A review by v171
Vengeful by V.E. Schwab

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This book is everything I wish Xmen was. It absolutely defies the second book slump for trilogies, I liked just about every single aspect of this book. The story is noir meets superheroes, but throw death into the mix. I have always been a fan of Schwab's short, choppy chapters that mess with timelines and are told from different perspectives, but I felt this book did it better than the previous one. The action driven story was paced well where it didn't feel overwhelming, but never had me bored either. By far the strongest part of this book were the characters. Each one was dynamic, complex, and had a powerful arc. This is probably one of the most fascinating villains I've ever read (Marcella, not Eli) though I don't know that I'd necessarily call her a sympathetic villain, which made me like her even more. I have to say, I'm super bummed Schwab took a break from this series to write A Darker Shade of Magic and  her new novel (which I'm looking forward to reading!). I love this series and can't wait to continue it!   
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