Reviews with content warning for Torture - Vengeful

I loved the first book in this universe, Vicious, but for some reason Vengeful did not quite live up to my expectations. Picking up five years after the events of Vicious, in Vengeful we find Victor, Mitch, and Sydney still on the move, traveling from place to place as they try to figure out what's wrong with Victor (after his reanimation by Sydney, his power is on the fritz). Meanwhile Eli, after being arrested, was given over to a new program called EON which is dedicated to hunting down and capturing EOs. This book also introduces us to several new characters: Marcella, a mob wife-turned-EO after her cheating husband tried to murder her; and June, an EO with the power to assume the form of any human she has touched, who has been keeping up a secret long-distance friendship with Sydney.

There is a lot happening in this book, and though parts of it were really interesting to me - we finally get some Eli POV and find out more about his history! - there was, for me, a bit too much going on, to the point that I found it a bit hard to know what to focus on. Eli and Victor's obsession with each other continues - Eli has visions of Victor's ghost and suspicions that he isn't dead, and once they're confirmed he wants to rectify that himself; Victor is determined to keep Eli from getting out of EON - but we also have Marcella's quest for vengeance against her husband/subsequent desire to take over the entire Merit mob, and the addition of EON as a source of conflict/potential fear for most of the characters. There's just a lot going on! I didn't find Marcella particularly compelling when contrasted with the other characters, and the sort-of role-reversal of Victor and Eli

-not only is Eli imprisoned while Victor roams free, Victor starts trying to find EOs who might be able to help him, and then killing them when they can't help - he's literally using the system Eli perfected to kill EOs, albeit for a different reason -

didn't make a ton of sense to me; it felt like a re-hashing of the first book in some ways.

It was still a quick and engaging read - although definitely not for those with a sensitivity to violence or graphic images, as there was even more gross and gory stuff happening in this book - but for me, lacked the delicious darkness of the first book. The characters were nasty, but the motivations felt muddied - and maybe that was the point, but whatever it was, it just didn't work for me as much as the first book did.

Content Warnings

donatio's review

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-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? No

5.0

This was just as intriguing as Vicious.
The multiple POVs, the new characters, the writing, the plot... just brilliant.

Content Warnings

rae_kjise's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

Content Warnings

audrey5's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I just absolutely love this book.

Content Warnings

masoncasper's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-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

4.75

God I love this series so much. And the rivalry between Eli Ever and Victor Vale is something that I’ve never seen in a nemesis relationship, it’s better. It’s addictive and enthralling and takes you on such a journey of emotional whiplash. And god the power dynamics at play here are just top tier art. Marcella and June as new characters are so so so amazing and the chaos of the ending makes me desperate for Victorious. A faster paced thriller soaked in a world of sci-fi/fantasy that I was sad to say goodbye to at the end. Plus the character growth in Sydney is just amazing. She’s such a fun character.

Content Warnings

xcampuskiddo's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Content Warnings

katiedalton's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious 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

3.75

I think Vicious was a better book, I felt that Vengeful couldn’t decide if it was going to be book 2/3 or 2/2. Plot wise I wasn’t sure if it was going to wrap up nicely or if it was trying to set itself up for another book.

why was June so obsessed with Syd? Like I wanted to know more the whole book and it didn’t happen. And it leaves on this “cliff hanger” of June deleting her info at EON?but we don’t know that much about her either…

Content Warnings

aschers's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.5

This is my review for both Vicious and Vengeful:
This series started out as such an intriguing story of academic exploration gone too far. Victor and Eli were cold, ambitious men with a fervour for success and righteousness to rival many. They were perfectly staged to become rivals, even before the introduction of such power to their dynamics. This series was the definition of morally grey, though I do think by the end both Victor and Eli are leaning more on the side of villains. Neither Victor nor Eli were very loveable on their own, though a soft spot for Victor was formed through his attachments to Sydney, a young girl with an uncanny power. The first book was fabulous in its plot and execution. The second book starts out by adding a new perspective, Marcella. I loved the powerful energy of Marcella and her female rage. While she likely took it a bit far, I appreciated her characters ability to highlight the overlooking of women in stories of heroes, villains and power. The second book was a bit slower than the first and I would have loved to have had more time with our female characters perspectives. The turning of the tables in the second book was well done and the ending was very satisfying. I think the overall narrative of what power can do to people was well done. Overall a thrilling heroes versus villains story with all the morally grey parts to match.

Content Warnings

More...