities to The Hunger Games, this is an entirely different entity altogether. The magic system and world building were both great and the introductions to the families gave this book a deliciously dark atmosphere. I look forward to reading the next installment.

Thank you to Orion/Gollancz and Netgalley for the chance to read All of Us Villains.

Thank you so much to Orion Publishing Group, Macmillan-Tor/Forge and NetGalley for an e-copy of this book. The opinions below are my own.

I personally couldn’t pass up reading a book dedicated to villains, so I requested this book straightaway on NetGalley. This story is pitched as the queer version of The Hunger Games, in which seven families have to send their respective champion to fight in a brutal tournament. Only one champion will survive this tournament and access high magick. The remaining champions are destined to be killed, and die in this cursed endless tournament in the remote city of Ilvernath.

The tournament structure and the magic world are described through the eyes and experience of four champions and the first part of the book is completely dedicated to that. I think this was the best part of the book, you get to understand the motivation for each champion to join this cruel and gruesome fight, and you also get a better understanding of the most, and less, influential families involved. I appreciated how the writers give the reader the time to see these dysfunctional families without jumping straight into the battle.

However, once the tournament started, I stopped being too involved in the story. The plot had a shift in narrative and the actual tournament became slightly repetitive, with a succession of alliances, no alliances, alliances, no, maybe no alliances. My favourite character was Alistair, he was the best champion of this story and had the potential to be a great villain/fictional boyfriend. Problem is, he was not really a villain. In general none of the characters demonstrated real “villain” behaviour. It was more smoke than fire, in the sense that they don’t actually do mean stuff, there are not King-Joffrey-kind-of-actions.

Prior to the big fight, there were a few characters that were introduced and I had a feeling they also had a relevant part in the story, which were set aside during the tournament. I guess it’s the limitation of using four POV’s, you don’t get the full picture of what is going on. Probably I would need to read the sequel to see where the story will go, but unfortunately, when I arrived at the end of the book, I knew I wasn’t going to pick up the sequel.

It definitely has good stuff in it. I loved that the story takes place in the modern age and that the champions have to deal with reporters, news and so on. The magic system is very easy to grasp, with spells and curses connected to rings and crystals. As I mentioned above, the problem was that these villains didn’t feel very villain-like, and the queer representation was just hinted at, with the main romance being m/f.

Probably I had very high expectations about this story, and I wanted more from these characters, I wanted more from Alistair Lowe. The first part got me super tense and excited, but the execution of the tournament part was underwhelming and repetitive. Instead of giving me thirst for the sequel, the ending was confusing and not teasing me enough to feel I want to know where it goes. And like I always say, I have a weird taste and I’m quite difficult, so what didn’t work for me, I am sure will work for another reader. If you like magic battles and complex, messed-up families you should really give it a chance.

I am of "The Hunger Games" generation and so, as a result, one of my go-to tropes is a story with competitions or trials, especially those which mean the irritating characters get blown to bits now and then. "All of Us Villains" doesn't blow anyone to bits exactly, but it has something that Suzanne Collins missed: Magic.

The story isn't hugely different - this is a society in which higher level magic is shared with the winner's family, giving them all-consuming power of the highest order. Of course each family therefore chooses their sacrificial lamb to send to the slaughter, hoping their lamb is really a wolf underneath all the fluff. 6 of the 7 of them are in fact lambs, leaving one wolf to steal all the good stuff and share the love with their family.

Amanda Foody writes so well. I loved her Ace of Shades series and I really loved this book for the same reason - a dark world, brave storytelling and perfectly crafted characters; I felt as though I was invested in each one, and knew their motivations and personality types as well as you can hope from a first book in a series (which this is - I had thought it was a standalone until I reached the cliffhanger).

There are some flaws. Most notably that the author is equally as attached to her characters, so few ever feel in danger of disappearing from the story (unlike similar stories which kill them all off without a care!). This is great for me, because the characters I felt most connected to remain for much of the story, but it does mean there is room for other tropes which I'm less fond of (I'll have to leave it there to avoid spoilers).

I really loved this book. I thought about it when the book was closed, hurried to get back to it like an old favourite and I really do look forward to the sequel. There really is something about morally grey stories, which make you think about motives rather than assuming one character to be all bad or wholly good; the lengths people will go to protect those they love, or to survive themselves could fill an entire novel all its own. Fantastic first book in the series, I can't wait to read more.

ARC provided from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a great read and i would recommend you read this! This was a really fun read which I read so so quickly. I was kindly gifted an e-book in return a honest review.

