Reviews with content warning for Child abuse - All of Us Villains

Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

All of Us Villains by C.L. Herman, Amanda Foody

44 reviews

kenzaett's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

My first read of 2024, yay!
I picked this up in a bookshop on vacation for half price as a beach read, no clue what it entailed, just knew it was on my tbr, and
what a surprisingly good riiiidddee.

We're taking into an urban fantasy setting within a town that has teenagers fighting to death over the world's biggest magic source for their families (and nobody seems to have ever questioned it? Capitalism I guess), on the eve of the next tournament starting. This round is different though, as a traitorous voice from the village has spilled news about the tournament and now viewers from other villages have gathered to see the gorey spectacle. We follow the children of the 7 families from their nomination to the final fight... And end with a cliffhanger 😭

This book has a wonderful gloomy gothic dark academia witchy creepy village in the woods in the 50ies vibe but with modern and an interesting magic(k) system I haven't seen before.
I disliked the many POVs, 2-3 would have definitely been enough already. We can antagonize the protagonists even when we don't see them from other perspectives!! But that might just have been due to this novel being co-authored by two writers.

I feel like some of the characters could have been more fleshed out, had we had more time with them and their thoughts, and they tend to fall into a few archetypes, but the incredible writing, the scenery, and the way the authors are able to pull you into the world, make you see and hear and smell everything around you.. That makes up for it.

It's also like 1/5 on a spice level, which is amazing for YA. Instead we get brotherly love, manipulation, betrayal, family feuds, academic rivalry, emancipation from who you thought you were or would turn out to be, and a lot of BLOOD.

And I want MORE.

I would have loved a proper ending and to see this as a standalone, but I'll have to soon pick up book two for the conclusion 🥴👍🏻

Content Warnings

natnatl's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad slow-paced

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

3.5

A little younger in targeted age group I think. Writing was well done but simple language. I think a lot of details were told instead of shown and many themes and plot points were obvious. Overall great plot idea and will probably read book two but not sure I’ll recommend to my direct peer group.

Content Warnings