All of Us Villains

LOVED IT

This was such a thrilling young adult fantasy book! Rooted to a centuries’ old curse that ties the seven oldest families of Ilvernath together, seven champions are declared every twenty years as the Blood Veil falls over the city, and yet only one champion will prevail. The premise of this book was unique in terms of its magic system and interesting world-building, with mild gore, and the characters were also written remarkably well and had exceptional depth to their morally grey attributes. No one was a hero yet not entirely villain. But if there’s anything more to expect in this book, it is certainly not a happy ending.

these characters were so insufferable ugh. how do you write a book about villanous main characters and don't even make them evil? for a book revolving around a deadly turnament shouldn't there be...idk...more murder???

I really did enjoy this, i absolutely love the storyline, it’s so unique in my opinion. I finished this rather quickly, so it’s an easy read. I found myself liking even the characters i thought i didn’t like at all. However one problem is how my favourite character is just so weak, i just wish he would become even more of a villain. I loved the plot twists and the intense romance.

CW: generational trauma, alcoholism, graphic body violence pitching this as "the hunger games" was quite lackluster to describe what the book is really. it's actually a dark cottagecore urban fantasy where tradition forces seven wealthy families to give up one of their children in exchange of the high magick and its power. if you're planning to pick this up, expect somewhat morally grey characters who aren't fighting against each other but rather fight against generational trauma and their supposedly bad morality as media depicts their villainous behavior for killing each other in this tradition.

4.5 wish i paid attention and realized it was part of a duo that isn’t completely out yet but yanno nothing i can do about it now. anyways i’m obsessed

"What are we?" she asked. He paused for several moments before finally answering, "Champions." With the word "villains" in the title, I expected a lot of cruelty and bloodshed in the story but it turned out to be very little. I think maybe because the characters aren't evil enough since they don't really have a strong motive to kill each other (plus sometimes their action don't make any sense). Also the worldbuilding was confusing at first but I guess it's because I don't really read fantasy that often. Since the story ends on a cliffhanger and there were still many unanswered questions, I might read the 2nd book.

Did not enjoy this book AT ALL ﾂ heard such good things beforehand but personally found it very boring and slow paced. The ending to me was left very bad

“A tradition of tragedy.” I was immediately drawn to this book as it was pitched to me as Villains meets The Hunger Games, but steeped in magic. After the publication of a salacious tell-all book, the remote city of Ilvernath is thrust into worldwide spotlight. Tourists, protesters, and reporters flock to its spellshops and ruins to witness an ancient curse unfold: every generation, seven families name a champion among them to compete in a tournament to the death. The winner awards their family exclusive control over the city’s high magick supply, the most powerful resource in the world. In the past, the villainous Lowes have won nearly every tournament, and their champion is prepared to continue his family’s reign. But this year, thanks to the influence of their newfound notoriety, each of the champions has a means to win. Or better yet, a chance to rewrite their story. But this is a story that must be penned in blood. This book reminded me that I love young adult dark fantasy. I immediately understood the comparisons made to Villains and The Hunger Games, but this book immediately reminded me of the Three Dark Crowns book series, which is another one of my favourite young adult dark fantasy series. I loved how deliciously dark this story was and I loved all the complex characters. I liked how the two authors’ narrative voices and writing styles mixed together naturally, this book almost felt like it was written by one person the way that the tone and voice was consistent throughout. I loved the world building and I loved the magic system. I love how magic in this world is dark and messy, far from the depictions of light and beautiful magic from other book series I’ve read. The “fight to the death” premise is one of my favourite storytelling plot lines and I love how it immediately gave weight to everything in the beginning of the book and throughout the character and world introductions. I thought that this book’s setting was interesting in the sense that it wasn’t modelled after an ambiguous medieval period or from an era in the distant past in the human world. This book’s setting was a mix of a fantasy setting with modern things like pinball machines and other things typically found in a modern or contemporary setting. I loved the logistics and elements of the tournament itself, I loved the concept of locations and objects the champions could claim for themselves to give them an advantage, and I loved the idea that champions could make alliances with each other to defeat each other. I loved that these characters and their families all have previous history with each other and the tournament. I loved learning about previous tournaments and champions. This book reminded me why I love dark and villainous protagonists. I loved the unique storylines and how this wasn’t a simple fight to the death tournament plot. I liked how morally grey all the protagonists were and I like where this is all going, I’m excited to see where this story goes in the final book in the duology. I loved the climax to this story and how it leads into the final book in the series. I highly recommend this book for fans of young adult dark fantasy books, and anyone who is intrigued by the premise.