I went into All Of Us Villains with a lot of excitement because my friend described it to me as “the hunger games but with magic”.

Sadly I struggled to connect to the multiple point of view narration (I prefer single or dual POV usually).

The writing and plot were very well executed (pardon the pun haha) but the overall book wasn’t for me sadly - but not every book is for every person and that is totally fine!

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy of this title via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

I was very much looking forward to reading All of Us Villains, especially with the comparisons to The Hunger Games. Sadly, it didn’t even come close to that for me. I found that most of the lead up to the Blood Veil dropping left me feeling a bit bored. Most of the actual action only takes place in the last few percent, and then it just ends! I get the whole setting up for another book thing, I really do, but there could have been more happening in this one. Both authors are great, I’ve read some of their other books, but this one went wide of the mark for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Orion Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
—
Every generation is a tournament to death, where seven families name a champion to compete. The prize? Exclusive control over the city’s high magick supply - the most powerful resource in the world. The publication of a tell-all book prompts more speculation surrounding the families, than ever before. Tourists, protestors and reporters all have something to say, as do the champion’s themselves. Some have expectations to live up to, others have something to prove. One thing is fact - this story must be penned in blood.
—
This book was pitched as Hunger Games but with magic, which - as someone who hasn’t read them and only watched the first movie - didn’t set any standard for me, so whether there are similarities or differences, I’m not sure. 

One thing I do know is that this book is amazing. It’s a character led book that you can’t help but love. Each character has different things they are dealing with, whether it’s expectations or proving people wrong, and they all have development arc’s that bring this storyline to life. You can’t help but fall in love with them - which leaves you on the edge of your seat when six of them have to die.

It gripped me throughout the entire storyline but I would’ve liked more pace in the first 25-50% of the book but the world building was incredible. The writing drew me in and transported me into the middle of the tournament with the characters. I definitely have a new favourite fantasy with this book and I can’t wait to buy a physical copy - and the sequel next year.

If you love anything with dark magic, or maybe even the Hunger Games, tournaments and life and death, this is a book for you. Just make sure you have a spare day to read it, because you won’t want to put it down.

First of all a huge thank you to netgalley, the author and the publishers for sending me a copy of this book to read and review.

I absolutely loved this book. This will be one of my best/ favourite reads of the year if not all time. The title hooked me in straight away. There is just something about villains and villain tropes that I absolutely adore. I loved all of the characters in this book and I loved how they interacted with each other.

The premise of this book is phenomenal and so clever. I love that there is a magical tournament where they have to wear curse rings, create spells and basically train themselves to be able to kill the other 6. However one of the best things in this book is the fact that they all think about the consequences of winning and not just losing. The fact that they think about the repercussions of murdering someone and how/if they would be able to live with themselves after.

You should without a doubt give this book a try. I received an EARC, have read and reviewed it and I still have the hardback preordered. I cannot wait for the sequel and to dive back into this world!

Thank you to NetGalley and Orion Publishing group for the free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

All of Us Villains is a book about the champions of the seven founding houses of Ilvernath. Every twenty years each house chooses one of their children to fight others to the death for their family to take control of the town’s high magick. Told in varying POVs you learn more about the tournament, the families and the tough decisions made by children who have had all other options taken away from them. This book is good, the characters are dynamic and some chapters are really intriguing. You also can't even tell that there are two authors the story blends really well.

Unfortunately, most of the time I had to force myself to finish it. Maybe it's the way All of Us Villains is marketed-as a dark hunger games following the villains, the people who want to be in a tournament to the death and revel in it that's not what happens in this book. Yes, they are children raised to kill each other but there's no real 'evil' character in the main cast. Even the character who is described as a monster is really just a scared kid. Perhaps this book is trying to show that villains have feelings too or the villain really is the institution or that the people left behind in the pursuit of power can become villains. But I expected more than what I got. You can't describe a book as a dark version of the hunger games and then have it several times tamer than the THG.

It does have its moments and yes some scenes that do live up to the hype. But mostly this book sets up the sequel which I'm sure will have a chance to be darker.

