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laurajeangrace's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gore, Gun violence, Confinement, and Violence
Moderate: Suicide, War, Medical content, and Death of parent
howlinglibraries's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Violence
Minor: Bullying, Death of parent, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury
viji's review
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Death of parent
ttumbletree's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Car accident, Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Violence
tragedies's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
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
4.25
This Savage Song is one of those books that you simply cannot put down, one of those action-packed novels that starts out slow but then hits you with a gripping momentum that sweeps you off your feet, refusing to stop for even a moment and forcing you to read everything in one sitting. I would have had I not read this at the beginning of a new semester, but when I did find the time to pick it back up, I couldn't find it in myself to stop. I devoured those 400 pages in between my classes, which I'm beginning to realize is a common trend whenever I read V.E. Schwab's work (like finishing the 600 page monstrosity that is A Conjuring of Light during exam week).
While it is nothing like A Darker Shade of Magic, the story is fascinating in its own right. It follows Kate as she attempts to prove herself worthy of following in the footsteps of her father, Callum Harker. As the city’s most notorious crime lord, Harker took over the Northern half of monster-infested Verity after the war and provided citizens with a false sense of protection in exchange for money. Kate is determined to be his perfect heir, one just as vicious as him and his monsters, so she buries her past along with her humanity, purging any hint of weakness from her bones. But then, she meets August, a powerful monster who wants nothing more than to be human like his adoptive father, Henry Flynn. Losing his previous family to the war, Flynn leads Southern Verity with justice and empathy, guided by a vision for peace. August shares these values, but his own nature always threatens his pursuit of them.
It poses a lot of questions. What does it mean to be human? Is it something we can easily shed, as Kate hopes it to be? Is it something we can grow into, as August wishes it to be? Is it something we are born with or something we earn? Does our nature determine our choices? Or do our choices eventually make up our nature? As Kate and August grapple for answers, we are also faced with the constant struggle of which side we should ultimately root for. Is it Harker who operates on cruelty and violence but brings quick and efficient results, whose vision of a safe and modern Capitol-esque Verity is secretly built on the backs of monsters? Is it Flynn, who is driven by his ideals, who treats monsters with the same compassion as he does humans but lacks the resources to truly enact progress? Or is it the monsters, who are merely fighting for their own survival just as much as humans are?
Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. V.E. Schwab takes this common truth and incorporates it into the magic system, making the consequences feel more real but also fantastical at the same time. In the story, violent acts breed monsters. The more violent an action is, a more powerful monster is born in its wake. Our actions, however personal they may be, have a collective impact in one way or another. This was true for the monster-infested Verity city and perhaps even in the places beyond its borders.
This Savage Song is more than just a young adult fantasy with a star crossed romance. It’s a thought-provoking tale that touches on the good, the evil, and the gray area that lies in between. It’s incredibly powerful and profound, and I can’t wait to see where the story goes from here.
While it is nothing like A Darker Shade of Magic, the story is fascinating in its own right. It follows Kate as she attempts to prove herself worthy of following in the footsteps of her father, Callum Harker. As the city’s most notorious crime lord, Harker took over the Northern half of monster-infested Verity after the war and provided citizens with a false sense of protection in exchange for money. Kate is determined to be his perfect heir, one just as vicious as him and his monsters, so she buries her past along with her humanity, purging any hint of weakness from her bones. But then, she meets August, a powerful monster who wants nothing more than to be human like his adoptive father, Henry Flynn. Losing his previous family to the war, Flynn leads Southern Verity with justice and empathy, guided by a vision for peace. August shares these values, but his own nature always threatens his pursuit of them.
It poses a lot of questions. What does it mean to be human? Is it something we can easily shed, as Kate hopes it to be? Is it something we can grow into, as August wishes it to be? Is it something we are born with or something we earn? Does our nature determine our choices? Or do our choices eventually make up our nature? As Kate and August grapple for answers, we are also faced with the constant struggle of which side we should ultimately root for. Is it Harker who operates on cruelty and violence but brings quick and efficient results, whose vision of a safe and modern Capitol-esque Verity is secretly built on the backs of monsters? Is it Flynn, who is driven by his ideals, who treats monsters with the same compassion as he does humans but lacks the resources to truly enact progress? Or is it the monsters, who are merely fighting for their own survival just as much as humans are?
Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. V.E. Schwab takes this common truth and incorporates it into the magic system, making the consequences feel more real but also fantastical at the same time. In the story, violent acts breed monsters. The more violent an action is, a more powerful monster is born in its wake. Our actions, however personal they may be, have a collective impact in one way or another. This was true for the monster-infested Verity city and perhaps even in the places beyond its borders.
This Savage Song is more than just a young adult fantasy with a star crossed romance. It’s a thought-provoking tale that touches on the good, the evil, and the gray area that lies in between. It’s incredibly powerful and profound, and I can’t wait to see where the story goes from here.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Murder, and Violence
bookcaptivated's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Gun violence, Body horror, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Blood, Violence, Car accident, and Murder
Moderate: Grief, Kidnapping, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Slavery, Vomit, War, and Stalking
cleina241's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Gore
Minor: Death of parent and Blood
briely's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Torture, Gun violence, Death of parent, and Car accident
alexiab's review against another edition
dark
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
5.0
VE SCHWAB DOES NOT MISS !!!
this was such an intense, dark, and yet hopeful story. I absolutely love the juxtaposition of a human who wants to be a monster and a monster who wants to be human, and the natural progression of both of them learning to somehow meet in the middle was *chefs kiss*.
Schwab is an excellent example of an author who can write YA stories that actually fit the age group they're targeting their book towards. The incredible world building and feel of the characters that is so stand out in her adult writing is still very much present, but on a smaller, more bite size scale in her YA books.
This book was very much Vicious-But-For-Teenagers, with a bit more morally upstanding characters and feel good vibes, and I really loved it. August and Kate have my whole ass heart.
this was such an intense, dark, and yet hopeful story. I absolutely love the juxtaposition of a human who wants to be a monster and a monster who wants to be human, and the natural progression of both of them learning to somehow meet in the middle was *chefs kiss*.
Schwab is an excellent example of an author who can write YA stories that actually fit the age group they're targeting their book towards. The incredible world building and feel of the characters that is so stand out in her adult writing is still very much present, but on a smaller, more bite size scale in her YA books.
This book was very much Vicious-But-For-Teenagers, with a bit more morally upstanding characters and feel good vibes, and I really loved it. August and Kate have my whole ass heart.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gore, Car accident, Death of parent, Gun violence, and Murder
Minor: Torture
ajboyd_'s review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-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
4.0
The author had no right to make August Flynn this adorable. It should be a crime.
The book in itself gets more interesting after the ‘Colton’ incident. I always did love a good family betrayal.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, Violence, Car accident, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Torture