All Of Us Villains by Amanda Foody and C.L. Herman Book Review

 All of us Villains 

(All of Us Villans #1)

By Amanda Foody, C.L.Herman 

Published Year: 2021

Page Count: 384 pages 

Medium Used: Paperback 

Genre: Magic, Games, Dark Fantasy, Fantasy, Betrayals and Alliances, Young Adult, Horror, 2026-read. 

Rating : 4/5 😎 😄 😄 😄 

First of all, the world and character building are good. All though all the characters stick to their true selves, the problem is none of them are likeable/good. Like the title reads, they are all villains in some form. There are seven main contestants to the game of Blood Veil and each has been groomed since birth for the prize. Participating in the game is generational for the seven families. Grieve family has never won - not even once in the last eight centuries with the game played every twenty years. Lowe family has won the most and has been possessor of the high magick which becomes theirs as the winner's family. The stakes for the participants - who are mere kids - is so high. Only one winner can live and all the others killed. In case none of them are dead by the time out, all of them are killed automatically by the curse in the tournament. Yikes 😬 It's one tough situation.

So enter into the game, teenagers, some of them want to win at all costs. Some of them are not motivated enough to contend. Some of them like their friends (the fellow contestants) too much that they want to remove the need for killing them. And then there is one master manipulator who takes advantage of these vulnerable teenagers who can't talk their mind or express their fears/doubts to their families. He sets them on a track of no turning back in the game. The way this game is being played is unprecedented. Doors open to the outer world to pry and interfere. The characters - every single one of them - are so ridiculously hateable that I had to remove a point from the rating for this and this very reason. 

One girl, Briony Thorburn, is not entered into the tournament but her sister is. Wanting to protect her sister from death and change the rules of the game, she tricks her sister, chops off her finger for tournament ring and enters the fray. Lol, this is the girl that wants to end blood shed by inducing it on an innocent minor lol. Then there is Alistair Lowe who has entered the game in low spirits because his brother is sacrificed to ensure his victory. What family is that right? Which wants victory and magick at any cost. And then Gavin Grieve of whom everyone is certain is the weakest link and a definite loser. He trades his life force to gain powerful magic and from the beginning, plots to take down Alistair Lowe. Then Isobel Macaslan has lost her powers before entering the game and allies with Alistair to win it back. At the end, she places a death curse on him so it is uncertain if her emotions towards him are ever true. Then there are three more other characters who don't pull much weight. Couple of them are dead by accident or self defense. The game which has always been sealed hermetically to people on the outside,nopens up through their attempts to take down the tournament instead of each other. They shake the balance of things with their strategies and might as well have already doomed everyone. Alliances between the players keep shifting. Someone who wants to win at all costs is only buying time through these alliances when there can only be one winner right ? 

Definitely good writing and addictive read. But the last 60 -70 pages felt a bit dragging .. the authors could have written the closing comments sooner I felt. And the characters themselves are hopelessly evil. Dead people come alive, strangers and reporters parade over the game like never before - the world becomes aware of this game and what does the sequel say about the fate of these families and town?