Vicious
(Villains, #1)
by V.E. Schwab
Pages: 364 // Published: September 24, 2013 // Genre: Fantasy
Summary as Provided by Publisher
Victor and Eli started out as college roommates—brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong.
Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find—aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for revenge—but who will be left alive at the end?
My Thoughts
ExtraOrdinary.
The word that started–ruined, changed–everything.
What a fabulous read – 4/4 Yummy Dessert Popsicles! I am new to the V.E. Schwab bandwagon, but man did I ever enjoy Vicious. I believe I even enjoyed it more so than Darker Shade of Magic.
What I loved…
- PACING – this book is refreshingly quick and fast paced. I struggle sometimes when fantasy books tend to drag on and on. This book had extremely short chapters which I lived for and it made it that much more enjoyable.
- VICTOR VALE – He is cruel & selfish yet entirely loveable. You see why he is obsessed and why life is no longer black and white in his world.
- SYDNEY & MITCHELL – I absolutely adored Team Vale’s gang of misfits. Like a tattooed ex-convict hacker who loves chocolate milk? Can he be my best friend?
- DELIVERY – I really enjoyed the way the story was delivered. The story jumps between different time periods, and kind of morphs into a count down by the end of the book. It was done really well with minimal confusion and I felt it really upped the suspense of the storyline.
- SUPERPOWERS, DUH – This story also has strong X-men vibes, so that will forever win in my book.
The paper called Eli a hero.
The word made Victor laugh. Not just because it was absurd, but because it posed a question. If Eli really was a hero, and Victor meant to stop him, did that make him a villain?
He took a long sip of his drink, tipped his head back against the couch, and decided he could live with that.
What I didn’t love…
- ELI – Yep. This dude is need of help, major. He played a perfect counter to Victor, but did not like his crazy ways.
- SERENA – Now this chicka was a villain. Her powers were creepy af. *shudders* More so than Sydney, and that’s saying alot.
- PREDICTABILITY – The ending was slightly predictable, which is in no way bad – just was hoping for more of a twist, personally. But it ultimately didn’t take away anything for me.
Overall, Vicious is a quick read and perfect book for that commute or getting out of that reading slump. I really hope you give it a try, especially with Vengeful coming out this year!
Trigger Warnings: Murder, Violence, Violent Killings
“You can’t kill me, Victor,” said Eli. “You know that.”
Victor’s smile widened as he buried his knife between Eli’s ribs.
“I know,” he said loudly. He had to speak up over the screams. “But you’ll have to indulge me. I’ve waited so long to try.”
Let me know in the comments on your thoughts on anti-heroes – are you for them of against them? Have you read Vicious? What did you think?
HAPPY READING!
You had me at X-Men, I love book with superpower characters!! Adding it to my TBR. Great review love 💕
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I haven’t read this yet, but it’s on my TBR! I’m currently reading A Darker Shade of Magic, and this is my first Schwab book; it’s safe to say she’s already becoming a new favorite author!
Great review!!
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Ooh, sounds interesting!! Like Carolina, you had me at X-Men too. =)
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Wonderful review! This sounds right up my alley. I just read A Darker Shade of Magic and now I want to get my hands on all Schwab’s books! Haha.
And I’m a sucker for anything that’s similar to X-men hehe. ❤️
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I really want to read this, but I’m nervous. I LOVED the Shades of Magic series, but I wasn’t too fond of the Monsters of Verity Duology. I feel like Vicious will determine whether or not I love Victoria Schwab the way I hope I do.
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I really enjoyed it and it was such an easy read. I hope you decide to try it out!!
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Great review… I have yet to read any Schwab yet… I feel like the covers are always so ❤ ❤ but I've never felt the hard desire to read any of them. They do sound good….
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I recco trying this one before DSoM, but I haven’t finished the trilogy yet
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Good rec…. Vicious is officially made my TBR…. I’ll see how you think the rest of the trilogy goes 🙂
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Thank you for including trigger warnings. Love the cute popsicles. Great review!
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You’re welcome! This is the first time I made sure to include it, so glad it’s appreciated! I started it based on my last survey on book reviews 😙
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I have to use one for my next review too. I definitely think readers appreciate them.
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I have this on my Kindle waiting for me to read it… but I am scared to be honest because of my struggles with the Shades of Magic series (I almost hate book 2 and am so disinterested in finishing the series rn). Have you read ADSoM?
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Yes! And I preferred this a lot more. It’s a different feel especially being in a modern day setting. Very high paced and more suspense and dialogue.
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WHEW that makes me feel a lot better, THANK YOU! I swear the second book was 300 pages too long and when someone that loves descriptive writing & intense worldbuilding that is saying something.
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