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Critics' Opinion:
Readers' Opinion:
First Published:
Nov 2021, 400 pages
Paperback:
Jul 2022, 400 pages
Book Reviewed by:
David Bahia
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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.
This year, thanks to a salacious tell-all book, the seven champions are thrust into the worldwide spotlight, granting each of them new information, new means to win, and most importantly, a choice: accept their fate or rewrite their story.
But this is a story that must be penned in blood.
ALISTAIR LOWE
The Lowes shaped cruelty into a crown, and oh, they wear it well.
A Tradition of Tragedy: The True Story of the Town that Sends its Children to Die
The Lowe family had always been the undisputed villains of their town's ancient, bloodstained story, and no one understood that better than the Lowe brothers.
The family lived on an isolated estate of centuries-worn stone, swathed in moss and shadowed in weeping trees. On mischief nights, children from Ilvernath sometimes crept up to its towering wrought iron fence, daring their friends to touch the famous padlock chained around the gate—the one engraved with a scythe.
Grins like goblins, the children murmured, because the children in Ilvernath loved fairy tales—especially real ones. Pale as plague and silent as spirits. They'll tear your throat and drink your soul.
All these tales were deserved.
These days, the Lowe brothers knew better than to tempt the town's wrath, but that didn't stop them from sneaking over the ...
Notwithstanding the centrality of magick, spells and curses, All of Us Villains is foremost a teenage drama backed by heavy character development. It is a tale of constantly shifting alliances, ineluctable betrayal and inconvenient secrets that hold potential sway in the tournament's outcome. Readers should not expect the atmospheric charm of Hogwarts or the romanticism of Isengard. Thematically, the narrative embodies to a large extent a retelling of the classic plot of the tragic hero, in this case subverted to fit the titular villains. These champions of the story are groomed by their families from birth to become unremorseful agents of death. The disconnect between the characters' free will and fate inevitably leads to conflicts of personal identity, which the book explores at length...continued
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(Reviewed by David Bahia).
Adalyn Grace, New York Times bestselling author of All the Stars and Teeth
Positively wicked in all the right ways. This series is my new obsession, and I cannot wait to devour the next one. With its innovative magic system, a twisted cast of characters you somehow can't help but love, and a plot that will leave you on the edge of your seat, All of Us Villains is addicting from start to finish. I'm obsessed. Kendare Blake, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Three Dark Crowns series
Magical, clever and cutthroat, All of Us Villains sets out to make it impossible to know who to root for.... A fun, twisty ride through a world full of spells and family secrets. Sara Holland, New York Times bestselling author of Everless
Both glittering with magic and drenched in blood, All of Us Villains kept me up at night with its heart-pounding pace and layered mysteries. I'll be waiting for Book Two with bated breath and bitten nails. Tara Sim, author of Scavenge the Stars
Foody and Herman's collaboration offers a fun yet brutal tale of sacrifice, betrayal, and ever-shifting loyalties. From twists that'll make you gasp to believably flawed characters you can't help but cheer for and curse in the same breath, this one will keep readers on the edge of their seats.
Of all the commanding aspects of All of Us Villains, the concept of "magick" arguably stands as the story's most significant. The residents of Ilvernath treat its existence much as they would electricity and running water, and in many ways are just as reliant on its practical applications as we in the real world are on our smartphones. An examination into the impact of magick on the roles of the central characters reveals parallels in its symbolism to an array of other stories in history and the present.
In All of Us Villains, "magick" is divided into two subsets: "common (low) magick" and "high magick."
Common magick is described in its "raw" form as a white, glittering substance that can be harvested from the deceased. An ...
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