Reviews with content warning for Domestic abuse - This Savage Song

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!

Content Warnings

skillyillian's review against another edition

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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.

Content Warnings

nekoshka's review against another edition

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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

bhavya_is_reading's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

Here is my Spotify Book Playlist!

“It hurts,” he whispered.
“What does?” asked Kate.
“Being. Not being. Giving in. Holding out. No matter what I do, it hurts.” Kate tipped her head back against the tub. “That’s life, August,” she said. “You wanted to feel alive, right? It doesn’t matter if you’re monster or human. Living hurts.”

~ Rating- 5 stars ~

Content/ Trigger Warnings- Arson, Gore, Death of a parent, Suicide & Attempted Suicide, Murder, Violence, Attempted murder, Blood, Mass shooting, Death by Car Crash, Torture, Physical Assault, Domestic Violence, Toxic Parents, Possible Depression and Anxiety Disorder, Panic Attacks, Smoking, Toxic Parents, Lying about having asthma (one of the characters says they have asthma when they don't, to avoid their cover being blown), Bullying (one of the MC's bullies other people, even leading up to her physically attacking students), Fire (one of the MC's burns a place down, knowing full well there were people in that place)

Note- I have tried to include all the content warnings that I noticed, but there is no guarantee that I haven’t missed something.

-Mention of some of these in the review-

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This Savage Song, by Victoria Schwab was not a book I was expecting to enjoy. I thought it would be like the Shades of Magic series, entertaining but not enough to get a rating above 3 stars. Or I thought it would be like The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, intriguing but not living up to its full potential. This Savage Song was neither of that, it was a perfect mix of everything I like to read in books. It was dark, mysterious and adventurous. It was funny, uproarious and hopeful. It was too good to be true.

“Every weakness exposes flesh,” he'd said, “and flesh invites a knife.”

Kate Harker and August Flynn are the heirs to a divided city, a place where actual monsters exist. Kate wants to be as ruthless as her father, and protect her city from the monsters that roam the street. August wants to be human and as kind-hearted as his own father. He wants to serve his people, and keep everyone safe- but he’s one of the monsters that everyone fears. When August is assigned the task to keep an eye on Kate, who has just been kicked out of her sixth boarding school and returned home, August jumps at it. Desperate to help their own people, will August and Kate succeed at their mission?

“We are not servants. We are not slaves. We are wolves among sheep. Monsters among men…our time is coming.”

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➼The plot

"Plenty of humans are monstrous and plenty of monsters know how to play at being human."

The plot of This Savage Song was wonderful. We have a human trying to be a monster and a monster trying to be human. I loved it, as the book makes us question some important things, like- What exactly does it mean to be human? Is it our actions, or our beliefs? Is there such a thing as a good person and a bad person? If there is, where is the line drawn? What makes a person good or bad?

“Why did everyone have to ruin the quiet by asking questions? The truth was a disastrous thing.”

I was on the edge of my seat the entire time while reading this. I laughed when the characters laughed, panicked when they panicked and cried when they cried. It was such an amazing experience, as books very rarely make me feel to this extent. I was so anxious while reading it, as the book is packed with action and unpredictability. It was so difficult to tell where the plot was going, and that made the book a lot more interesting.

“But the teacher had been right about one thing: violence breeds.
Someone pulls a trigger, sets off a bomb, drives a bus full of tourists off a bridge, and what's left in the wake isn't just shell casings, wreckage, bodies. There's something else. Something bad. An aftermath. A recoil. A reaction to all that anger and pain and death.”

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➼The world

“It's a monster's world.”

The world of This Savage Song was excellent. Schwab always has unique premises, and this book was no different. The dystopian element was good as well.

“Monsters, monsters, big and small,
They're gonna come and eat you all.”

The thing I loved the most about the world was the monsters. I liked the way they were executed, and Schwab made the idea of monsters very appealing.

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➼The writing

“I live in a world where shadows have teeth. It's not a particularly relaxing environment.”

I've always been a fan of Schwab's writing style. Her pacing is spot on all the time, and I really admire her style of storytelling.

