Name: Vicious
Series: Villains #1
Author: V.E. Schwab
Publisher: Titan Books
Format: Kindle
Genres: Young Adult, Science-Fantasy
🌶️: No Spice
😭: I’ll admit to a worried tear or two!
Rating:
Synopsis: Goodreads
Victor and Eli started out as college roommates—brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong.
Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find—aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for revenge—but who will be left alive at the end?
Review:
Kayleigh has been this series’ biggest supporter in my world of reader friends, for as long as I can remember at this point. She loved it so much that I added it to my 26 in 2026 because after really enjoying my first introduction to V.E. Schwab’s work with Addie LaRue, I didn’t know where to go next! I couldn’t decide between Villains or Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil… Ultimately I chose both to go on the list, and colour me surprised because I’m so damn happy I did!
Vicious follows two main characters by the names of Victor and Eli, and they’re pretty smart (read: very smart) students working on their thesis… Eli comes up with a thesis that involves EO’s (Extra Ordinary’s – aka people with a super power) and the two get talking and the question becomes – well, can we become an EO? I don’t want to give you any more information than that because I went into this knowing nothing despite Kayleigh’s love for it and I ate this up.
Of course, I gave Kayleigh updates along the way, but I devoured Villains. I loved V.E. Schwab’s writing, and her characters, but also this story was just so fun. Not in a haha we’re having a good time kind of fun way, but in a unique wow I haven’t read anything like this kind of fun way. I guess the closest I can think of is Victoria’s own Bury Our Bones… and that’s only because morally grey is the only relevant colour type for the main protagonists in both books.
“When no one understands, that’s usually a good sign that you’re wrong.”
I am so glad I trusted my gut on this one and abandoned my TBR instantly in order to pick this one up because I had a good time, I felt like it pulled me out of my rut (again not a reading slump, just a rut due to the whole broken ankle thing) and I am only holding off on reading the sequel because I think I’m going to pick it up closer to Victorious’ release so I can read them back to back – that’s the current plan anyway.
I feel like even talking about what / who I loved and didn’t love will give away elements of this story that I don’t want to give away, so this is going to remain a pretty vague review – but it’s fast paced, it has some excellent lines that are guranteed to stick with you, characters to love and hate, and as I said, a unique story line… Please pick this up if you haven’t already and you want to get into V.E. Schwab!
“You don’t think I’m a bad person… and I don’t want to prove you wrong.”
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