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fierygecko's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
The more I read V.E. Schwab’s work, the more I like it. I love that the themes that both the characters and the readers are presented with in Vicious are shown in this book, too. Vengeful felt like a true continuation of Vicious, even though the first book ended in such a way that it could have stood alone. While this book felt less dramatic to me I thought that having more characters with spotlight was really interesting and that kept me hooked. I do wish Dominic Rusher had more “screen time” but that’s just because I really like him. If I could highlight every other line in this book without the action losing all meaning, I would.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, and Violence
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
capsandclauses's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
“Maybe we are broken. But we put ourselves back together. We survived. That’s what makes us so powerful. And as for family—well, blood is always family, but family doesn’t always have to be blood.”
Look I'm going to say it.
This book dragged on a LOT more than the first book.
Vengeful is the not-really-needed sequel to Vicious, which was published years before. We follow the continuation of the events of the last book, which left superpowered 'villain' Victor Vale on the run with his found family of a resurrected dog, resurrecting little girl and loveable brute and superpowered 'hero' Eli Ever locked up in room without a key. Now, years later, new powered villains are emerging, and the government is determined to track each and every one of them down.
I loved reading more about the characters from the first book. The found family is what drew me into this series and I loved seeing them grapple with their own humanity, and the costs of their crimes. However, I couldn't get myself to be invested in the new characters June and Marcella, and their stories ended up occupying what felt like a majority of the text.
This book continued to have the vicious (ha!) violence of the first book, and I do love an antihero. Unfortunately, the pacing and new characters of this just meant that it didn't quite come together how I'd hope.
“Perhaps she was glass. But glass is only brittle until it breaks. Then it’s sharp.”
Look I'm going to say it.
This book dragged on a LOT more than the first book.
Vengeful is the not-really-needed sequel to Vicious, which was published years before. We follow the continuation of the events of the last book, which left superpowered 'villain' Victor Vale on the run with his found family of a resurrected dog, resurrecting little girl and loveable brute and superpowered 'hero' Eli Ever locked up in room without a key. Now, years later, new powered villains are emerging, and the government is determined to track each and every one of them down.
I loved reading more about the characters from the first book. The found family is what drew me into this series and I loved seeing them grapple with their own humanity, and the costs of their crimes. However, I couldn't get myself to be invested in the new characters June and Marcella, and their stories ended up occupying what felt like a majority of the text.
This book continued to have the vicious (ha!) violence of the first book, and I do love an antihero. Unfortunately, the pacing and new characters of this just meant that it didn't quite come together how I'd hope.
“Perhaps she was glass. But glass is only brittle until it breaks. Then it’s sharp.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death and Suicide attempt
beansprout344's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
katbotelho's review
adventurous
tense
medium-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
marcella is crazy and i liked reading her chapters but i do wish there was more victor in this book bc i felt like he took a bit of seat,, also funny how the first book ended with victor dead and this one ended with eli dead but no way hes dead for good right ? like ms schwab is writing a third book either way i sat
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Self harm, Torture, Violence, and Blood
eleasofia's review
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
4.75
just like the first book, the only thing it was "missing" for me is that i didn't get crazy obsessed with it. that's the only thing separating it from a true 5-star-read for me. i think i might have even loved the sequel a little more than the first book. i enjoyed eli's pov a lot and the revelations about his past and his character and motives. even though i didn't particularly like some of the newly introduced characters, i still loved their designs. the writing was beautiful, funny, clever. the storyline was intriguing. the pacing was good. the order of the chapters made it even more interesting. i liked the ending and i'm curious what will happen next. once the third book is out, i will most definitely immediately read it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Torture, Blood, and Murder
lanfearious's review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gore, and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Drug use and Gun violence
trapdorr's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-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
4.5
A very solid sequel. I enjoyed the more diverse powers you came across in this novel. How all the powers could be used for good and evil. Morally gray at times.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death
madmadmaddymad's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-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
5.0
A thrilling read. It reads like a YA, but has the content of something a little more adult. I enjoyed rooting for the villains in this one. Marcella and her gold nail polish, mob wife with a real lust for power, was the star of this book.
Victor was also fun to follow. I couldn’t help but root for them to team up into a league of super villains!
Eli didn’t annoy me in this book as much as he did in the last one… but I’m still pretty unsure if I like him or not. He’s not even fun to hate. I wish there were more to his character. I just find him kind of “meh.” Which is a bad thing for a villain to be.
And Sydney is of course so endearing. I love her and her attachment to Dol. when I read a chapter from Sydney’s point of view I can’t help but feel that this would make an excellent movie. Kind of a young adult dystopian action adventure movie like the early 2010’s. She’s such a star. Can’t help but root for her, and wonder where she’ll take me next.
Victor was also fun to follow. I couldn’t help but root for them to team up into a league of super villains!
Eli didn’t annoy me in this book as much as he did in the last one… but I’m still pretty unsure if I like him or not. He’s not even fun to hate. I wish there were more to his character. I just find him kind of “meh.” Which is a bad thing for a villain to be.
And Sydney is of course so endearing. I love her and her attachment to Dol. when I read a chapter from Sydney’s point of view I can’t help but feel that this would make an excellent movie. Kind of a young adult dystopian action adventure movie like the early 2010’s. She’s such a star. Can’t help but root for her, and wonder where she’ll take me next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death and Torture
Minor: Rape and Toxic friendship
rachel_faerie's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I liked this one more than I liked Vicious 😅 I think you can clearly see how V’s writing has grown since they wrote the first book. I thought this one was paced so well, had lots of extorting scenes but also lots of scenes with character introspections. And it felt like a good mix of character driven story and action packed plot.
Also I loved Marcella lol
Also I loved Marcella lol
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Death, and Domestic abuse
naliyah's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Torture, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Gaslighting
Minor: Animal death