Scan barcode
A review by willrefuge
Our Dark Duet by V.E. Schwab
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.
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.