I knew I would not be putting this book down as soon as I read the first page. V.E. Schwab's brilliant writing style really brings the world of EOs to life. The tense and gruesome atmosphere, along with some ruthless characters (who really make you question whether you're routing for them or not), brought me entirely into their universe. As a lover of found family and morally grey characters, this is an absolutely perfect book alongside its sequel, 'Vengeful'. I look forward to exploring more of Schwab's incredible work and encourage all readers to do the same!

Vicious is not a superhero story. If you’re looking for morally grey characters fighting over morally grey principles who at points are downright villainous, this is your book. Victor Vale is not a hero, his story arc shares tropes with that of a Marvel hero, but Victor is barely even an antihero. This is the third book I’ve read by V.E. Schwab (first Addie, then Gallant) and each and every one has been its own unique gem that stands apart while still utilizing the poetic prose I’ve come to expect, and love, from Schwab (no surprise she started as a poet!). Despite the darkness that Vicious displays at its forefront, there is a beautiful found family trope that just barely redeems Victor as the protagonist. Five stars!

I fell under Schwab's spell with her Shades of Magic trilogy and made it my personal mission to read as much by her as I can. Vicious is, therefore, my fourth book by Schwab and I have to admit that after her trilogy, I didn't think I could fall more in love with her writing and works. Well, I was wrong. Vicious is a work of art. This book is now part of my favourite books of all times and I already feel the need to re-read it. In this book, there is no bad or good guy. Nothing's black or white. Everything grey and nuanced. Eli and Victor used to be friends but changed and learnt from their own experiences in different ways. I honestly can't say they're good or bad. They're just them. Both of them are extremely complex and so human - which is a bit ironing considering that they are EOs. But it's true. They show us the complexity of humans. And I absolutely loved them for that. I do have a slight preference for Victor's character but Eli's charm also worked its magic on me more than once. Beyond Eli and Victor, the rest of the characters are just as complex as them. I absolutely loved Sydney and her growing relationship with both Victor and Mitch. I just have such strong feelings for these characters, all of them. Moreover, Schwab built a really interesting world here with the existence of EOs. I loved seeing the why they exist and the individual reasons behind their powers. It's so refreshing to see people with powers being made (especially that way) rather than born. Schwab is not just good at world-building, like I say previously she is amazing at creating complex, multi-faceted characters that you will just end up getting attached to. And, obviously, her writing is still as delightful and perfect as I remembered it. I just love her. That's it. She's awesome, her books are awesome, her characters are awesome. It is no surprise that I would 100% recommend this book to anyone. Do yourself a favour and read it.

I am OBSESSED with dark and twisty characters that make you question your own morality/ principles and V. E. Schwab has written an ENTIRE BOOK filled with them. Vicious was a villain origin story that transitioned into a villain-against-villain story that was just pure, twisted madness. It was a rollercoaster of a book where I was frantically turning pages to find out what had happened between Eli and Victor ten years ago and what would happen between Eli and Victor in just a few hours. THINGS I LOVED: 1) THE STRUCTURE AND PLOTTING: One of the BIG reasons I enjoyed Vicious was the way it was plotted. It flipped from past to present and from Eli to Victor to Serena to Mitch to Sydney, each filling in the blanks of what happened ten years ago and then flashing forward to today. It was the kind of book that kept you on your toes and I REALLY enjoyed it. 2) I LOVE THE CONCEPT OF BLACK-OUT POETRY, and I love how Victor used it. It was stripping superfluous, long books down to their bare minimum and I loved the truth and pain those words held. 3) I definitely preferred Victor over Eli, but I wonder if I would think the same was if Vicious introduced me to Eli first. Reading about Eli through Victor’s eyes was probably the most biased opinion I could find but it was still interesting to read through Eli’s eyes later in the book. 4) I LOVED the Victor-Sydney bond. It oscillated between EO meets EO and a father-daughter/ brother-sister relationship and I WAS LIVING FOR IT. 5) If there was one think I would have liked, it’s MORE time before the villainy things began. I feel like I didn’t get to know Eli and Victor nearly enough as friends/ rivals/ pre-med students before I was thrown into a villain beat villain rivalry. Also, for all Angie was described as being brilliant, she had no real contribution to the story and I wish she had. Would I recommend this book? YES! It’s my favourite Schwab book so far and I can’t WAIT to dive into Vengeful.

Good storyline and gripping enough that it wasn’t a DNF but I’d personally say this book is massively overhyped. Standard, predicable story about superheroes. Well written though, worth a read.