Review: Vengeful by V.E. Schwab (Villains #2)

Vengeful (Villains #2)
V.E. Schwab
Published: Sept. 25, 2018 (Tor)
Purchase at: Book Depository or Amazon
Review source: purchased

Reviewed by: Chelsea

Rating (out of 5): 5 stars

Note: This is the second book in the series. While we strive to avoid spoilers, this review will assume you’ve read Vicious. If you haven’t, please check out that VBC review.

I was incredibly excited for this book. It wasn’t anyone else’s hype that had me counting down the days until my pre-order hit my Kindle; I simply loved Vicious so much I couldn’t wait fore more. For those of you who follow me on social media (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook), you know Vicious was one of my most recommended books in the last year alongside The Fifth Season and Archangel’s Viper. It’s hard to make my top three of universal recs, but the exploration of the villain being the good guy in his own story in the first book hooked me. I needed more.

What’s brilliant about Vengeful is that is both is and isn’t part two of this duology. It’s not solely focused on Victor Vale and Eli Ever. It’s not about regressing on how one creates and E.O. (extraordinary person). Like its characters, Vengeful is MORE.

In this second Villains book, we explore the consequences of the ending of Vicious, but also look at the balance of power. We look at the nature of revenge. We explore what happens when people—in this case with superhuman abilities—hit their breaking points.

And that’s a lot. It also took me some time to realize how much this book hit me. It took me time to realize what it was that spoke to me, and then I had to dig into why that was so right for me. I recognize not everyone will see themselves in a book like this, but for me Vengeful understood what its like to always be fighting for more, for better, for truth.

The characters we loved from the first book are all back, but with new threads focusing on Marcella, a mobster’s wife who has found a way to finally be heard in the criminal world with abilities won through a near-death experience. She’s not a good person, but you’ll understand her. For example, this line stuck with me the most:

“Ask nice. Play nice. Marcella was so fucking tired of nice.” – VENGEFUL by @veschwab (Me, too, Marcella. Me, too.) #bookrec https://t.co/F7r8Kji3mw

— Chelsea Mueller (@ChelseaVBC) October 1, 2018

At its core, Vengeful is an achingly beautiful rumination on anger coupled with powerful character arcs. The story unfolds with a slow-burn precision, and I can’t recommend it enough.

Sexual content: References to sex