Reviews

Vicious by V.E. Schwab

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jenna_troppman's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

pnnylayne's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

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

4.25

charlieteuthis's review against another edition

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5.0

The writing, characters, and plot were all incredible. I love stories about villains, and this was very interesting in terms of the characters' morals and motivations, each one being very different than the others. The way the chapters were set up also lended to the intrique of the story. Overall, it is one of my favorite books, and I am eagerly awaiting the sequel.

daisyjupiter's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

lanalabonita's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

remilauren's review against another edition

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4.0

Vicious is the story of two best-friends turned foes. Sounds simple right? But these men are ExtraOrdinaries (EOs), people that have had a Near Death Experience (NDE), they almost died and have been resurrected. EOs have special powers depending on their mental state or manner of death. An interesting concept, flavored with religious sentiments of God-Devil, or even Hero-Villain, it sets itself up nicely. Shwab stirs the plot slowly, letting it brew and it ends up on a delicious note, haha.

***SPOILER***

For quite some time, I could not decide on whom to root for, or if I should even root for somebody. Vic was an escaped convict that hated Eli, but it was him in the past that made an outrageous suggestion to try becoming EOs. Only when I learned the fact that Eli conveniently threw Vic under the bus and even marked him as an EO, did I start to feel for Vic.

But I didn't start rooting for him until I found out Eli was on a killing spree. He considered himself a hero and believed he was saving the normal people from EOs by eliminating them. Apparently, all EOs that have influence over others are evil, while he with a reflexive ability is blessed by God. Wow, this guy has a complex!!

Coming to the Clarke sisters, the younger one could raise the dead while the elder could will anyone to do her bidding. I loved the fact that both of them tricked Eli and his obnoxious ways. Serena legit controlled Eli; took away his thoughts and instilled her emotions into him when he came to eliminate her. And our little Sydney escaped death at his hands, twice!

For a long time, I felt like I wasn't attached to any characters. But when Sydney said, Safe had ceased to be a place but a person, specifically Safe had become Victor, I teared up. I loved this strange bond that had formed between them! Similarly Victor might not have shown it but he valued Mitch as a friend, and that feeling was mutual. These three had formed a strange family (sigh).

When Mitch, Sydney, and Dominic were given back their pain, meaning that Vic was dead, I was really sad. But I didn't know how it could end differently. He had killed Serena, and only if he were to die, will Eli be caught red-handed by the police. It hurt, but when Dol was given a third chance, I had my hopes up. And he got his chance too, he even accepted it with a smile. My boy Victor finally found his place among Mitch and Sydney. Hope they led a peaceful life thereafter :D

Though initially I was clueless where the plot was headed, it gained steam midway and I just couldn't put it down. I loved reading it!

thoroughly_bookish's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

It was probably halfway through the first chapter that I knew I was going to love this book. I would sit at work and wish that I could be home reading. The characters were interesting and not just because of their “talents.” Their storylines flowed seamlessly between each other and kept the plot going. My only question is just Eli‘s reason for doing what he did didn’t seem quite as strong as I thought it should be to spend that much time working on that task. He didn’t present as someone that was overly religious and then all of a sudden, this was the reason why he was doing all these horrible things, it wasn’t quite there for me, but the rest of the story, the plot and the characters were amazing. I’m starting the next book now.