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bashsbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I knew that Schwab was a fan (as they posted something about rewatching Hannibal as she's writing the third Villains book), but the influence was much more direct in this one than Vicious - especially in the Eli and Stell storyline, which has a lot in common with Will and Hannibal's stints in high-security prisons, helping to catch other killers. And of course, the climatic scene harkens to the defeat of the Red Dragon.
Do not think that this book is just Hannibal with a superhero veneer, though. There are a lot of subplots woven together, and most of them are unique. For example, I love June and her entire character. I love poor Sydney's struggles. I'm intrigued by the shady-orgness of EON. I'm curious as to how the next book will go, given how we left off with plot twists at the end of this one - and I hope Schwab doesn't take too much longer to give it to us!
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual violence, and Vomit
katelyn_stark's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Animal death, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Vomit, Kidnapping, Stalking, and Fire/Fire injury
aliyachaudhry's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, and Infidelity
Minor: Vomit
alexandrabelze's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death and Stalking
sarah_cameron's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Sexism, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Police brutality, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Cursing, Vomit, Stalking, and Car accident
s_macdonald's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, and Violence
Moderate: Sexism and Medical trauma
Minor: Rape and Vomit
spearly's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Every action had been his own design, every step his own making.
If there was a way out of this, he would find it.
If there wasn’t, he would make one himself.
Vengeful follows our ragtag trio - Victor, Mitch, and Sydney (and Dol) - in the events following Victor's temporary death in Vicious. Sydney brought him back, and now he's... not quote whole. His episodes are getting worse, his deaths are getting longer, and he needs to find a way to stop it.
Meanwhile, Eli Ever is in a heavily guarded cell at the newly minted EON (ExtraOrdinary Observation and Neutralization) facility.
And there's a new Villain in Merit.
This was a really fun read! I enjoyed it even more than I enjoyed Vicious, which is saying something! The new characters were exciting, evil, powerful, and some real adversaries for our anti-heroes.
I've struggled with something about this series, and I think I just have to come around and accept it. I've never loved a character as much as I've hated them, but that's Victor. He's evil, man. Like, I'll murder you when you can't give me what I want, evil. But he's also so damn likeable sometimes. The way he is with Sydney and Mitch, the way he truly seems to care about their wellbeing, about keeping them safe... *chef's kiss*. Sure, they're safety comes at the expense of some perfectly innocent lives but... no-one perfect.
In book one I struggled with the blatant hypocrisy. Eli is some self-proclaimed messiah, murdering all the other EOs because they go against God's plan. Victor has a long-awaited vendetta against Eli, made worse by Eli's self-righteousness. The two come to a head, and out favourite villain is raised form the dead.
And then here, we have... Victor doing the exact same thing, albeit for different reasons. And it's suddenly okay because he's not
I think I will just have to be okay with the hypocrisy. In fact, that's the point. There are no good men in this game (okay, except for Mitch, though I'm sure he has blood on his hands, too). Honestly, Sydney might by the only good-to-her-core character. But what did I expect, reading a series called Villains?
Overall, an excellent duology. In fact, I could even go for a third book, if V.E. Schwab were so inclined. What happens to June? The formula? Victor and Mitch and Sydney?
Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, and Medical trauma
Minor: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit