Early Review: Victorious (Villains #3)

Victorious, Book 3 in the Villains Series by VE Schwab

Published By: Titan Books
Publication Date: October 6, 2026
Date Read: July 27, 2026
Genre: Adult – Sci-fi / Fantasy
Source: ARC from Titan Books
Format: Paperback
Pages: 544

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The ExtraOrdinary of Merit City, a secret group of individuals gifted with a power connected to their manner of near-death experience, have been keeping a low profile, avoiding the ever-watchful eye of EON in the wake of the showdown with Marcella, Eli, and Serena.

But when EON – and its relationship to the ExtraOrdinaries – begins to change under the leadership of a new director with a terrifying agenda, the time for hiding is over. The path to the truth of what happened to EON leads Victor, Sydney, Mitch and the rest into the enemy’s lair at EON headquarters, where they encounter unexpected allies, shocking new abilities, and the ultimate confrontation.

Against all the years, the betrayals, and the odds – the arch rivals and their allies will meet for a final time, on a chess board laid out by a rival they didn’t expect.

*There may be slight spoilers from the first two books in the series, Vicious and Vengeful. If you are not caught up on the first two books, read on with caution! There will not be any spoilers from Victorious. It will only mention plot related things that are already present in the blurb.

“People are good and bad and everything between. And EO’s a people. We come in all kinds. But the majority of EO’s either can’t control their power. Or don’t want to.”

There are no words to describe just how excited I was to get my hands on this book. VE Schwab’s Villains series has been my all time favourite series for a decade, and Victorious was without a doubt my most anticipated release of 2026. I couldn’t wait to see how everything was going to end up for our favourite ExtraOrdinaries. I went into this book with the highest of expectations, and VE Schwab surpassed each and every one. I could not put this book down. I absolutely flew through it.

Victorious picks up where Vengeful left off, with everything in ruin after the big showdown between Victor and Eli. Honestly when I went into this book, I wasn’t sure what to expect. We had some pretty serious losses at the end of Vengeful and I really didn’t know where everything was going to go next. Victorious surprised me in the absolute best way. We are following our favourite characters (Victor, Syd and Mitch) and we are introduced to some new potentially dangerous characters. I won’t lie, at the beginning of the book I was a little bit confused, as we have a few chapters that are present day, but then we are also going a little bit back in time for some of the newer characters so we get to know them. As I was so excited to race through this book, I wasn’t really paying attention to the chapter headings. I urge you to pay attention to the chapter headings so you can wrap your head around the timeline a little bit more.

One thing I really loved is the fact that we got the perspectives of some of the people inside of EON, as well as following our favourites outside of EON as well. I feel like this really gave us a bit more insight into what was going on on both sides of this impending fight, and it really helped to build up that tension as we started working our way further into the book. The book as a whole is split into 7 ‘parts’, and no joke every single part ended with my mouth agape and me texting my friend (who has not read any of this series), just saying ‘I’m scared!’. I was so emotionally invested into this book, and I couldn’t put it down. As much as I was terrified about what was going to happen to my beloved Victor and company, I couldn’t wait to see how it was all going to end up for them. This book is a chunky book, and I flew through it in 2 days. I truly could not put it down.

As someone who first read Vicious back in 2016, I really cannot tell you how emotional I was going into this book, and finding out what was going to happen to my babies. I was tearing up on page 1… nothing had happened and I was already almost crying because I knew this was the end. This book was just magical. It was truly a masterpiece. I laughed, I cried… I mean I really cried! It was just utter perfection. If you’re a fan of the series, you will already be expecting the trauma that comes from this series, and yes there’s trauma… and I relished every single second of it. Victor Vale will forever be my baby. The love of my life! I adore that man with every fibre of my being! This was such a beautiful, fitting ending for every single one of the characters.

Victorious was wonderful! I honestly cannot put into words how much I loved every single second of this book, and the entire series. The Villains series will forever remain my all time favourite series. I said when I first read Vicious that this book changed my brain chemistry, and I stand by that statement. I will forever think about this series. That’s how much I love it, and I will continue to re-read this series over and over again. I adore it that much… and for the last time… Victor Vale is not a fucking sidekick!

“It was easy to be brave, when you thought you were invincible. Harder, when you learned you weren’t.”