Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

Vengeful by V.E. Schwab

11 reviews

theintrovertsbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Torture, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Abandonment, Self harm, Medical content, Forced institutionalization, Chronic illness, Gun violence, Blood, Gore, Confinement, Body horror, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Police brutality, Cursing, and Stalking

Minor: Sexual assault, Alcohol, Child death, Rape, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Sexual violence, and Drug use

jkneebone's review against another edition

dark medium-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

3.0

I loved the first book in this universe, Vicious, but for some reason Vengeful did not quite live up to my expectations. Picking up five years after the events of Vicious, in Vengeful we find Victor, Mitch, and Sydney still on the move, traveling from place to place as they try to figure out what's wrong with Victor (after his reanimation by Sydney, his power is on the fritz). Meanwhile Eli, after being arrested, was given over to a new program called EON which is dedicated to hunting down and capturing EOs. This book also introduces us to several new characters: Marcella, a mob wife-turned-EO after her cheating husband tried to murder her; and June, an EO with the power to assume the form of any human she has touched, who has been keeping up a secret long-distance friendship with Sydney.

There is a lot happening in this book, and though parts of it were really interesting to me - we finally get some Eli POV and find out more about his history! - there was, for me, a bit too much going on, to the point that I found it a bit hard to know what to focus on. Eli and Victor's obsession with each other continues - Eli has visions of Victor's ghost and suspicions that he isn't dead, and once they're confirmed he wants to rectify that himself; Victor is determined to keep Eli from getting out of EON - but we also have Marcella's quest for vengeance against her husband/subsequent desire to take over the entire Merit mob, and the addition of EON as a source of conflict/potential fear for most of the characters. There's just a lot going on! I didn't find Marcella particularly compelling when contrasted with the other characters, and the sort-of role-reversal of Victor and Eli

Spoiler

-not only is Eli imprisoned while Victor roams free, Victor starts trying to find EOs who might be able to help him, and then killing them when they can't help - he's literally using the system Eli perfected to kill EOs, albeit for a different reason -

didn't make a ton of sense to me; it felt like a re-hashing of the first book in some ways.

It was still a quick and engaging read - although definitely not for those with a sensitivity to violence or graphic images, as there was even more gross and gory stuff happening in this book - but for me, lacked the delicious darkness of the first book. The characters were nasty, but the motivations felt muddied - and maybe that was the point, but whatever it was, it just didn't work for me as much as the first book did.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Violence, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Death, Child abuse, Medical trauma, Blood, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Self harm, Animal death, and Medical content

xcampuskiddo's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Toxic relationship, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Forced institutionalization, Self harm, Torture, Medical content, Sexism, Blood, Murder, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gun violence, Stalking, Confinement, Cursing, Drug use, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, and Police brutality

juliasbooklife's review

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Addiction, Death, Body horror, Chronic illness, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Sexual assault, Violence, Medical content, Sexual violence, Stalking, Murder, Self harm, Torture, and Toxic relationship

kt2e56's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-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

5.0

Vengeful is to Vicious what Part II was to the first Godfather. Just so phenomenal from start to finish. It brought back characters we were already glued to in the first book but also gave us some brand new ones that actually wind up stealing the show a bit, including Marcella Morgan who is a “Good for Her” baddie for the ages. This was a satisfying conclusion to Victor and Eli’s story but honestly, Schwab is so talented that I’d absolutely read more about this world and these characters if she were to bring them out again to play some more.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Torture, Violence, Hate crime, Forced institutionalization, Death, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Drug abuse, Addiction, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Pedophilia, Infidelity, and Drug use

kaadee's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

This one blew me out of the fucking water, dude. From the first page and Marcella’s death to the very end! I fell in love with Victor, which I didn’t like him before. I felt sorry for Eli which I honestly didn’t expect to. I enjoyed June A LOT but I feel her character didn’t have enough background! I need more. I need more. I need more. I love Sydney and Mitch. I love that Sydney and Victor have a specific special relationship. This book really brought the thunder. I was hoping the whole time for an enemies to lovers thing with Victor and Eli but of course, no. They were so in love with each other and they just had bitter ex energy the whole time. I love the way they thought about each other, even if it was in a very fucked up way.

Eagerly waiting for the next book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Death, Medical trauma, Violence, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Medical content, and Murder

Moderate: Stalking, Drug use, and Toxic friendship

thebankofbooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Emotional abuse, Death, Physical abuse, Sexism, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Gun violence, Blood, Body horror, Chronic illness, Medical trauma, Police brutality, Sexual content, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Animal death, and Suicide

rottendollparts's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gun violence, Violence, Torture, Murder, Forced institutionalization, Fire/Fire injury, and Medical content

Moderate: Cursing and Domestic abuse

Minor: Animal death, Rape, and Self harm

acrea17's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-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

4.5

While not as good as Vicious, Vengeful holds up as a decent sequel! This installment toes the line even more with our morally grey characters (Victor, Eli, and even Sydney) and gives a little more insight into the world of EOs and expands upon the idea of tracking EOs down for personal and possible governmental gain. We explore EON, where our old friend Stell captures, analyzes, and possibly neutralizes EOs as a way to both understand them and ensure they are not a threat to society. This part of the book takes on a dystopian quality and has A Brave New World vibes. I absolutely adore this series and was overjoyed when V.E. Scwab announced there would be a third installment in the next few years (along with the upcoming graphic novels!!) 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Gun violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Police brutality, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Animal death

ettic's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Wow, just wow! The ending felt satisfying yet unsatisfactory at the same time, like it was a fitting ending but I want so much more from these characters as well! Loved it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Animal death