After reading A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab – I have been SO excited to pick up the next of her books that I own and I happen to have a copy of both Vicious and Vengeful. So I thought, what better time to pick up a couple of spooky-looking books in a duology than in October when everyone seems to be reading spooky books for Halloween? After finishing Ace of Shades, I hope I’m not in any particular slump and can get through these comfortably.
If you have read these books before and also want to check out my spoilery thoughts on the books as I read them, they’ll be in a little drop-down under each section of the day’s thoughts.
Let’s get onto reading more Schwab!
Reading Vicious
DAY 1: Wednesday 14th October – up to 35 pages
Okay, so technically I started this book on Monday by reading the prologue (which was super intriguing) but I was so tired I couldn’t read much more. I had an assignment due Tuesday night so I spent the better part of Monday and Tuesday evening working on it (cause there’s no time like 2 days before to complete a whole assignment).
Anyway, so today I picked this up after all my other commitments were done (one of them being the new Blackpink documentary on Netflix hehe) and read about 30 pages. I’m really enjoying this and I’m kicking myself for not reading more because I kinda spent more time relaxing on my phone instead but oh well. There’s no point in forcing myself to read more. So far, I’m really enjoying the setup of this story.
The dual timeline we are getting is super interesting and from the beginning, you can tell that Victor and Eli have a very different relationship in the present compared to their past at university. I’m super excited to keep going and I’m also very surprised at how easy to read this book is, V.E. Schwab’s writing is spectacular. It’s as easy to read like a YA novel and this is an Adult duology. After enjoying ADSOM as well, I have high hopes that V.E. Schwab is going to become one of my new favourite authors of all time.
No real spoilery thoughts at this stage because I’m still very early into the book but it did make me sad to see that Victor felt like he first had a magnetic attraction and great relationship with Angie until she met Eli. I could really relate to that because I’ve “lost” friends in that way after introducing them to mutuals and it does hurt because things just aren’t ever the same again. I am most definitely intrigued by Sydney and what she has to bring to the story so far, she’s the only one we really don’t know much about so that’s something I’ll be looking out for.
DAY 2: Sunday 18th October – up to 150 pages
So…I spent the rest of this week drowning in a reading slump. So today, I got my shit together; and got out of it! It made me so happy that this evening I could sit down and actually read Vicious without my mind wandering or my attention drifting to something else. I was struggling all week and only managed to read like 10 pages since Wednesday and tonight I finally smashed out the first 150 pages and oh boy, I am LOVING this book.
Victor is such an awesome and morally grey character. Seeing the flashbacks from 10 years ago and getting to understand more of the cast of characters has been so good. I’m extra intrigued about Sydney and V.E. Schwab’s writing is just *chef’s kiss*. It’s digestible, it’s got the most beautiful wording and prose without making my brain hurt and I absolutely love how we are seeing the dynamics of Victor and Eli’s relationship and how it so quickly soured. Absolutely loving this, and I hope I’ll be able to smash out the second half of the book tomorrow!
Holy cow; finding out what their powers were all about was like a mystery in itself. It’s so interesting seeing the connection between what powers they get and how they died. I love how we can see a resemblance in the sibling/friend relationship of Victor and Eli, and Sydney and Serena. Victor’s character feels so real because of how divided he is for loving Eli but also envying him so much that it basically ruined their relationship. The competition was obviously too fierce there, especially for Victor. I wonder if Victoria was trying to incorporate some of the 7 deadly sins and maybe that more EOs we find out about and how they died and got their powers represent over sins. Victor and Sydney both represent Envy and Greed, that’s for sure.
DAY 3: Wednesday 21st October – finished!
After what seems like forever…I have finally finished this book and I loved every second of it! Technically, I finished most of it last night (on the 20th) but I ended up falling asleep with like 80 pages to go which I finished off this morning.
Overall, I absolutely loved this. I didn’t really know what was going to happen and I could not stop reading – absolutely loved the character development from Victor and I got so attached to the other side characters that it genuinely had me a little worried about them.
I’m super intrigued to see what Vengeful has in store for me because this felt like such a satisfying and fitting end – although I do crave much more information and content about Victor and Co. I’m SO SO happy with this book, this is 100% one of my new all time favourites. I flew through it despite being in a rut at the beginning and I should honestly stop being surprised at how amazed I am from V.E. Schwab’s writing considering I haven’t heard a single person say anything bad about her books. Everyone is constantly raving about them. What I have been told is that some people preferred Vicious as a standalone but I’m still going to keep my mind open for the sequel and see how I go.
OMG. I honestly had no idea how this was going to end but I absolutely loved every moment! Eli getting what he deserves and of course, Sydney bringing Victor back from the dead! I thought Dominic was a nice last-minute addition to the gang because of his crazy gift and thank GOD Mitch survived. That moment where Serena tells him to pull the trigger – MY HEART. Everything about this book was awesome. Although I was a bit sad to see Serena die after she helped Sydney, how she treated Mitch and her past actions just solidified how much of a shit person she’s kind of always been. Sydney’s character development was stellar and Victor’s as well – I didn’t expect him to die at all but knowing that he can come back made Eli’s demise even sweeter! Cannot wait for the sequel and I hope to see all these characters again.
Reading Vengeful
DAY 1: Thursday 22nd October – up to 200 pages
I have jumped straight into Vengeful and I’m absolutely LOVING it so far. I read the first 100 pages in one sitting and another 100 pages in two sittings after work. So far, I’m super intrigued about the new characters and love that we’re seeing more of Victor, Sydney and Mitch.
I feel like a broken record saying I love everything but Marcella is one of my favourite characters – seeing her flashbacks of her and Marcus and learning more about her – she’s so badass and I’m so interested to see where her story goes and how it intertwines with Victor and the gang.
