Reviews with content warning for War - This Savage Song

Reviews tagging 'War'

This Savage Song by V.E. Schwab

9 reviews

carefulfearanddeaddevotion's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny tense fast-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

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!

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twicetheamountofsparetime's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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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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littletiramisu's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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maura_willis's review

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book was very good and had the perfect mix of reliable characters and questionable/debatable topics. It was very predictable though and I didn't like the pacing at the beginning of the book. It seemed like everything happened way too quickly.

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onf's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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laurajeangrace's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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bookcaptivated's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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ana24gs's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-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? It's complicated

3.5

I really liked the book, I feel it was totally interesting and exciting. But the first half was a ñeh, the second half is where the action and the plot are.

The characters are interesting, but I think Victoria Schwab has made some much better and more complex than these. They were still interesting to me in the second half, we see how their characters break down, face their biggest fears and their dark past. Kate instantly interested me, she is a girl who longs for her father's approval; and August began to interest me more while I was reading, he is a teenage monster who just wants to be normal even if that can destroy him.

I found the whole monster thing interesting and generates good tension over the course of the book and is genuinely unsettling.

The only problem I see with the book is the slow start and that there are characters that I would have liked to know more about, like August and Sloan's brothers, I guess we will see more of them in the next book.

⚠️ SPOILERS ⚠️

I liked Kate in the first paragraph, she seems like a strong girl, but she is a teenager and has a lot of weight on her shoulders. I also feel some vibes of I am not like other girls from her, but I hope it is just my imagination.

I didn't found August very interesting, but I progressed through the book and I saw more of his character. The fear of what he may do is genuine and he is really confused because he does not know exactly who he is. I also liked the relationship with his family, especially with his sister Ilsa.

Now, I liked the relationship between Kate and August, I feel that I always hope that the books I read have a lot of romance and that the protagonists kiss at least at the end of the book, but little by little I am removing that idea, more when the protagonists are teenagers and they are going through difficult times, the last thing they should think about is romance. Also August and Kate are untrusting protagonists who are not very affectionate, if they want to show that they care about someone they do it with actions, such as Kate taking care of August when he was hungry and had high levels of fever, or like August when he gave himself to the shadows but managed to control himself and not hurt Kate.

I loved the action in the book and will definitely read the second to see how this story closes.

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