So this book wasn't what I wanted it to be but that's not to say it wasn't good. It just wasn't anything new or shocking.

title: all of us villains

author: amanda foody, christine herman

pub date (arc): 9 nov 21

tw/cw: death, parental abuse

tropes: enemies to lovers, forced proximity, underdog

okay, a rating... I'm thinking a 4.25 stars!!

pace: this book has multiple povs, which i really enjoyed, but definitely the character introductions at the start were slow and some unnecessary. however, the pacing of the rest of the book was fast and exhilerating - this novel has that heart-racing blood-throbbing pace that grips you like a curse. i could not put it down.

characters/plot: omigod the plot. crfbihbihbcijb so twisty. the BETRAYALS, the promise of ROMANCE, the. ACTION. this book did not stop surprising me, nor did i want it to. each of the characters was so vulnerable and broken by circumstances, and i felt so much pain for them - there was SO MUCH character development in this book. sometimes characters would have opposite views and then both change their minds, which was so frustrating to read and I'm not sure I liked that element. The cliffhanger at the end— lowkey regretting reading an arc of this book because it means I'm going to have to wait even longer for the next one!!

final comments: READ THIS BOOK. It's like the hunger games, but with MAGIC and with so much more plot aaah. if you, like me, had a dystopian phase when you were twelve and now are obsessed with enemies-to-lovers-kinda fantasy, this one's for you, my mfs.

I don't think I can adequately put into words how much I loved this book! A salacious tell all exposing family secrets? A tournament to the death for the best power in the world? Everything about the synopsis of this book was screaming at me to pick it up and I'm so glad that I did.

We get to read from the perspective of four of the seven champions in the tournament, and each of them has their own demons they're battling whilst fighting to the death. Usually I'd have one character I'd be rooting for to win, but they're all endearing in their own way, leaving me conflicted. The murders, the betrayals, the secrets, it all just builds up into an epic story that keeps you hooked the entire way through. And that ending! Needless to say, I eagerly await the publication of the second book and pray I don't have to wait too long

“The nightmares had not taught him to fear the dark. The nightmares had taught him to become it.”

Damn, this book gets better and better with every page and I honestly don’t know how I can wait till the sequel comes out.

In a sort of Hunger Games 2.0 seven children of seven important families have to battle till death to be the only ones able to control high magick. So, these children are manipulated from their youth and they are convinced they all are villains, even if they desperately want to be heroes.

Honestly, it is easy to say you’ll never hurt anyone till you are faced with the choice: either me or him, either my life or his. If we add up all the expectations the family put on them, we can’t really blame them when they start fighting. But in all this wickedness there may be a way to break the curse.. but not everyone is ready to accept the consequences.

I really appreciated the bonds formed during the tournament, especially the one between Isobel and Alistair. The latter may have become one of my favorite morally grey fictional boys. I wanted to cry every time he considered himself a villain because in truth he is so sweet and cute that I desperately wanted to help him. These two really broke my heart and I need it fixed in the sequel.

The writing style is so magical, it reminded me a little bit of Laini Taylor’s and Maggie Stiefvater’s and it definitely made me want to pick up other books from the authors. This collaboration has been really successful!

This book is so much more than the people it involves. It was described as the hunger games with magic which it kind of is, on its surface level.

The book follows 4 of 7 champions, chosen by their families and mostly born and bred to be part of a competition that has been going on for generations. To determine which of these champions families has access to a finite source of powerful magic until the next tournament.

In the past, the Lowe family often win the tournament but this time each family has something to gain and so much to lose that the sole winner is not so clear.

The characters in this we're easily it's the strongest aspect. With multiple POV's it's often that some characters are more interesting than others but here I got something from everyone's story even from the characters I wasn't exactly fond of. (If the title is anything to go by that's the majority of the characters).

The plot was also strong, not as much as the characters but gripping. I loved the setting and the modern world as the background for this tournament as usually anything involving magic is set during medieval times.


My only issue was with the pacing, I found the beginning to be quite slow which is probably what took me so long to finish it but once I got to the competition I couldn't stop. Despite this, the bits before the competition reveal so much about the characters going in that I'm glad that it wasn't the focus of the whole book.

Overall I enjoyed myself and with that incredible ending, I am 1000% waiting eagerly for the next one.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

After struggling to get through the sample, I have finally finished the e-arc.
It's taken me so long to finish this book, because honestly? Actually picking it up and reading it felt like a chore, and I really don't have much good to say at all about this book, unfortunately.
There was a lot of nothingness happening in the first 50%, and then only really got good in the last 5-10% of the book.
The idea is cool, execution could have been a lot better.

This is certainly a story you can really sink into. It’s incredibly immersing and really addicting, with a great idea for a plot and one that will keep you enraptured with the need to read on.

It’s such a clever story and I loved the split character focus chapters too to give you a different perspective of each of the champions dramas. There’s literally so much in here that keeps your interest and I really found myself loving the world it was set in. Greatly thought out and written.

