The magical system is fun, the unfolding of the tournament fascinating, and the characters compelling.

Even though it uses a trope previously done before, there's enough newness in here that it still feels fresh. This story grabbed me from the very first moment.

Who will emerge victorious, when victory carries such a high cost? And so for the current seven champions, thus begins the battle of their lives. During the Blood Moon, each family must offer a champion to fight to the death, with the winner gaining control over the highly sought-after resource. In a world greedy for high magick, seven families in Ilvernath are bound to a powerful secret. All this time, I'd just been waiting for a captivating tale to reel me in and All of Us Villains does just that. But here is definitive proof to the contrary. We decided it was ours to claim.It's been so long since I've felt the magnetic pull of YA fantasy, I wondered if I'd outgrown the genre altogether. (Nov.High magick fell from the stars, and when we found it, we did what humans always do. Agents: (for Foody) Whitney Ross, Irene Goodman Literary (for Herman) Kelly Sonnack, Andrea Brown Literary. Nuanced, exceptionally well-drawn characters and a carefully considered mythology add dimension to the sturdy Hunger Games–meets–Harry Potter premise, while unexpected attractions and shifting alliances add drama. A shifting perspective follows contenders Alistair Lowe, Isobel Macaslan, Briony Thorburn, and Gavin Grieve (all white, one queer) in this high-stakes duology opener from Foody (the Shadow Game trilogy) and Herman (the Devouring Gray duology), which endorses self-determination over destiny.

But while most are focused on winning, one is determined to break the curse and save them all-provided she can survive long enough to figure out how. What was once a clandestine competition is now famous thanks to a recently published anonymous tell-all, increasing the already unbearable pressure on this year’s participants. The conflict ended in compromise: a curse stipulating that every two decades, under a blood-red sky, a teen from each clan must participate in a tournament to the death using only common magick the victor’s bloodline secures exclusive access to Ilvernath’s high magick for the next 20 years. Centuries ago, seven families battled one another for control over Ilvernath city’s secret wellspring of rare and “frighteningly powerful” high magick.

All of us villains amanda foody