Reviews with content warning for Gore - Vicious

[[ The lack of trigger warning for this book is insane being that it’s heavily laced with relentless death. Please don’t read if you’re sensitive to su*c*de. ]]

The second book from V.E. Schwab that I’ve read and the second time I wasn’t disappointed by her fantastic world building and creative plot premise. Both, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and Vicious are unforgettable tales, but there was a certain level of daring in this one that I truly did not expect.

Schwab did not hold back when writing Vicious, a shadowy dark story of villainous characters fiddling with the idea of becoming twisted “heroes” in the name of vengeance. Just about every chapter was laced with death and disdain that played out like a movie in my mind and made my stomach twirl with unease.

I found myself rooting for characters I would have originally thought otherwise of, ie. Victor, Serena, and Dominic, all of whom I found to be fascinating. I really enjoyed their EO abilities. I was underwhelmed by Sydney and Mitch, to be frank, and Eli was… a bit much. But when the built-up climax was revealed, I was glued to the story and really enjoyed how it all played out in the end.

All that being said, I felt the story was missing… something difficult to put my finger on, but once I closed the book, I realized what it truly lacked was my emotional connection to it all. Maybe because the story was laced, front to back, with jealousy, betrayal, and vengeance… maybe because each character was one-track minded the entire time, I found the story to be pretty one-dimensional and impossible to truly connect to. I realized what carried me through the book were my own questions and discomfort in a stopping point, and less about resonating with the characters or the story itself. I never really felt like I was fully in the story with the characters, and instead felt like an observer interfering on a sick, chaotic, interpersonal mess. That’s honestly what separates my rating from a 5 star to a 4. Oh, and the fact that I would never reread this story, being that it is way too dark and gloomy for my personal liking.

Aside from the stink of it, I would recommend reading this for all who enjoy out-of-pocket, daring plots and unconventional characters. It was truly incomparable to anything else I’ve ever read lately.

Content Warnings

ashlynregan's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

An interesting read. A quick jump to action with the flashbacks in alternating chapters, but other than that it was compelling. In order to read this, you have to fully commit to believing in superheroes, if only for a few hours. I would recommend this to fans of the television show The Boys.

Content Warnings

shadan's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

chronicacademia's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

Content Warnings

maddiela's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

jgalla's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Content Warnings

willow_sinclair's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark funny inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

TALENTED, BRILLIANT, INCREDIBLE, AMAZING, SHOW STOPPING, SPECTACULAR, NEVER THE SAME, TOTALLY UNIQUE

I am so NOT NORMAL about this book, I swear. I didn't think I'd love it this much, but here we are, with Vicious now being in the list of my absolute favorites.
I loved the story, I loved how well developed the characters and their evolution (speaking for Eli and Victor especially) were, I love the DIVERISITY of the characters and how the dynamics going on and linking them to one another were not that obvious. I love that

I hated young Victor and I loved him with all my heart as an adult, and that I loved young Eli and DESPISED HIM after the 10 years skip. I loved their constant contrast and obsession with one another, their pull towards the other, it was super intense and captivating.

Victor's party - no, Victor's family owns my heart: Victor is so messed up but honestly, I love him and his humor and his finger guns and sarcasm and half dad jokes the fact that he's absolute FATHER MATERIAL; Sydney must be protected at all costs, she's so sweet and I was in tears for her, she's amazing

(Serena you BITCH)

; and Mitch, oh, don't get me started on my man Mitchell. He's the absolute best, deserves all the chocolate milk in the world.
Eli is CRAZY AS FUCK, I loved his character as much as I hated him as a person. He's insane.
Honorable mention for Daddy Detective Stell. I knew you were a real one.

One of the easiest five-star rating I've ever given, I swear.
LONG LIVE VICTOR VALE

Content Warnings

lizziaha's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark

Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.25

A very interesting look into villainy. The jumbled storyline (particularly in the beginning) was a bit hard to follow at times, and the characters made some truly abhorrent choices. But this brand of super powered people that Schwab has introduced is very intriguing. I kinda wanted more info about the various superpowers.

Content Warnings

More...