Reviews

This series, specifically this book, DESTROYED ME. I have been in love with VE Schwab’s storytelling since I was introduced to her when Addie LaRue came out, and she just continuously hits it out of the park. Her ability to create seemingly familiar worlds and unique magical aspects just always leave me wanting more in a good way. I want to fall into her worlds the way people want to go to Narnia, even though 90% of the time it wouldn’t be a good idea. The characters she comes up with are complex and constantly developing so you see their achievements and mistakes, their ugly side, and their deepest desires. Her writing is just always my favorite thing to turn to when I need a good read.

AND THIS SERIES?? Possibly up there in my top ten. If you’ve haven’t read Schwab before, this is a great place to start. I loved these protagonists and their relationship, and I really wish I could look forward to more of them. The underlying message in these books are very apparent, but it didn’t quite hit me what Schwab was saying until it was too late. Schwab also does a wonderful job of writing series that have a connecting overarching plot while having each book have a completed storyline, and it really shows how well she does that with these books.

This book ended with me crying, which isn’t a shocker, and very happy that I have finally read a VE Schwab title in 2024 because their stories are the exact type of stories I love to read over and over again.

sonya92's review against another edition

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dark sad 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

4.0

bookph1le's review against another edition

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3.0

I'm a huge Schwab fan, and I typically love her novels, but this one... I don't know, it just didn't do it for me. I think part of it is the extreme violence in the two books in this duology. After a while, it gets exhausting to the point of being almost numbing, which makes the parts written from Sloan's POV very problematic.

dogmom198611's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

anatrnd's review against another edition

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4.0

з самого початку очікувала чомусь саме такий фінал, але від цього не менш сумно. чудова історія з чудовими персонажами. проковтнула цю частину буквально на одному подиху.

eliover's review against another edition

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4.0

Spoiler filled review!

Okay WHAT????!!
LIKE???? WAIT WAIT HOLUP. JUST?!!

Okay So Kate turns into a monster hunter and August turns into one of FTF soldier to help everyone.
Verity is in ruins and under Sloan and Alice.

Things are as normal as they can be when Kate encounters a new type of monster and it kinda latches onto Kate and she follows it to Verity and then into South city and August. They join forces to destroy evil.

BUT! The reunion?? Like? I was sooo angrrryy!! They meet up in such violent circumstances and the way August behaves? That breaks hearts Schwab!
And that KISS??!! I had to put my phone down and internally screamm! I thought August and Kate were like platonic friends! I mean in the first book maybe a little interested in them, but halfway through 1st I thought they would just be friends! To say I was utterly shocked is a biggg understatement! And August initiated it? Woww.

And that FUCKING ENDING??!!
Who the FUCKKK Authorized That!!!
I mean, I always thought this novel was like....... I dunno not THAT big. Like a small fantasy novel? Make sense?
I bet no one saw that coming!
Was it really necessary though?!
Like?? God I can't even. I'll just go.

But Isla and Kate's deaths didn't really make me cry ya know. The author didn't show August's sorrow. I even forgot that Isla died. That was a negative point.

But I liked this book anyway.
Great narration. Great quotes. Amazing characters too actually.

willrefuge's review against another edition

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4.0

It's so hard to be perfect.

Our Dark Duet is the conclusion of a duology—the Monsters of Verity—one that is many things, but not perfect. It is a genre that I would tentatively classify as YA, but, well… It’s so deliciously DARK.

Like This Savage Song before it, Our Dark Duet is not perfect. It’s a great read; full of emotion and pain and consequence so human that it bleeds through in the story. Or maybe it was supposed to. I went in expecting something dark—and I was rewarded, but not without something unexpected: Hope. This had more hope in it than I expected. So much so that it infringed on where I felt the story was headed. It was almost as if—it changed.

Now this wasn’t why I took off a star. That was for the pacing—the way the story stops and starts before finally taking off. I found it uneven and quite honestly distracting from the plot. But it wasn’t a deal-breaker. The interaction between characters felt off as well, as if the moments they’d shared six months prior had lasted a lifetime and overwhelmed all else (yes, it’s only been six months). And yes, I know that can happen. But it wasn’t only the main POVs that were swept up in this. Even characters with minimal interaction seemed to be affected by the way August and Kate saw one another. Even when the way that they saw one another wasn’t even clear to themselves at first.

There’s more good in it than bad, though. Much more. Victoria Schwab should be proud. Even though I didn’t absolutely love it, even if it didn’t change my life… well, that really doesn’t matter. The ride her characters took her on is finished, and she saw them to completion. She should be very proud. And likely is. I wish her the best. And hope that she keeps writing.

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