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willow_sinclair's review against another edition
- 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
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
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
lizziaha's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Car accident
june_buggie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Suicide attempt, and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Religious bigotry, and Stalking
Minor: Alcoholism
currently_introverting's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, and Sexual assault
wizardingwisteria's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
4.75
I absolutely devoured this. I never wanted to put it down because in every single chapter a new piece of information is revealed or something shifted in a way that made the plot more interesting. It is certainly a good story.
The characters really make this one. Their experiences, their morals, and their motivations (and their powers lol) drive every single plot point.
Although, as much as I enjoyed this, I would be lying if I said I didn't get bored at some points. In the last 100 ish pages I had become impatient. The entire book set up this massive fight that almost felt like it was never going to happen. When it did eventually happen it was quite satisfying.
Some of the characters have special powers that can essentially undo things that would ultimately be fatal which knocked down some stakes in a story that was designed to have the highest stakes possible. I stopped mourning my favorite character after they seemingly died for the second time. By the end I had a grasp on how things were going to play out and it became a bit easy to predict.
Death itself was something that was tossed around with varying degrees of severity. Without spoiling too much, there is a character that dies in the beginning whose death is set up to be this massive shock but is kind of brushed under the rug in a few chapters. This character's death was in some ways the catalyst for the primary antagonist and yet at some point they just kind of get forgotten.
Even with these things I still greatly enjoyed this. I would have quickly DNFed it if I hadn't. But it is definitely a book I had to be in the right mindset to read. The story and the characters are exceedingly dark. If I only had one word to describe this book it would have to be dark. Not to say it was not enjoyable, but it was a heavy one.
Graphic: Animal death, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcoholism and Drug use
nekoshka's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gun violence, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Child death, Torture, and Blood
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Child abuse
laurafrances's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Animal death, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Abandonment
Minor: Alcoholism, Drug use, and Alcohol
astrid_mel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Car accident
alexandrabelze's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
Minor: Addiction and Alcoholism
ashwyn's review against another edition
- 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
However, the super quick pace costs character depth. Victor Vale (<3) and Sydney are the only characters I felt had any sort of interesting depth/backstory. We hardly know anything about any of the cast of main characters (which is kept really small too!!) which does make the novel feel shallow. We are told that Victor and Eli are bffs but are never told how they became friends (being colleges roomies doesn't automatically make you bffs) or even why they are truly friends (especially cause Victor feels very jealous and less than around the perfect (and actually incredibly painful to read) Eli).
The pace and plot keeps you reading. Victor Vale keeps you reading. The other characters make you question why you even care about what is happening to them.
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism and Abandonment