This Savage Song - Victoria Schwab

THIS SAVAGE SONG (MONSTERS OF VERITY #1)

Victoria Schwab

"Monsters, Monsters, big and small, they're going to come and eat you all.

Corsai, Corsai, tooth and claw, shadow and bone will eat you raw.

Malchai, Malchai, sharp and sly, smile and bite and drink you dry.

Sunai, Sunai, eyes like coal, sing you a song and steal your soul."

 - This Savage Song

Pages: 468

Format: First Paperback Edition

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Publication Date: May 16 2017 

ISBN: 9780062380869

Price: $12.50 CAN

RATING: 4.5/5 STARS

 SUMMARY:

August Flynn and Kate Harker live on opposite sides of the divided city of Verity, a city at war and plagued with monsters born from violence. Each side has found their own way of living with and dealing with the violence and monster population.  However, there is an undercurrent of unrest from both sides. Kate and August must find a way to put their differences aside and work together, not only for their own safety, but for the well being of Verity as a whole.

WHAT I LIKED:

• The Writing. It was fantastic! It was fast paced, intriguing, and insightful! I enjoyed the dual POV's and thought they were executed perfectly. Even though the POV's were not labelled after the Prelude I never once had to question whose perspective I was viewing the story from. 
• The Monsters!! I really enjoyed learning about how and why they came into creation, the different powers/abilities of the three distinct types, and how each type fed and lived. They were terrifying!! There was a well painted picture of each class of monster, and that picture stayed in my head throughout the book. I shivered every time a Malchai smiled! 
• August. He had a genuine personality that was easy to love and connect with. Even though he was considered to be one of the most dangerous monsters in Verity he had a kind soul (yes, soul lol) and heart. I loved his gentle spirit and his innocent and beautiful perspective on life.  
• August and Kate's Relationship.  I loved the friendship that developed between August and Kate. I liked that as the relationship progressed they stayed true to their personalities; and, I thought that the progression of their relationship was well written, well paced, and realistic. 
• Ilsa (and the cat)!! I hope there is a story in the works revolving around Ilsa! She may have been my favorite character! I do wish we had seen more of her, however, I think that the mystery surrounding her may have actually added to my fascination with her. I thought that the introduction of Allegro (the cat) was adorable! And loved the underlying meaning of the cats interactions with the monsters - tugged on my heart strings, just a little. I do wonder though how Allegro would  have acted around Kate had they met ;)

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:

• Kate. And I really wanted to like Kate, she was strong, fierce, determined, and self-sufficient - think #girlboss - powerful!!  However, she lacked compassion and often acted quite arrogant, selfish, and entitled, she was kind of a brat. That being said, I do think that it was intentional (her having a monstrous personality) and that it added to the story and created intrigue.  
•  Kate's Guidance Counselor.  The following could possibly be considered a *spoiler* - It really has no bearing on the book itself and did not impact my judgement of the story. However, it was something that made me think "wth" when I read it, so I thought I'd share. What on earth is a guidance counselor (who may or may not be a doctor) doing giving anxiety medication to a student. Even if it was acceptable for a guidance counselor to give prescription medication to students, he diagnosed her as having anxiety after reading her school transcripts and noticing that she's tense and lives a difficult life.  I thought this scene was unnecessary and added nothing to the story. I kept waiting for the relevance of the scene to present itself further along in the story, and unless I missed it.. it never did. Possibly its relevance will come to light in the sequel? We shall see.

WRAP-UP: 

Would I recommend this book? Yes. %100. I think it was a unique, enjoyable, and interesting read. 

To whom? Everyone! 

Will I continue the series? Most definitely! This is a Duo-logy, and the second book, Our Dark Duet was released in June 2017. 

Will I read other Victoria Schwab works? I will. I am looking forward to reading her Darker Shade of Magic trilogy.

Have you read This Savage Song?

I'd love to know your thoughts!