All of Our Demise All of Us Villains #2

** spoiler alert ** AY ME ENCANTO i didnt expect to like this so much but like from the start of the first book i was kinda wishing they got together and THEY DID and it was so satisfying and i love these kinda books where the characters are just completely unhinged i had so much fun

** spoiler alert ** This series should get 5 ⭐️s for the gay panic hand touch torture scene alone that was so funny

I didn’t have an entirely enjoyable experience reading the first book, and I read this in the middle of my slump but suffice to say, this was a wonderful finale to All Of Us Villains. We meet our champions once more in the midst of a bloodbath trying to break the curse of the centuries-old tournament in Ilvernath, and everyone is as unpredictable and just as villainnous. This book was incredibly well written to a fault and it greatly emphasized the beauty of morally grey characters and how royally fucked up everyone was. This was infused with the right amount of action and gore that I liked it so much, alongside the agonizing slowburn romance sideplot. Would definitely recommend this duology!

Although i didn’t enjoy this as much as the first one, i did get very much emotional. I still don’t exactly like some of the characters, and i didn’t fully know where the romance was going - i was unsure but i had my guesses and they weren’t wrong. This one just didn’t hit the same, it’s not like there was anything wrong with the book, it was just my view on the characters still and that i didn’t find it as dramatic or intense.

** spoiler alert ** she switched the endgames on me but she did it really well so i’ll give her a pass for it alistair and gavin are cute and isobel and reid gave me banter so yeah she gets a pass

I started this book immediately after finishing the first. While I do prefer trilogies over duologies, I think the decision to make this series two books was for the best. 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. I love how this book reestablishes the world and reintroduces the characters and story. I had trouble keeping up with all of the character relationships in the first book because I was reading so fast, but this book does a great job at reestablishing everything. I love that this setting is a mix of modern and medieval fantasy, which gives it a unique vibe. While I did like the setting, it did make me wonder how much of this world was like our own and what other parts of this world looked like. I liked how this book introduced the media aspect and the experience of the world watching the tournament and the champions. It was interesting seeing how this world and its people reacted to the champions and how they dehumanize them, however this wasn’t too far from reality with how people treat celebrities, and I imagine that if the tournament existed in real life, the media reaction and the civilian reaction would be very similar to what is depicted here. The highlight of this book for me was the complicated character dynamics between the champions. I loved Alistair and Gavin’s relationship and how it evolved so much from the first book, I was pleasantly surprised by the direction the authors chose to go in with their characters. Alistair and Isobel’s relationship dynamic was my favourite part of the previous book, but I loved how they became true rivals in this book. I loved how more characters were introduced into the story, like the family members of champions and characters outside the tournament, but my favourite characters and interactions were between the existing champions and I wish that the focus was more on them. It wasn’t that the secondary characters overshadowed the existing ones, I just felt like the secondary characters should have highlighted the main protagonists and champions more while not taking away too much of their screen time. I do feel like this book meandered too much in places and wasn’t as impactful as it should have been. A lot of moments towards the end felt random, and the pacing slowed in weird places throughout. Despite being a duology and having the opportunity to not stretch out this story into a trilogy with unnecessary filler, it did feel like the authors were stretching the plot of this story to fill out one final book, despite the fact that this premise and these characters can easily be intriguing enough for a trilogy. It did feel like the authors didn’t explore everything they possibly could have in the tournament and this world, and that there were many interesting storylines and plots they could have explored that they didn’t. There was a certain part of the book that made me wonder what would happen if a child from two champion bloodlines was born, and would they be able to claim the win for two families or have a choice in which one they choose. Another gripe I had with this finale book is the constant stream of tertiary minor characters introduced, especially towards the end. It felt random and took away from the previous cast of characters, and while I understand why these characters would need to enter the story, I do feel like it would have been more impactful and natural to the story had these characters been mentioned or introduced before the climax and finale. It did feel like the authors didn’t have the passion and intensity for this part of the story as they did for the first book, and it did feel like the writers just chose to end it without caring about wrapping things up in the best way possible or creating the best version of this finale. This story didn’t go everywhere I wanted it to, and I wasn’t as satisfied by the ending as I should have been, but I did appreciate how this duology reminded me of how much I love young adult dark fantasy while introducing surprise LGBT+ elements before the end.

