Reviews tagging 'Death'

This Savage Song by V.E. Schwab

54 reviews

tania_mybookishsecret's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and War

Minor: Vomit

abby_can_read's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense 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

4.0

📱
This book was an unexpected joy. I wasn't sure if I would like this when I started it. I liked the lore and the worldbuilding. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Xenophobia, and Blood

Moderate: Torture, Car accident, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child death, Confinement, Grief, and Mass/school shootings

mockingjayx16's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious tense fast-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Car accident, and Abandonment

Moderate: Physical abuse, Torture, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Death of parent and War

bootrat's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.5

It took me ages to get through the first couple of chapters of this book, but once the story proper got going (when they went to school) then I absolutely devoured it. V.E. Schwab has such a talent for writing books that I really love, and this was no different! Off to read book 2 asap

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder, and War

Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Confinement, Suicide, Torture, Grief, and Car accident

_fallinglight_'s review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Vomit, Car accident, and Death of parent

Minor: Child death, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Mass/school shootings

winry_reads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Murder

Moderate: Death of parent

swiftpool's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book had me HOOKED. Highly recommend the audiobook. It had me wanting to savor every chapter while also wanting to race ahead to see where the plot went. The twist at the end totally surprised me - and then there was another twist which was so obvious and yet completely caught me off guard (in a good way).

p.s. this is why we double tap, folks!!

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Emotional abuse and Mental illness

Minor: Mass/school shootings

theresamothinmyroom's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, and Mass/school shootings

Minor: Child death and Drug use

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! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Death of parent

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!

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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