Reviews with content warning for Gore - This Savage Song

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.

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takarakei's review against another edition

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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!

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jackeline_cruz_'s review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense

4.0

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amelianotthepilot's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective 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

4.0

This story was a really interesting concept, plot, and characters but extremely difficult to follow. It lacked set up and as a kids/young adult book that’s pretty key. It doesn’t explain the three types of monsters until 100 pages into the story and even then the reader is left with an incomplete picture. The plot is relatively simple to follow but the world building is confusing. This dystopian setting would benefit from a map as well as a more fleshed out explanation of the monsters and what they do and how they live.

The plot follows two high schoolers on different sides of ‘the seam’. They live in a dystopian mega city called Verity that is plagued with monsters. The south is governed by a militaristic ruling family that utilizes monsters to defend while the north is ruled by a business man who utilizes the monsters and has people pay him to keep them ‘safe’. The monsters are Malachai: evil vampire-like creatures that like to kill, have really tough skin, and a bone breast plate, Corosai: evil hive mind creatures that are mostly shadow and can be destroyed with light to the face, and Sunai: a siren-like creature that reap evil human souls only but without them starves and goes off like a bomb before continuing. Our main characters August, a Sunai from the South side who is adopted into the military ruling family, and Kate, the daughter of the businessman ruler of the North side, meet in a precarious arranged situation and end up on an adventure together.

My main confusion was over August, the Sunai, who isn’t really explained. The reader slowly pieces his situation together which is meant to be mysterious but just ends up confusing. He has tally mark tattoos that mark how many days since he’s last gone off like bomb, and these magically appear and disappear. He needs to ‘eat’ evil human souls in an unspecified ‘often’ and if not he grows physically and mentally ill. He has this adoptive family situation that isn’t fully explained but his two ‘siblings’ are also adoptive Sunai, and no other known ones exist.

I really enjoyed the story but it is clearly one of VE Scwab’s earlier stories and has a lot of loose threads. It’s cool to see how she’s grown as an author. I recommend the book but I’d read a world building explanation first.

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