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jj_tj's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Gun violence and Torture
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Drug use
jenpen's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-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
4.5
I love how this book really made you think and reflect on death, science vs religion, good and evil, what makes a hero and what makes a villain. It’s the definition of morally grey characters.
This book was thrilling. It has uniquely slow pacing with the way it goes back and forth through snippets of past events, so it’s definitely not for everyone and I did find certain parts a bit uninteresting. However, the scenes all play a role in the characters’ development, and it made for the perfect book to read in between others.
The author has absolutely beautiful writing, but on top of that, the plot was very well thought out. The ending was phenomenal and so *so* satisfying.
This book was thrilling. It has uniquely slow pacing with the way it goes back and forth through snippets of past events, so it’s definitely not for everyone and I did find certain parts a bit uninteresting. However, the scenes all play a role in the characters’ development, and it made for the perfect book to read in between others.
The author has absolutely beautiful writing, but on top of that, the plot was very well thought out. The ending was phenomenal and so *so* satisfying.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Blood, Gun violence, and Death
fiizso's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Death, Violence, Gun violence, Suicide, Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, and Child death
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
lizziaha's review against another edition
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
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Gun violence, Torture, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Gore, Alcohol, Blood, Death, Murder, Religious bigotry, and Self harm
Moderate: Confinement, Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Child abuse, and Physical abuse
Minor: Car accident
nixusiai's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
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
3.75
VICTOR!!!!!!! such a brilliant book omfggg. the writing fell short a couple of times for me, but the HEART of it was wonderful. morally grey found family...just delightful!!!!
also the ending was so satisfying & i genuinely did not see it coming! also fuck u eli ♡
also the ending was so satisfying & i genuinely did not see it coming! also fuck u eli ♡
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide attempt, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Gun violence
izzysreading's review against another edition
I simply do not care about the flashbacks and they are too long for me to enjoy the rest of the story. Plus, the story doesn't have a grip on me either, so I'm just kind of bored the whole time reading and since it's not mandatory reading, but for enjoyment, I will not force myself to continue.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt
stiletto_snake's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Gun violence, Torture, Murder, Death, Blood, Stalking, and Suicide
skillyillian's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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
4.5
I loved this, what an awesome read. Superpowers in a modern day setting is well outside my usual wheelhouse but I loved Addie LaRue so much I knew I wanted to read more from Schwab. It was so worth it 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
The characters are fun, I absolutely adore a good motley crew/found family story and this one hit the nail on the head. Victor, Mitch, and Sydney are one of the best found families I've seen in a long time. Victor is Mr. Brooding, all self control and an unsettling power that's quiet until it's not, and it's hot AF. Mitch is a terrifying, tattooed gladiator, full of intelligence and a soft spot for the little girl he and his cellmate have adopted together, which brings us to Sydney. A tween scared of her own power when the story starts, she grows up in several ways as time progresses, until she's a very different person by the end. You cheer for all three the whole time as you watch them become a team and work together against Eli.
Speaking of which, Victor and Eli are the #1 most gay pair of nemeses I've ever seen in my life. Constantly thinking of each other, what they look like, what they're doing, daydreaming about seeing each other again for literally ten years, the little moments of intimacy during the flashbacks to their college life together. So gay. So in love. Extremely home of the sexual.
The flashbacks thing is such a cool way to write a story, and an awesome tool for keeping the reader in suspense. Something exciting happens and you're like "holy shit, what happens next?!" And boom, it's ten years ago again and you have to wait to see what's next in the scene you just read and desperately want to get back to. What a rad fuckin idea, man. Loved it. Seeing characters make certain choices and then getting backstory to their motivations and why the choice they made is significant was so dope.
The way the powers in this story are created and the effects they have on their users is so incredibly well thought out and unique. I couldn't help but marvel at how interesting it was and I spent the whole time waiting to see what the next EO's powers would be and it was never a let-down when someone else was introduced.
V.E. Schwab is brilliant. I loved this and I will definitely be reading the next one soon.
