It’s a curse that casts itself over and over again,” Briony explained. “The Champions Pillar is the spellstone at the septogram’s center. And the dead champions fill it with power, cycle after cycle.” 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. Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Teen for an advanced copy of All of Our Demise to review! I read All of Us Villains in basically one sitting last year, so I was excited to see how it ended. Especially since the first book ended with such a cliffhanger! As with the first book, I love how the magic fits in. Most of our remaining characters are cursed, and their various curses are extremely personal, illuminating and challenging them in specific ways. Gavin’s magic is still tied to his life magic; using it causes his extreme pain. It has made him both more powerful and weaker in unexpected ways. He has found a way to siphon life magic from others, which puts him in the morally dangerous position of causing pain to others to relieve his own. Alistair likewise has his monstrousness cursed; the curse Isobel hit him with takes his life slowly, with the curse spreading every time he does something villainous. As a person who has built his identity and reputation on being villainous, and whose current survival—and the survival of his beloved brother—depends on his being able to kill others, this obviously puts him in a precarious position. The way these curses complement each other and force Alistair and Gavin into an uneasy alliance is also really interesting. And Isobel, whose beauty is her armor and whose public face is what has given her a chance in this competition (and reunited her with her father and his side of the family), finds herself turning into a living corpse, devoid of her beauty and even her breath and forced to rediscover herself without it… and come to terms with the fact that her family legacy is a curse. It is all done so brilliantly and beautiful. I seriously can’t shut up about this series. It’s so good. Come out, come out, wherever you are.” Alistair’s voice drifted through the woods, sounding straight out of a nightmare.

All of Our Demise - Amanda Foody, C. L. Herman - Google Books

The only small complaint I have is that some of the trials can feel a little repetitive. I appreciate that Foody and Herman did their best to make each one distinct, but there’s no getting around the fact that there are seven of them. I like the way that they fit in with the family histories and the ingenuity deployed to solve them all, but I won’t pretend that I wasn’t a little disappointed when I got to a trial chapter because on the whole I found them less exciting and dynamic than the others.Each of the champions may have come from different families, but they had all learned that "life was inherently unfair". Dark, luscious, and brutally smart, All of Us Villains is a fresh but unforgiving look at the legacy of abusive families and community-sanctioned violence. Foody and Herman have created a thrilling story that is impossible to put down; I stayed up all night to finish this book.” —Victoria Lee, author of A Lesson in Vengeance and The Fever King

All of Our Demise by Amanda Foody - Goodreads Editions of All of Our Demise by Amanda Foody - Goodreads

During the day: If you have a flexible schedule, you may find it helpful to take breaks during the day to read a book. Nuanced, exceptionally well-drawn characters and a carefully considered mythology’ Publishers Weekly, Starred ReviewAs 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 always intended. The best time to read a book depends on your personal schedule and preferences. Here are some suggestions: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is another teenage death tournament, but it differs from All of Us Villains by focusing more on wider societal ills than personal trauma and is a dystopia rather than a fantasy.

All of Our Demise by C. L.. Herman, Amanda Foody - Waterstones All of Our Demise by C. L.. Herman, Amanda Foody - Waterstones

