All of Us Villains

"All of Us Villains" follows Isobel Macaslan, Alistair Lowe, Bryony Thorburn and Gavin Grieve, all four of whom are children of one of the seven families controlling the rare "High Magic" existing in Ilvernath. Generations ago, these seven families cast a curse that would bind the usage of High Magic for the next 20 years to the family of the victor of a fight to the death between descendants of these seven families. As if this wasn't cruel enough, the competitors are all teenagers. Isobel, Alistair, Bryony and Gavin are all eligible to be their family's champion, some already officially announced as such, some still waiting, but all of them preparing for the tournament. Each family has their own method of choosing their champion and of preparing them for it, some of them want that place, some of them had it thrust on them. All the while, there is also a cursemaker hinting at the possibility that this curse can be broken like any other, and the media covering the tournament for the first time after a book propulsed the tournament and Ilvernath into public consciousness. These four have to deal with the consequences of their families and their own in preparation for the tournament as well as their own, caught between wanting to win, not wanting to die, and the possibility of saving them all, and breaking the curse once and for all. I really enjoyed the choices of characters and how all of their positions are very different. Their family's place in society, their feelings about the tournament, their relationship with their family, their goal in the tournament, their relationship to the other contestants, their grasp on spellcasting and spellmaking. What made this book so very interesting were these characters and the developments they went through while dealing with the choices of their families, their own choices and interacting with each other. At first, I didn't think the characters would be very likable, but they all have some core of just being a teenager wanting to survive in their reality, which is likable, even when they do horrible things because they think they need to to survive or because they think it is expected of them. The conflict between this core of who they could be if the things were different and this harsh reality and trying to figure out what they have to do to survive was a highlight of this book for me. The characters really made this book for me. The worldbuilding was also very interesting, but the arcs of the characters and finding out what their next choice would be, was what kept me turning the page. I can really recommend this book for fans of slightly darker fantasy.

Also ich muss ja sagen am Anfang fand ich es noch ganz gut , aber dann hab ich es eine ganze Weile nicht gelesen und irgendwie wurde das ganze dann flach. Das einzige was mich noch interessiert hat waren Isobel und Alistair. Aber man muss sagen die Idee an sich ist echt cool.

Okay

Die Story fand ich interessant und den Schreibstil erfrischend ( kurze Kapitel mit häufigen Perspektivwechseln). Leider fehlt mir das gewisse Etwas, die düstere Atmosphäre hätte ruhig noch dunkler sein können. Für ein Buch über Villains waren mir die Protas insgesamt zu nett/ sympathisch/ normal. Sogar die Mutter und Großmutter der Loewe Familie. Ob ich den zweiten Band lesen werde muss ich mir nochmal überlegen.

Would you be ready to kill 6 others just for your family to have hold of ancient and powerful magic? Could there be a way for this story to stop repeating itself every 20 years? The world, lore and characters are fantastic and yet there is just the tiniest bit missing from the whole story. It feels almost like a build-up to the second book, where the story (hopefully) finally kicks off, even though the book in the story already gives so much … The struggles and doubts of the 4 main characters are written so well that you feel with them and try to justify their actions and decisions.

Das Buch lag leider eine ganze Weile auf meinem SuB. Nun hat mich endlich das Verlangen gepackt, es zu lesen und zum Glück habe ich es auch echt gemocht. Die düstere Stimmung, die die Geschichte verspricht, kommt sehr gut rüber und das Buch war durchweg spannend, vor allem ab dem Zeitpunkt, als das Turnier begonnen hat. Schon davor fand ich es aber sehr interessant in die Gedanken der Hauptcharaktere blicken zu können. Sie sind sehr Facettenreich und es ist interessant zu sehen, wie sie jeweils mit den vorherrschenden Situationen umgehen. Im Generellen haben wir hier eine Geschichte, die ich noch nicht so gelesen habe und es hat mir ziemlich gut gefallen. Ich bin sehr gespannt auf "All of our Demise" und darauf, wie viele der Slaughter Seven letztlich überleben werden.

Dunkle und spannende Fantasy-Geschichte mit morally grey Figuren.

Das war erst mein zweites Buch auf Englisch und ich habe die Handlung, die Figuren und die Welt geliebt. Ein Fluch, sieben Familien, sieben Champions und sechs Opfer. Die Situation erscheint aussichtslos und das ist großartig. Eine Absolute Leseempfehlung!

