No spoilers in this rapid review of Vengeful by V.E. Schwab. (There will, however, be spoilers for the first book in this series.) I loved it and give it 4.5 stars. I just finished another review in which I knocked my initial rating down a notch because the book didn’t stick with me. When I finished Vengeful, on the other hand, I couldn’t land on a rating immediately. I knew it was somewhere between 4.0 and 4.5 stars, although I was leaning toward the lower end. But I. Can’t. Stop. Thinking. about this book, so I’m going with the highest rating in my range.
Why can’t I stop thinking about it? Because of that last crazy little chapter. What are you doing to us, Ms. Schwab?! What does that cryptic ending meaning? I have been searching the last ten percent of this book for signs. For clues. I know they’re in there and am bound and determined to find out what it all means.
First, let me talk about how the book starts instead of how it ends. Victor’s resurrection has left him broken and searching for any EO whose powers might be able to heal him. Mitch, Sydney, and Dominic are right there by his side trying to help, all the while dealing with issues of their own.
Lets be friends on Goodreads:
Eli’s a prisoner in EON, Officer Stell’s new company bent on tracking down EO’s. As we see what life there is like for Eli, we learn much more about his heartbreaking backstory. And we are introduced to two new characters: Marcella and June. We see Marcella’s full backstory unfold yet know little about June’s. The things both women have in common are their fascinating EO powers and their amazing inner strength.
The book is told in the same cyclical style as Vicious—flashing back and forth in time—and I LOVE it. It is brilliant and had to be extremely hard to write in this format. In fact, I know it was difficult because Schwab tweeted about it many times. All I can say is that her hard work paid off!
Schwab’s novels are always so smart. Her prose is smooth like butter, and she’s near the very top of my short list of favorite writers. What else can I say? Vengeful is a fantastic book. I absolutely recommend it! There has to be a book three. There just has to!!! Please, Ms. Schwab, your readers are begging for one! I NEED to know what that last mini-chapter meant. I need to know if everything that happened in the climax sticks. And I need to know what June’s backstory is.
NOTE: Since we have many YA readers, I want to add a caveat that this is an adult book.
Let us know what you think about Vengeful in the comments! No spoilers on this page, please!
Ready to read Vengeful? Click to buy and help us pay for hosting.
View all my reviews on Goodreads.
[quads id=”1″]
What now?
Follow Book Series Recaps on Instagram and Twitter.
Friend us on Goodreads: Sara and Stacy.
Oh and share this rapid review of Vengeful with your friends who might like this book!
Oh…..
It’s easy to see on an ebook reader or kindle. The last chapter (the message from Victor Vale) can be seen in your Kindle clippings if you highlight the entire text.
It’s chapter 1 of the book when he goes to the mechanic that he later kills. Victor blotted out most of the words of that chapter and left his message.
Victor Vale, a character in Vengeful, blots out a chapter from the book he is in. THAT’S meta.
Thank you so much for your comment!!! I listened to the audiobook, so I wasn’t able to review this section very carefully. All I could do was listen to it again & again, which (of course) I did. 😉 The narrator read it in a broken way, so I wondered whether it was Victor’s blotted out method. But I didn’t realize it was text from chapter 1. That is brilliant & beyond amazing!!! (Which doesn’t surprise me since it’s Schwab.) I’m so glad to have a better understanding of this last chapter. Now if we can just figure out whether there’s a secret message and, if so, what it is. Thanks again for your comment!!! 🙂
You are very welcome 🙂
Vengeful is one of my favorite books of the last year that I have read! Every character is intriguing, with motives not always understood at first. This draws the reader in and effortlessly builds suspense. The complicated ties between the various characters in this second installment made it unpredictable and eventful (especially in the second half of the book). Everything wrapped up neatly without feeling rushed, although you would never expect that to happen since there were so many questions left unanswered going into the last quarter of the book. I loved this book and can not say enough good things about it!!
I agree with everything you said! Vengeful was one of my favorite reads last year as well, and that last strange little section solidified my love for it. I enjoy being intrigued and a little confused. I couldn’t stop thinking about it and honestly never arrived at a definitive conclusion about what it means. I really hope we don’t have to wait years for the next installment!