VENGEFUL by V.E. Schwab – Review

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Vengeful by V.E. Schwab
Series: Villains #2
Published by Tor Books on September 25 2018
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Pages: 478
Format: Finished hardcover
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: A satisfyingly complex, multifaceted tale of revenge, Vengeful is a worthy sequel and is a 2018 book you cannot miss.

It’s been five years since I read Vicious, the first book in Schwab’s ambitious super hero saga, and although it’s been a longer than normal time between releases, I can say without hesitation that it was worth the wait. Vengeful was every bit as good as Vicious and maybe even better. Schwab has obviously had a lot of writing practice in the last five years, having released quite a few books since 2013, and it shows. This is a true sequel, though, so don’t attempt to read it unless you’ve read Vicious first. Also, please beware of spoilers for the first book.

The story takes place five years after the end of Vicious. Victor has been brought back from the dead, courtesy of Sydney. The two of them, along with their faithful friend Mitch and Sydney’s constant companion Dol, move from city to city, hoping to evade the ever-threatening EON, a company that is determined to flush out, capture and neutralize all EOs—ExtraOrdinaries like Eli, Victor and Sydney, who have acquired super human abilities after surviving a near death experience. Victor has been dying over and over again, for some reason, and he suspects something went wrong when Sydney brought him back to life. He’s determined to find another EO who might be able to help, but his methods of trying to track down help are leaving a trail of bodies behind him, and EON is starting to notice.

Meanwhile, Eli has been captured by ExtraOrdinary Observation and Neutralization (EON) and has spent the last five years locked in a cell. Even worse, he’s been given over to a sadistic man named Dr. Haverty who experiments on him by cutting him open and observing the rate at which he heals. It isn’t until the EON director Joseph Stell makes a bargain with Eli that he finally sees a glimmer of hope.

And in another part of town, we meet Marcella, the wife of a mob boss who has just found out that her husband Marcus has been cheating on her. Marcella is none too happy about it, but in the midst of their escalating argument, Marcus tries to kill her, sets fire to their house, and leaves her there to die. Marcella makes it out alive, but she’s shocked and delighted to discover that her near death experience has left her with a formidable power: the ability to ruin everything she touches—including human flesh. Marcella sets out to get revenge on Marcus and along the way meets two other powerful EOs, June and Jonathan.

What follows is a tense, bloody, and action-packed story about what happens when a bunch of powerful people with conflicting ideals inevitably clash.

Just like she did in Vicious, Schwab uses a multi-POV, time hopping format that might confuse some readers—and honestly, it did take me about 100 pages to get into the rhythm—but once you’re deep into the story, the time jumps aren’t as jarring and simply work to increase the tension and excitement. Her short, punchy chapters are labeled “Six Weeks Ago” or “Three Years Ago” and even “Twenty Five Years Ago,” and near the end of the story, “The Night Before.” Eventually it dawned on me that of course she’s leading up to the grand finale, but it’s all the information we glean before that happens that makes this such an intricate and rich story. In order to understand why Eli has become a serial killer you have to delve back into his childhood and see the systematic abuse he endured as a child. Likewise, learning how Marcella met her despicable husband Marcus in college and what it’s like to be married to a mob boss give her a depth that earns her a bit of sympathy from the reader, even though she’s a terrible person. Not every writer can pull off this kind of format, so big props to Schwab for taking the time to make sure all the events line up and make sense.

In Vicious, my favorite character by far was Sydney. I suppose I had a soft spot for her because of her young age, her innocence, and her uncanny ability to trust the wrong people. I also loved her faithful dog Dol who is also in this story, although he’s more in the background this time around. Sydney isn’t the most important character in Vengeful, but I did like the way Schwab allows her to mourn for her dead sister Serena. Her grief is still palpable, even years later, and that pain was difficult to experience.

In Vengeful, though, it was hard to pick a favorite character, I loved so many of them. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I really connected with Eli this time, and I didn’t like him at all in Vicious. Schwab dips back into Eli’s early days, living with an abusive father, finding himself in foster care, and eventually meeting Victor in college, which is where the story actually begins. I felt sorry for him and I could see how he grew into the Eli I despised in Vicious, but I also hated the torture he endured at Haverty’s hands, and I was rooting for him to escape his prison.

Marcella and June were both fantastic characters, and I appreciated their complexity, even if I didn’t like them very much. Both of them give Eli and Victor a run for their money, and pitting such powerful EOs against each other made for a thrilling story. June runs into Sydney at one point early on and they form an odd but sweet friendship via text. June’s obsession with Sydney made me a little uncomfortable at times, but I’m happy with the way Schwab resolved their story line. And the character I absolutely loathed was Dr. Haverty, although he comes off as the clichéd, evil doctor, I seriously wanted to kill him myself.

Schwab masterfully brings all the scattered pieces of her narrative together at the end in an explosive finale, skillfully connecting all the dots and infusing her story with emotion as well. I was surprised to find that not everything is resolved, and the author leaves a few threads dangling as an insurance policy in case she ever wants to revisit this world again. And I hope for our sakes that she does. Fantasy fans who love detailed world-building and finely crafted characters should not miss this series.

Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.