All of Us Villains by Amanda Foody and Christine Lynn Herman is a hit because of the plot. Enveloped by a tournament filled with magick, you will be pulled in by violence, confusion, and strong (but sometimes willowy) characters. This is a solid first instalment in the series as it sets up the purpose of the tournament but leaves room for expansion of the importance regarding the history and relationship they all have to magick.

All of Us Villains is a strong start with a deadly premise that is a good choice to read for those that enjoy magical dystopians and teenage angst.

Again, a good plot for the start. Because the story is told from four viewpoints, you are able to visualise and understand the goals of each character allowing for a unique narrative and drive based on the narrator; this alternating viewpoint in this realm of a magickal tournament is beneficial as it allows you to choose which ending you want - ie. who do you want to succeed? And what does succeeding mean within the confines of the tiny town?

The plot sets up loads of concepts that I assume will be expanded upon in the second instalment and I do anticipate the next novel to be even more magically oriented than this current story. The plot is worth reading.

Told from four viewpoints, the characters may be tough to connect too as not a lot is said about them and their personalities are shoved slightly away as their goal to win is the core of who they are within the novel. I think the characters could have benefitted from a little less one-sided determination and a touch more monologuing to help develop the desperation in the story.

Gavin is my personal favourite as out of all, he embodies a good balance between one-sided desire and personality. The characters are average but when combined with the originality of the plot, make this novel fun to read.

I feel this novel could have been shortened and its wow-factor would have immediately increased. All of Us Villains presents through its blurb to contain The Hunger Games vibes but with magick and for me, it fell short of reaching those vibes. To be fair, The Hunger Games is one of my favourite novels and when I compare All of Us Villains to the glee that novel made me feel, this one is just okay. Still good, but not what I anticipated from the blurb.

What upset about this novel the most was how one-minded the characters were. Alistar's purpose was to sacrifice himself for Isabel, a person he barely knew, because he loved her. All of the character's held similar one-sided ideals and because they did not develop away or have their one goal expanded upon, they frustrated me. I mean, why did nobody listen to Briony for even two seconds? It makes sense magick can be broken with magick. So why couldn't they be the ones to break it?

The reason nobody listened to her was because they were too wrapt up in their woe-is-me attitudes which really put me off as a reader and it was exhausting not being able to engage with any of the characters and why did Finley not have a POV when all other survivors do? Why was he pushed aside? I assume he must die early in the second novel otherwise, where is his POV!? I did adore Reid, the spellmaker, because his villainousness was evident and that his main goal of helping the competitors break the tournament was for his own benefit. I cannot wait to see his evolvement or devolvement in the second novel!

Even though the character's one-sided mindset frustrated me, I am still stoked for the second novel. I really enjoyed how all the characters had different viewpoints on what it means to succeed because even if Gavin is focused only on winning, Gavin's determination was rock solid throughout - dude, I enjoyed how ruthless Gavin was.

Had there been a touch more insight in to the character's pain and confusion as it changed throughout the tournament, I think I would have been able to engage with the characters more and therefore, have rated this novel higher. Hands-down, I will be reading the next novel because that ending was an extremely well-done cliffhanger and I want to know where the story goes!!!

Also, if Alistair and his brother murdered their whole family, what will happen to the high magic? Low-key enjoyed seeing Alistair live up to his villainous namesake. There are so many snippets in this novel that I hope are expanded upon and I am stoked to discover them in the next read. I am ready for a fast-paced novel and an continuation of this intriguing story; I also hope for a touch more depth in characters and those are my thoughts on All of Us Villains.