Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

Vengeful by V.E. Schwab

45 reviews

rtherese's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Great, but falls short of the first one. Too many characters and plot points that made the web of stories too wide. I enjoyed the character of Marcella Riggins, but the addition of the Mafia in Merit city seemed a little uninspired especially since there was no foreshadowing of a crime syndicate in the first book.

With regards to June, I loved her character, but without a proper explanation of her relationship to Syd, it seemed to me at times that their friendship was a little predatory. I’m not sure yet if that was the intended effect of the writer.

I really wish there was more of the original trio, Vic, Mitch, and Sidney, and even a little bit of Eli, instead of semi-fleshing out several new characters that don’t seem to matter much in the end. In an ideal world, because I loved the first book so much, this second book would have revolved around fewer characters, fewer plot points. That would have given the story and the characters enough time to have resolved a more satisfying arc, especially since the new problems the “old” characters are dealing with are very interesting on their own. 

My criticisms about this second book are born out of love because of how much I loved the story, the world, the characters of the first book. Still, it was a blast to read, and many times through the novel did I audibly gasp. Thank you for this exciting book, and as always with readers, I only want more of what I loved. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Blood, Gun violence, and Death

Moderate: Drug abuse

Minor: Animal death

strawberrytheauthor's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Why are murderous women so hot? 
I loved this book. This Duology is just amazing and everything that I needed right now and forever. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Body horror, Gore, Murder, Blood, Self harm, Violence, Alcohol, Death of parent, Torture, Animal death, Chronic illness, Death, Religious bigotry, and Gun violence

Moderate: Cursing, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Drug use, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, and Stalking

Minor: Child death and Sexual content

rhyslightning's review against another edition

dark reflective tense medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

If you’ve already read Addie LaRue, then I can say this one ends leaving a similar taste in your mouth. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Blood, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Murder, Violence, Medical content, Physical abuse, Self harm, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Sexual content, and Stalking

verpissdich's review against another edition

Step down in quality from the first book, which already was not particularly high. Relies excessively on violence, sexuality, and abuse to "hold" reader interest. Lacks nuance: many portions which would be better unwritten are instead very explicitly spelled out for the reader, destroying intrigue.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Drug abuse, Suicide, and Child abuse

pelb's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Here’s the thing, I wanted to love this book. The writing style is great, I love all the characters, and the powers are cool. I loved that we got to see more of Eli’s backstory, I felt like I understood his character a lot better after that. Here’s my main problems: 

1. The focus on new characters 
- there were two new characters introduced, which seemed cool at first. They were good characters with interesting abilities, however, it felt like they were thrown in out of nowhere and then they took over the story. I felt like they could’ve had their own spin off story, rather than being put in this book. Their presence is what killed it for me, because it detracted from the main plot line and caused the downfall of my second problem: 

2. The ending 
- I could’ve overlooked everything else if it wasn’t for the ending. It was extremely rushed and felt unfinished, which was very disappointing after all the buildup. There was no satisfying conclusion I was looking for and I felt confused by the end, wondering why it wasn’t a trilogy, because the story is very clearly not over. Now if she actually comes back and makes a third book, which I’ve heard she might, that would significantly change my opinion of this book, because it was a very enjoyable read. I don’t think she’s going to though, so I am very disappointed. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Torture, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Murder, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Self harm

Minor: Addiction

theintrovertsbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• 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: Violence, Murder, Torture, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Abandonment, Self harm, Medical content, Forced institutionalization, Chronic illness, Gun violence, Blood, Gore, Confinement, Body horror, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Police brutality, Cursing, and Stalking

Minor: Sexual assault, Alcohol, Child death, Rape, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Sexual violence, and Drug use

lizziaha's review against another edition

dark

• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.5

The sheer breadth of this book is very impressive. There are so many moving parts and ve schwab manages to weave them together so intricately. That being said, because there are so many moving parts, there are still some loose threads that I desperately want to pull. I’m not sure if there will ever be another book, but I want one!!!! Part of the reason that these books are so compelling is because they have a very Batman-villainesque feeling to them and there’s not really a hero to hang your hopes on, so you have to decide which of your morals you will set aside as you choose who to root for. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Violence, Body horror, Death, Child abuse, Medical content, Physical abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Self harm, Blood, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Sexism, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Infidelity, Animal death, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Drug abuse, Kidnapping, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Addiction

idroplungs's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

The majority of the book is not as good as the first. Too many characters being followed and too many moving pieces making it too easy to put down. Stick with it though as the ending is surely worth it since the last 80pages flew by without being able to stop it. Schwab's EOs are an amazing twist on super heroes or super villains, keeping the line blurry is what keeps it interesting.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Gun violence, Death, Murder, Violence, Medical trauma, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Self harm and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Cursing and Animal death

amolegere's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Did not care much for the new characters

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm and Suicide attempt

frankieclc's review against another edition

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Death

Moderate: Torture, Animal death, Self harm, Murder, and Violence