Warm Up (Villains, #0.5) By V.E. Schwab

Bloody hell, I didn’t realise how much I missed Schwab’s writing and world.
This short story had me completely hooked.
Time to reread Vicious and finally get to Vengeful! V.E. Schwab This was excellent. I don't necessarily think it adds anything to the story, but if you enjoyed Vicious then this is a nice addition. I am planning on rereading Vicious soon so this helped me want to do that sooner!! V.E. Schwab For such a short novella, it’s amazing how much V.E. Schwab was able to do.

I felt for David within a few pages; his backstory was told wonderfully and in brief time. Although it may not relate directly to the rest of the Villains series, I think this was a good introduction to ExtraOrdinaries and their powers.

Also, I loved the appearance of a certain someone we’ve seen much of in the rest of the series! >.> V.E. Schwab It feels embarrassing to add a 15-page novella for my challenge since I read books with 800+ pages I guess we're even xd V.E. Schwab I could have sworn I already wrote a review for this.
Guess it fell victim to another one of goodreads glitches. >_<

This said: I love V.E. Schwab's writing style. <3
Warm Up is just a short story yet it still managed to capture my interest.
The atmosphere, how David is portrayed. You get an instant feel for his character and you want him to succeed. You want him to go out and to see the world again. To be a part of it.
You pull for his character and then... well we all know what happens to EO's that cross Eli's path.

This might have been short,
but it was still brilliant.

V.E. Schwab truly is a master of her craft! ;-) V.E. Schwab

review Warm Up (Villains, #0.5)

It’s been 297 days since David died–and came back.

He may have survived the avalanche, but the aftermath has been far worse. His wife moved out, taking his son with her, and a devastated David hasn’t left his house since, terrified of the mysterious new power that followed him home from the ill-fated expedition.

After months in seclusion, David’s ready for a fresh start, and ventures out, determined to keep his power in check. But David’s power isn’t the one he needs to worry about. Warm Up (Villains, #0.5)

Several years ago I read a book by this author, and I was not a fan, so I never intended to read anything else from her.

And then, I kept seeing updates and reviews for the Villains series. It seemed like something I would very much like. But I was not sure. I kept thinking about that book I did not like. And with every new review from my friends, I kept thinking that maybe it was just the book and I should give her another chance. That I'm all in for not exactly good or positive characters. And then I found out about this and thought that it might be a good test.

And I really liked it. It's intriguing, I want more. And I really need to find out who is Victor because based on the reviews he seems like a character I may simply adore. V.E. Schwab

She went to slap him and he caught her wrist.

He hadn’t meant to hurt her. It was reflex, self-defense, a hand raised against a hand. But the moment his fingers met her skin, she screamed. He let go at once, but it was too late. The flesh had bubbled and burned, raised welts in the shape of his hand.

Samantha pulled away, horrified.

A malfunction.

He tried to apologize, tried to explain, but he couldn’t make her understand. He didn’t understand.

i'd forgotten about this story! i'd bookmarked it as a potential december short story advent calendar-story last year since i'd finally read Vicious and wouldn't be all adrift in this world but then i forgot all about it come advent-calendar-time, so it's rather a good thing that there wasn't a new tor shorty posted this week, allowing me the chance to rediscover it and get back into the spirit of the series.

silly of me, really, since TIL that this story was posted as a teaser before Vicious was released, so a familiarity with the world was not necessary. HOWEVER, i do believe this story is better to read AFTER Vicious, because it really is a tease—the character we are introduced to here does not appear in the book for REASONS, and all the sympathy schwab makes us feel towards him and his situation is for naught, a bait-and-switch serving as a means to introduce Vicious' real herovillain.

as a standalone, the ending is too abrupt and inconclusive to be satisfying, but if you know who this guy is, showing up at the end with his mumbo-jumbo, i reckon it's a lot more rewarding.

i really need to read Vengeful before i forget the finer points of Vicious. that's what i get for only writing an all-caps placeholder review for it; i don't remember enough of the book's connective tissue, so i hope one-a-you goodreaders did a more thorough job reviewing it than i did, because i'm going to need your beautiful brains!!



read it for yourself here:

https://www.tor.com/2013/08/20/warm-u...

come to my blog! V.E. Schwab 3.5/5 Stars

Warm Up is a prequel novella to V.E Schwab's Vicious. After finishing Vicious, I go straight into reading this and I find it quite interesting to read. It shows the perspective through the eye of David, one of the victim to one of the main character in Vicious, Eli. There's nothing else to talk about this novella since it's only 15 pages long and it will took you probably 10-15 minutes to finish but if you love Vicious, I really suggest you read it. It doesn't provide anything new to the world itself but it's still good enough :) V.E. Schwab I wrote this in an Edinburgh coffee shop called Spoon, sitting across from Rachel Hawkins. And I'm quite fond of it. I will give you a hint, though: the man who shows up at the end is one of the main characters in VICIOUS. V.E. Schwab ... And to think that some authors need +500 pages to create an atmosphere and characters we care about. V.E. Schwab