on_your_raedar's review against another edition
- 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
Fastest summary: this book is about Eli, a college student, that does his thesis on extraordinary (EOs) people and his roommate Victor, the POV you spend majority of the book in, work together to test Eli’s theories into practice to see if they can make EOs. Victor accidentally kills someone with his gift and Eli turns him in and goes on a self righteous kick using religion as his motivator. You spend the whole book waiting for the V and E show down.Â
I’m not sure if the intent was to make Victor a likeable character but I really liked him. Mitch was easily my favorite character, I really hope the6 make this into a movie or tv show and get his character right because I’d love to see him. Sydney was a solid character, she’s really young so I’m excited to see her growth if she’s in book 2, especially with
Spoiler
her not knowing that Victor killed her sister, not Eli. I can already feel the tension there, but I hope it works out.Needless to say, I have book 2 ready to start and also another book by the author. I could easily see V.E. creeping into my top 5 authors and I’m ready.
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Suicide, Blood, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Gun violence
Minor: Drug use, Grief, Gaslighting, and Ableism
pjdotcom's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicide, Medical content, Death, Murder, Confinement, Toxic friendship, Violence, Body horror, Religious bigotry, Child death, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Gun violence, and Mass/school shootings
beeontoast'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Blood, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Gun violence, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Body horror, Self harm, Murder, Violence, and Torture
chronicacademia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Murder, Suicide attempt, Gore, Gun violence, Alcohol, Blood, Ableism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Suicide, and Toxic friendship
rrio's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Self harm, Animal death, and Gun violence
ladynavalon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Car accident, Violence, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Stalking, Religious bigotry, Murder, Mental illness, Medical content, Abandonment, Addiction, Body horror, Torture, Physical abuse, Gun violence, and Grief
donatio's review against another edition
- 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
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.Â
It was not really action-packed but I still loved how the story evolved.Â
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.Â
Graphic: Violence, Toxic friendship, Suicide, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Child abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Toxic relationship, Death, Deadnaming, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, and Suicide attempt
widdlemun's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Body horror and Death
Moderate: Violence, Suicide, Torture, and Murder
nabecker13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Murder, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Abandonment, Blood, Confinement, Death, Violence, Body horror, Grief, Police brutality, Gore, Gun violence, Child death, Medical trauma, Self harm, and Religious bigotry
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
Spoiler
eli’s self harm scene was very poor in taste and could’ve been written better. a let down on schwab’s part.Graphic: Suicide, Violence, Cursing, Drug use, Toxic friendship, Self harm, Torture, Animal death, Blood, Gun violence, Death, Gore, Alcohol, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Child death, Medical content, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Stalking, and Abandonment
Minor: Addiction and Alcoholism