Like, even after Briony’s squad finds out that it is possible to break the tournament, Gavin and Alistair decide to keep playing the cards as originally dealt. Obviously the right thing to do is to work to break the curse and save anyone, but it is impossible to fault the ones who don’t believe in the possible happy ending and can’t bring themselves to throw everything away in futile hope. In fact, Gavin and Alistair are my favorites (honestly, by a wide margin, although I do still like Isobel and Briony), and that’s a testament to how well these books are written: I love these characters even at their worst. The morality here is very, very gray. There are so many people that you’d say are absolutely beyond redemption that somehow manage it… by actively working for it and changing their ways. Foody and Herman’s collaboration offers a fun yet brutal tale of sacrifice, betrayal, and ever-shifting loyalties. From twists that’ll make you gasp to believably flawed characters you can’t help but cheer for and curse in the same breath, this one will keep readers on the edge of their seats.” —Tara Sim, author of Scavenge the Stars I actually do not have many thoughts about Finley Blair. He was just kind of there, playing the second (or maybe more like sixth or seventh) fiddle. The whole tournament literally had me on the edge of my seat. The plot barrelled along at the perfect pace, having plenty to keep you going but a lot to keep you guessing and rolling with the twists and turns. I loved it all! It took the reader to places I don’t think any of us were expecting but it was done masterfully.However, Briony left out a crucial detail: There was more than one way to break the tournament. She and Finley had begun to dismantle it piece by piece, which guaranteed the survival of the remaining champions after the curse fell. But the tournament could also collapse, taking down all five of them with it. And it was this possible outcome that terrified her. they were the ones who'd experienced first hand the price people were willing to pay for power . . . " One character I initially did not expect to like because of all the s**t and manipulation he had done but he won me over is one and only Reid MacTavish. I found myself really intrigued by him. As I began to understand him I surprisingly enjoyed his role in the story. This rascal simply grew on me. Disclaimer: The following text includes spoilers for All of Us Villains so if you haven´t read it yet, proceed carefully. My only complaint is that at times, some of the elements feel a bit repetitive. Honestly, I think that’s partly because the book is a little on the long side. Combining some of the events might have helped to cut down on some of the repetition.

All of Our Demise | Amanda Foody; C. L. Herman All of Our Demise | Amanda Foody; C. L. Herman

In a time of typewriters and steam engines, Iris Winnow awaits word from her older brother, who has enlisted on the side of Enva the Skyward goddess. Alcohol abuse led to her mother’s losing her job, and Iris has dropped out of school and found work utilizing her writing skills at the Oath Gazette. Hiding the stress of her home issues behind a brave face, Iris competes for valuable assignments that may one day earn her the coveted columnist position. Her rival for the job is handsome and wealthy Roman Kitt, whose prose entrances her so much she avoids reading his articles. At home, she writes cathartic letters to her brother, never posting them but instead placing them in her wardrobe, where they vanish overnight. One day Iris receives a reply, which, along with other events, pushes her to make dramatic life decisions. Magic plays a quiet role in this story, and readers may for a time forget there is anything supernatural going on. This is more of a wartime tale of broken families, inspired youths, and higher powers using people as pawns. It flirts with clichéd tropes but also takes some startling turns. Main characters are assumed White; same-sex marriages and gender equality at the warfront appear to be the norm in this world. Ilvernath has never had a tournament like this. Rules that have maintained the curse for centuries are breaking. Our family needs to know why.” I know why things are changing,” Briony told Innes, who still stood at the foot of the spiral staircase. It wrapped around the pillar like a vise before curling up into the rest of the Landmark. Except the spellboard had been Ilvernath itself. The seven Landmarks, which came to life during the tournament, each contained a pillar that acted as a point of the septogram. And the Relics—seven items that fell intermittently throughout the three months of the tournament—were the ingredients. If you loved the dark, foreboding nature of the first book, you’ll absolutely love this one. All your favorite characters return, each one just as morally grey as the last one. They’re all faced with choices they never thought they would have, especially that of ending the tournament forever. Even though there are a lot of points of view in this book, I didn’t feel like any of the characters were more developed than the other. They all felt like well-rounded and complex characters, which is a point for the story! It’s hard to do that with so many different narrators.I totally fell for All Of Us Villains when it came out last year, and had extremely high expectations for this 2nd book. Yes, I’m demanding, but to my utter relief Foody and Herman totally delivered! A fantastic, unique magic system with multidimensional characters. The lines between "right and wrong" have been blurred for so long that there is no distinction in the eyes of many, merely shades of gray. Do these young adults have any chance against those odds? As well as AoUV, the sequel is told in 3rd person through 4 of the champions (Gavin, Alistair, Briony, Isobel) with POV-less Finley, Reid, and Hendry more or less joining the game - the deadly over 800 years old lasting tournament - and influencing its outcome.