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syd_s_r's review against another edition
5.0
Moderate: Violence and Blood
Minor: Torture, Mass/school shootings, and Car accident
guessgreenleaf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Violence and Murder
starlesscircus's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Moderate: Death and Violence
laurajeangrace's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Confinement, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Suicide, Medical content, Death of parent, and War
howlinglibraries's review against another edition
4.5
It was a cruel trick of the universe, thought August, that he only felt human after doing something monstrous.
I'll admit that this book had a rocky beginning for me, but I should know by now to never doubt V.E. Schwab. She's one of my all-time favorite authors for a very good reason, and while this wasn't my favorite book of hers, it definitely won me over by the end and I had such a good time in this world. If it tells you anything, my buddy read partner and I finished this today and are starting the sequel tomorrow (and I never read series installments back-to-back, so that's a big deal for me!).
“We are the darkest acts made light.”
First of all, I enjoyed the setting and world-building immensely, but I wish we'd had more of it. I'm really hoping the second book explains the backstory a bit more, because I need to know more about what happened to turn the United States into this wasteland full of sin-spawned monsters! I did really love that we gradually got explanations for how the Corsai, Malchai, and Sunai were created, and I found the concept of the Sunai in particular really interesting: this idea that they were entities born of massively violent events was so sad and thought-provoking.
He wasn't made of flesh and bone, or starlight.
He was made of darkness.
As far as the characters go, Kate took a while to win me over, and even by the end of the book, I can't say I loved her, but I did enjoy watching her grow. August, on the other hand, had my heart from the moment we met him and that feeling only solidified as the book went on. He's such an angsty, sad, soft little cinnamon roll and I hope we get to see him find peace by the end of this duology, because if anyone deserves it, August does.
Not with a bang, but with a whimper.
In with gunfire and out with smoke.
Overall, I thought This Savage Song was a really fun read. It didn't quite match up to V's writing in their other works, in my opinion, but I didn't want to put it down and felt like the pacing was perfectly done so that the story flew by me. I think it would make an incredible film and I'd love to see that happen someday. 🤞 This was a 4.5-star read for me, but I can easily justify rounding up because of how much I adored the ending. I can't wait for book 2 tomorrow!
Buddy read with the incredible Misty! 💖
✨ Representation: Kate is deaf in one ear
Moderate: Death and Violence
Minor: Bullying, Grief, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
ashlislibrary's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death, Violence, Car accident, and Murder
viji's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
Graphic: Violence and Death of parent
ttumbletree's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Car accident, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
stuckinatimeloop's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Murder
tragedies's review against another edition
- 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
While it is nothing like A Darker Shade of Magic, the story is fascinating in its own right. It follows Kate as she attempts to prove herself worthy of following in the footsteps of her father, Callum Harker. As the city’s most notorious crime lord, Harker took over the Northern half of monster-infested Verity after the war and provided citizens with a false sense of protection in exchange for money. Kate is determined to be his perfect heir, one just as vicious as him and his monsters, so she buries her past along with her humanity, purging any hint of weakness from her bones. But then, she meets August, a powerful monster who wants nothing more than to be human like his adoptive father, Henry Flynn. Losing his previous family to the war, Flynn leads Southern Verity with justice and empathy, guided by a vision for peace. August shares these values, but his own nature always threatens his pursuit of them.
It poses a lot of questions. What does it mean to be human? Is it something we can easily shed, as Kate hopes it to be? Is it something we can grow into, as August wishes it to be? Is it something we are born with or something we earn? Does our nature determine our choices? Or do our choices eventually make up our nature? As Kate and August grapple for answers, we are also faced with the constant struggle of which side we should ultimately root for. Is it Harker who operates on cruelty and violence but brings quick and efficient results, whose vision of a safe and modern Capitol-esque Verity is secretly built on the backs of monsters? Is it Flynn, who is driven by his ideals, who treats monsters with the same compassion as he does humans but lacks the resources to truly enact progress? Or is it the monsters, who are merely fighting for their own survival just as much as humans are?
Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. V.E. Schwab takes this common truth and incorporates it into the magic system, making the consequences feel more real but also fantastical at the same time. In the story, violent acts breed monsters. The more violent an action is, a more powerful monster is born in its wake. Our actions, however personal they may be, have a collective impact in one way or another. This was true for the monster-infested Verity city and perhaps even in the places beyond its borders.
This Savage Song is more than just a young adult fantasy with a star crossed romance. It’s a thought-provoking tale that touches on the good, the evil, and the gray area that lies in between. It’s incredibly powerful and profound, and I can’t wait to see where the story goes from here.
Graphic: Death, Violence, Death of parent, and Murder