The epic conclusion to Amanda Foody and Christine Lynn Herman’s New York Times bestselling All of Us Villains duology that’s The Hunger Games with magic.
“I feel like I should warn you: this is going to be absolutely brutal.”
For the first time in this ancient, bloodstained story, the tournament is breaking. The boundaries between the city of Ilvernath and the arena have fallen. Reporters swarm the historic battlegrounds. A dead boy now lives again. And a new champion has entered the fray, one who seeks to break the curse for good… no matter how many lives are sacrificed in the process.
As the curse teeters closer and closer to collapse, the surviving champions each face a choice: dismantle the tournament piece by piece, or fight to the death as this story was always intended.
Long-held alliances will be severed. Hearts will break. Lives will end. Because a tale as wicked as this one was never destined for happily ever after.
With every protagonist morally gray and some close to black, All of Us Villains blew me away. This sequel was absolutely one of my most anticipated reads this year.
This is one of those reviews where I can’t reveal too much without giving away spoilers. I’ll start by saying Alistair remains my favorite character, and my heart ached for him. He’s been told his whole life he’s a monster, raised to know he’ll have to kill people, and told bedtime stories about his relatives and the heinous acts they committed. Someone he trusted, and you can count on one hand how many people attained that status in his life, betrayed him in the last book. As you can expect, this isn’t something he’ll let slide. Still, I only wanted good things for him.
If I thought the first book contained shocking twists, it had nothing on this one. Some I had an inkling of, others not a clue. Alliances are formed and expected, which is pretty much the only way to survive the tournament. Then came a hint of a surprise pairing – and I nearly jumped with joy. I was totally on board with this relationship, and it’s one of my favorite parts of the book. But my lips are sealed.
To get readers to cheer for a bunch of villains says something about the talent of these authors. Character development is outstanding and one of the strongest aspects of this duology. Be prepared – not everyone survives, but that’s something to be expected in a tournament based on death. I’m sorry to see this series end, but I count it as one of my favorites in the YA fantasy genre.
I received a complimentary copy of this audiobook from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Books and Such 
You know it’s a successful duology when the second book is ever bit as good as the first. Kudos to Foody and Herman!
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“every” bit. (Lordy.)
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Exactly. Sometimes the followup can be a letdown, but I knew these authors wouldn’t disappoint me.
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Wow! Great review for this book, Teri. I agree with you. When an author can get you to root for the villains, they’ve done an amazing job. Thanks for sharing!
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All these teens deserved better parents, Jan, lol. For being raised to kill people, they turned out surprisingly well.
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I have the first book in this duology. I’m looking forward to reading both books. Excellent review!
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I know you’ll love it, Tessa. Bet I know who your favorite character will be – you’ll have to tell me who it is when you start reading.
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Ok that will be on my Fall TBR after All of Us Villains!
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Yes! Now you don’t have to wait a year for the sequel, Sophie. I know you’ll enjoy it.
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You’ve done it again, Teri. I’m off to Amazon. You’re killing me (lol), but I can’t wait to read this one. You hooked me.
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I don’t even feel bad, Diana, lol. I’ll be quite surprised if you don’t love this duology as much as I do. You’ll adore the world-building.
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I actually picked up the first. Lol. No, don’t feel bad. I love getting excited about books.
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Woohoo! Anxious to hear what you think about it.
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I have a bunch of indies to polish off first, but then….
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That’s a fabulous review, Teri. Sounds like this one really resonated with you!
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Thanks, Mae! I was already a fan of both these authors, but when I learned they were co-authoring a duology together I knew it would be outstanding. Kind of like two other authors I know who just took that leap.
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😁
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Terrific review, Teri. You’re right, it takes a talented author to make an unlikeable character likeable.
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Right? When I first read the premise, I was so excited, but wondered how they’d be able to pull that off. They did it effortlessly.
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Sounds pretty exciting.
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Morally gray characters get me every time, Craig.
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This sounds amazing and perfect sequel. I always love strong character development.
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I was so pleased with the sequel, Yesha. The character development is some of the best I’ve seen.
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Hi Teri, this book sounds very intriguing. A bit like the 4th Harry Potter with the tournament – I am thinking of the retrieval of the egg from the dragons.
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The mention of tournament does make it sound similar, but in this book the tournament has no assigned tasks and basically no rules. It ends when one competitor is left alive. Pretty dark I know, but so compelling.
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👽
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