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sabrielsbell's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
If you want great characters, monsters, and magic you've found the right book. I loved the lore built by this story and the build in characters and their friendship was spot on. There is also a great little twist at the end. If you like Schwabs other works then this will be another hit.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Torture, Grief, Mass/school shootings, and Car accident
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!
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
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
anyway, two thumbs up
ooohhh also very intrigued by the fact that
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Violence, Death, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Vomit, Gun violence, Death of parent, Mental illness, Mass/school shootings, Grief, Car accident, and War
Minor: Domestic abuse
skillyillian's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Schwab is one of my favorite authors but I think this wasn't quite it for me. The book is not bad, just not necessarily my exact flavor, like, I enjoyed it but I prefer other things more? Part of this is probably because I read this via audiobook? I think I went into this expecting more like the other Schwab stuff I've read like ADSOM and Vicious (which I'm obsessed with) and this was vastly different imho. Again, not a bad thing, I'm open to new things! But I do have some issues with the book outside of it not being my usual genre of choice.
I really liked that she came up with her own monsters and gave them their own types, hierarchy, origin, foils amongst themselves, etc. and that one type of monster even had the potential to be "good" in a way. It was very easy to tell that Schwab put a ton of thought into the monsters of this world, and the little song for them was awesome. Love me a good Schwab Song (looking at you, Sarows).
August was a precious, broody boy who just wanted to be anything other than what he was, what everyone told him he had to be. Kate was a tough, angsty girl who wanted to prove herself to be exactly that. She got shit done and wouldn't put up with anyone's nonsense, not even August's. They're quite the formidable pair, and their friendship (bc there's no romance here) is incredibly fulfilling. They complement each other perfectly, and watching them help each other fight the battles in their respective lives, and escaping dangerous situations trying to claim them, was the best part of the whole story.
The characters are pretty well fleshed out, the worldbuilding was intriguing, and I liked both. I don't mind dystopian type novels, and I think this fits that bill pretty well. My issues fall with the plot, for the most part. It just felt like things didn't really happen until the last third of the book, almost. We learned a lot about the characters, enough to guess rather easily (for the most part) who was behind what and how the book would end, but they didn't really do anything until they were forced to because the bad guys were getting out of control. I guessed one of the two major plot points, although the second one did actually get a gasp of genuine surprise. I just ... Idk, I felt kinda bored for most of this. I'm someone who reads like 60-40 for plot-character ratio and this didn't keep me captive enough. I could've finished it way sooner, I'm a housewife with an audiobook ffs, but I just wasn't eager enough. I wasn't dying to know what happened next. I'll be reading the second one, I love Schwab so much and I already own it anyway, but yeah. It's good but not for me and the plot is kinda,,,, just okay.
The weakest out of the strongest is still strong, ykwim? This is the weakest one from her for me so far. I have faith in the second one but I'm not expecting it to change my mind about this one.
I really liked that she came up with her own monsters and gave them their own types, hierarchy, origin, foils amongst themselves, etc. and that one type of monster even had the potential to be "good" in a way. It was very easy to tell that Schwab put a ton of thought into the monsters of this world, and the little song for them was awesome. Love me a good Schwab Song (looking at you, Sarows).
August was a precious, broody boy who just wanted to be anything other than what he was, what everyone told him he had to be. Kate was a tough, angsty girl who wanted to prove herself to be exactly that. She got shit done and wouldn't put up with anyone's nonsense, not even August's. They're quite the formidable pair, and their friendship (bc there's no romance here) is incredibly fulfilling. They complement each other perfectly, and watching them help each other fight the battles in their respective lives, and escaping dangerous situations trying to claim them, was the best part of the whole story.
The characters are pretty well fleshed out, the worldbuilding was intriguing, and I liked both. I don't mind dystopian type novels, and I think this fits that bill pretty well. My issues fall with the plot, for the most part. It just felt like things didn't really happen until the last third of the book, almost. We learned a lot about the characters, enough to guess rather easily (for the most part) who was behind what and how the book would end, but they didn't really do anything until they were forced to because the bad guys were getting out of control. I guessed one of the two major plot points, although the second one did actually get a gasp of genuine surprise. I just ... Idk, I felt kinda bored for most of this. I'm someone who reads like 60-40 for plot-character ratio and this didn't keep me captive enough. I could've finished it way sooner, I'm a housewife with an audiobook ffs, but I just wasn't eager enough. I wasn't dying to know what happened next. I'll be reading the second one, I love Schwab so much and I already own it anyway, but yeah. It's good but not for me and the plot is kinda,,,, just okay.
