All of Us Villains by Amanda Foody & Christine Lynn Herman

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

About All of Us Villains

All of Us Villains by Amanda Foody and Christine Lynn Herman gives us a competition to the death. Theirs is a world with magic – charms, curses, and the like. But there’s a secret wellspring of high magick, a powerful resource thought long depleted, in the remote town of Ilvernath.

Each generation, the Blood Moon rises, the Blood Veil falls, and the Tournament starts. One champion from each of the seven families enters a battle. To the death. The last one standing gets control of the wellspring, all of the wealth and power that entails, for the next twenty years. Until the next Blood Moon.

But this time, the Tournament’s stakes are even higher thanks to a tell-all book that revealed the cruelties of this bloody tradition to the world.

Seven teens, who’ve known each other their entire lives, some have been friends and even dated. But they’ve also trained to be ruthless champions. Determined to be the last one standing and win their family the prize of high magick.

The Tournament’s Blood Veil will isolate them from the rest of the world. And the Tournament’s magick will force them to battle until there’s only one left.

My thoughts about All of Us Villains

All of these teens have been twisted, bent, and broken by the tradition of the Tournament and even crueler, by their families. And yet, they can’t even depend on each other. There won’t be a banding together or a refusal to fight. Not fighting means they all die.

The world-building and magick system are unique and intriguing. I want to know more!

And this story! If you want darker than dark, this is it. The story’s written from shifting POV with each of the champions getting to tell their own story with well-crafted and thought-out characterizations. You get deep dives into motivations and fears. Alliances are made and broken. Betrayals come from unexpected places and in unexpected ways.

The authors give you reasons to care about the characters. Even the ones you think you’re going to loathe – you don’t. There’s a lot of despair to feel about the terrible choices the champions are given. And the ending will wreak you. Expect ugly crying. A lot of it. And? A huge cliffhanger that’s going to have you begging for more.

In conclusion

Thank you NetGalley and Tor Teen for the ARC.

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