Vicious

by V.E. Schwab

Genre:  Fantasy (Adult)
Publisher: Macmillan
Book Release Date: September 24, 2013
My Review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

It took a lot to make 463 hardened criminals look the part of prey.

–Vicious, Chapter XXV, V.E. Schwab

What a dark, intense, and twisted story. 
I started out listening to the audio book, but I ended up having to switch to the ebook to keep track of the jumping timeline. I loved that this book kept me on my toes from beginning to morbid end. 

This book starts out with two seemingly normal and exceptionally smart college student friends with a bit of a competitive streak between them. It foreshadowed early on that they each had a monster lurking beneath the surface. This was no exaggeration. It was an understatement.

I started out thinking one particular character must be the villain and the other the hero. No, they are both villains. Or are they both anti-heroes? 

The fantasy element made this very fun to read. The fact that the characters were likable even when they were doing unspeakably stupid or heinous things makes me think I should seriously question my moral standards.

Highly recommend, especially if you like comic book stories like X-Men.

Next book in the series: Vengeful