Review: Vengeful by V.E. Schwab

Synopsis:
Eli Ever and Victor Vale were only medical students when their mutual discovery that near-death experiences can, under the right conditions, manifest extraordinary abilities.

They were best friends and rivals, and then enemies. They were dead, then alive, and then—Eli killed Victor, once and for all.

Or so he thought—but Sydney Clarke felt otherwise, and used her own superpower to tip the scales. Now, a trio hides in the shadows, while another takes advantages of post-death life to take over the city of Merit.

If there can be life after death—will there be calm after vengeance, or will chaos rule?

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Plot:
I really enjoyed the plot, it’s set 5(?) years after the first book and is so addicting from the first page. I literally have no idea how anyone survived five years without the second book, I binged both of the books back-to-back and it was amazing.

It was gripping and interesting, Marcella’s story was a great addition and I like how it weaved into Victor and Eli’s story. There’s no mention of Marcella in the synopsis for some unknown reason but she’s a huge part of the storyline!

Despite liking the plot and the new characters, I feel as though this book didn’t quite live up to Vicious. Vicious was SO good, can’t even comprehend. The dynamic between Victor and Eli was just unbeatable and I missed that in this one. Like I said previously, I liked the new characters and the new story but the thing I loved about the first was missing. Victor and Eli, I felt, were more in the background than anything, it was disappointing.

However, it was still brilliant. I seriously need more V.E. Schwab in my life, she is an amazing writer and I will be picking up more of her stuff in the future.

Characters:
Victor: I LOVE HIM. He’s just my fave. There was a serious lack of him in this book, he’s the best, most complex and interesting character, in my opinion. I really wanted more from him. 
Eli: I still hate him, but given his now revealed backstory, I can sympathise with him more. It takes a while before he is even introduced in this book, I kept waiting for him to make an appearance!

Sydney: I love Sydney!! I love the cute, dysfunctional family-like-thing between her, Victor and Mitch. (+ Dol of course!) I’m glad we get to see Sydney a lot in this one, it’s nice to see her character development!

Marcella: Badass. Awesome introduction. I really did enjoy her story and dynamic, it wasn’t as good as the Victor/Eli thing but it was definitely entertaining. I love her sassiness, recklessness and carelessness. Like, you go girl!

Jude: She’s cool, she was a nice introduction. There was a mystery around her character, that I feel still never really revealed itself? I still don’t really understand her intentions and her thing with Sydney but??

Rating: 4 Stars

*Thank you to Titan Books for sending me an early copy!
ps. Sorry, the review went up late! 

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