7 champions, all competing for the chance to win sole control over the high magick supply which comes at a terrible cost… whoever wins must kill all of the other champions and survive the tournament. Who will be the last one standing?

I was on the edge of my seat and as I read on, I couldn’t read fast enough to find out how everything was going to unfurl. It’s infuriating at times as you just want everything to run smoothly and there’s plenty of twists and turns which keep you guessing. My only caveat with this book was how abrupt the ending was! Will definitely leave you wanting more..!

This was an amazingly fun read! The authors did an amazing job of creating a new world, with magic! Their character development was fantastic, which really helps me with stories! I haven’t read Hunger Games, but I’ve watched, and must agree it does remind me a bit of it. Although much more magical! Highly? Highly recommend! Cannot wait for the next installment, if it’s as good as then one, I’ll be hooked!

Will buzz around platforms and use top Amazon reviewer number’.

The Lowe’s, Grieve’s, Macaslan’s, Payne’s, Thornburn’s, Darrow’s and the Blair’s are all families with something in common. Each generation they compete in an ancient ritual that sees them fight to the death to control high magic for the next generation. The Lowe’s almost always come out on top. Until now, the tournament has been kept secret, but someone has written a tell-all book and reporters are flocking to watch the barbaric contest.

Told in alternating points of view from a few of the ‘champions’ chosen by each family, All of us Villains is a roller coaster ride of magic, betrayal and families out to win at any cost. Akin to The Hunger Games, but with dark magic curses as weapons, I was riveted the entire way through.

Each and every character was morally grey with complex back stories that affected their choices in the tournament. Although there were several different family stories to keep up with, I never felt lost.

I actually loved the way each champion and their family were neither all good or all bad. I swung between liking and disliking every one of them several times over the course of the book 😄 The magic system was really interesting, with spells and curses being crafted for the champions by spell masters and stored in rings on the fingers (they can also craft their own spells, but the masters gift them powerful ones prior to the tournament. Of course, crafting something yourself is less likely to leave yourself open to sabotage though..)

There was a bit of a cliffhanger ending, where we get the feeling some incredibly important information has just been revealed to one of the characters….but not us. Why do you do this to me authors?? 😅 So I am now dying for the next book. I need to know what’s going on!!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I was so excited to finally read All of us Villains. The description sounded really promising and reminded me of The Hunger Games. Now, after I have read the book, I can tell you that the story did not disappoint and that it was so much better and more magical than The Hunger Games.

First of all, I loved the worldbuilding and the magic system because they created a very dark and thrilling atmosphere. It was something completely new and exciting and I just couldn’t stop reading.

But my highlights were the many complex and morally grey characters. The book is written out of four different pov’s. First, I was afraid that I would confuse the different narratives and that I wouldn’t enjoy all of them equally as much. I’m glad to say that this wasn’t the case. I loved all of the characters and every narrative brought something important and new to the plot. My favourite character was Alistair because he was the most mysterious one in my opinion, but I also enjoyed reading about the other characters.

I don’t want to say too much about the plot because I don’t want to risk spoiling someone. So please go ahead and give this book a chance. If you liked the Hunger Games and enjoy reading about morally grey characters and magic, you will certainly love this book as much as I did.

This definitely has hunger games vibes but with magic and villains. I was so excited to get a chance to read this in advance of the release and I wasn't disappointed.

This book will make you feel all sorts, I was crying by the first 30% in because that just wasn't fair to read. The rest of the book is a roller-coaster of action and adventure and evil and magic. If you enjoyed the hunger games you will definitely enjoy this book. It's more of a dark fantasy read, a genre which I am loving just now.

Full review will be up on my blog!
Thanks again.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an e-arc of this book. This does not affect my opinion in any way.

All of us villains is a book following a group of teenagers facing a centuries' old curse by fighting the rivaling families' champions. To be the winner, and for their families to gain access to high magick they have to survive the tournament and be the last champion standing. But each teenager does not only have to fight the other contestants, but face their own demons as well to be the lucky winner.

This book is simply said an amazing read. The story is gripping, action filled and just addictive. As much as I tried to pick a favourite, somehow I ended up routing for every character to succeed. They were extremely likeable, but still had their character flaws, making them seem very realistic. I was surprised by how new the plot concept felt even though the concept is a very familiar and often used one. Somehow the two authors created a fantasy world that is so immersive that it makes the story feel unique. All in all I think this book is amazing and I can't wait for the sequel to come.

Publication date: 11st of November 2021