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queer_bookwyrm's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
4 ⭐ CW: Violence, death, death of a parent, blood
This Savage Song by V.E. Schwab is book one in the Monsters of Verity duology. Although I did enjoy this dark urban YA fantasy, I don't think it is my favorite of Schwab's work. Maybe because it's YA it lacked a certain resonance that her other stories have had, but it didn't make it a bad story.
We follow August Flynn, a monster that wishes he were human. He's a Sunai, a monster born from a massacre that eats the souls of humans who have killed. But he hates that to keep control over who he is, he must kill. We also follow Kate Harker, the daughter of Callum Harker who rules over North City in Verity. She's full of anger, and wants to be ruthless to prove herself to her cruel father.
When the Flynns send August to a school in North City to keep tabs on Kate to use her as leverage against Harker, they both become embroiled in a conspiracy to end the truce between North and South Cities, putting them in danger from the Malchai and Corsai monsters. Along the way, they forge a friendship, helping to keep each other alive.
I really liked the way the world-building of the monsters was set up in this. Each type of monster has its own origin and abilities, and the way they are created tends to reflect their personalities as well. I also really liked how music was used in the story. Usually, music is peaceful or healing, but in this it's used to kill. To me it seemed the theme is that life is pain, the best you can do is live it one day at a time. I appreciated that this wasn't a love story between August and Kate. It was a platonic story about survival and what you can live with.
Looking forward to book two!
This Savage Song by V.E. Schwab is book one in the Monsters of Verity duology. Although I did enjoy this dark urban YA fantasy, I don't think it is my favorite of Schwab's work. Maybe because it's YA it lacked a certain resonance that her other stories have had, but it didn't make it a bad story.
We follow August Flynn, a monster that wishes he were human. He's a Sunai, a monster born from a massacre that eats the souls of humans who have killed. But he hates that to keep control over who he is, he must kill. We also follow Kate Harker, the daughter of Callum Harker who rules over North City in Verity. She's full of anger, and wants to be ruthless to prove herself to her cruel father.
When the Flynns send August to a school in North City to keep tabs on Kate to use her as leverage against Harker, they both become embroiled in a conspiracy to end the truce between North and South Cities, putting them in danger from the Malchai and Corsai monsters. Along the way, they forge a friendship, helping to keep each other alive.
I really liked the way the world-building of the monsters was set up in this. Each type of monster has its own origin and abilities, and the way they are created tends to reflect their personalities as well. I also really liked how music was used in the story. Usually, music is peaceful or healing, but in this it's used to kill. To me it seemed the theme is that life is pain, the best you can do is live it one day at a time. I appreciated that this wasn't a love story between August and Kate. It was a platonic story about survival and what you can live with.
Looking forward to book two!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Death of parent
nafsaila's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
4.0
Living in a world where monsters are born from violent crimes isn't easy. Being the child of one of the powerful people that run each side of that city can be even more complicated. Kate wants nothing more than to be back at home instead of exiled outside the city limits, even though it means being in danger. August wants so badly to be human, when his instincts make that impossible because he is in fact a monster. Fate is now bringing them together, and August tries to keep his secret, but that may not be possible while both of them are targeted for assassination.
Highly suggest for fans of other V.E. Schwab stories, even though this one has more of a YA feel.
Highly suggest for fans of other V.E. Schwab stories, even though this one has more of a YA feel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Gun violence and Violence
carefulfearanddeaddevotion's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I do not want to get ahead of myself, but this might go (a healthy distance) under TRC and SOC as one of my fav book series. stayed up until 5am to read it. Ms Schwab, you've outdone yourself (though I guess Addie LaRue came out after this one)
i adoreeee both August and Kate, they're so funny and charming and sweet and i just wanna cup em in my hands. was giggling and kicking my feet every two pages. the supporting cast was maybe a tiny bit flat, but idrc because i just <3 A&K soo much.
