Book Review – ALL OF US VILLAINS (All of Us Villains Series) by Amanda Foody and Christine Lynn Herman

 

Synopsis
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
An Indie Bestseller!
An Indie Next Pick!

The blockbuster co-writing debut of Amanda Foody and Christine Lynn Herman, All of Us Villains begins a dark tale of ambition and magick…

You Fell in Love with the Victors of the Hunger Games.
Now Prepare to Meet the Villains of the Blood Veil.

The Blood Moon rises. The Blood Veil falls. The Tournament begins.

Every generation, at the coming of the Blood Moon, seven families in the remote city of Ilvernath each name a champion to compete in a tournament to the death.

The prize? Exclusive control over a secret wellspring of high magick, the most powerful resource in the world—one thought long depleted.

But this year a scandalous tell-all book has exposed the tournament and thrust the seven new champions into the worldwide spotlight. The book also granted them valuable information previous champions never had—insight into the other families’ strategies, secrets, and weaknesses. And most important, it gave them a choice: accept their fate or rewrite their legacy.

Either way, this is a story that must be penned in blood.

The All of Us Villains Duology:
#1) All of Us Villains
#2) All of Our Demise

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My Review
Harry Potter meets The Hunger Games. That’s the best way to describe this amazing tale of a group of teens, fighting to the death, to see whose family will control high magick until the next generation of champions. Each family chooses one champion to represent them in the tournament. There is only one survivor and the family of that survivor will be the powerful for at least a generation. Which means they’ll stop at nothing to ensure their champion is the winner. Including cheating, bribery, coercion, and even sacrifice. The story is told from the point of view of four champion, all with their own concern, motives, and desires. There were so many unexpected twists that this became the page-turner I needed to keep me engrossed, reading late into the night.

The story starts with various teens vying to be selected as their family’s champion, but soon, the sinister nature of the tournament becomes apparent. But unlike The Hunger Games, these magical kids want to sacrifice themselves for the fame, the glory, and of course the power. Even though only one can win, each believes they will be the winner. But the further into the story we go, the more we learn about these champions and that not all are created equal. Not just in their abilities, but in their motivations and desires. And one champion in particular has an idea, crazy as it sounds, that could end the tournament once and for all, and maybe just maybe save all their lives in the process.

Plot
The plot is complex with so many moving parts and balls in the air, it’s an intense read. With so much going on, there was action or drama of some kind on every page. So many secrets, lies, and power plays, the story moves at a clipped pace, without ever becoming exhausting. It also never got confusing, which can happen when there are a lot of levers in play. The authors did a masterful job of plotting an intriguing tale, giving us surprises and twists at just the right times, and foreshadowing everything.

Characters
This might be my only complaint. I often confused to two female protagonists. Though they serve different purposes, their personalities were very similar, while the two male leads, were as different as night and day. The other minor issue I had with the characters is that most of the non-narrators tended to fade into the background, with only a few exceptions.

What I Loved About ALL OF US VILLAINS
1. World Building. Spell casting, and spell making, and spell rings, oh my! The level of world building was off-the-charts good.

2. Setting. The fictional town of Ilvernath was such a key factor in the story, it was almost a character itself.

3. Magic. I really love the take on magic the two authors weave into their story. It’s different from any other magic I’ve read in the genre.

4. Twists. There were so many twists and turn, that I came to expect the unexpected, but still managed to be surprised all over again.

5. Ending. While this is the first half of a duology, I liked the ending that left me breathless for more rather than a frustrating cliffhanger.

Bottom Line
A fabulous dark tale of magic, friendship, and loyalty that left me ready for more. I’ve already preordered book 2!

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About the Book
Title: ALL OF US VILLAINS
Series: All of Us Villains Series #1
Authors: Amanda Foody and Christine Lynn Herman
Publisher: Tor Teen
Release Date: November 9, 2021
Genre: Young Adult Dark Fantasy
Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon AU | Amazon DE | Amazon IT | Amazon FR | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo | GooglePlay

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