"I read somewhere," said Kate, "that people are made of stardust."
He dragged his eyes from the sky. "Really?"
"Maybe that's what you're made of. Just like us."
And despite everything, August smiled.

Personally, this was my favourite Victoria Schwab book so far, specially in terms of writing. There wasn't a dull moment and I was engrossed the entire time.

“Why would you even want to be human? We’re fragile. We die.”
“You also live. You don’t spend every day wondering why you exist, but don’t feel real, why you look human, but can’t be. You don’t do everything you can to be a good person only to have it constantly thrown in your face that you’re not a person at all.”

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➼The characters

➡Kate Harker

"She liked the idea that there were a hundred different Kates, living a hundred different lives.
Maybe in one of them, there were no monsters."

Kate Harker is one of the most unlikable likable protagonists I've read about. I know I'm not supposed to like her, in fact some of her actions go entirely against my core beliefs, but for some reason that I can't explain, I wasn't able to hate Kate.

“We are the darkest acts made light.”

Kate is considered to be a 'strong female protagonist', but she is not. Her character unfortunately falls into the trap of trying to make female characters strong, but actually doing the opposite. She bullies other people left and right, and is willing to cross any lines to get what she wants. She is a terrible person, but that is what I personally like about her. While Kate's actions are pretty much justified in the book, and no one really calls her out, I was well aware of the fact that she is in the wrong. But I didn't really mind it, as much as I usually would have, which I think is a great example of how good of an author Victoria Schwab is.

“You’re not your father.”
Kate tensed imperceptibly at that, then managed to draw her mouth into a small, cruel smile. “Can I tell you a secret?”
“Of course,” said Rachel.
Kate leaned in and brought her lips to the girl’s ear. “I’m much worse.”

I also want to clarify that just because I like Kate, it does NOT mean that I excuse all that she did in the book. I do not forgive her for bullying other people, or burning a building down, not do I think it was right for her to do so. Regardless of what personal struggle she was going through, she should not have treated people like trash. I just appreciate her journey of growth, and I liked her inner conflict.

“Why are there so many shadows in the world, Kate? Shouldn’t there be just as much light?”

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➡August Flynn

“It was a cruel trick of the universe, thought August, that he only felt human after doing something monstrous.”

August Flynn is my favourite character from This Savage Song, and is also a new favourite character of all time. His conflict of 'wanting to be more human' was beautifully done. I loved the relationships and bonds he formed with all the other characters in the book.

“I am Sunai,” he said. “I am holy fire. And if I have to burn the world to cleanse it, so help me, I will.”

August is also clearly struggling with his mental health, and I liked how that was portrayed. We need more mental health rep in YA fantasy books that is handled maturely.

“He could be the monster if it kept others human.”

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➼The romance, a.k.a. the lack of it

This is the first YA fantasy book I read where the two MC's don't have a romantic subplot, and I loved that!

“Even if surviving wasn't simple, or easy, or fair.
Even if he could never be human.
He wanted the chance to matter.
He wanted to live.”

Even though I added some 'romance songs' in my book playlist, I'm perfectly okay with Kate and August not ending up together. But I am also ok with them as a couple, as I feel they have chemistry. I feel more YA fantasy books without romance should be encouraged.

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➼Audiobook comments

The audiobook narration was excellent! I would highly recommend it, especially is you are new to audiobooks. The narration was very good and captured the essence of the book well. (Audiobook Rating- 4.5/5 stars)

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"And you?" asked Kate. "Your brother is righteous, your sister is scattered. What does that make you?"
When August answered, the word was small, almost too quiet to hear. "Lost."

Overall, This Savage Song was a book I enjoyed every second of. I am looking forward to seeing how this series concludes.

Review written & uploaded on 25th January 2022.

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DISCLAIMER-All opinions on books I’ve read and reviewed are my own, and are with no intention to offend anyone. If you feel offended by my reviews, let me know how I can fix it.

How I Rate-
1 star- Hardly liked anything/ was disappointed
2 star- Had potential but did not deliver/ was disappointed
3 stars- Was ok but could have been better/ was average / Enjoyed a lot but something was missing
4 stars- Loved a lot but something was missing
5 stars- Loved it/ new favourite

........................................

OMG. This was amazing. RTC.

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