It took me a while to read, but only because life got in the way. This book is incredible. It was so easy to come back to because I was always thinking about it. It is so compelling and the plot twist in the end. I just bought the next book and am going to read it immediately. Highly recommend! 🩸

I loved this duology so much! I really liked the way the story told itself without ever knowing what would happen next. I gave this book 4 stars because I simply could not get passed how annoyed I was with two specific characters in this book. It was almost laughable how they acted so obnoxiously throughout the story. I really did enjoy reading this book and by the end of it, I was ready to move onto its epic conclusion in its sequel, All of Our Demise.

The betrayals of theses families run so deep, they’re so far gone in hatred when they could probably fix it in a better way. Instead they’re too busy hating each other they’ve let an outsider control them.

I absolutely loved this, read it as an audiobook and the production and voice acting was really good so that elevated it, bit the writing was great and i love alistair. briony was annoying and I did see the twist coming, but sometimes that’s a good thing and I think in this case knowing the answer to the riddle and screaming it at the characters kinda worked for it. 10/10, will read the next one

One of the few BookTok books that deserves its hype.

The characters didn't seem so villainous as they would have if written from a different perspective, but they were still a very dark shade of grey, morally. The rivals-to-lovers in this is superior.

Seven champions and only one is going to survive to control high magick every twenty years. But some are determined to break this pattern. This story will make you fall for villains more than heroes.

Great character building. Wished it was longer. It’s like if the kids new each other before the Hunger Games but with magic and more ruthlessness. Loved the backstory of the town. Definitely buying book two.

** spoiler alert ** 2.5 I hate how the Alistair was portrayed to be part of a powerful family and was allegedly extremely wicked and cunning but my dude is none of the above??? I like his personality I just wish he was what he was portrayed to be. HE ISN'T DANGEROUS. Also, not enough villainy!! 😭 so disappointed

"Grins like goblins. Pale as plague and silent as spirits. They'll tear your throat and drink your soul." WOW. honestly this was so fun, right from the very beginning. the setting, the magic system, the tournament, the CHARACTERS!! this was so fast paced and fun but the characters are what really made it for me. Alistair is my BABY and i love him so much. i've already said "fun" too many times but that is seriously the best word for this. like a more brutal Hunger Games with magic. the magic system with the curses and spells was soo unique and interesting. i seriously cannot wait for book 2 August please come soon!!!

Loved this group of characters I want more depth in the magic system but overall it was really entertaining

4.5 Stars This book was INCREDIBLE!! Fast paced and oh so addictive, just my kind of read. It's magical without being complicated and the entire story very character driven. Damn, I knew it would end on a cliffhanger but the way it all pieced together at the end and connected the dots was very satisfying. It held my attention the whole way through and the best part it was chalk full of these dark academia like vibes and that atmosphere created an unforgettable story. The tournament itself reminded me of something along the lines of the triwizard tournament in Harry Potter. Basically all the magic, everyone working for their own goals, and very high stakes. Still, it was very much its own world and characters. The magic system was unique but at the same time not at all complicated and super easy to understand. I hate how much this book made me care about everyone given the nature of the tournament and the fact there's going to be death in the end. If the was ever a time for a way to make my favourites make it through in the end you won't hear me complain. I'm also lokey shipping Gavin and Alistair they both deserve some kind of happiness and always a sucker for enemies to lovers. This is exactly the book I wanted to read right now but didn't know that I needed it when I first picked it up. Amanda Foody has yet to disappoint and Christine Herman is an author I'm not familiar with but clearly their styles work well together. I'm already mentally making grabby hand for book two because there's no way I'm not going to want to pick it up as soon as it's released (counting down the literal days for it)!

