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werona_inc's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-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? Yes
5.0
alistair and gavin should kiss about their conflict
zeeydee's review against another edition
5.0
I went through 3 stages of grief in around 3 minutes at the 22% mark. Then I was stuck with anger for the rest of the book.
These are kids who are best friends/exes, raised and forced to compete and kill each other. They all make terrible decisions and we completely understand why they do that even if we know it's not a good decesion.
It's exciting, surprising and heart wrenching. I would say I loved it but I am still angry.
These are kids who are best friends/exes, raised and forced to compete and kill each other. They all make terrible decisions and we completely understand why they do that even if we know it's not a good decesion.
It's exciting, surprising and heart wrenching. I would say I loved it but I am still angry.
kkouh's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-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? Yes
4.5
heidikundin's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 Stars
There were a lot of things that I really liked about All of Us Villains, but I also felt like there were some places where it fell short for me. I generally binge read books over a couple of days, but with this one, I didn’t feel compelled to read it all at once until I hit the 50% mark. It took me a full eight days just to get to 50%, and then I finished the rest on the same day once the action picked up.
Some thoughts:
* I loved the premise, and I thought it had a lot of potential even though the concept is not new. The “Hunger Games meets HP Tri-Wizard tournament” references are pretty accurate with the main characters having to fight to the death in a tournament using magic and curses. The idea of morally grey characters facing their own demons and each other sounded really intriguing...but the characters were definitely FAR less villainous than the title and synopsis would lead you to believe. In fact, I was pretty disappointed by how un-villainous they all ended up being.
* I didn’t realize that this was the beginning of a series (it’s noted on Goodreads, but it wasn’t noted on Netgalley), so I was surprised by the rather abrupt ending, LOTS of loose ends, and lack of resolution. This is clearly my own fault, though, and not actually a flaw of the book, but I did feel like the ending was really rushed and disjointed anyway. It actually left me double checking to make sure I hadn’t just been given a preview of the book vs the entire thing.
* I LOVE the idea of all of the magickal elements, but I also thought there was often too much left to the imagination there. The descriptions of what happens with each spell or what things look like are often vague, though the names of the spells (The Deathly Slumber, Dragon’s Breath, Pick Up the Pace, Here to There, etc.) give a clear indication of what they’re supposed to do. I guess, silly as it may sound, the magic didn’t feel all that magical.
* The story is told from alternating POVs, and though that can sometimes be seen as a detriment, I thought the authors did it well enough here. I didn’t love all of the different characters, but they were all unique enough that each POV was able to stand on its own.
I did, however, wish that the rotating POVs would have been from all seven champions and not just four of them, even if we had gotten just one initial chapter in the beginning where we got to know the backstory of each champion. The book relies SO deeply on the other four backstories and world building for the first 50% of the book that leaving three of them out made those other characters feel totally dispensable and unrelatable.
* All in all, this was entertaining enough, and I will likely pick up the second book when it comes out. Hopefully, at that point, I will still remember these characters and the story because this definitely seems like one that I am likely to forget.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.
There were a lot of things that I really liked about All of Us Villains, but I also felt like there were some places where it fell short for me. I generally binge read books over a couple of days, but with this one, I didn’t feel compelled to read it all at once until I hit the 50% mark. It took me a full eight days just to get to 50%, and then I finished the rest on the same day once the action picked up.
Some thoughts:
* I loved the premise, and I thought it had a lot of potential even though the concept is not new. The “Hunger Games meets HP Tri-Wizard tournament” references are pretty accurate with the main characters having to fight to the death in a tournament using magic and curses. The idea of morally grey characters facing their own demons and each other sounded really intriguing...but the characters were definitely FAR less villainous than the title and synopsis would lead you to believe. In fact, I was pretty disappointed by how un-villainous they all ended up being.
* I didn’t realize that this was the beginning of a series (it’s noted on Goodreads, but it wasn’t noted on Netgalley), so I was surprised by the rather abrupt ending, LOTS of loose ends, and lack of resolution. This is clearly my own fault, though, and not actually a flaw of the book, but I did feel like the ending was really rushed and disjointed anyway. It actually left me double checking to make sure I hadn’t just been given a preview of the book vs the entire thing.
* I LOVE the idea of all of the magickal elements, but I also thought there was often too much left to the imagination there. The descriptions of what happens with each spell or what things look like are often vague, though the names of the spells (The Deathly Slumber, Dragon’s Breath, Pick Up the Pace, Here to There, etc.) give a clear indication of what they’re supposed to do. I guess, silly as it may sound, the magic didn’t feel all that magical.
* The story is told from alternating POVs, and though that can sometimes be seen as a detriment, I thought the authors did it well enough here. I didn’t love all of the different characters, but they were all unique enough that each POV was able to stand on its own.
I did, however, wish that the rotating POVs would have been from all seven champions and not just four of them, even if we had gotten just one initial chapter in the beginning where we got to know the backstory of each champion. The book relies SO deeply on the other four backstories and world building for the first 50% of the book that leaving three of them out made those other characters feel totally dispensable and unrelatable.
* All in all, this was entertaining enough, and I will likely pick up the second book when it comes out. Hopefully, at that point, I will still remember these characters and the story because this definitely seems like one that I am likely to forget.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.
ashction's review against another edition
4.0
This is a strong story with a fascinating magic system (and murderous competition) that definitely will draw most readers in quick. I found some of the characters to not be particularly interesting, and the main romance in this story between Alistair and Isobel, which I never fully bought anyway, turns into a plot device that I guess makes it work? I'm holding a candle for Alistair and Gavin for some reason - just a vibe I got. We'll see though. Regardless, I'm eager to see how it ends and will definitely pick up the sequel later this year!
amandarosetea's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Eeek so many twists, I didn’t see any of it coming and I’m still in shock. Great story telling and world building. A little intense and bloody for me but still really good. Yikes.
timvnn's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
conlmar's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
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
4.75
Several POVs, expertly balanced with such rich backstories and relationship development that I ended up loving (or at least understanding) each character and their decision-making. Sometimes wanted to yell at all of them, but mostly wanted to comfort them.
leubanks19's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5