I’m hoping to get through the rest of this tomorrow, I’m so excited to keep going!
I really hated Eli in the last book even though both Victor and Eli are technically villains – although I like to think that Victor is more so morally grey – but it’s super interesting how we’re getting to see Eli’s childhood and I’m absolutely CONVINCED that it means he’s actually been a psychopath his whole life. I really hope Eli doesn’t get his way; he is truly a villain I do not like even if his childhood shows trauma and abuse. His philosophy and using God as an excuse to justify his killings and actions don’t sit well with me at all. I’m glad that Stell stepped in to stop the torture (his character is way more intriguing in this book and more present btw) but I still hope Eli doesn’t get out of prison. That being said, Victor killing EOs left and right to find a cure for himself really shows how desperate he is; it scares me a bit because I care so much about him – I don’t want him to keep dying even if he’s not always the greatest person haha.
Sydney, the poor thing, I feel the sorriest for. She’s so young compared to the others and her relationship with June just screams sus and dangerous even though June could be the greatest ally to help them in the story. I hope that Sydney doesn’t take too much responsibility for Victor’s deaths – gosh I’m so invested in this book! I was worried I wouldn’t like it as much as Vicious because a few people mentioned they prefer Vicious as a standalone but I’m LOVING THIS.
DAY 2: Friday 23rd October – up to 300 pages
I managed to read another 100 pages before falling asleep since I had a big day, and I don’t really have a lot to say other than I’m still LOVING this and I’m super keen to finish this tomorrow.
The only real thing I noticed that may confuse others and sometimes confused me is that the timeline in this book is a little more complicated because of the bigger cast in characters but I’m not finding myself feeling too confused about what’s happening. It’s almost genius the way Schwab has written this and created the timeline; using time as a way to create even more anticipation for an event as well as to give further context.
I’m holding a mini weekend readathon for myself cause I just want to spend the weekend reading so I’ll surely finish this delight of a sequel tomorrow. No spoilers today – I am exhausted!
DAY 3: Saturday 24th October – finished!
First thoughts after finishing this book – this can’t be it.
I am NOT OKAY. I NEED MORE. I was honestly shocked when I realised it was the end because I seriously need more; the ending didn’t feel satisfying at all (except for some spoilers below). I love these characters so much, Victor, Sydney and June in particular although Marcella was one hell of a character. I really hope this makes it to the big screen one day and nobody screws it up because this series is amazing.
I had no idea that this was a trilogy but we ARE getting another book (THANK GOD) and I cannot wait for it to come out. I am so so excited about it because I need more closure than this! Highly recommend these books, this is absolutely one of my new all-time favourite books. I should never have doubted the power of this sequel either because it was as exhilarating, if not more, than its predecessor. V.E. Schwab is easily one of my new favourite authors and now I’m impatiently waiting for the hardback copy of Addie Larue to become available so that I can read more of her work. I am obsessed.
THAT ENDING…I CANNOT. There was so much to discuss and think about here – I probably won’t remember everything but first; Victor and Eli’s character development! The greed, hatred and need for vengeance never waned and if anything went above and beyond. I absolutely loved Marcella and June, specifically June because she definitely ended up as one of the good guys even if she was pretty self-serving in the end. I’m kinda sad that Marcella died but I can also see how it would’ve been a very dangerous avenue for EOs to become commonly known. I think a bit sad about the fact that there are so many EOs still imprisoned at EON but at least a few managed to escape. SYDNEY – her character development was amazing too. How she realised even after her sister’s death, how it wasn’t worth trying to resurrect her but that in trying to achieve she became so much more powerful and confident in herself. When it comes to the other members of the gang; I am so freaking glad that Mitch survived all that, although it was super sad to see Dom die. Dom did so much for the team and I don’t think Victor truly got to process his death so that’s one thing I hope is addressed in the next book. Victor almost DIED SO MANY TIMES. I was sometimes holding my breath, thinking that it was all about to be over but damn, this guy is more unkillable than John McClane.
Stell was also another integral character to this book and his development was also interesting to see even if he did end up being a bit of a pawn in Eli’s game. The random crazy doctor bit at the end – I DID NOT SEE COMING. I honestly thought this book might end with Eli escaping. Although the ending didn’t feel super satisfying for me, it 100% left me wanting more and needing to see how Sydney and Mitch find Victor, if Victor figures out how to cure himself and what June will end up doing now that her crew is dead. So many questions!! The bonus story was super interesting too, Rio being an EO was so unexpected but I hope she gets what’s coming for her after what she did to Dom.
And that, is the end of my reading blog for this book series so far. I really had no idea that there would be another book but it makes me so much more excited and wanting more. I loved these books, the stories and the characters so much!
Have you read these? What did you think?
Until next time,
8 Comments
evelynreads1
I love this series! I’m glad you did as well! I’m very interested in seeing what will happen in the next one!
(www.evelynreads.com)
Tracy
me too 🙂
juli
I’m so glad you enjoyed this series! It’s one of my all-time favorites and I had a blast reading your reactions to everything that happened. Can’t wait for the next book, whenever that is coming out.
Tracy
thank you! and I can’t wait too!!
Julie Anna's Books
I’m glad you loved this one! I have yet to read Vicious or ADSOM but I do have ADSOM on my shelves – I need to get to it soon!
Tracy
Yes! please do 🙂 and I hope you love them too!!
Ruby Rae Reads
Welp I’m so behind on blog posts so prepare for spam haha. But I loved this and I CANNOT wait to start this duology!! Love ya Tracy <3<3
Tracy
Ahh thank you thank you <3 <3 ily2