I love a good R&J-adjacent story (basically just two kids from rival families making googly eyes at each other. do not like the "everyone dies" part of R&J - i'm a sucker for a happy ending idc), and now you've gone and added MONSTERS to it?? omg yes. lovee the parallel of August struggling against his nature and wanting to be human the whole book, and then finally, grudgingly giving in "for the greater good" and Kate wanting to prove she's a Harker and that she belongs beside her father and in V-City, in a way struggling to become a monster and then finally realizing that her father is not someone she should want to look up to or emulate, allowing August to reap Harker, and willingly leaving V-City and Verity . finally, some good fucking food
the one and only thing that made me "hmmmm🤔": I don't really understand why self-defense makes you a "sinner". like, i get "for the plot," or whatever, that Kate had to stop being an "innocent", but the man was attacking her and she didn't really know he was human (? or did she?) so wtf . but also i get that maybe it's to make the point that, despite the fact that they possess more nuance, Sunai are still monsters and also have trouble making that distinction between good and bad (though, obvi, in a less malicious way than Corsai or Malchai)🤷♀️
anyway, two thumbs up
ooohhh also very intrigued by the fact that Sloan is still alive at the end: he doesn't have a heart (can't be killed????) and didn't die when Harker was killed (it was my understanding that killing the sinner also killed the sin -- but then i guess it was the characters' assumption that Harker created Sloan, it was never actually confirmed iirc . book two already on my nightstand, can't wait to start reading!
i adoreeee both August and Kate, they're so funny and charming and sweet and i just wanna cup em in my hands. was giggling and kicking my feet every two pages. the supporting cast was maybe a tiny bit flat, but idrc because i just <3 A&K soo much.
I love a good R&J-adjacent story (basically just two kids from rival families making googly eyes at each other. do not like the "everyone dies" part of R&J - i'm a sucker for a happy ending idc), and now you've gone and added MONSTERS to it?? omg yes. lovee the parallel of August struggling against his nature and wanting to be human the whole book
the one and only thing that made me "hmmmm🤔": I don't really understand why self-defense makes you a "sinner". like, i get "for the plot," or whatever
anyway, two thumbs up
ooohhh also very intrigued by the fact that
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Torture, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gun violence, Mental illness, Vomit, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Car accident, Death of parent, and War
Minor: Domestic abuse
rafacolog's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood
Minor: Mass/school shootings
twicetheamountofsparetime's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident
Moderate: Violence, Blood, and War
skillyillian's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Schwab is one of my favorite authors but I think this wasn't quite it for me. The book is not bad, just not necessarily my exact flavor, like, I enjoyed it but I prefer other things more? Part of this is probably because I read this via audiobook? I think I went into this expecting more like the other Schwab stuff I've read like ADSOM and Vicious (which I'm obsessed with) and this was vastly different imho. Again, not a bad thing, I'm open to new things! But I do have some issues with the book outside of it not being my usual genre of choice.
I really liked that she came up with her own monsters and gave them their own types, hierarchy, origin, foils amongst themselves, etc. and that one type of monster even had the potential to be "good" in a way. It was very easy to tell that Schwab put a ton of thought into the monsters of this world, and the little song for them was awesome. Love me a good Schwab Song (looking at you, Sarows).
August was a precious, broody boy who just wanted to be anything other than what he was, what everyone told him he had to be. Kate was a tough, angsty girl who wanted to prove herself to be exactly that. She got shit done and wouldn't put up with anyone's nonsense, not even August's. They're quite the formidable pair, and their friendship (bc there's no romance here) is incredibly fulfilling. They complement each other perfectly, and watching them help each other fight the battles in their respective lives, and escaping dangerous situations trying to claim them, was the best part of the whole story.
The characters are pretty well fleshed out, the worldbuilding was intriguing, and I liked both. I don't mind dystopian type novels, and I think this fits that bill pretty well. My issues fall with the plot, for the most part. It just felt like things didn't really happen until the last third of the book, almost. We learned a lot about the characters, enough to guess rather easily (for the most part) who was behind what and how the book would end, but they didn't really do anything until they were forced to because the bad guys were getting out of control. I guessed one of the two major plot points, although the second one did actually get a gasp of genuine surprise. I just ... Idk, I felt kinda bored for most of this. I'm someone who reads like 60-40 for plot-character ratio and this didn't keep me captive enough. I could've finished it way sooner, I'm a housewife with an audiobook ffs, but I just wasn't eager enough. I wasn't dying to know what happened next. I'll be reading the second one, I love Schwab so much and I already own it anyway, but yeah. It's good but not for me and the plot is kinda,,,, just okay.
