Reviews with content warning for Murder - All of Our Demise

The conclusion to this deadly tournament could not have clutched me in its grasp any harder. I know it would be easy to criticize certain character choices or plot points but I simply do not care that characters bounce from one alliance to the next like a ping pong ball (they are children faced with nothing but uncertain, impossible choices doing the best they can with the information they have in that exact moment) or just how convoluted the relationship between the spell makers, the government & the families ends up. I don’t even care about how convenient it is that the remaining champions- including a new addition, bound to the tournament against his will with hasty, experimental magick- end up with someone to pair off with.

The relationship between Alistair and Gavin is a fantastic development from enemies to lovers. Isobel and Reid also make sense to me, still enemies to lovers but in a more this relationship is definitely a little toxic considering we both took each other as prisoners at one point and we each have our own serious personal growth to do kind of way. Briony and Finley are the most predictable and boring but I think that has more to do with him being essentially a prop in her story than anything else. Briony’s final sacrifice made me tear up- she became a true hero rather than the heroic charade her family had been playing at.

There could not have been a better ending for this sequel and it certainly could not have been happier without completely betraying the horrors faced by everyone whose lives were impacted by the tournament curse.

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buckydotson's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

It really took me a minute to get into this book. I still feel like it could have been shorter (the audiobook is 19 hours) but by the end of it I was very glad I stuck with it. I Think the first book could have just been rolled into this book and been made one. I liked all the characters,

I especially liked the pairing of Alistair and Gavin, I wasn't expecting it but I really thought it was cute.

This is very Hunger Games-esque and I think it would make a good movie/movie series.

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paper_bound's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Really Really Good

I LOVE these characters. I'm still thinking about them.

I'm glad the authors didn't pull punches either! The internal conflicts of each of the characters, each of them confronting themselves, their motives, and what really makes a villain is wonderful. And each of the final pairings are lovely.

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drmccoy's review against another edition

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adventurous dark fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This YA duology is a magical Hunger Games. The story is fun to follow but the plot build leaves a little to be desired.

Some of the curse related plot points feel haphazard in how they are cured. The pairing off of all the champions feels forced.

It’s rather dark for a YA. I really enjoy the story but doubt that I’d reread it.

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maregred's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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takarakei's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Absolutely loved this, even more than the first book!
This one is much more character driven but there is some plot, just not as much as the first book. Really loved the character development, the romance(!!!!!), and how the story plays out was interesting. There were definitely some tears. This series has some great sibling love - Alistair & Hendry are just a beautiful family. Just as dark if actually not more so than the first book. These people are gonna need some serious therapy.

One of the best enemies to lovers romances I’ve read -

fucking Alistair and Gavin ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ I love them so much!!!
I was so afraid one of them would die in the end (I mean I’m glad they didn’t). I think Briony was kinda the easy choice and a bit of a cop out. I was prepared for serious pain. But of course even tho we all knew Hendry would have to go eventually but doesn’t make it any easier.

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spleenc's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

All of Us Villains was one of my favorite reads last year so I was eagerly waiting for the second tome of this duology.

I might not have lived up to my expectations but it wasn't that bad, it was still a pleasant read and I would still recommend those books for YA's lovers.

I was quite bored during the second third of this book, feeling like it was going nowhere, like the characters' actions were just to fill the pages, not helping the plot to go in any direction. The final third was good, maybe a bit fast-paced, like it was trying to catch the time it lost before.

Some characters got really nice development, some others... Well, let's say they go it easy, in the end. Some got a redemption arc that felt a bit... Rushed ?
I also wish they was a lit bit less of romance ? While I am glad some were LGBT for some diversity/representation, I feel like not every characters needed to love another. At least, I don't know, not during a "tournament" where they needed to kill each other ?? But, I must say, I'm not the biggest romance fan , at the same time : that's maybe why it felt too much for me.

Plot-wise, I kinda missed the fact that they were isolated from the other others. I wish the true "bad guys" were a bit more exploited : it felt rushed, once again. But I really like the few "aftermath" chapters that we've got, where mental health was discussed : I'm so tired of books where the characters got back to their life like nothing happened that it was very welcomed.

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briochebun's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

3.75 out of 5 ☆’s.

But he couldn’t resist asking, “In a different story, would we still have been enemies?”

“All of Our Demise” was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. I was besotted with the world that Amanda Foody and Christine Lynn Herman crafted for us in the first novel — “All of Us Villains” — and was desperate to get my hands on a copy of this sequel! :)

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While the novel was enjoyable overall — I did have a couple qualms with it (hence the rating).

I will admit that I wasn’t the biggest fan of the public being so involved in the tournament this time around.

I understand that that’s what ultimately ended up moving the plot forward — and helped build up some of the events that happened at the end of the novel — but sometimes I found myself wishing that we had more scenes of the characters spending time with one another in their respective groups before we wished them farewell (which admittedly sounds a bit silly considering the duress that the characters were under throughout this novel — but the heart wants what it wants).

I also wish that the events at the end of the novel would’ve been drawn out a bit more.

Everything happened so fast that I found myself getting confused as to which characters were in which areas / what exactly was happening.

ੈ✩‧₊˚ Spoilers Below ੈ✩‧₊˚

One of the things that I did love in AOOD was the blistering romance between Alistair + Gavin (Galistair? Alvin? Alivin?).

“I’m sorry you had the world’s worst first kiss,” he said. “You deserved something better.”

While reading “All of Us Villains” I was enraptured with these two and their interactions with one another…

I constantly felt myself being pulled into their orbit and — while we were made aware that both of these characters weren’t straight in AOUV — I was hesitant to get my hopes up due to past experiences, but Amanda and Christine did not disappoint with AOOD! :)

TLDR: Alistair + Gavin have my heart and I’m so glad that they ended up being endgame! Please give me a bonus scene of them in the future where they’re living together and are a bit happier…🥺

I also want to briefly mention that I found the ending of the novel to be realistic in regards to the characters’ mental health — and I was glad that Alistair and Gavin even discussed seeing therapists after everything that had happened...

With all of that being said — I will definitely be picking up Amanda and Christine’s next novel “A Fate so Cold“! ♡

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Song That I Listened to on Repeat While Reading “All of our Demise”: “Marjorie” by Taylor Swift (because it reminds me of Hendry).

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