Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

Vicious by V.E. Schwab

31 reviews

theghostly's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Self harm, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Death, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Violence

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Sexual assault, Animal death, and Rape

donatio's review

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

As always V. E. Schwab did not disappoint.
I loved the writing style and how she skipped back and forth between the past and the present. The characters were well-crafted and I found a connection to every one of them, especially Victor's group of strays. 
It was not really action-packed but I still loved how the story evolved. 
Before reading one should check the trigger warnings, because it gets dark at points and "There are no good men in this game" is quite true. The mix of flashbacks and present might be annoying for some people too. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Toxic friendship, Suicide, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Child abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Toxic relationship, Death, Deadnaming, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, and Suicide attempt

ten_telegrams's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Grief

astrid_mel's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Medical trauma, Blood, Violence, Hate crime, Self harm, Animal cruelty, Religious bigotry, Death, Animal death, Gun violence, and Murder

Moderate: Alcohol, Toxic friendship, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, and Child abuse

Minor: Car accident, Alcoholism, and Addiction

_lovedelirium's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

"And now, just as then, when he closed his eyes and searched for silence, a word rose up to meet him, a reminder of why he couldn’t afford to break, a challenge, a name.
Eli."

they love each other btw

"Eli, who, despite it all, meant something to Victor."

in their own fucked up way yes

“Tell you what,” said Victor. “You remember me, and I’ll remember you, and that way we won’t be forgotten.”
“That’s shit logic, Vic.”
“It’s perfect.”
“And what happens when we’re dead?”
“We won’t die, then.”
“You make cheating death sound so simple.”
“We do seem awfully good at it,” said Victor cheerfully. He lifted his glass. “To never dying.”
Eli lifted his. “To being remembered.”
Their glasses clinked as Eli added, “Forever.”

but they LOoOOoOoVE each other 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Self harm, Murder, Violence, and Gore

Moderate: Animal death and Animal cruelty

anthasplans's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

It fascinates me every time I read it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Mental illness, Murder, Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Gaslighting, Violence, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

rae_diant's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Toxic friendship, Murder, Gun violence, Self harm, Gore, Suicide attempt, Body horror, and Torture

Moderate: Animal death, Medical content, and Animal cruelty

Minor: Alcohol

lindseyhall44's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

In an Instagram post last month,
V.E Schwab publicized an editors comment, which read “you’re readers will follow you anywhere.” Out of all the authors I have read over the years, I cannot think of one more fitting of this than Schwab, and Vicious is just the latest example.
Vicious follows two best friends, Victor and Eli, and the dark path that awaits them as a science thesis goes horribly wrong. The experiment in question: what is the essence behind an ExtraOrdinary person….and is it possible to create one?
I love the philosophical questions intertwined with the dark academia setting and more gruesome plot progressions, since it rounds into a more complex story. Even though Victor is a morally gray character, I still found myself rooting for him, in spite of his numerous faults. I think this goes to show the significance of character development in Schwab’s work (even the side characters), something I am exciting to read more of in the future. I have a feeling that the sequel (vengeful) will be a five star read for me, since there is less “magic system” development:)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, Blood, Death, Gun violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Gore, Physical abuse, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Drug use, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Abandonment, and Medical content

Minor: War

oliverreeds's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Kidnapping, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Gun violence, Mental illness, Murder, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Torture, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Child death

nebulasaurus's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Animal death, Blood, Murder, Religious bigotry, Violence, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Self harm, Gun violence, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Torture, and Toxic friendship