
All of Us Villains
by Amanda Foody and Christine Lynn Herman
Seven families. Seven champions. A tournament to the death. Only one victor.
The prize? The last of the most powerful magic in the world.
Do you like how that sounds? I sure as hell do. Well, to be frank, I wrote that. I was trying to some the plot up and I hope that did a good enough job of it.
That is, actually, the plot. And I totally fell in love with it.
I mean, how can you write a book that good?!! The plot! The action! The sad backstories! The magic system! EVERYTHING! EVERYTHING IS JUST THAT GOOD! The plot was so well written, I swear that the entire time I was reading this book, I couldn’t bear to be torn from it. I needed to know. This entire year, I have not read a book that has kept me this invested. The thing that is funny, though, is that this book is marketed as The Hunger Games but with magic, and I did not like The Hunger Games. But I loved this book! I honestly could not stop reading this book, thinking about it when I was not reading it, and then thinking about its sequel once I finished it. THIS. THIS is the sign of a really really good book. It was honestly just so fun to read this book. I can say honestly that it has set a standard for me. It was exhilarating to read this book. Yes, exhilarating. This book had me crying with the characters, laughing with the characters and the sheer amount of investment I put into this book literally speaks for itself. It was action packed, entertaining, at times quite sad, at times quite cute and at all times really enjoyable. It was written really well despite being written by two authors, which doesn’t really work for me sometimes. That ending, however. That ending was the cruellest ending I have EVER read. WHAT WAS THAT, HUH?!! HOW COULD THE AUTHORS DO SUCH A THING?!!
*dissolves into sobs of heartbreak and despair*
I mean it. Do all my favourite characters have to suffer like that? I mean, is it the authors’ prerogative to make sure that I suffer emotionally on the behalf of the characters?! And it’s not just in THIS book. IT’S IN EVERY SINGLE BOOK I READ, GODDAMNIT! Like in one book, he dies. In the other book, her music never gets recognised and people take the credit for her music! In yet another one, literally EVERY SINGLE PERSON betrays her. I mean, is there any justice in this world?! And as for this book, one of them LITERALLY dies (and comes back to life but we don’t talk about that here) and another one is cursed to die soon. By soon, like, in a few days’ time. See what I mean?! I swear, my choice is jinxed (though these are, like, the favourite characters of quite a lot of people, so, maybe not). In short, all authors want to emotionally damage us, but we still love them, because their books are epic. Anyways, coming back to this book. All of the characters were soooo well written!! I didn’t like all of them, but I could understand where there were coming from. Like, Gavin Grieve? I disliked him quite a lot but I could still get why he was the way he was. His family was literally so underestimated that it was actually really sad. I literally HATED Briony Thorburn, but I could understand why she thought what she was doing was right. It actually was right, but her hero complex was literally so annoying. In the beginning, she was THE WORST. She got better throughout the book, but still. I just do not. like. her. But Isobel, on the other hand? She was my favourite. Even after that ending, and that’s saying a lot. Isobel Macaslan was so brave, and practical, and ruthless that she was just THE BEST. If the tournament was still on, she would probably have won by a mile. And as for Alistair Lowe? Well. Who does not like Alistair? There’s no point even getting into why. His grandma, however, literally makes my blood boil. She is evil. That’s it. That’s all I’m going to say. She is evil. Well now, I CANNOT WAIT TO READ THE SEQUELLLLL!!! I need that sequel, like, yesterday! Yes, now I shall go on a warpath to buy that book. Even if it hasn’t come to the bookstores here yet. But I will buy this book! I will!
*maniacal laughter*
So, in short, best book I’ve read this year. It is just perfect for people who love fantasy, adventure and magic. I loved, and I will forever love it. YA, 12+.