Take a photo of a barcode or cover
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Car accident, Abandonment
Moderate: Physical abuse, Torture, Kidnapping, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death of parent, War
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
It took me ages to get through the first couple of chapters of this book, but once the story proper got going (when they went to school) then I absolutely devoured it. V.E. Schwab has such a talent for writing books that I really love, and this was no different! Off to read book 2 asap
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder, War
Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Confinement, Suicide, Torture, Grief, Car accident
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Vomit, Car accident, Death of parent
Minor: Child death, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Mass/school shootings
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder
Moderate: Death of parent
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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
This book had me HOOKED. Highly recommend the audiobook. It had me wanting to savor every chapter while also wanting to race ahead to see where the plot went. The twist at the end totally surprised me - and then there was another twist which was so obvious and yet completely caught me off guard (in a good way). p.s. this is why we double tap, folks!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Mental illness
Minor: Mass/school shootings
adventurous
dark
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings
Minor: Child death, Drug use
adventurous
dark
sad
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:
No
4 ⭐ CW: Violence, death, death of a parent, blood
This Savage Song by V.E. Schwab is book one in the Monsters of Verity duology. Although I did enjoy this dark urban YA fantasy, I don't think it is my favorite of Schwab's work. Maybe because it's YA it lacked a certain resonance that her other stories have had, but it didn't make it a bad story.
We follow August Flynn, a monster that wishes he were human. He's a Sunai, a monster born from a massacre that eats the souls of humans who have killed. But he hates that to keep control over who he is, he must kill. We also follow Kate Harker, the daughter of Callum Harker who rules over North City in Verity. She's full of anger, and wants to be ruthless to prove herself to her cruel father.
When the Flynns send August to a school in North City to keep tabs on Kate to use her as leverage against Harker, they both become embroiled in a conspiracy to end the truce between North and South Cities, putting them in danger from the Malchai and Corsai monsters. Along the way, they forge a friendship, helping to keep each other alive.
I really liked the way the world-building of the monsters was set up in this. Each type of monster has its own origin and abilities, and the way they are created tends to reflect their personalities as well. I also really liked how music was used in the story. Usually, music is peaceful or healing, but in this it's used to kill. To me it seemed the theme is that life is pain, the best you can do is live it one day at a time. I appreciated that this wasn't a love story between August and Kate. It was a platonic story about survival and what you can live with.
Looking forward to book two!
This Savage Song by V.E. Schwab is book one in the Monsters of Verity duology. Although I did enjoy this dark urban YA fantasy, I don't think it is my favorite of Schwab's work. Maybe because it's YA it lacked a certain resonance that her other stories have had, but it didn't make it a bad story.
We follow August Flynn, a monster that wishes he were human. He's a Sunai, a monster born from a massacre that eats the souls of humans who have killed. But he hates that to keep control over who he is, he must kill. We also follow Kate Harker, the daughter of Callum Harker who rules over North City in Verity. She's full of anger, and wants to be ruthless to prove herself to her cruel father.
When the Flynns send August to a school in North City to keep tabs on Kate to use her as leverage against Harker, they both become embroiled in a conspiracy to end the truce between North and South Cities, putting them in danger from the Malchai and Corsai monsters. Along the way, they forge a friendship, helping to keep each other alive.
I really liked the way the world-building of the monsters was set up in this. Each type of monster has its own origin and abilities, and the way they are created tends to reflect their personalities as well. I also really liked how music was used in the story. Usually, music is peaceful or healing, but in this it's used to kill. To me it seemed the theme is that life is pain, the best you can do is live it one day at a time. I appreciated that this wasn't a love story between August and Kate. It was a platonic story about survival and what you can live with.
Looking forward to book two!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood
Moderate: Death of parent
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
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: Torture, Blood, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Car accident, Death of parent
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
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: Death, Torture, Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gun violence, Mental illness, Vomit, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Car accident, Death of parent, War
Minor: Domestic abuse
adventurous
challenging
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
“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).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder
Moderate: Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Mass/school shootings