Vicious

by V. E. Schwab

Story summary: A tale of dark superheroes and broken friendship, of great intelligence and great arrogance and great temptations.

Why You Will Like This Book:

• Intense relationships
• Grittiness
• Brilliantly intelligent people
• Atmosphere
• A lovely cover.

And Why You Might Not:

• It can get pretty dark and bloody.
• The protagonist is a definitive antihero (my cup of tea, but not everyone's)
• Some of the several point-of-view characters aren't used to their full potential.

Calamity

by Brandon Sanderson

Story summary: It's time to fight the ultimate Epic--the superhero who has caused all the rest of the evil superheroes plaguing the world. But to do that, our group of eclectic freedom fighters first have to confront someone a lot closer to home.
Sequel to Steelheart and Firefight.

Why You Will Like This Book:

• The world-building is super cool and obviously Sanderson's strength (that strange, moving salt city!). This is so much a strength that it totally delights me, even though the characters aren't awesome and I'm almost always more about characters than world.

And Why You Might Not:

• The characters and their dialogue aren't that interesting or well written.
• Some could be disappointed by how everything in the trilogy is wrapped up. I'm still a bit undecided on that myself.

Firefight

by Brandon Sanderson

Story summary: Continuing on their quest to rid the world of the evil superheroes called Epics, David and his friends move on to a new city and a new Epic. This time, it's Regalia, one of the most powerful and intelligent Epics around, and ruler of Babylon Restored (New York of old). And while they fight to defeat this Machiavellian and almost all-seeing High Epic, David has his own agenda: to discover the truth behind the Calamity.
Sequel to Steelheart.

Why You Will Like This Book:

• Plot twists and well structured surprises.
• Excellent world-building.
• Entertaining writing.
• Some memorable imagery.
• Just... a really great book. If you don't have anything against fantasy, you should really try out Sanderson's books.

And Why You Might Not:

• If you don't like superheroes, I guess? (Even though these superheroes are definitely different than the normal ones.)
• The characters are a little one-dimensional as well. Doesn't really detract too much because it's not the point of this book, but it's the main criticism I have.

Steelheart

by Brandon Sanderson

Story summary: Superheroes have begun to appear on Earth, but unlike your standard superhero story, every single one of them is cruel and twisted. A group of normal humans make it their mission to kill these hugely powerful people and free the earth of their evil. Starting with Steelheart, one of the most powerful of them all.

Why You Will Like This Book:

• The twist where all superheros are evil is quite interesting, and makes for a different feel than is usually found in superhero books.
• The writing is gripping and immensely entertaining. This is one of those read-in-a-day books.
• There are lots of twists and mysteries that are solved in a pleasantly structured and rational way. Yay for excellent plotting!

And Why You Might Not:

• The characters, though fun, are not the most complex.
• Anything else I could think of as a criticism is something that is likely to be explained/fixed/discussed in the sequels.