Review: Vengeful by V.E. Schwab

3.75 stars. So I read Vicious back in 2013, and I loved it. In fact, Vicious was my first (and favorite) book by V.E. Schwab. Thinking it a standalone, I was thrilled and slightly anxious when I heard she was writing a sequel. (Hence why I put off reading this until now). Turns out, I had no reason to fear.

Vengeful reminded me why I loved the first book so much. Schwab's writing is crisp and punchy, and utterly engaging. I'd honestly forgotten some of the events and side characters from Vicious, but Vengeful did such a good job of recapturing the atmosphere of the first one that everything soon came rushing back. I forgot how much I missed them all. Especially the family bond between Victor and Sydney. As in Vicious, these two were my favorite to read about. Eli continued to be as complicated as my feelings are for him, if that makes any sense, and the new characters introduced also proved a welcome addition. Although I wasn't as invested in Marcella's storyline, she was a compelling character and a refreshing perspective to read from.

If, like me, you have been hesitating to pick this up, Vengeful is definitely a worthy successor to Vicious. I was completely sucked in, and the final showdown near the end had me clasping my hand over my mouth the entire time.

Overall: I missed my damaged found-family of villains.

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Non-Spoiler Review: Wicked Saints by Emily Duncan

How many times can I whisper "Malachiaz you @#$%!" while reading this book? 

4.5 stars. This was one of my most-anticipated reads of 2019 and it did not disappoint in the slightest. Wicked Saints is full of everything I love - monster boys, bloody spell books, and blade-wielding clerics. Though dark, the story is also surprisingly humorous at times, and I immediately latched onto each of our protagonists. In summation: Malachiasz made me scream in frustration, Serefin made me cry, and Nadya became my new favorite role model. One of the elements I loved in this story was the found-family relationship that begins to develop between certain characters. Put that trope into any fantasy book and I'm sold.

My only tiny complaint - tiny! - is that during certain scenes I was so eager to find out what happened next that I literally read too fast and had to revisit some paragraphs to understand what was going on. But, hilariously, that's it. The story was so engrossing that I flew through the pages too quickly. I have no idea how I'm going to survive the wait for the sequel. If you're a fantasy lover like me, you want this book!

Clarifying Note: I say that first line with love. Malachiasz is wonderful and awful and must be protected.

TW: blood, self-harm

Release Date: April 2, 2019
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