Reviews with content warning for Torture - Vengeful

I wanted to read this an entire night but alas, I have a newborn, and she comes before books. However, this was a great sequel to Vicious. I absolutely loved Vicious, and thought it was perfect so I was hesitant to go on with the trilogy. But V.E Schwab is one of the most artful and meticulous authors I’ve come across and will only put out work that does her characters, plot, and world building justice. This novel not only expanded the world and what we know about EO’s but also introduced a new villain while continuing the heart of the story: Victor Vale vs. Eli Ever. I enjoyed getting to understand Eli & his backstory. But, I will always root for Victor, since he has redeeming qualities and is loyal. Whereas Eli is a cold-hearted fraud with no allegiance to anyone except himself. I’m incredibly excited for Victorious- which they confirmed they’re working on currently. (Confirmed at the end of 2023!!!)

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capsandclauses's review against another edition

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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.”

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amfrtsedi's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

4.0

A worthy sequel to Vicious. Vengeful introduces new characters that are as interesting as the holdovers. There is a bit too much stuffed into the end with abrupt reappearances, sudden departures, and not enough focus on either the denouement or its coda.

In a lesser book by a lesser writer this would tank the whole experience. Instead, Vengeful’s ends is a mild disappointment after an engrossing duology.

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beansprout344's review against another edition

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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

4.75

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fantastiskfiktion's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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katbotelho's review

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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

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eleasofia's review

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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.

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