theintrovertsbooks's review against another edition
- 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
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
lizziaha's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Torture, Violence, Body horror, Death, Child abuse, Medical content, Physical abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Self harm, Blood, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Sexism, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Infidelity, Animal death, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Drug abuse, Kidnapping, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Addiction
donatio's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
The multiple POVs, the new characters, the writing, the plot... just brilliant.
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Car accident, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Medical content, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Torture, Addiction, Blood, Body horror, Gore, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Sexual content, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Drug use, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, and Violence
xcampuskiddo's review against another edition
- 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
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
eliever's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Self harm, Blood, Child abuse, Death of parent, Gore, Misogyny, Gun violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Torture, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Kidnapping, Grief, Animal death, Confinement, and Alcohol
Minor: Sexual assault
em_of_swags's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Death, Gun violence, Murder, Torture, and Blood
Moderate: Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, and Self harm
Minor: Addiction, Animal death, and Drug use
noveltay's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Without spoiling: what happened to Eli in the lab… made my skin crawl and stomach twist.
It ended on some loose ends and if she finished writing here, I’d understand but at the same time I’d hope some of those ties were pulled together in a 3rd book.
Graphic: Gun violence, Self harm, Murder, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Blood, Body horror, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Kidnapping
oliverreeds's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Torture, Addiction, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Car accident, Chronic illness, Confinement, Drug use, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual content, Stalking, and Violence
Minor: Sexual assault
rachelunabridged's review against another edition
- 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
was vicious better than vengeful? imo, big yes.
was i disappointed in vengeful? tbh, not really. vicious wrapped up so well + felt like its own stand-alone story; i feel like vengeful is almost like a bonus story. like you don't have to read it to complete the story from vicious, but if you enjoyed vicious, here's some extra time with the characters we know and love.
would i recommend vengeful? if you loved vicious + want to see more of the characters, i would say go into this with lower expectations.
ultimately, what made me feel like this read was less compelling is how stretched it felt. there was just entirely too much going on at any given time with all of the new characters + there just seemed to be no clear focus. it really felt like the story was heavily centered around marcella, but then victor + the crew were kinda shoehorned in with no real purpose until the end.
Spoiler
for example, i really thought we were going somewhere with sydney exploring + trying to strengthen her powers, but not only did she decide not to resurrect her sister (good move), but she also didn't get to use them to help victor. so why did that even need to be such a huge plot point? it came off to me like it was just a reason to keep her in the story.i definitely came away feeling like if it had been written with entirely new characters, this might've been a stronger story. or even if our main characters were given better reasons to be involved.
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Animal death
spearly's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Every action had been his own design, every step his own making.
If there was a way out of this, he would find it.
If there wasn’t, he would make one himself.
Vengeful follows our ragtag trio - Victor, Mitch, and Sydney (and Dol) - in the events following Victor's temporary death in Vicious. Sydney brought him back, and now he's... not quote whole. His episodes are getting worse, his deaths are getting longer, and he needs to find a way to stop it.
Meanwhile, Eli Ever is in a heavily guarded cell at the newly minted EON (ExtraOrdinary Observation and Neutralization) facility.
And there's a new Villain in Merit.
This was a really fun read! I enjoyed it even more than I enjoyed Vicious, which is saying something! The new characters were exciting, evil, powerful, and some real adversaries for our anti-heroes.
I've struggled with something about this series, and I think I just have to come around and accept it. I've never loved a character as much as I've hated them, but that's Victor. He's evil, man. Like, I'll murder you when you can't give me what I want, evil. But he's also so damn likeable sometimes. The way he is with Sydney and Mitch, the way he truly seems to care about their wellbeing, about keeping them safe... *chef's kiss*. Sure, they're safety comes at the expense of some perfectly innocent lives but... no-one perfect.
In book one I struggled with the blatant hypocrisy. Eli is some self-proclaimed messiah, murdering all the other EOs because they go against God's plan. Victor has a long-awaited vendetta against Eli, made worse by Eli's self-righteousness. The two come to a head, and out favourite villain is raised form the dead.
And then here, we have... Victor doing the exact same thing, albeit for different reasons. And it's suddenly okay because he's not
Spoiler
killing EOsSpoiler
killing all the witnesses to Victor's non-dead state hardly makes a difference, since EON finds them anyway!I think I will just have to be okay with the hypocrisy. In fact, that's the point. There are no good men in this game (okay, except for Mitch, though I'm sure he has blood on his hands, too). Honestly, Sydney might by the only good-to-her-core character. But what did I expect, reading a series called Villains?
Overall, an excellent duology. In fact, I could even go for a third book, if V.E. Schwab were so inclined. What happens to June? The formula? Victor and Mitch and Sydney?
Spoiler
GO BACK FOR DOM, GIRL!! YOU CAN RAISE THE DEAD!!Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit