Title: Vengeful.
Series: Villains #2.
Writer(s): V.E. Schwab.
Publisher: Tor Books.
Format: Hardcover.
Release Date: September 25th 2018.
Pages: 478.
Genre(s): Science-Fiction.
ISBN13: 9780765387523.
My Overall Rating: ★★★★☆.
Previously on Villains:
Vicious by V.E. Schwab.
What if there was nothing holding you back from satisfying your most darkest desires? With the freedom to embrace the darkness in all of its fury, life becomes the ultimate recipient of all the evil that one can conjure and no one will ever be safe from its deadly hold. Although we learn to repress all of the negative emotions and deadly behaviours at a young age in order to fit into society and promote a livable environment, it is the individuals who strive in the expression of violence that help us put into perspective our own demeanor. What V.E. Schwab accomplishes in her Villains series is help us understand some of mankind’s greatest flaws through super-powered beings who can’t help but indulge their most selfish needs.
With Vicious deemed as the archetype for revenge thriller with its exquisite portrayal of superhero lore and its reflection on villainy in its most darkest and complex form, it was only a matter of time before a sequel was announced to what would have remained an exemplary stand-alone story with more fine points than a sackful of blood-soaked daggers. Vengeful dives right back into this merciless world of extraordinary people living among mere mortals and introduces readers to a brand new array of villains who broadens and stretches the idea of evil in every possible direction. The story takes place five years after the ending of Vicious and nothing is as resolved as you’d believe. While a conflict of interest was at the core of the first book, a study of survival and vengeance stands center stage in Vengeful.
The narrative structure that we first found in Vicious is brought back with a vengeance in its sequel and once again it won’t be an easy task to get used to. With not only new characters being introduced into the game, old ones find themselves with their backgrounds greatly expanded thanks to flashback sequences that enlighten readers of their dark days before obtaining their powers. These chapters helps readers reflect on the characters and force you to wonder if they were always set on a course towards destruction. The chapters however also continue to be short and the sporadic alternation between different point of views and different moments in the timeline does make it tough at first, but quickly becomes addictive in its nature. While momentary confusion can be expected, the end result remains a brilliant jigsaw puzzle that readers can joyously watch unfold.
The character development remains V.E. Schwab’s greatest forte in this sequel—as if she ever struggled with her characters—and there’s a particular attention given to the women of this story. If you ever felt like Vicious neglected to shine enough light on its female characters, Vengeful will make sure to give you more than you could ever handle with the addition of Marcella and June. Their development is impeccable and instantly draws a stunning and deadly figure for those two characters. You just don’t want to get in their way. That’s for sure. On top of that, characters from Vicious return with even more complexity. It immensely helps when so much has already been introduced and developed in the first book, as Schwab simply uses that to further explore each character’s greatest traits. In fact, in Vengeful, maturity strikes some of the younger characters while new challenges help others further understand themselves but also those around them.
Vengeful is a devil-may-care and painstaking look at villainy, and remains a tremendous sequel to one of the greatest revenge thrillers ever written in science fiction. Of course, with the addition of superpowers-gone-wrong into the mix, you simply can’t go wrong with this series.
Vicious was my first book by Schwab and remained my favorite for years even though I picked up many of her YA releases since. I was so excited when she announced Vengeful. And it was so good! 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Glad to hear it didn’t disappoint you Mogsy! Saw your awesome review for Vengeful on Goodreads too! 😀
LikeLike
I really enjoyed both books
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yay!! Glad to hear you’re part of the fanbase too. 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ll be reading this soon. Great review, Lashaan! I adore Vicious😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Tammy! How have you not read it already! 😉 Hope you enjoy it as much as the first in that case. 😀
LikeLike
That sounds awesome 😁
LikeLiked by 1 person
Definitely loads of evil’ish fun! 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wonderful review Lashaan! I was really excited to read this one but I’ve read some meh reviews and now I’m conflicted
I’m glad you enjoyed it though, and I heard the new characters are all amazing!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Tasya! You should definitely give it a try for yourself. I doubt it would be a complete bummer; it’ll at least give you the chance to revisit this wonderful world by Schwab! And the new characters are loads of fun! 😀
LikeLike
Fantastic review, Lashaan! I haven’t read these books but have heard great things. It’s great how you praise the first one as the best ‘revenge thriller in sf’!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Nikola! To be fair, I haven’t read all the revenge thrillers in science-fiction out there, but I doubt there are many that does a job as good as the first one did for the genre! 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
I need to read these books! I read her Darker Shade of Magic books and I absolutely adored her writing and characterisation. I for sure need some more Schwab in my life.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve only read the first book of the Dark Shade trilogy myself and really need to complete that series soon hahah Maybe once they release a trailer for the movie adaptation, I’ll be more motivated to complete that trilogy. 😀 You should totally give Vicious and Vengeful a shot then. Schwab rarely disappoints. 😉
LikeLike
Great review Lashaan, and I’m really glad you enjoyed this book too. Despite re-reading Vicious before picking up Vengeful it took me a little while to get back into narrative structure V.E. Schwab uses in this series. 🙂 That said I loved the introduction of Marcella and June, and I especially loved seeing more of Sydney in this book.
Do you think there’ll be a third in the series? I’m still hoping so because I feel like Vengeful ended in the same way Vicious did. it closed off the story well but left it open for more books. Again great review. 😀 ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Beth! I still had Vicious fresh in my mind since it wasn’t too long ago that I first read it myself hahah But I got to admit, that narrative structure still wasn’t the easiest thing to follow for the first 50-100 pages, and sometimes more when it switched around with new PoVs.
Hmmm, I think Schwab would totally be ready to dive back into this series in the future, but since Vengeful took time before being announced and released, I think for now it’s safe to say it’ll be a while before we get any more #Villains. 😀 I mean, she could even totally insert new characters and explore their stories instead too!
Thanks for reading, Beth! 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s all right, and yeah I get what you mean. It’s not an easy narrative structure to follow but it makes for an amazing story when you get into it.
I don’t mind if I have to wait a few years for it, I’ll be happy to wait if it means we get more from this world V.E. Schwab has created.
That’s all right. 🙂 ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
I was still on the fence about this series. I picked the first book for a prompt in my reading challenge and then basically decided i’m not doing the challenge anymore. But you made me curious again 😀 I do enjoy well written characters and read about what they do in situations i will probably never be in.
Great review.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ahh you should totally give it a shot! It is sci-fi too, so any it can be plugged into this sci-fi month or something? 😁 I honestly don’t know how the whole sci-fi month things works anyways 😝 Hope you enjoy Vicious and Vengeful if you ever do give them a shot, Norrie!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It sounds like a really intersting book! 😁 I’m glad you liked it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It definitely is! Thank you for reading, Caroline! 🙈
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have yet to read a Schwab… I know, I know! They are on my list!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ahhh you totally should. Her adult stuff (well.. pretty much just this Villains series) is awesome and really lets her go all out without restraints, but even her Darker Shade of Magic trilogy is universally loved! 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Excellent. I have added it to my TBR!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Awesome review! I haven’t read these yet, but I want to! Someday soon…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks! You totally should dive into this series someday soon! Fun stuff. 😁
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love a well written character Lashaan and need to read these two books especially after her Darker Shade of Magic series. I’m also curious about her narrative style in these two books. Something to explore! ❤️
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ohhh yes! I don’t think you’ll be disappointed by Schwab anytime soon. This adult series frees her from so many restraints too I believe. I’d be super curious of your writer’s perspective of that narrative style. It’s sooo not easy to dive into at first, but you grow to get used to it relatively fast! 😀
LikeLike
I love what Schwab does with the villains series. And this sounds like an excellent sequel- I love the sound of the direction she takes the characters in. Awesome review!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yep! A nice surprise sequel for sure! Hopefully you get the chance to enjoy it soon enough! 🙂 Thanks!
LikeLike
Revenge thrillers are fun to read.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Just occasionally. Too many and I’m sure I’d end up getting bored too quickly.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great review! I’m obsessed with this series and have suggested it to every single person I can.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much! I wonder if we’ll ever get a third book in this universe. 😮
LikeLike