The weakest out of the strongest is still strong, ykwim? This is the weakest one from her for me so far. I have faith in the second one but I'm not expecting it to change my mind about this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Torture, Death of parent, Murder, Blood, Lesbophobia, Body horror, and Death
Moderate: Grief, Domestic abuse, Cursing, and Car accident
Minor: Child death, Medical content, and Mass/school shootings
ctara2123's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Violence, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Blood, Gun violence, and Torture
Moderate: Death of parent and Car accident
Minor: Mass/school shootings
amelianotthepilot'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
4.0
This story was a really interesting concept, plot, and characters but extremely difficult to follow. It lacked set up and as a kids/young adult book that’s pretty key. It doesn’t explain the three types of monsters until 100 pages into the story and even then the reader is left with an incomplete picture. The plot is relatively simple to follow but the world building is confusing. This dystopian setting would benefit from a map as well as a more fleshed out explanation of the monsters and what they do and how they live.
The plot follows two high schoolers on different sides of ‘the seam’. They live in a dystopian mega city called Verity that is plagued with monsters. The south is governed by a militaristic ruling family that utilizes monsters to defend while the north is ruled by a business man who utilizes the monsters and has people pay him to keep them ‘safe’. The monsters are Malachai: evil vampire-like creatures that like to kill, have really tough skin, and a bone breast plate, Corosai: evil hive mind creatures that are mostly shadow and can be destroyed with light to the face, and Sunai: a siren-like creature that reap evil human souls only but without them starves and goes off like a bomb before continuing. Our main characters August, a Sunai from the South side who is adopted into the military ruling family, and Kate, the daughter of the businessman ruler of the North side, meet in a precarious arranged situation and end up on an adventure together.
My main confusion was over August, the Sunai, who isn’t really explained. The reader slowly pieces his situation together which is meant to be mysterious but just ends up confusing. He has tally mark tattoos that mark how many days since he’s last gone off like bomb, and these magically appear and disappear. He needs to ‘eat’ evil human souls in an unspecified ‘often’ and if not he grows physically and mentally ill. He has this adoptive family situation that isn’t fully explained but his two ‘siblings’ are also adoptive Sunai, and no other known ones exist.
I really enjoyed the story but it is clearly one of VE Scwab’s earlier stories and has a lot of loose threads. It’s cool to see how she’s grown as an author. I recommend the book but I’d read a world building explanation first.
The plot follows two high schoolers on different sides of ‘the seam’. They live in a dystopian mega city called Verity that is plagued with monsters. The south is governed by a militaristic ruling family that utilizes monsters to defend while the north is ruled by a business man who utilizes the monsters and has people pay him to keep them ‘safe’. The monsters are Malachai: evil vampire-like creatures that like to kill, have really tough skin, and a bone breast plate, Corosai: evil hive mind creatures that are mostly shadow and can be destroyed with light to the face, and Sunai: a siren-like creature that reap evil human souls only but without them starves and goes off like a bomb before continuing. Our main characters August, a Sunai from the South side who is adopted into the military ruling family, and Kate, the daughter of the businessman ruler of the North side, meet in a precarious arranged situation and end up on an adventure together.
My main confusion was over August, the Sunai, who isn’t really explained. The reader slowly pieces his situation together which is meant to be mysterious but just ends up confusing. He has tally mark tattoos that mark how many days since he’s last gone off like bomb, and these magically appear and disappear. He needs to ‘eat’ evil human souls in an unspecified ‘often’ and if not he grows physically and mentally ill. He has this adoptive family situation that isn’t fully explained but his two ‘siblings’ are also adoptive Sunai, and no other known ones exist.
I really enjoyed the story but it is clearly one of VE Scwab’s earlier stories and has a lot of loose threads. It’s cool to see how she’s grown as an author. I recommend the book but I’d read a world building explanation first.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Dysphoria, Islamophobia, Murder, Death, Emotional abuse, Torture, Violence, Car accident, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Gore, Kidnapping, Confinement, Grief, and Gun violence
imds's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Abandonment, Torture, Car accident, Confinement, Gun violence, Blood, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Murder, Kidnapping, and Violence
natashaleighton_'s review against another edition
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent, Car accident, Grief, Gore, and Torture
Minor: Mass/school shootings
marine2907's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Car accident, Death, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Blood, Body horror, Grief, Cursing, Hate crime, Murder, Violence, and Gun violence
ten_telegrams's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Blood, Gore, Violence, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Torture, Toxic relationship, and Mass/school shootings
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