tl;dr hunger games but with magic and everyone's morally grey
Premise
The Blood Moon rises. The Blood Veil falls. The Tournament begins.
Every generation, at the coming of the Blood Moon, seven families in the remote city of Ilvernath each name a champion to compete in a tournament to the death.
The prize? Exclusive control over a secret wellspring of high magick, the most powerful resource in the world―one thought long depleted.
But this year a scandalous tell-all book has exposed the tournament and thrust the seven new champions into the worldwide spotlight. The book also granted them valuable information previous champions never had―insight into the other families’ strategies, secrets, and weaknesses. And most important, it gave them a choice: accept their fate or rewrite their legacy.
Either way, this is a story that must be penned in blood.
Rating
4.5/5 stars
Review
this book has had an iron grip on me for the past 4 days and you know what, as it should
all of us villains, if i can best describe it, is like a magical hunger games. every generation, the seven wealthiest families name a champion to compete in a tournament to the death. the winner's family gets a supply of the most powerful magic.
there's quite a bit of worldbuilding in this book (the tournament doesn't actually start until 25% in), but i honestly thought it was really intriguing. as someone who enjoyed the twisty games of amanda foody's ace of shades series, i thought learning about the intricacies of the tournament was very compelling. the tournament itself is quite interesting and has such an extensive history, and the magic system in this book is also pretty cool.
the biggest strength of this book is the characters. the book is told from 4 POVs. each of the main characters has a unique backstory, motivation, and character arc. i know it might seem like everyone will be brutal and villainous and totally evil, but each character straddles a delicate balance between heroism and cruelty. some want to be heroes more than others; some can't help but want to claim the villainous title that seems to be destined for them. but each character has a little bit of both in them.
the book gets a lot darker as it goes on [as do the characters], but it also begins to deconstruct the facade that each character puts up at the beginning. these characters are complex and really undergo so many shifts in motivation that make them more compelling to read about. they all have their reasons for being in the arena. [i will say though, with 4 POVs and constantly changing motivations and ideas, it's sometimes hard to connect with the characters and keep track of who's doing what]
that being said, i thought the plot was really interesting. this book has a good balance of character development and fast-paced plot. the plot has many twists and turns, and it really picks up once the tournament gets into full swing. lots of *mouth open in shock* moments. there's also a lot of setup for the sequel LOL we have a cliffhanger on multiple fronts
now tell me how we got a whole rivals to lovers arc in this book...a whole one bed moment...a touch of lovers to enemies.....we had time for all that and ykw i enjoyed it. i really did.
Other Info
First in a duology
16+
CW: death, murder, grief, arson, suicide (mentioned)
Buy link: https://www.amazon.com/All-Us-Villains-Amanda-Foody/dp/1250789257
Would I Recommend?
Yes!
Similar Books
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody