Vicious (The Villains #1) by V.E. Schwab
“Plenty of humans were monstrous, and plenty of monsters knew how to play at being human.”
Okay, I’ll say it out here for all of you to hear me. It is true, I AM ADDICTED TO SCHWAB! My first Schwab book was last year when I consumed This Savage Song and Our Dark Duet in a matter of days, cried my eyes out at the ending and then immediately added them to my favorites of all time. Then just last month I read the Shades of Magic series unable to stop myself from flying through them as soon as they arrived all beautiful and begging to be read. And now with the upcoming release of Vengeful, I decided it was time. Time to open my heart to another Schwab book with the hopes she wouldn’t completely steal my soul. I literally wake up thinking about her characters and throughout the day find myself saying “As Travars” as I walk through a doorway or humming a little song about “monsters, monsters, big and small…” but then again I know its a losing battle, because who am I kidding?! I knew this book would devour me before I even began.
This is not your typical story with its heroes and villains, in fact it is actually the story of an anti-hero. Our protagonist is not what you’d exactly call a “good guy” and really neither are the rest of our ragtag cast of characters. Victor Vale is the kind of character who you develop a sort of love hate relationship with. He doesn’t want to save the world, or even himself for that matter. Victor wants to get revenge on his crappy parents by vandalizing all of their self help novels, and he is constantly bored with life and the trivial day to day routine. Until along comes Eli, when Victor was paired with him as a roommate in his dorms at the University. At first Victor thinks to get rid of him as soon as possible, but soon realizes that they might get along just fine. When a science experiment takes a dangerous turn for the worst, they are forced apart and become enemies of the highest degree. Out for each other’s blood the story turns into a chase where we are introduced to many other great characters along the way.
Schwab’s effortless writing style is something that you can breeze through without a thought. I don’t find myself setting down her books with frustration but more likely I am unable to put them down because I feel an intense need to read them until I can’t keep my eyes open another minute. This story wasn’t full of magic and fantasy, but more on the realistic side of the “what if” notion. What if we could become more than human, what if we could change our own DNA to be a superhero? Would you take that chance, even if it meant dying? There was a dark underlying theme throughout this book that dealt with just what some people would in fact go through to become something more. And the changes in those who have had near death experiences. Their lives forever changed by the accident that maybe should have been the end.
There were so many times while reading this that I kept thinking. Wow this is pretty messed up, but I can’t help but want to know more! This was so different from anything I’ve read before and I loved how unique and dark and evil it was! There was something to reading about murderers and death and villains that drew me in and refused to be left alone. I guess sometimes it feels good to be bad! I can’t wait to see what happens next in Vengeful, the ending of this left us with so much potential for even more dastardly deeds. This unique book will be put in my Schwab shrine along with the rest of her masterpieces to be read again one day when I’m feeling particularly villainous.
“There are no good men in this game.”
If You Liked This Book
Sometimes there’s no way to get over finishing a Schwab book except to read MORE SCHWAB! So with that in mind, I recommend This Savage Song by Victoria Scwhab. Like I mentioned above, this was my very first Scwhab book and the one that originally got me hooked. Its just as dark and twisted as Vicious, with monsters and villains and a line that maybe shouldn’t be crossed. But as with all of her books, Schwab never really follows the rules and I love her for that.
Let’s Discuss
Are you more of a hero or a villain? Do you think you would be the good guy of your own story? I always thought that I would only root for the good guy, but in Vicious I found myself loving the freedom to be evil. Do you have a favorite author or one that you find yourself always reading everything they write? This book was so different from any that I’ve read, and now I feel the need to find more books about the anti-hero! Let me know what you think!
