Goodreads | Waterstones

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?

It’s time to talk about my first 5 star read of 2022, and it’s no surprise that it’s a V.E. Schwab book! I’ve been slowly making my way through buddy reading some more of her books with Alex, and I’m so glad we finally picked up Vicious. Schwab has this incredible skill of writing completely unique stories with a writing style that feels equally different in each book/series and familiar. I love diving into new books by her and picking up a new story knowing I never know what to expect.

This story is different from anything by Schwab I’ve read before, and I really loved the premise. This one is a gritty story following two college roommates who become extra-ordinaries, and ten years later are trying to track each other down as enemies. The chapters switch between many different time periods, from present day to 10 years before and pretty much anywhere in between, and I was so surprised at how easy it was to follow – it really requires some skill to write like that.

Plenty of humans were monstrous,

Schwab writes amazing morally grey characters and I loved reading about them in this book. Although I can never decide whether I want to root for the characters, there are definitely a couple of characters in this series who I liked, and I want to get behind as I go into Vengeful.

The writing in this is immaculate, and I absolutely loved the audiobook too. The narrator did an incredible job of reading this and fit the book so well. I couldn’t stop listening to this book and I found myself becoming so involved in the story easily.

and plenty of monsters knew how to play at being human.

I firmly believe this is the superhero book that everyone needs. The short chapters make it addictive, with a fast paced plot and easy-to-read writing. I know I’ll be recommending it to everybody!

★★★★★
5 out of 5 stars

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

Shop | Booktube | Goodreads | Instagram | Tumblr | Twitter | Facebook