The weakest out of the strongest is still strong, ykwim? This is the weakest one from her for me so far. I have faith in the second one but I'm not expecting it to change my mind about this one.
I really liked that she came up with her own monsters and gave them their own types, hierarchy, origin, foils amongst themselves, etc. and that one type of monster even had the potential to be "good" in a way. It was very easy to tell that Schwab put a ton of thought into the monsters of this world, and the little song for them was awesome. Love me a good Schwab Song (looking at you, Sarows).
August was a precious, broody boy who just wanted to be anything other than what he was, what everyone told him he had to be. Kate was a tough, angsty girl who wanted to prove herself to be exactly that. She got shit done and wouldn't put up with anyone's nonsense, not even August's. They're quite the formidable pair, and their friendship (bc there's no romance here) is incredibly fulfilling. They complement each other perfectly, and watching them help each other fight the battles in their respective lives, and escaping dangerous situations trying to claim them, was the best part of the whole story.
The characters are pretty well fleshed out, the worldbuilding was intriguing, and I liked both. I don't mind dystopian type novels, and I think this fits that bill pretty well. My issues fall with the plot, for the most part. It just felt like things didn't really happen until the last third of the book, almost. We learned a lot about the characters, enough to guess rather easily (for the most part) who was behind what and how the book would end, but they didn't really do anything until they were forced to because the bad guys were getting out of control. I guessed one of the two major plot points, although the second one did actually get a gasp of genuine surprise. I just ... Idk, I felt kinda bored for most of this. I'm someone who reads like 60-40 for plot-character ratio and this didn't keep me captive enough. I could've finished it way sooner, I'm a housewife with an audiobook ffs, but I just wasn't eager enough. I wasn't dying to know what happened next. I'll be reading the second one, I love Schwab so much and I already own it anyway, but yeah. It's good but not for me and the plot is kinda,,,, just okay.
The weakest out of the strongest is still strong, ykwim? This is the weakest one from her for me so far. I have faith in the second one but I'm not expecting it to change my mind about this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Grief, and Car accident
Minor: Child death, Medical content, and Mass/school shootings
nekoshka's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, and Death of parent
Moderate: Torture, Car accident, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Domestic abuse and Mass/school shootings
takarakei's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
My second time reading this, but I never read the sequel so I had to reread to remember anything.
Really interesting and unique concept for a YA fantasy (set in a future altered US) in the territory of Verity monsters are controlled by two sides of a divided V-City. We follow two povs one on each side - Kate Harker the daughter to one of the men in power, and August Flynn who is one of the rarest kinds of monsters (his found family are on the other side of power). Monsters form from various kinds of violent /bad things that happen (ex: murder at various levels) and there are three different types. Kate and Flynn meet at a private school in the best part of the city, and are then thrust together when murders happen for which someone tries to frame Flynn for.
This book is asking the question "what really makes a monster?" - is August really a monster just because everyone says he is? Both August and Kate are complex characters whom you can't help but root for. If you're looking for a dark/gritty book with questions about good vs evil - AND it reads fast! This is it!
Really interesting and unique concept for a YA fantasy (set in a future altered US) in the territory of Verity monsters are controlled by two sides of a divided V-City. We follow two povs one on each side - Kate Harker the daughter to one of the men in power, and August Flynn who is one of the rarest kinds of monsters (his found family are on the other side of power). Monsters form from various kinds of violent /bad things that happen (ex: murder at various levels) and there are three different types. Kate and Flynn meet at a private school in the best part of the city, and are then thrust together when murders happen for which someone tries to frame Flynn for.
This book is asking the question "what really makes a monster?" - is August really a monster just because everyone says he is? Both August and Kate are complex characters whom you can't help but root for. If you're looking for a dark/gritty book with questions about good vs evil - AND it reads fast! This is it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Cursing, Gore, Torture, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Bullying, Toxic relationship, Mass/school shootings, and Fire/Fire injury
jackeline_cruz_'s review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Car accident, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
littletiramisu's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Torture, Violence, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: War
Minor: Mass/school shootings