I’m definitely Alistair because no I would not hesitate to do all the things he did and felt for Hendry for my own siblings

A very tame version of Hunger Games that was very predictable and overall not all that entertaining…

Edit 09/01/2022: Remember when I said it wasn't a favorite? Well, it might not be the highest on the list, but the book aged like fine wine for me, so it's on it. I'm about to pick up the sequel now. Heard that the second is even better, so here's hoping that's true! 4 STARS: This one has me a bit conflicted. From a critical point of view, I have no problems with this book. However, when I wasn't reading it, it became hard for me to pick it back up. When I was actually reading it, it was 4 stars, but when I wasn't it dropped to 3.5 stars. The characters were the real highlight of this. I appreciated that a good chunk of the beginning was devoted to establishing who they were, what they were fighting for, what they valued, etc. It made it a lot more harrowing when they were finally dropped into the tournament. That said, while yes, they're all morally grey, I would really only classify maybe one as a villain. Still, I did enjoy them. Surprisingly, I can't really choose a favorite as I enjoyed each POV equally, which is a real accomplishment. I think there was really only one romance in the story. I thought it was a little fast, but what was done was done decently. I know some people say there is a love triangle, but in my opinion, there isn't. Sure there is potential for one, but the one person between the two never really wavers from who he wants. There is also a bit of queerness, as one character is bisexual, but that doesn't really come into the plot all that much. It's really a little thing, and I'm saying this as someone who is bisexual and has seen bisexuality done better in other stories (*cough* Furyborn *cough*). The plot was very intriguing. Not much happened in the first 100 or so pages, but once the tournament started, it was a lot of twists and turns. I also appreciated that, while the twists were usually big and dramatic, there was usually a valid explanation for them that fit in the rules of the world. That said, there were quite a few twists, so I think it will succeed in keeping people on their toes. For some reason, I had a bit of a problem with the writing. It was fine most of the time, and it even chilled me occasionally. However, sometimes there would be a combination of words that didn't seem to "fit" together, or the sentence would seem to cut off a bit randomly. I would end up rereading those parts so I could make sense of what was said. It took me out of the story a bit when it happened. Just a little thing that bugged me. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy this. I will be picking up the sequel when it comes out. I just wouldn't categorize it as a "favorite". Still, if you want a cutthroat story where morally grey characters try to kill each other, I would recommend this, so check it out.

reading this book was such a letdown and it was perhaps one of the most difficult books for me to finish this year because i was just not enjoying a single page of it. reading it was very frustrating and tbh most of my notes on this are just complaints. i was very intrigued when i read the premise because the plot sounded good, also i loved the hunger games when i was a teenager so it really piqued my interest when i found out that this would have kind of a similar concept but with magic and a cast of morally grey characters. except that wasn't what really happened. honestly this book could've been great if it was actually executed well but... alas. the thing is i actually liked the first half of this book more than the second half even though it was basically just an exposition. that said, with the amount of time spent on that, the magic system shouldn't have been as vague as it was to follow once the tournament actually started. moreover, this book suffered from too much telling and not enough showing that it got so so annoying for me. i was constantly rolling my eyes whenever i would read about the characters describing themselves as wicked and cruel and blah blah because it was hard to take them seriously when there's no solid evidence for these. it was like the authors were trying way too hard to convince me that these characters are morally ambiguous to the point where they forgot to actually show it. the romance also happened so randomly ??? like, i know it was literally shoved in our faces that those two characters would be the love interests from the very first chapter, but they literally had 0 to none chemistry (also they were so wrong for marketing this as a "queer thg" when it has nothing to do with the romance and there's only one character who was truly queer). tbh i basically just skimmed this book when i reached the 80% mark because i wanted, so badly, to get it over with. it had those moments where it was finally getting compelling but then it would literally just derail right after and i'd go back to being frustrated. anyway, this is obviously an unpopular opinion but this book did not give what it was supposed to give and that was disappointing.