Book Review: This Savage Song (Monsters of Verity #1) by Victoria Schwab

Crushed on by Shannon, on June 30, 2016, in Future releases, Reviews / 0 Comments

Book Review: This Savage Song (Monsters of Verity #1) by Victoria Schwab

savageThis Savage Song (Monsters of Verity #1) by Victoria Schwab

Category: Young Adult, Post Apocalyptic, Paranormal
Publication: July 5th, 2016; Greenwillow Books
Pages: 464
Purchase: Amazon

There’s no such thing as safe in a city at war, a city overrun with monsters. In this dark urban fantasy from author Victoria Schwab, a young woman and a young man must choose whether to become heroes or villains—and friends or enemies—with the future of their home at stake. The first of two books.

Kate Harker and August Flynn are the heirs to a divided city—a city where the violence has begun to breed actual monsters. All Kate wants is to be as ruthless as her father, who lets the monsters roam free and makes the humans pay for his protection. All August wants is to be human, as good-hearted as his own father, to play a bigger role in protecting the innocent—but he’s one of the monsters. One who can steal a soul with a simple strain of music. When the chance arises to keep an eye on Kate, who’s just been kicked out of her sixth boarding school and returned home, August jumps at it. But Kate discovers August’s secret, and after a failed assassination attempt the pair must flee for their lives.

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Review:

[book rating=4/5]

Monsters, monsters, big and small,
they’re gonna come and eat you all…

This was a strange one. In a world teaming with copy cat books this was like a breath of fresh air. A wholly original concept that focused on a post apocalyptic world where violent acts have actually led to the creation of monsters. You read that correct, violence begets the birth of actual living breathing monsters. Some of these monsters will eat you, some will drink you dry, and some will actually steal your soul.

The two main characters, Kate and August are an interesting dichotomy. Kate a human, acts more like a monster, and August, an actual soul stealing monster, just wants a normal life. Throw in the fact that they live in separate parts of the city, and that their parents have a tenuous truce to keep from going to war, and you get the makings of a Romeo and Juliet type story, albeit and sadly, without the romance.

I’ll admit the beginning of the story was a bit of a head scratcher and it took me awhile to actually get into the story. I think it could have benefited from clearer explanations on what the monsters were and a bit more in depth as to the whys and the hows of their origins. The pacing was also a bit slow in the beginning. Suffice to say, once it hit around the 50% mark I was absolutely hooked and along for the ride.

In terms of the characters, Kate was a bit hard to swallow, she’s a total hard-ass, to the point of being unlikable. She’s got a one track mind to impress her crime boss father, and she doesn’t care how she does it even if it involves burning down a church. I found myself not liking her for much of the book, as she didn’t appear to have any redeeming qualities beyond her cunning, but as more of her back story unfolds I gained a bit more respect for her.

Then you have August, who struggles on a deep level with what he is.  The fact that he has to occasionally take lives to stay alive literally weighs on his soul. His story was more heartbreaking than Kate’s. Imagine coming into being, with really no explanation, no true parents, no idea as to the why or the how of it, and the only thing you know is that you have an ache to play the violin, a song, literally so beautiful and savage, it has the ability to will a soul from a human. The need to play is so great, yet August has a conscious and doesn’t take what he has to do to survive lightly .

I loved the chemistry between these two characters, they were drawn to each other but being of two different worlds they were always keeping each other at arms length, unsure of whether to trust the other, until they were forced to trust each other out of necessity. The scenes with August and Kate on the run, a sort of Thelma and Louise for the post apocalyptic world, was my favorite part of the story. I have to admit, because I am a romance junkie that I was a bit disappointed that nothing unfolded between August and Kate. There were hints of potential between the two but nothing came to fruition. As I finished the story, I realized that would not have been realistic for these two characters, at least not in book one. I really hope something unfolds in book two

This world was a dark one, a place littered with horrible beings brought on by the darkest actions of the human heart. A place where humans have shown that they can be the real monsters, and monsters have shown that they can have real heart.

I am excited to see where this story goes as it left our characters going on interesting and independent paths.

If you’re looking for something different and unique, pick up This Savage Song and get lost in its monstrous tale.

 

 

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