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cursed_sapphire's review
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
kiwibird5's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Violence, Blood, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Religious bigotry
hel713's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Kidnapping, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death and Blood
aetherisreading's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Drug use, Gun violence, and Alcohol
Minor: Animal death
verpissdich's review
mysterious
fast-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
3.5
Fun read, occasionally relies on coincidence excessively to move plot along. Nothing terribly deep or philosophical. The ending ties up many loose ends very quickly and borders on unsatisfactory. Good for a quick, captivating read. I find her prose well balanced.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Self harm, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
unavezmas's review
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
There's nothing more gay than 2 dudes being so much of nemesis that they cannot exist without each other.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug abuse
cowardlyteaman's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is without a doubt my favourite read of the year.
Fucking hell, this was a WILD RIDE.
I love every single one of the characters, and I love the way this book kept me hooked 100% of the while.
Even though Victor is «edgy» in a way, it just makes sense for him in such a good and logical way. I'm not annoyed or icked by it, I just like his character.
Loving the way Mitch's character is built up, too, and of course Sydney.
I especially loved Eli and Serena as villains, too. Nothing I love more than a sexy and crazed religious man and a fem-dom.
For a while, I was conflicted on what I thought about people being revived. However, I don't think it matters here? In all other media, it seriously bothers me, but in this book in particular, who lives and who dies isn't really what keeps you on edge, it's how the characters' relationships with each other develops. I absolutely love the dynamic between each and every character, I CANNOT stress any more how much I LOVED reading this.
Ditched Norwegian, maths, and economics class for this book.
Fucking hell, this was a WILD RIDE.
I love every single one of the characters, and I love the way this book kept me hooked 100% of the while.
Even though Victor is «edgy» in a way, it just makes sense for him in such a good and logical way. I'm not annoyed or icked by it, I just like his character.
Loving the way Mitch's character is built up, too, and of course Sydney.
I especially loved Eli and Serena as villains, too. Nothing I love more than a sexy and crazed religious man and a fem-dom.
For a while, I was conflicted on what I thought about people being revived. However, I don't think it matters here? In all other media, it seriously bothers me, but in this book in particular, who lives and who dies isn't really what keeps you on edge, it's how the characters' relationships with each other develops. I absolutely love the dynamic between each and every character, I CANNOT stress any more how much I LOVED reading this.
Ditched Norwegian, maths, and economics class for this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Gaslighting
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Stalking, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
molzeus's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicide, Torture, Murder, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Emotional abuse
violetaffairs's review
adventurous
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book was everything I needed and more. A complex story full of morally grey characters, it was perfect. Eli is driven by religion and the belief that he is no longer himself. Maybe he was right and something is missing, but his self-righteousness refuses to allow him to see it would be missing from him too. Victor wants to put an end to Eli's reign but has questionable methods and motivations.
Perfection. V.E. Schwab is brilliant.
Perfection. V.E. Schwab is brilliant.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Self harm, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
willow_sinclair's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-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? Yes
5.0
TALENTED, BRILLIANT, INCREDIBLE, AMAZING, SHOW STOPPING, SPECTACULAR, NEVER THE SAME, TOTALLY UNIQUE
I am so NOT NORMAL about this book, I swear. I didn't think I'd love it this much, but here we are, with Vicious now being in the list of my absolute favorites.
I loved the story, I loved how well developed the characters and their evolution (speaking for Eli and Victor especially) were, I love the DIVERISITY of the characters and how the dynamics going on and linking them to one another were not that obvious. I love thatI hated young Victor and I loved him with all my heart as an adult, and that I loved young Eli and DESPISED HIM after the 10 years skip. I loved their constant contrast and obsession with one another, their pull towards the other, it was super intense and captivating.
Victor's party - no, Victor's family owns my heart: Victor is so messed up but honestly, I love him and his humor and his finger guns and sarcasm and half dad jokes the fact that he's absolute FATHER MATERIAL; Sydney must be protected at all costs, she's so sweet and I was in tears for her, she's amazing(Serena you BITCH) ; and Mitch, oh, don't get me started on my man Mitchell. He's the absolute best, deserves all the chocolate milk in the world.
Eli is CRAZY AS FUCK, I loved his character as much as I hated him as a person. He's insane.
Honorable mention for Daddy Detective Stell. I knew you were a real one.
One of the easiest five-star rating I've ever given, I swear.
LONG LIVE VICTOR VALE
I am so NOT NORMAL about this book, I swear. I didn't think I'd love it this much, but here we are, with Vicious now being in the list of my absolute favorites.
I loved the story, I loved how well developed the characters and their evolution (speaking for Eli and Victor especially) were, I love the DIVERISITY of the characters and how the dynamics going on and linking them to one another were not that obvious. I love that
Victor's party - no, Victor's family owns my heart: Victor is so messed up but honestly, I love him and his humor and his finger guns and sarcasm and half dad jokes the fact that he's absolute FATHER MATERIAL; Sydney must be protected at all costs, she's so sweet and I was in tears for her, she's amazing
Eli is CRAZY AS FUCK, I loved his character as much as I hated him as a person. He's insane.
Honorable mention for Daddy Detective Stell. I knew you were a real one.
One of the easiest five-star rating I've ever given, I swear.
LONG LIVE VICTOR VALE
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail