Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Vicious by V.E. Schwab

24 reviews

mariecaat02's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Death, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Minor: Addiction and Sexual assault

damien666's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

The chronology of this story works in a way that piece by piece reveals past events and answers questions. I loved the characters of Eli and Victor and the questions this book throws out. I do wish there was a bit more set up between Eli and Victors past relationship as I feel like it could've used a bit more depth. The pacing was good and I liked the multiple POVs for once, probably because they were unobtrusive and mostly offered glimpses of events or characters thoughts. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment

julzella's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gun violence, Self harm, and Blood

Moderate: Sexual assault, Suicide, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Chronic illness and Alcohol

ribbenkast's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

V.E. Schwab strongest writing is when she's writing villans. In vicious all characters are villains.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

There's a sexual relationship between two characters that isn't consensual/the concent is extremely dubious. This is because

one of the characters has mind controling powers which makes everyone do as she says

cursed_sapphire's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Overall this was a fun read with some great characters and a tense plot. I have a few complaints, but I had a really good time reading this.

Our main cast of characters were entertaining and fun, and I really found myself rooting for them even as they did some deplorable things. This should be a case study for how to write likeable villain protagonists. The world was also well fleshed out and the lore made sense. I liked the very simple and limited power sets most characters had, as it made everything feel more like a tense struggle. The writing and tone were also consistently great.

However, my main problem was with the villain. While Eli and Victor's relationship was well defined in the flashbacks, they barely interacted in the present. Perhaps they'll get more time in the sequel, but as it is, this was not the "Superman and Lex Luthor" or "Professor X and Magneto" style rivalry promised. While Victor constantly thought about Eli and craved vengeance, Eli did not have the same level of hatred for Victor. I even felt like Victor's reason to want revenge in the first place was a little anti-climactic.

He was so ready to kill his friend for calling the police even though he had just killed their mutual friend/Eli's girlfriend. Also, I would have appreciated seeing more of Eli's religious zeal back in the collage days. It seemed like he prayed twice and the rest was just Victor saying "he believed in God" like twenty times.

Overall this didn't affect my enjoyment as much as it could have, but did keep this book from a 5 star rating. 

I actually thought the secondary antagonist, Serena, was more interesting than Eli. Her struggle with her powers and her relationship with her sister were all extremely interesting and paid off in satisfying ways for the most part.

I almost wish she got what she wanted in the end, and that they found a way to disobey her, and that caused her death, but oh well. I still really liked her as an antagonist.

Also, as an Asexual myself, I appreciate that Victor is a canon biromantic asexual, and I just want to say how happy I was to realize that he was ace. Overall I personally approved of the representation.

I definitely recommend this for fans of darker superhero content, like Joker. While it falls a little short of its true potential, the story is still a satisfying ride with characters you hate to love.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Child death and Chronic illness

Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual content

bean_7088's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Ooh! I loved the dark of this one. 
Sometimes books that jump around time wise can be annoying and frustrating, but this was done really well. Never staying too long in any flash back, and satisfyingly dished out information. 
The ending was very satisfying.
Narrator was fantastic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual assault

It's two fucked up people trying to kill each other, it gets nasty.

mdeshazer's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gun violence, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, and Suicide attempt

ashlynregan's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

An interesting read. A quick jump to action with the flashbacks in alternating chapters, but other than that it was compelling. In order to read this, you have to fully commit to believing in superheroes, if only for a few hours. I would recommend this to fans of the television show The Boys.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Gore, Self harm, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

currently_introverting's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, and Murder

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, and Sexual assault

cfell's review against another edition

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gun violence, Self harm, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Sexual assault