Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Vicious by V.E. Schwab

79 reviews

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This book exceeded my expectations. I’ve always been a fan of V.E. Schwab but I can’t believe I didn’t read this sooner. The complexity of the characters’ motivations led to a very interesting plot that kept me engaged. I was at first worried about how the book was organized (there are many jumps forward and back in time) but it ended up being the perfect way to tell the story. To be organized, I’m going to split the rest of this into a review of what I did like and didn’t like.

What I liked:
- The relationship between Victor and Eli. From school roommates (with very gay undertones lmao) to rivals in a very short amount of time, this character relationship was always slightly competitive and hinted at further trouble from very early on. 
- The religious undertones added to the story and Eli’s motivation, also making the story even darker than it already was. 
- Serena. She was an amazing character regardless of if she was a good or bad person. Her relationship with Eli reminded me a lot of Piper and Colin Greenmantle from The Raven Cycle series by Maggie Steifvater. Serena was really the one in control the entire time.
- The pacing was fast enough to keep the story entertaining without skipping over important details. 
- Who is really the bad guy? Both main characters are bad people. This makes the story intriguing and thought-provoking. 

What I didn’t like:
- The lack of explanation about EOs. In this universe, it seems that everyone simply understands what EOs are, even without it being explained to the reader. This is difficult because up until realizing that everyone in the universe knew what they were, I had assumed that this universe was simply a mirror of real life, not a place where EOs are often discussed. 
- Serena and Sydney’s background should have been given more time in the book. I still have trouble understanding why Serena was able to turn on Sydney so quickly when it seemed like they had been close. 
- Fairly graphic. More of a personal issue with the book than an issue with the writing. 

The pros of this book FAR outweigh the cons. This book was amazing and I hope the sequel is as well. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

The best read to start fall with. 
The psychopaths in this book are TOP TIER 👑

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Wow! I thought I would DNF this but this blew my expectations out of the water, Victor became such a compelling character and I absolutely love Sydney and Mitch! Amazing worldbuilding and compelling characters, I honestly don't know how Schwab will continue this in Vengeful but I'm very excited to find out!

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

The pacing at the beginning of the book was pretty slow. It seemed as though the author was trying to avoid writing just an origin story and instead telling that origin through flashbacks. But this led to every single thing that would have been mysterious, such as whether they will actually become ExtraOrdinaries or what certain character’s powers are, being easily spotted chapters before the big “reveal.” The ending was great, going from about the middle of the book onward, but the beginning was underwhelming. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings