All of Us Villains

I wanted to like this book, but my god how do you make a death tournament filled with viciously moral grey characters BORING?? The only reason this isn't a 1 star is because of Alistair and the ending chapter.

I really enjoyed this book. I thought the idea of it was definitely something I've never read before. I loved the magic system, it was very unique and nothing I've ever come across before. I was hooked about what would happen during the whole tournament, and a bit pissed about how the characters acted at the end. Despite it not actually ending in any concluding way (cliffhanger!), the ending was actually really satisfying because fuck the grandma

Hmmmm not so sure about this one. Marketed as a Hunger Games-esque book.

There's really only one character I gave a shit about and it appears as though that character might die.
The final 25% Of the book was very interesting but I felt the first 75% lacking. I just couldn't get into it.

I want to know what happens to Alistair but that's probably the only reason I'll keep reading. Also he needs to end up with Gavin. That is all.

Ultimately this book failed to deliver what it promised. It was marketed as ‘The Hunger Games but bloodier and with magic'. The Hunger Games set up was there but felt horribly contrived. It just felt like such a lazy construct and has been done better in multiple other books. The bloodier aspect doesn't hold true - in reality it was fairly tame. For a Battle Royale style fight to the death this was mostly a lot of nothing. The magic system was confused and contrived as well. The biggest let down was the world building. It was effectively absent. When you have such a contrived fight to the death concept you need to have a world that makes this make sense. The world building here was so cursory as to basically be nonexistent. Also, a comment on the title and the constant allusions to villainy - a properly well balanced and written villain is extremely difficult. They need to have a motivation and a believability to generate the necessary sympathy. The characters in here are barely villainous at all despite their preaching on it, and what villainy is present is often not really rationalized properly to generate the necessary sympathy for the action. Grimdark this is not. The book does pick up a bit towards the end and leaves us on a bit of a cliffhanger. It avoids some of the more annoying YA tropes but the prose is somewhat lazy and dumbed down. Overall a 2.5 stars for me. I can see some potential, particularly based on the last 3rd. I just wish there had been more effort on the world building to give the context that is extremely lacking.

I requested this book from the library solely because there was a lot of “buzz” about it but I'm barely able to sustain enough interest to finish chapter one. Next!

3.25/5 stars

This would have been so, so much better of they dropped three POVs and made it all about Alistair imho.

I've received an Advance Reader's Copy of this book through a giveaway hosted by the author. This has not affected my rating in any way.

Let me just start of with the fact that Briony Thorburn owns my heart.

Now, for the actual review.

All of Us Villains has its pros and cons. More pros than cons, for me, but I do feel like I should mention the cons first.

What I Didn't Like:

Firstly, the world building. My ARC of All of Us Villains didn't include a map, so it was hard to imagine Ilvernath in the first place. I'm also still confused on where the Blood Veil took place. At first I thought it was on the outskirts of the town, but then Gavin was able to get back into the town even though the Blood Veil should keep them out? I was kinda confused about how he was able to do that.

Second, the magic system. I get the spellstones, and the difference between the classes of them, but I still don't understand it completely. How do you cast them? Do you throw it, crush it? That was confusing, because all of the sentences about them would be like “Alistair used a Flicker and Flare” okay but how??

Finally, the ending. The ending of All of Us Villains didn't fit the pace of the rest of the book. It felt very rushed, and the POVs were changing so quick between each other. Also, I would've thought that the Blood Veil would've been over by the end of the book, and the second book would've been about the main characters dealing with the aftermath.

What I Did Like:

First, the characters. The main characters was what kept me reading through the book. I loved Briony from the start, but then I really started liking Isobel after Briony did... that to her sister, then back to Briony by the end. Briony and Isobel are my faves, but Alistair and Gavin are great too. They just had to grow on me (especially Gavin, because I didn't like him at all until the end).

Second, the plot. At first glance, I genuinely thought that this might be a Hunger Games ripoff with magic. I hadn't been a Hunger Games fan in the first place, so I really hadn't been interested until I read the first few chapters. Other than a similarity of kids fighting to the death, this wasn't like the Hunger Games series at all.

Finally, the ending. What? I never said I didn't enjoy the ending. Just because I didn't expect that ending doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it. There were so many things that were left on a cliffhanger, and it has me anticipating the sequel. Hendry's back?? Reid is the mastermind behind it all??? Finley's still alive for some reason???? While I didn't like the book ending like that, it was great and has me wanting more of Ilvernath and the Blood Veil.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. Amanda Foody hasn't disappointed me, and this is the first novel of Christine Lynn Herman's that I've read. I am excited for the sequel, and I will definitely be reading more of these author's books!

Pre-Reading Updates

6/14/2021: so Amanda just emailed me saying i won an arc?? i'm going to cry???

VE Schwab fans eat your heart out! I loved this! The only way it would've been better was an adult version with even more real death and gore! I enjoyed the use of multiple P.O.V.s and how that was used to keep the narration flowing. Best example of how to actively use the narration timeline as a tool; finding out contestants at the same time as the characters made it much more exciting and fantastical. It had a compelling unique magic system that added to brilliant worldbuilding. One of my favourite arcs from the past year!
I received an arc copy for review and leave this view voluntarily