Victor Vale was not a fucking sidekick.
Vicious
by V. E. Schwab
Genre: Fantasy
About: No one knows if Extra Ordinaries exist; people rumoured to have superhuman abilities. Eli and Victor are roommates, academic rivals, and something like friends but when Eli decides to make EOs the topic of his thesis, Victor can't help getting involved. Because if Eli is going to discover how to become a superhero, Victor isn't going to be left behind, even if it means becoming the villain.
Thoughts
This was too good. From the very first page of grave digging, I was hooked. I loved the time jumps, I loved the friendship turned enemies freefall between Eli and Victor. I loved Victor and the gang of misfits he builds. Every character was complicated and interesting. There were so many moments when I was afraid for the characters and yet I couldn't look away, and I didn't want to.
The magic system was also so well thought out. It's tied up with the scientific research of Eli, Victor and their professor and this gave it a lot of plausibility. How people became EOs was always an interesting story in itself and I really enjoyed reading the logic behind their powers. I also loved the hints of what these powers might cost them, or have already cost them.
It's dark, it's delicious, and I became completely obsessed with it. I do own the physical copy (two copies actually) but I read this via audiobook and cannot rate the narrator highly enough. Ashley Zhangazha's voice alongside V. E. Schwab's writing creates this utterly compulsive, super charged read that I'm so glad has a sequel. Because I need more.
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