I listened to the first book in this series, Vicious, and was super excited to dive into the second book, but then I had to wait for months to get this audiobook from Libby. Seriously. I listened to the first one in MARCH. So then I had to refresh myself about what happened in the first book and dove in.
So, to remind you. In the first book two college roommates become EOs (extraordinaries - people with powers of one sort or another) and then they become archenemies. At the end of the first book, one of the roommates had been captured by law enforcement and the other had a found family that included a teenage girl, a tattooed computer hacker, and a dog.
In Vengeful, that rivalry is still in play. And there's a new player, the formerly abused wife of a mobster (formerly because she killed that MFer with her powers). And the teen is growing up and having FEELINGS. And there are lots of action scenes. An interminable number of action scenes.
Yeah, so, I didn't love this one. That's all. There are some nice scenes and lord knows I love that this dog keeps coming back to life (hey, if there are any real life EOs out there who can bring pets back to life and have them not be all crazy like in Pet Sematary, Zelda the Cat and Hannah the Girl are very good girls), but all in all, I was actually turning this off on my dog walks. So...eh. You know, if you want some amount of closure, maybe? But maybe not because it looks like there was a proposed third book for this series and it's been six years now and that third book still isn't out.
(Oh, hey, if anyone read this, I want to discuss a theory I have about June and Serena. Please tell me if you read this!!)
3/5 stars
Lines of note:
"Well, blood is always family, but family doesn't always have to be blood." (timestamp 2:30:43)
This is, at its heart, a book about found family. That's sort of weird since people can come back from the dead and burn people with a touch, but dark fantasy books still have heart, right?
She felt their eyes follow her across the roof. What's the point of having beautiful things if you don't put them on display? She hadn't realized at the time that Marcus had referred to her as a thing. (timestamp 3:23:45)
And then she killed the MFer.
Attachment was a vexing thing, as pernicious as weeds. He should have left before it ever took root. (timestamp 9:24:50)
I don't know why, but this line made me chuckle.
Okay, I will not read this! I do like the part about the dog coming back to life though.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I also really like the dog coming back. But is it worth it for the rest of the book? I don't know.
DeleteAw crap, I loved the first book and I have the second. Will ping you about the theory if I manage to read it before ten years go by.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I was pumped about the first book and this one started off strong. And then...it just devolved. That's okay! If the third ever does come out, I'll probably read it.
DeleteThis author is wildly inconsistent for me, come to think of it. I loved the first Archives book and hated the second.
DeleteI was going to be like nope... and then I was like wait--the dog comes back? You know I would love *that*!!
ReplyDeleteYes, the dog comes back AND it's not all evil like in a Stephen King book. I appreciated that.
DeleteI loved her Shades of Magic series and always wanted to read another one by her. May not do this one but I wouldn't rule it out either.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm not entirely sold that she's an author for me, but her premises are SO GOOD.
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