romiandthebooks 's review for:

Vicious by V.E. Schwab

5.0

adventurous dark funny 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: Complicated

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𝘐𝘯 𝘝𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴, 𝘝.𝘌. 𝘚𝘤𝘩𝘸𝘢𝘣 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘴 𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳-𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘢𝘻𝘰𝘳-𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯. 𝘈𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘝𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘌𝘭𝘪 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘶𝘱𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦.

Vicious pulled me in from the first page.  At first, I got some "Flatliners" movie vibes, but the story quickly shifts gears into something darker and far more compelling. Schwab’s writing flows effortlessly, and the characters stay with you long after you turn the final page. The story is an intense ride through ambition, revenge, and moral gray zone, where gaining powers doesn’t make anyone a hero. Former friends Victor and Eli spiral into a decade‑long vendetta fueled by betrayal and twisted genius. Layers of moral ambiguity made me question who really deserves to win. 

Absolutely an enjoyable read. Can't wait to dive into the second one.