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artmuseam's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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? It's complicated
4.5
there is a reason why schwab is one of my favorite writers of all time. every book she’s written has been nothing but a masterpiece! i finished this book so quickly because i could not put it down, and i immediately fell in love with the characters. what better way to celebrate fall with a spooky read? the concept of the monsters in this urban fantasy world was so cool. i can’t wait to start the second book! 4.5/5 stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
rradujko's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I love this book. I read it a while ago, and rank it highly among V.E. Scwab's other books. Her setting is immaculate: a dystopia predicated on the repercussions of acts of violence. The plot has elements of standard YA, but the overall themes of the book are — I think — well done regardless. If you want a gritty and quick-moving YA dystopian fiction about monsters, music, and what makes us human, give this one a try.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Violence, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Gun violence, Torture, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent
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
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.
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.
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 against another edition
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
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
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
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!!
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
sabrielsbell's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-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
4.75
If you want great characters, monsters, and magic you've found the right book. I loved the lore built by this story and the build in characters and their friendship was spot on. There is also a great little twist at the end. If you like Schwabs other works then this will be another hit.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Blood, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Car accident, and 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!
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
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