Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

Vicious by V.E. Schwab

32 reviews

lolapants's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

3.5

I really wanted this book to be a little better - I love the shades of Magic series, but this just wasn’t as well structured or as engaging. Also a lot of guns! 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Animal cruelty and Gun violence

theghostly's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Self harm, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Rape, and Sexual assault

donatio's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

As always V. E. Schwab did not disappoint.
I loved the writing style and how she skipped back and forth between the past and the present. The characters were well-crafted and I found a connection to every one of them, especially Victor's group of strays. 
It was not really action-packed but I still loved how the story evolved. 
Before reading one should check the trigger warnings, because it gets dark at points and "There are no good men in this game" is quite true. The mix of flashbacks and present might be annoying for some people too. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

ten_telegrams's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Torture, Violence, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Grief

astrid_mel's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

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

_lovedelirium's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

"And now, just as then, when he closed his eyes and searched for silence, a word rose up to meet him, a reminder of why he couldn’t afford to break, a challenge, a name.
Eli."

they love each other btw

"Eli, who, despite it all, meant something to Victor."

in their own fucked up way yes

“Tell you what,” said Victor. “You remember me, and I’ll remember you, and that way we won’t be forgotten.”
“That’s shit logic, Vic.”
“It’s perfect.”
“And what happens when we’re dead?”
“We won’t die, then.”
“You make cheating death sound so simple.”
“We do seem awfully good at it,” said Victor cheerfully. He lifted his glass. “To never dying.”
Eli lifted his. “To being remembered.”
Their glasses clinked as Eli added, “Forever.”

but they LOoOOoOoVE each other 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Self harm, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death

anthasplans's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense slow-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

It fascinates me every time I read it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical trauma, Murder, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

rae_diant's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Self harm, Torture, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Medical content

Minor: Alcohol

lindseyhall44's review

dark fast-paced

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

4.0

In an Instagram post last month,
V.E Schwab publicized an editors comment, which read “you’re readers will follow you anywhere.” Out of all the authors I have read over the years, I cannot think of one more fitting of this than Schwab, and Vicious is just the latest example.
Vicious follows two best friends, Victor and Eli, and the dark path that awaits them as a science thesis goes horribly wrong. The experiment in question: what is the essence behind an ExtraOrdinary person….and is it possible to create one?
I love the philosophical questions intertwined with the dark academia setting and more gruesome plot progressions, since it rounds into a more complex story. Even though Victor is a morally gray character, I still found myself rooting for him, in spite of his numerous faults. I think this goes to show the significance of character development in Schwab’s work (even the side characters), something I am exciting to read more of in the future. I have a feeling that the sequel (vengeful) will be a five star read for me, since there is less “magic system” development:)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Drug use, Medical content, and Abandonment

Minor: War

oliverreeds's review against another edition

challenging dark tense 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail