Vicious Villains; 1

If you want to read something with brutal, violent, and morally ambiguous characters, set in a universe where superpowers can be awakened, then this is the book for you! The story follows Victor and Eli across two timelines: one when they were friends (*cough* “friends” *cough”) in college, and another ten years later when everything has shifted. Along the way, new characters (Mitch, Sydney, and Serena) are introduced, each playing a crucial role in how events and plans unfold. This book was incredibly captivating! I loved the unconventional route it took, the rivalry between Victor and Eli, but most of all, I loved the amount of backstory the characters got!

quite literally. I would leave this review at exactly those words, if only I could, because I truly do not want to rate this 5 stars without saying how much I enjoyed reading it. This was my second book by V.E. Schwab, the first one being 'The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue,' and while I enjoyed her writing there already, 'Vicious' made me fall in love with it. When I first opened this book, I actually just wanted to read into it, which turned out to be impossible. Before I knew it, I was fifty pages in. I had not expected to enjoy this book so much, as it's friends to enemies, but oh, I did! The found-family trope and morally gray characters all tangled up in a paranormal-science ethics web? Sign me up! Fast-paced, sharp and well written. This was so good!

You’ve heard it before and you’ll hear it again: V.E. Schwab is my favorite author and Vicious is one of my favorite books. The dark atmosphere, morally questionable characters and superhuman abilities turn this into a chilling, must-read series. I’m still so obsessed with Victor’s and Eli’s mutual obsession!!

This was insane in the very best way. If you like science, fantasy, and morally grey characters, this book is for you. What makes a hero a hero? What makes a villain a villain? Can both be true about one person at the same time? Eli and Victor start out as students trying to scientifically explain the phenomenon of ExtraOrdinarys (short EOs) - people that have supernatural powers. Once they find out what causes those powers there is only one more step to trying it themselves. But once you have those powers... what does that make you? A hero? A villain? Both, or neither? Victoria Schwab is a master at characterisation. Both Victor and Eli are terribly complicated people, neither of them good in the main sense of the word, and yet they both have their convictions and ideas that make them so much more than just "bad" people. A twisted, bloody story, weird and wonderfully insane.

This book plays with emotions in a captivating way. The relationship between Victor and Eli is complex and emotionally charged, making the book especially gripping. V. E. Schwab puts the characters in difficult moral dilemmas, leaving the reader constantly torn between right and wrong. The back-and-forth between revenge, loyalty, and the question of what is truly just makes this book an emotional rollercoaster. If you enjoy stories with deep, morally ambiguous characters, this one is a must-read!