The characters are fun, I absolutely adore a good motley crew/found family story and this one hit the nail on the head. Victor, Mitch, and Sydney are one of the best found families I've seen in a long time. Victor is Mr. Brooding, all self control and an unsettling power that's quiet until it's not, and it's hot AF. Mitch is a terrifying, tattooed gladiator, full of intelligence and a soft spot for the little girl he and his cellmate have adopted together, which brings us to Sydney. A tween scared of her own power when the story starts, she grows up in several ways as time progresses, until she's a very different person by the end. You cheer for all three the whole time as you watch them become a team and work together against Eli.
Speaking of which, Victor and Eli are the #1 most gay pair of nemeses I've ever seen in my life. Constantly thinking of each other, what they look like, what they're doing, daydreaming about seeing each other again for literally ten years, the little moments of intimacy during the flashbacks to their college life together. So gay. So in love. Extremely home of the sexual.
The flashbacks thing is such a cool way to write a story, and an awesome tool for keeping the reader in suspense. Something exciting happens and you're like "holy shit, what happens next?!" And boom, it's ten years ago again and you have to wait to see what's next in the scene you just read and desperately want to get back to. What a rad fuckin idea, man. Loved it. Seeing characters make certain choices and then getting backstory to their motivations and why the choice they made is significant was so dope.
The way the powers in this story are created and the effects they have on their users is so incredibly well thought out and unique. I couldn't help but marvel at how interesting it was and I spent the whole time waiting to see what the next EO's powers would be and it was never a let-down when someone else was introduced.
V.E. Schwab is brilliant. I loved this and I will definitely be reading the next one soon.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Blood, Death, Suicide attempt, Violence, Gun violence, Animal death, Medical trauma, Murder, Child death, Medical content, and Self harm
Minor: Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Addiction, and Fire/Fire injury
june_buggie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
4.25
Would be better if it was gay but other than that no notes keep everything the same but like gay
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Animal death, Murder, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Death
Moderate: Child abuse, Alcoholism, Religious bigotry, Child death, and Stalking
Minor: Alcoholism
itsnotalakeitsanocean's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Pros
- I really liked some of the side characters, particularly Mitch, Sydney, Serena and Dom. I think in the case of the first three, we got a more throrough look into their lives and how circumstances changed their lives. Are they the most interesting characters of all time? No, but they were better than the two men who were supposed to be the focus of the book in my opinion.
- It did get interesting with the countdown to Vic and Eli's showdown towards the end of the book.
- I think Dom's powers were very interesting (reminded me a little of Homura's time stop powers from Madoka Magica) and my favourite of the bunch, and I would have liked to have seen the full extent of their powers.
Cons
- The two main leads felt kind of generic and cookie-cutter compared to characters and I feel like I've seen characters based in this concept of intimate enemies done infinitely better in other pieces of media. These guys feel like all edge, little substance (mostly on Vic's part with the latter).
- Eli's religious bigotry compounded with his mental health issues just came off as a lazy excuse to make him "the truly evil character" and frankly ableist concerning the latter (i.e. the "he's evil because he's crazy" stereotype). With the former I feel like there wasn't much exploration into what made him that way, and I feel like he just ended up repeating the same hollow sentiments of God wanting EOs dead because they're freaks etc. over and over. This could have been improved by exploring his religious upbringing more, which I think could have lended some more opportunities for darker moments.
- Speaking of, I don't like how Dom was introduced so late into the story and ended up being treated more as a get-out-of-danger-free card instead of a fully fledged character which is especially damning when he is physically disabled.
- I think the timeline constantly jumping around harmed more than helped the narrative. I think the book took longer for me to read than it actually did because I had to do mental gymnastics to keep track of who did what that I feel like I forgot some important details along the way.
I think the way Serena was killed was kind of out of nowhere and felt cheap. Then again I might be biased because I really liked her character and the ways in which she was lowkey terrifying On a similar note Angie felt like she was just there to be the generic love interest that got fridged partway through the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Torture, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Animal death, Suicide, and Death
Moderate: Police brutality, Ableism, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, and Stalking