Reviews

Una canción salvaje by V.E. Schwab

thesamesky's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark 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

4.5

asriram's review against another edition

4.0

Another excellent book by V.E. Schwab, This Savage Song was an excellent story about monsters, family, and the struggle to be better than you currently are. While not as engaging or gripping as The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue or the Shades of Magic series, Schwab's writing is still fantastic. I'm looking forward to reading Our Dark Duet, the next book in the Monsters of Verity series.

miamadore's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

3.5

Lemme read book 2 and I’ll let you know what I think 

lyakimov's review against another edition

5.0

This book went far beyond my expectations. I loved the dual point of view, I always love the way V.E. Schwab does her multiple points of views and how they all have such different voices; it's like a breath of fresh air to see such an effortless change.
The characters are so well done and they have something that keeps the story interesting and makes you want to keep reading. Kate and August are AMAZING protagonists and I am really looking forward to reading about them and their future adventures.

dikshya's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

eesh25's review against another edition

4.0

I have recently become a huge fan of Victoria Schwab (aka V.E. Schwab), so I had certain expectation when it came to this novel. And I have to say, it didn't disappoint.

Before I start the review, I just wanna get it out there that there's no romance in this novel. The author said this very specifically before the release because usually, even when the romance isn't the main plot, it's still there. In this case, there is none of it. And while I love romances, it's kinda refreshing to go into a YA novel knowing there will be no romantic arc. I liked it.

That aside, it took some time to really get into the book. There was a new setting, two protagonist, the history of the city and the country, as well as explaining how the monsters worked. The first quarter, for me, was slow going. I wasn't invested in the characters yet and the world was unveiling slowly. I had to push those chapters. But after that, things went smoothly.

The city of Verity is like Gotham. There's a lot of crime. But instead of Batman saving the day, the crimes of the people manifested into literal monsters. Like, you kill someone and few hours later, a monster pops up at the scene of the crime.

Kate Harker and August Flynn are the heirs to the divided city of Verity. August is a monster who wants to be human. He wants to help his father protect innocent people. Kate wants to be just like her father, who lets monsters roam free and makes people pay
(money; no blood or revenge plots) for his protection against them. 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.

And yeah, I took some of the synopsis from Goodreads. I tried to make it short but this is about as short as it gets. It's a unique world.

Now that I've gotten that out-of-the-way... I love the book. After getting through the difficult chunk in the beginning, I couldn't put it down. The world is endlessly fascinating, thanks to Schwab distributing information throughout the novel instead of writing a bunch of exposition scenes.

Kate and August are both very different, and their contrasting personalities pull you in. And then seeing them both grow keeps you hooked. August needs to learn to accept himself as a monster and Kate needs to realize that maybe wanting to be just like her father is not the best idea. And seeing their relationship develop is the best. August is a good, but he's also a monster; Kate is human, but her father is an evil maniac. Safe to say, trust does not come easy.

The book is beautifully written, has a great plot, great world-building, awesome characters and is one that I hundred percent recommend. I'm quite excited to read the sequel, Our Dark Duet (which came out today!). You should definitely give this one a read.

sarahmw7's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

faeriesparks's review against another edition

5.0

This Savage Song by V. E. Schwab is the first installment in her new paranormal duology Monsters of Verity.

In the city of Verity violence breeds monsters. So whenever a crime takes place the violence becomes an actual, physical monster. There are three different kinds of monsters (Corsai, Malchai, Sunai) depending on what kind of violence is performed.

August Flynn, the male main character, is a Sunai and lives in South City of Verity which is ruled by Henry Flynn. As a Sunai August can take the souls of sinners with the help of music. Kate Harker, the female main character, returns to her home in North City after being expelled from her sixth boarding school. Her father, Callum Harker, is the ruthless ruler of North City and she wants to step into his footsteps.
There's a truce between the Harker and Flynn families but after an assassination attempt towards Kate, the truce begins to crumble.

World-building
V. E. Schwab did such a fantastic job at creating this world. Even though the story takes place in a futuristic United States, it feels like a totally different world - and I loved it. The city Verity is split into different parts and we even find out a little bit about surrounding cities and the history of how certain things came to be. I actually wish there had been a map included in the book but even without it I was still able to understand where things were happening.

Characters
I loved Kate and August as main characters. I found August's struggles quite interesting - him being a Sunai and questioning his purpose and just wanting to be human. Kate on the other hand was that kind of morally ambiguous character I adore with all my heart (and that V. E. Schwab can just write so brilliantly). Kate was clever, cunning, knew exactly what she wanted, and didn't care what others thought of her.

Pacing
It takes about half of the book for the assassination plot to actually start. Since it was in the blurb on the back of the book I was expecting it a lot sooner. But in my opinion the slower pace in the first half of the book was necessary for the world-building and getting to know the characters and relationships and so on. I wasn't bored at all so I really didn't mind the slow pace.

Overall I just really, really enjoyed reading this book. I think the concept of violence breeding monsters is SO interesting and in my opinion V. E. Schwab did an amazing job at creating this story.

Thank you to Lydia Gittins from Titan Books for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

felix_x's review against another edition

Badly written

laarsje's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

3.75