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A review by faeriesparks
This Savage Song by V.E. Schwab
5.0
This Savage Song by V. E. Schwab is the first installment in her new paranormal duology Monsters of Verity.
In the city of Verity violence breeds monsters. So whenever a crime takes place the violence becomes an actual, physical monster. There are three different kinds of monsters (Corsai, Malchai, Sunai) depending on what kind of violence is performed.
August Flynn, the male main character, is a Sunai and lives in South City of Verity which is ruled by Henry Flynn. As a Sunai August can take the souls of sinners with the help of music. Kate Harker, the female main character, returns to her home in North City after being expelled from her sixth boarding school. Her father, Callum Harker, is the ruthless ruler of North City and she wants to step into his footsteps.
There's a truce between the Harker and Flynn families but after an assassination attempt towards Kate, the truce begins to crumble.
World-building
V. E. Schwab did such a fantastic job at creating this world. Even though the story takes place in a futuristic United States, it feels like a totally different world - and I loved it. The city Verity is split into different parts and we even find out a little bit about surrounding cities and the history of how certain things came to be. I actually wish there had been a map included in the book but even without it I was still able to understand where things were happening.
Characters
I loved Kate and August as main characters. I found August's struggles quite interesting - him being a Sunai and questioning his purpose and just wanting to be human. Kate on the other hand was that kind of morally ambiguous character I adore with all my heart (and that V. E. Schwab can just write so brilliantly). Kate was clever, cunning, knew exactly what she wanted, and didn't care what others thought of her.
Pacing
It takes about half of the book for the assassination plot to actually start. Since it was in the blurb on the back of the book I was expecting it a lot sooner. But in my opinion the slower pace in the first half of the book was necessary for the world-building and getting to know the characters and relationships and so on. I wasn't bored at all so I really didn't mind the slow pace.
Overall I just really, really enjoyed reading this book. I think the concept of violence breeding monsters is SO interesting and in my opinion V. E. Schwab did an amazing job at creating this story.
Thank you to Lydia Gittins from Titan Books for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
In the city of Verity violence breeds monsters. So whenever a crime takes place the violence becomes an actual, physical monster. There are three different kinds of monsters (Corsai, Malchai, Sunai) depending on what kind of violence is performed.
August Flynn, the male main character, is a Sunai and lives in South City of Verity which is ruled by Henry Flynn. As a Sunai August can take the souls of sinners with the help of music. Kate Harker, the female main character, returns to her home in North City after being expelled from her sixth boarding school. Her father, Callum Harker, is the ruthless ruler of North City and she wants to step into his footsteps.
There's a truce between the Harker and Flynn families but after an assassination attempt towards Kate, the truce begins to crumble.
World-building
V. E. Schwab did such a fantastic job at creating this world. Even though the story takes place in a futuristic United States, it feels like a totally different world - and I loved it. The city Verity is split into different parts and we even find out a little bit about surrounding cities and the history of how certain things came to be. I actually wish there had been a map included in the book but even without it I was still able to understand where things were happening.
Characters
I loved Kate and August as main characters. I found August's struggles quite interesting - him being a Sunai and questioning his purpose and just wanting to be human. Kate on the other hand was that kind of morally ambiguous character I adore with all my heart (and that V. E. Schwab can just write so brilliantly). Kate was clever, cunning, knew exactly what she wanted, and didn't care what others thought of her.
Pacing
It takes about half of the book for the assassination plot to actually start. Since it was in the blurb on the back of the book I was expecting it a lot sooner. But in my opinion the slower pace in the first half of the book was necessary for the world-building and getting to know the characters and relationships and so on. I wasn't bored at all so I really didn't mind the slow pace.
Overall I just really, really enjoyed reading this book. I think the concept of violence breeding monsters is SO interesting and in my opinion V. E. Schwab did an amazing job at creating this story.
Thank you to Lydia Gittins from Titan Books for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.