Blood before all. This is an even more brutal and dark tale from the Hunger Games. Seven children from seven families fight in this "game" to be the last champion who lives after the 3 months trial. The family of the winner will have the power above all high magic for the next 20 years. The tournament will either end with one left alive or after 3 months with all of them killed by the curse of the tournament. I wasn't aware that there is a sequel, which I had to add to my wishlist now.

Well, there were far fewer villains than one might think

Really enjoyed the hunger games vibe. The magic system ist interesting and quite unique I think, I liked that

Enthält leichte Spoiler: >> Gefühl insgesamt: 1 <> Protagonisten: 1 <> Plot & Worldbuilding: 0,5 <> Schreibstil: 1 <> Nochmal lesen?: 0,5 << Ob ich es nochmal lesen würde hängt auch etwas von Teil 2 ab. Mal schauen ob ich es dieses Jahr noch schaffe, ihn zu lesen. Aber grundsätzlich wäre ich dem nicht abgeneigt. Insgesamt: 4/5

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC. I was so excited to finally read All of us Villains. The description sounded really promising and reminded me of The Hunger Games. Now, after I have read the book, I can tell you that the story did not disappoint and that it was so much better and more magical than The Hunger Games. First of all, I loved the worldbuilding and the magic system because they created a very dark and thrilling atmosphere. It was something completely new and exciting and I just couldn’t stop reading. But my highlights were the many complex and morally grey characters. The book is written out of four different pov’s. First, I was afraid that I would confuse the different narratives and that I wouldn’t enjoy all of them equally as much. I’m glad to say that this wasn’t the case. I loved all of the characters and every narrative brought something important and new to the plot. My favourite character was Alistair because he was the most mysterious one in my opinion, but I also enjoyed reading about the other characters. I don’t want to say too much about the plot because I don’t want to risk spoiling someone. So please go ahead and give this book a chance. If you liked the Hunger Games and enjoy reading about morally grey characters and magic, you will certainly love this book as much as I did.

dnf at 63% been trying to get through this for 2 months, I‘m giving up now, I‘m so bored

3.25 ⭐️ “In this story, the princess slayed the dragon.” “All of Us Villains” is a book that kind of resembles Harry Potter X The Hunger Games, giving readers a mix of magical and dystopian vibes. The story is filled with twists, mysteries, and plenty of tension that keeps the readers engaged. One of the highlights of the book is the presence of morally gray teenagers (which I like) BUT despite the book title, those are not really villains. They’re just kids that are put into a tournament against their will. The title of the book, "All of Us Villains," doesn't accurately represent the content and nature of the story. Although the book has a few plot holes, it successfully creates an atmospheric setting. However, the plot itself lacks the thrilling factor (for almost 2/3 of the book) that one would expect from a book with such a premise. Unfortunately, the characters and the story failed to capture my interest and left me feeling bored most of the time. I know that it’s YA but I’ve read YA books before that were very much fun and thrilling. While the book is told from multiple perspectives, not every character's point of view is provided. From what I guessed, those characters had minor roles and seemed dispensable. However, my favourite characters are Alistair and Hendry. I love their brother-bonding. The last 20% of the book managed to redeem itself with some exciting moments, but overall, it fell short in terms of character development and plot execution. I liked the book’s ending but I think that I won’t read the sequel to it. “The Lowes shaped cruelty into a crown, and oh, they wear it well.” “Alistair’s fear wasn’t for his life, but for his mind. Even the most villainous Lowe victors left the tournament changed, broken.” “Monsters couldn’t harm you if you were a monster, too.” “‘It’s like we’re stuck in a pattern.’” “Briony had only ever thought of it as a fairy tale. But even the grandest stories eventually found their ending.” “‘Hello, rival,’ he whispered.” “‘I want to live,’ he said firmly. ‘I want us both to live.’” “She lifted her hand and ran it down his cheek. ‘You weren’t ever ther monster in this story, Al,’ she said softly. ‘Than who am I?’ he asked.

4.5 stars from me ⭐️ I really enjoyed this book! The concept of a battle royale/hunger games plot with a magick system is really cool. I liked the characters and they seemed to gain depth and character quickly. There was enough drama in the plot to make this a bit of a page-turner for me. My only reservation was how off-pace the book felt at the end. The build up to the tournament was pretty long, and the real “action” felt quite rushed and like it ended prematurely. I probably would have preferred a single, stand-alone book for a story like this. I will definitely be reading the sequel though!