I loved this book so much from beginning to end. I finished it in about 3 days, and that was only because I was trying to savor every moment I had left with these characters and this story. I loved the way all the ships ended up being and I couldn't help but hoping for the best even during such dire circumstances. I feel like this book gave me everything I've ever wanted and more. I'm super grateful to have witnessed the blood moon rise and the tournament begin and end. It was a magical read; especially with my ship sailing hehe

I loved this one, I think the storytelling was very good, this one was darker than the first and I really liked that it leaned into it, and also NO SPOILERS BUT !!!!! AHHHH !!!!!!! gay people stay winning and I am very pleasantly surprised and delighted by the ending

These characters are so messed up, but you can't help getting attached to them. Also this book does a good job of sticking to the third person narrative.

Rivals-to-lovers ✔

Rivals-to-allies-to-enemies-to-lovers✔

Second chance romance✔

Villain romance ✔

Hero dies at the end✔

Be gay do crime✔

I really enjoyed this, but nowhere near as much as I enjoyed the first one. I feel like this book could've been way shorter and got the job done just the same. This main thing this book lacked, for me, was the fast pace that the first one had. However, I did really enjoy my time reading this. I love these characters and think this story is super unique! Would highly recommend. [Sidenote: not really important but why do these kids insist on having deep conversations in the middle of a GD life or death battle?? hello?? can we talk about this later?? lmfaoo]

Actual rating 3.75 Stars One of my most anticipated reads because I really loved book 1. A book that I had no expectations going into but ended up falling for the atmosphere and characters, and making mental grabby hands since reading to get this book. I will admit the first half felt very slow and dragged a bit too much that I was worried about how I going to feel by the end because it wasn't delivering that same excitement. There was a lot of breaking curses and spell casting yet it wasn't feeling very action packed. However, it really did pick up into the later half and left me with an overall satisfying conclusion to this story. I can say that if you're looking for a book with some morally grey misunderstood characters, an amazing atmosphere, and some magical goodness this is a great duology. Maybe I'm also just feeling extra happy because I got my ship in the end, and no one in this series deserved a happy ending more than they did!! If I had one thing I enjoyed from start to finish it was being in their povs and watching their characters grow. That in itself was enough for me to have felt really happy to have read this book. I really loved the character development and it was great to be able to see all the growth they went through from the first book, and feeling their conflict throughout. Every character is very human and flawed. I wish the stakes that felt so high in book 1 continued to feel that way into the conclusion but I just felt a lot of things that happened were fairly convenient. I think this could've been stronger, sure. By no means though is it an unsatisfying conclusion and I think this will be an ending most people can be happy with. It was hard for me to rate this because the first half was a 3 star read with some 4 star moments sprinkled in. The second half though gave me back a lot of the excitement I felt reading the first book and was a solid 4 star read.

Took me way longer than it should have but I swear that is not reflective of how GREAT this book is! An excellent conclusion to the duology. The tension and stakes hit the ceiling of the Blood Veil, and the costs are high. Absolutely will read anything by these authors.

4.25 STARS: I liked this one a bit better than the first. It went in directions I didn't see coming. The characters got some decent development, and heartstrings were tugged at. The ending was very satisfying as well. It left me feeling complete. The best part about this though (and it really caught me by surprise) was where the romances went. I thought I had them all figured out, but about 30% through, I realized that I didn't know anything. One of the complaints I had from the first was that not many of the main characters actually seemed villain-like. That changed in this one. While many still had elements of goodness, they took darker turns. While this might not be one of my all-time favorites, I can still recommend this series. It gives what it advertises, with some unique elements thrown in. I thoroughly enjoyed this duology!

I have been waiting for this book - the conclusion - since the moment I read the last words in All of Us Villains and as soon as it appeared I began reading it. 

Almost zero time has passed from where we left our champions in book 1, but after Isobel's betrayal and Hendry's appearance, alliances are fragile, enemies are still at the gates and now Ilvernath has access to the battlegrounds, and the champions to Ilvernath, things are really changing. 

I really don't want to give anything away and usually I would write a much longer review, but honestly, I just want people to read it, I want people to live the story - to take longer than expected reading it because you want to make it last just a little bit longer. I want people to feel the longing, the worry, the angst, the hope, the joy, and draw their own conclusions and not be swayed based on my review of this wonderful story. 

This is my Hunger Games - this gives me the spells, curses, and the rebellion that my magical heart wanted.

If you enjoyed the first - I promise you will enjoy the second.