WARNING: SPOILER ALERT: IF YOU HAVE NOT GOTTEN THIS FAR IN THE ALL OF US VILLAINS DUOLOGY, STOP NOW. DO NOT READ. THIS IS BOOK 2. CHECK OUT ALL OF US VILLAINS FOR THE REVIEW OF BOOK 1!
"'I feel like I should warn 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 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."
Review:
Dude... for real.
I was hoping after the absolutely glacial pace of the first book, this one would pick up the god damn pace!!! Silly me!! I just...*sigh*
Let's talk about what I did like about this book first before I begin my rant. Everything I enjoyed about this book can be boiled down into two words. Alistair. Lowe. That boy is invited to any of my family events, I will adopt him or his methods; either way. When it came to Alistair, I was ten toes down for everything and anything he did, from murdering his entire family tree, to choosing not to break the curse and ride the wave in order to keep his undead brother. And I thought I saw something with him and Isobel, but him and GAVIN????? Yeah, be gay and do crime, that's his motto.
At his worst, he was the vicious monster everyone thought he was, and at his best, he had a huge heart that longed for the brother gone too soon, and simply someone he could feel safe and vulnerable with!! And I know that boy loved Maggot, despite what he might say.
And that's about all the positivity I have for this book... onto the rant!
For a series meant to be first about a death tournament of seven teenagers, second of dismantling a curse that unleashes deadly trials, THERE WAS BARELY ANY ACTION!!!!!! Listen, I'm all for unpacking familial trauma and releasing the shackles given to you at birth, but gaaahhhhh dayyuuuum!!!! SHUT THE FUCK UP AND FIGHT!!!! How on earth this book had over 450 pages of talking, I will never know but you felt the crawling pace the entire time (minus Alistair's chapters - love you pookie!).
The final climactic trial was by far the most action packed (It revolved around Alistair so DUH), but overall, the end of this series left me feeling disappointed. I wanted so much more, and I wanted to really explore (through ACTION) what it really looked like for these morally grey characters to be "villains." THAT was the part that really kept me reading. Sure, Finley was as White Knight as they come, but was Briony really trying to save the world, or simply get notoriety for it? Was Isobel truly as ruthless and coldblooded as she thought she was? I sure thought so for the first half of the book, and I thought that was so compelling! Was Gavin some cornered wild animal, desperate to survive no matter the cost? I wanted to get into their dark sides, but I'm left wanting.
Anyways. end of rant.
Maybe I'm being too harsh, or maybe not harsh enough! Let me know in the comments below and I look forward to seeing you on the next one!
Comments
Post a Comment