[Review] Vicious (Vicious #1) by V.E. Schwab

Vicious by V.E. Schwab

Series: Vicious #1

Rating: 4.5 stars

Release Date: September 24th 2013

Goodreads Synopsis:

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?

Victoria Schwab's Vicious is quite... vicious indeed. This is not the bloodless, black-and-white, stereotypical superhero story for the faint of heart.

Eliot Cardale (later Eli Ever) and Victor Vale are arrogant and ambitious pre-med students who test the limits of life by testing out the theories of EO's, otherwise known as ExtraOrdinary people. To become an EO requires a NDE (near death experience) that is propelled by the will to live. But by becoming EOs, they destroy their friendship, and turn into enemies, playing a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse ten years later.

[Review] A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic #2) by V.E. Schwab

A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab

Series: Shades of Magic #2

Version: HC

Rating: 5 stars

Release Date: February 23rd 2016

Goodreads Synopsis:

It has been four months since a mysterious obsidian stone fell into Kell's possession. Four months since his path crossed with Delilah Bard. Four months since Prince Rhy was wounded, and since the nefarious Dane twins of White London fell, and four months since the stone was cast with Holland's dying body through the rift – back into Black London.
Now, restless after having given up his smuggling habit, Kell is visited by dreams of ominous magical events, waking only to think of Lila, who disappeared from the docks as she always meant to do. As Red London finalizes preparations for the Element Games – an extravagant international competition of magic meant to entertain and keep healthy the ties between neighboring countries – a certain pirate ship draws closer, carrying old friends back into port.
And while Red London is caught up in the pageantry and thrills of the Games, another London is coming back to life. After all, a shadow that was gone in the night will reappear in the morning. But the balance of magic is ever perilous, and for one city to flourish, another London must fall.

I missed the beautiful storytelling, the eclectic and well-thought out characters, and the setting of Red London! Victoria Schwab has done it again! 

It has been four months since the incident in White London, in which Kell and Lila defeated the Dane twins and sent Holland into Black London. Lila has been away on the seafaring vessel the Night Spire, run by the mysterious Alucard. Kell has been watched even more closely by the King and Queen after his actions, causing him to feel even more trapped. With the upcoming Essen Tasch, or the Element Games, it gives both Lila and Kell a chance to let loose the magic they've been itching to use. But although everything appears to be going perfectly normal, trouble is brewing in diffent Londons, in places no one expected. 

It's so hard to put this book down. From beginning to end I was enticed because Victoria Schwab knows how to create compelling characters. They weren't paper or two-dimensional to me - I could picture them and their motivations clear as day. Lila was feisty as always; Rhy, I just wanted to give the poor prince a hug; Kell, I pitied him and he needs a hug too; Alucard had my heart. And I'm cosplaying Lila at NYCC (which makes me excited!!)

[Review] A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic #1) by V.E. Schwab

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
Series: Shades of Magic
Version: HC
Rating: 5 stars

Goodreads Synopsis: 

Kell is one of the last Antari, a rare magician who can travel between parallel worlds: hopping from Grey London — dirty, boring, lacking magic, and ruled by mad King George — to Red London — where life and magic are revered, and the Maresh Dynasty presides over a flourishing empire — to White London — ruled by whoever has murdered their way to the throne, where people fight to control magic, and the magic fights back — and back, but never Black London, because traveling to Black London is forbidden and no one speaks of it now.
Officially, Kell is the personal ambassador and adopted Prince of Red London, carrying the monthly correspondences between the royals of each London. Unofficially, Kell smuggles for those willing to pay for even a glimpse of a world they’ll never see, and it is this dangerous hobby that sets him up for accidental treason. Fleeing into Grey London, Kell runs afoul of Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She robs him, saves him from a dangerous enemy, then forces him to take her with him for her proper adventure.
But perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save both his London and the others, Kell and Lila will first need to stay alive — a feat trickier than they hoped.

This book.

THIS BOOK WAS FANTASTIC.

Need I say more?