Review: This Savage Song (Monsters of Verity #1) – V.E. Schwab

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Synopsis: 

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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Let me just start by saying that from page one, Schwab had me hooked.

I want to share with you all, the first few lines of this book…

“The night Kate Harper decided to burn down the school chapel, she wasn’t angry or drunk. She was desperate.

Burning down the church really was a last resort; she’d already broken a girl’s nose, smoked in the dormitories, cheated on her first exam, and verbally harassed three of the nuns.”

Now tell me you don’t already love it?!

The two main characters in this book, Kate Harker and August Flynn, are two of the most surprisingly loveable characters I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. And seeing their personalities take form and develop was just the best!

Kate and August are both troubled by their own demons (pun..?) and are desperately searching to find themselves, but in the face of danger form an unlikely bond – WHICH GIVES ME LIFE.

There’s no romance in this. No lovey dovey stuff. Just pure friendship and an incredible story of trust, loyalty and companionship.

The world that Schwab has created is suitably dark and twisted, whilst somehow still remaining somewhat human and relatable – this parallels with our good friend, August, but I’ll let you read that for yourselves. The monsters are suitably horrific, yet formed in such a way that it’ll have you checking your own shadows, just in case.

This book had me laughing, crying, and always sitting on the edge of my seat.

The plot line, the writing, everything just drew me in. I was totally engrossed in this mysterious, monstrous world, and really nothing was as it seemed. Just when I thought I had something figured out, I would immediately be taken by surprise and steered in a completely different direction and the pages just kept on turning and turning, until I found myself at the end of the book…

There’s a kind of emptiness that you experience after reading a truly great book, and I feel hollow… I NEED MORE AND I NEED IT NOW! Thankfully, I’m fully armed with His Dark Duet already (thank god I got my hands on it early), so hopefully I’ll be able to fill that void and continue on this journey. That is, of course, until I finish that one and then we’re back to feeling void of all emotions…

A sacrifice I’m willing to make.

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View This Savage Song on Goodreads