Vicious by V.E. Schwab

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This may be the angstiest book I’ve ever read, but for me, that’s a good thing. One of the characters says that there are no good guys in this story, which proves to be true in surprising and shocking ways. I didn’t find either of those things to be a drawback at all. In fact, I was impressed with how interesting the author made these broken, violent people out to be.

Of all V. E. Schwab’s books I’ve read (6 so far), this one has the best pacing. Three nights in a row, characters killed themselves right before I turned the light out at night, so I was hooked. Beyond that, this may be one of the most unusual examinations of “superheroes,” since it doesn’t have any actual heroes in it.

One of my criticisms of A Gathering of Shadows (Book 2 of the Shade of Magic series) was that it ended on an entirely unnecessary cliffhanger. Vicious comes to a very satisfying ending and stand entirely on its own. That said, I’m glad that Vengeful, the second book in the series, comes out in paperback in January. I need to read something a little lighter — probably cemetery history — before I dive back into this world.

You can get a copy of your own on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2N5f3rU

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