Read Online This Savage Song Monsters of Verity Victoria Schwab Books

Product details Series Monsters of Verity (Book 1) Paperback 480 pages Publisher Greenwillow Books; Reprint edition (May 16, 2017) Language English ISBN-10 9780062380869

This Savage Song Monsters of Verity Victoria Schwab Books Reviews

• So Victoria Schwab's THIS SAVAGE SONG has a pretty unique premise, if you haven't already heard it basically, the book takes place in a world where acts of violence create actual monsters. How cool is that?
  
  That was basically all I knew when I bought the book, and the premise definitely didn't disappoint.
  
  The first hundred pages or so, I kind of had trouble getting into it. It was a weird situation because I loved the prose, I found the world building fascinating, and while I was reading I definitely enjoyed it. But for whatever reason once I put the book down, I had less motivation than usual to pick it up again.
  
  Once I got past the first 100 or so pages, however, that quickly changed and I devoured the rest of the book in a few days.
  
  THIS SAVAGE SONG is more than just a fascinating premise—it involves some of my favorite plot elements, like betrayal, dealing with your own darkness, unlikely alliances, and trying to find hope in a hopeless situation. I loved the whole set up with the different tiers of monsters, and Kate's daring, guarded perspective was really fun to read, especially alongside August's more vulnerable chapters.
  
  All in all, I found this book fascinating, and now I'm very much looking forward to the sequel, OUR DARK DUET.
• I purchased This Savage Song the day it came out but then it sat unread on my shelf. Ironic, since I’m a big fan of Schwab and with a story about monsters, I normally would have been all over it. I finally read it, two-years later and I must say I’m unimpressed. I remembered This Savage Song getting incredible hype and glowing reviews but in my opinion this wasn’t Schwab’s best work. The concept of the novel is without-a-doubt unique but it lacked world building and developed characters.
  
  I didn’t find the world building, or lack thereof, interesting. The quick lowdown on This Savage Song There’s two dominant groups rivaling one another, Flynn (monster leader) and Harker (human leader). You had the usual oppressed versus the oppressor. And two teens caught in the middle, torn between fighting for what they thought was right versus what their families wanted and believed. Readers were told about this long endless war between the two factions but I never understood the why. It all seemed pointless. Or at least nothing I cared about. I honestly didn’t remember much about anything, the plot…and that in itself says it all.
  
  Then there were the two main leads, who unfortunately were also lacking and unremarkable. When readers first met Kate she was in the process of burning down a church. Right off the bat, we’re shown this devil-may-care chick. I for one, am all about kick-ass lady characters…but Kate was just trying way, way too hard to get her dad’s attention. Exhibit A Burning church. It was also tiresome to read about how much she wanted her dad’s approval and to be just like him. It became annoying and redundant. Kate would go around threatening people and making sure everyone knew who her dad is, that she was a Harker. It all got old fast. August, who happens to be one of the monsters in V-city is not really a monster at all. He takes no pleasure in feeding off people’s soul/emotions but it’s necessity. August also happened to be the complete opposite of Kate. He was quiet, observant, and non-confrontational. I don’t have much opinion on August. He was just a character pushing the story along. I neither liked or disliked him and in my opinion a pretty bland character.
  
  If I can describe This Savage Song in one word, it would be underwhelming. I adore this author and I usually would auto-buy books from my favorite authors thinking I will love everything they write, but boy am I glad I didn’t buy the sequel. With that said, I won’t be finishing the duology. A lot of folks loved this book, and though it wasn’t for me, it may be for you. As always, check out a sample excerpt before purchase!
• Minor spoilers ahead.
  
  I was pretty excited to get into This Savage Song when I got through A Darker Shade of Magic and A Gathering of Shadows. I waited too long to read those books (therefore missing out on ears of awareness that such a great series existed). So I wasn’t going to wait to read This Savage Song when I got my hands on it. This story is definitely a different beast than what I am used to with Schwab. I didn’t really know what to expect after reading the synopsis, only that I was in for a great read. If there is a consensus out there for her books, it’s that she has an amazing ability to make, as Ariadne from Inception would say it, pure creation.
  
  Let me start out by saying that I absolutely love the character of August. If you see my ratting report above, then you are certainly aware. I love him to bits. Maybe not as much as I love Kell from Shades of Magic, but maybe more than I love Alucard or Rhy (which is saying A LOT). He hits me as this sort of anti-hero character and gets himself into a bigger fight than he was expecting. He has so much riding on his shoulders and in a world full of monsters where you too are a monster, all you want is to be human.
  
  I’d like to point out that Schwab is the only person out there that can make monsters sound as equally terrifying as they are huggable and lovable. August is a Sunai, the rarest monster there is that seeks out those with malicious intentions who commit malicious acts. To keep himself out of the dark, he uses his violin and let me just say that I think this was one of the greatest moves on Schwab’s part. For some reason, I thought the instrument on the cover was a guitar (which I have no problem with), but when I had the realization it was a violin, I was ten times happier. There is this moment at the end of This Savage Song that August receives a new metal violin to replace his old wooden one. If there was ever a symbol of character growth and development, it was this. When I read that line about the metal violin, I had to stop and think about what this meant for August. He grows so much and that’s what I love about him. He wants to be part of the peace and be part of the solution, but there are so many things standing in his way that he has to face. I usually identify with the female characters, but in this case, I did with August. He loses so much in the process, but remains more human than most of the human characters. I really can’t wait to see what Schwab has in store for him in the next few books because he has A LOT that I want explored. He has some great potential.
  
  It took me a while to warm up to Kate Harker. Though I will say that her metal tip nails did edge me to warm up a little faster. How badass are those? Nonetheless, she rubbed me the wrong way in the beginning, but I knew that I was conflicted about her. She’s one of those characters that has a skewed moral compass because she wants to prove she’s her father’s daughter. What’s problematic about that is Callum Harker’s got more on his agenda than good intentions. And wanting to live up to a man able to tame monsters and oppress people into obeying him is pretty bad, NGL. The more I got to to know and read about why she thinks/feels/acts the way that she does makes me like her more. The deeper I got into the story, the more she reminded me of Rachel Duncan from Orphan Black. And anyone who reminds me of Rachel Duncan is good in my book. They have so many similarities and even down to the sharp-cut blond hair, it all makes me wild. What makes her so complicated is whether or not I can ever trust her. Is she going to be a vigilante? Pursue the greater good? Or is she going to be ruled by a darker monster? I MUST KNOW.
  
  I was told by my co-blogger, Kristen, that she wasn’t sure that I would like This Savage Song because she read somewhere that there wasn’t much romance (and I am a huge YA romance buff). But take heed if you are like me (but worse) this is no Romeo and Juliet story. This isn’t a love story. This is a story about two very different characters trying to fight their inner monsters and keeping the monsters outside from killing them and destroying everything else in their wake. If you want romance, you’re not going to get it here, but do not let that deter you from reading This Savage Song. In the absence of romance, there is so much more to take away. This book is so unique and will leave you thirst for more (which is a tortuous wait). Plus, it’ll have you singing a new tune, no matter how morbid. ;)