Reviews with content warning for Fire/Fire injury - This Savage Song

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This Savage Song by V.E. Schwab

8 reviews

annabananadel's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging sad fast-paced

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

3.75

“You wanted to feel alive, right? It doesn't matter if you're monster or human. Living hurts.”

I remember DNF-ing this book back in 2022 but that was because I wasn't in my fantasy era. But now that I dipped my toe in that genre, I decided that maybe it was indeed time for me to read it again since I heard so many good reviews and hello? The rating itself piqued my interest. Also, I lowkey wished to get it when I was getting some books from the TBR jar. This might have been my first fiction book since Yellowface that didn't contain romance. But the great thing is that for this book, I devoured within a few days unlike Yellowface where I only finished after 3-4 weeks. Also the same author's other book - The Invisible Life of Addie Larue.

The Savage Song is a book about monsters stemming from the sins of humans. The idea itself is amazing to think about. I was slowly reading through the first hundred pages but once I did, I was just breezing through. It was pretty fast-paced for me because everything in that book only happened in a week, if I counted correctly. The world-building was slow and was pretty hard to understand at first - if I had not googled the monsters and they were; and this might have been the reason why I had stopped reading it back then. The actions and fight scenes were pretty good, although considering there weren't magic involved, it was already pretty good to imagine. Kate is a badass bitch who knows what she wants and how to get it. Although I felt sorry for her for what happened to her and family (not spoiler!) but she really did grow up to be that strong girl. August, on the other hand, just wanted to feel and be human even though he really is a monster. The two of them together was chaotic at first but immediately turned into a good pair of "friends" (if that's what you call it).

I love the adventure of this book and how it's only a duology so I don't have to read so many books in the series just to know the ending. Will definitely continue this story (still not sure when).

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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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jennastopreading'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? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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marine2907's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense 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

3.75

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howlinglibraries's review

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4.5

It was a cruel trick of the universe, thought August, that he only felt human after doing something monstrous.

I'll admit that this book had a rocky beginning for me, but I should know by now to never doubt V.E. Schwab. She's one of my all-time favorite authors for a very good reason, and while this wasn't my favorite book of hers, it definitely won me over by the end and I had such a good time in this world. If it tells you anything, my buddy read partner and I finished this today and are starting the sequel tomorrow (and I never read series installments back-to-back, so that's a big deal for me!).

“We are the darkest acts made light.”

First of all, I enjoyed the setting and world-building immensely, but I wish we'd had more of it. I'm really hoping the second book explains the backstory a bit more, because I need to know more about what happened to turn the United States into this wasteland full of sin-spawned monsters! I did really love that we gradually got explanations for how the Corsai, Malchai, and Sunai were created, and I found the concept of the Sunai in particular really interesting: this idea that they were entities born of massively violent events was so sad and thought-provoking.

He wasn't made of flesh and bone, or starlight.
He was made of darkness.

As far as the characters go, Kate took a while to win me over, and even by the end of the book, I can't say I loved her, but I did enjoy watching her grow. August, on the other hand, had my heart from the moment we met him and that feeling only solidified as the book went on. He's such an angsty, sad, soft little cinnamon roll and I hope we get to see him find peace by the end of this duology, because if anyone deserves it, August does.

Not with a bang, but with a whimper.
In with gunfire and out with smoke.

Overall, I thought This Savage Song was a really fun read. It didn't quite match up to V's writing in their other works, in my opinion, but I didn't want to put it down and felt like the pacing was perfectly done so that the story flew by me. I think it would make an incredible film and I'd love to see that happen someday. 🤞 This was a 4.5-star read for me, but I can easily justify rounding up because of how much I adored the ending. I can't wait for book 2 tomorrow!

Buddy read with the incredible Misty! 💖

✨ Representation: Kate is deaf in one ear

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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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booksanna's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad 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

5.0

Mesmerizing books with intriguing setting and unique characters. This book has a very well-written world with such beautiful characters. I mean even the philosophical meaning of this book shows so much depth and detail that you become emerged in this world. The question who really is a monster(and what it means to be good) is well-incorporated in the plot. Also the use of figurative language to portray meaning and significance in the story is so captivating. There’s so many quotes that I liked in this book(half the books is literally highlighted lol). The characters are so unique and well-written with flaws, interests, and personality. The reason I liked this books so much were how detailed and human(sometimes in-human) the characters were.

August’s desire/denial to be human, Kate’s desire to be her father’s daughter, but also be somewhere else and someone else, Flynn struggle with protecting his family, Ilsa being cracked but so human and yet monster, Leo’s control and coldness even towards his family, so many little details, Harker not being afraid to die to his daughter, his soul becoming a monster

. All of those conflicts, characteristic, relationships, details, interests, and morals were just so real and deep. The ending was so good too. It was just the perfect kind of ending.

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maddy_s's review

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adventurous dark emotional 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

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