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A review by wizardingwisteria
Vicious by V.E. Schwab
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
4.75
I don't even know where to start with this one. This was insane from start to finish.
I absolutely devoured this. I never wanted to put it down because in every single chapter a new piece of information is revealed or something shifted in a way that made the plot more interesting. It is certainly a good story.
The characters really make this one. Their experiences, their morals, and their motivations (and their powers lol) drive every single plot point.
Although, as much as I enjoyed this, I would be lying if I said I didn't get bored at some points. In the last 100 ish pages I had become impatient. The entire book set up this massive fight that almost felt like it was never going to happen. When it did eventually happen it was quite satisfying.
Some of the characters have special powers that can essentially undo things that would ultimately be fatal which knocked down some stakes in a story that was designed to have the highest stakes possible. I stopped mourning my favorite character after they seemingly died for the second time. By the end I had a grasp on how things were going to play out and it became a bit easy to predict.
Death itself was something that was tossed around with varying degrees of severity. Without spoiling too much, there is a character that dies in the beginning whose death is set up to be this massive shock but is kind of brushed under the rug in a few chapters. This character's death was in some ways the catalyst for the primary antagonist and yet at some point they just kind of get forgotten.
Even with these things I still greatly enjoyed this. I would have quickly DNFed it if I hadn't. But it is definitely a book I had to be in the right mindset to read. The story and the characters are exceedingly dark. If I only had one word to describe this book it would have to be dark. Not to say it was not enjoyable, but it was a heavy one.
I absolutely devoured this. I never wanted to put it down because in every single chapter a new piece of information is revealed or something shifted in a way that made the plot more interesting. It is certainly a good story.
The characters really make this one. Their experiences, their morals, and their motivations (and their powers lol) drive every single plot point.
Although, as much as I enjoyed this, I would be lying if I said I didn't get bored at some points. In the last 100 ish pages I had become impatient. The entire book set up this massive fight that almost felt like it was never going to happen. When it did eventually happen it was quite satisfying.
Some of the characters have special powers that can essentially undo things that would ultimately be fatal which knocked down some stakes in a story that was designed to have the highest stakes possible. I stopped mourning my favorite character after they seemingly died for the second time. By the end I had a grasp on how things were going to play out and it became a bit easy to predict.
Death itself was something that was tossed around with varying degrees of severity. Without spoiling too much, there is a character that dies in the beginning whose death is set up to be this massive shock but is kind of brushed under the rug in a few chapters. This character's death was in some ways the catalyst for the primary antagonist and yet at some point they just kind of get forgotten.
Even with these things I still greatly enjoyed this. I would have quickly DNFed it if I hadn't. But it is definitely a book I had to be in the right mindset to read. The story and the characters are exceedingly dark. If I only had one word to describe this book it would have to be dark. Not to say it was not enjoyable, but it was a heavy one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Animal death
Minor: Drug use and Alcoholism