Book: Vengeful by V.E. Schwab
Read From: 5th August - 8th August 2021
Rating: 5/5 stars
Summary (Vicious): Victor and Eli started out as college roommates. 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). Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the arch-nemeses have set a course for revenge—but who will be left alive at the end?
I've said it before and I will say it until the day I die... V.E.👏🏼SCHWAB👏🏼SUPREMACY👏🏼 I don't understand how one person can churn out all of these amazing books and just hit the nail on the head EVERY SINGLE TIME!? If you require evidence to demonstrate why they are my favourite author of all time... simply read this duology (soon to be trilogy? I hope? Please pull through for us in 2024)🤞🏼
If I had to compare these books to anything, it would be The Poppy War and Six of Crows. Whilst the books differ massively in plot, the common theme is that they all contain extremely morally grey characters BUT you can't help but root for them. "Plenty of humans were monstrous, and plenty of monsters knew how to play at being human". Victor and Eli are two sides of the same coin, you're always questioning what the 'right thing' is in order for you to pick someone’s side, but it's a trick question. There is no 'right' and that is exactly what makes this series so addictive!
These characters have me in a chokehold, I just loved them all so much - particularly Victor and his little gang with Sydney, Mitch and Dol🥺 I don’t want to spoil anything by saying too much about Vengeful, but June and Marcella were incredible - such an amazing example of badass female characters. Marcella is the definition of ‘gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss’ and nobody can change my mind.
Would I recommend this series? OBVIOUSLY. Would I go so far as to recommend it over my favourite trilogy of all time - V.E. Schwab’s Shades of Magic? To be honest, yes. I think the concept and plot of this book alongside the themes it covers would appeal to a wider range of readers. I also think even if you’re not someone who typically reaches for fantasy, this would be perfect as the duology is a little too close to reality where it’s almost scary. If someone told me that there were ExtraOrdinaries walking among us I think I’d genuinely believe them - it was so realistic and explained so well. PLEASE READ THESE BOOKS!