ARC Review: This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab

This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab

Series: Monsters of Verity #1

Genre: YA Urban Fantasy, Paranormal

Publication: July 5th 2016 by Greenwillow Books

Length: 464 pages

Format: eARC

Goodreads

There’s no such thing as safe in a city at war, a city overrun with monsters. In this dark urban fantasy from author Victoria Schwab, a young woman and a young man must choose whether to become heroes or villains—and friends or enemies—with the future of their home at stake. The first of two books.

Kate Harker and August Flynn are the heirs to a divided city—a city where the violence has begun to breed actual monsters. All Kate wants is to be as ruthless as her father, who lets the monsters roam free and makes the humans pay for his protection. All August wants is to be human, as good-hearted as his own father, to play a bigger role in protecting the innocent—but he’s one of the monsters. One who can steal a soul with a simple strain of music. When the chance arises to keep an eye on Kate, who’s just been kicked out of her sixth boarding school and returned home, August jumps at it. But Kate discovers August’s secret, and after a failed assassination attempt the pair must flee for their lives.

I have heard so much about Victoria’s Schwab’s work, especially her SHADES OF MAGIC series, so I was immediately interested in THIS SAVAGE SONG, her upcoming release. I was expecting complex characters and a thrilling plot, and although I was correct, I felt like this novel just lacked something that prevented me from really loving this book.

THIS SAVAGE SONG follows Kate and August, two characters from two completely different backgrounds, in a city divided between monsters and humans. Although this concept was incredibly interesting, I found that it lagged in several spots, which made it difficult to get through at times. 

The characters were my favorite part of this novel. Both Kate and August had to make difficult decisions and it was so interesting to see how they developed throughout the novel from their individual lives to when they meet each other, which shaped them into complex and intriguing characters. However, when Kate and August first meet, I felt like Kate’s incredibly advanced detective work seemed to be far-fetched—the time she took to figure out that August was a monster would literally put Sherlock (or Charlotte!) Holmes to shame.

I don’t know, man, I’m the black sheep when it comes to this book. Don’t get me wrong, this book is clearly a novel that lots of readers will love and enjoy, but the pacing and dual POVs in this book weren’t for me. Overall, this novel is definitely one to check out because of its creative concept and complex characters (check out that alliteration!), but not one to expect something exceptionally fantastic.

Thank you to the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated for this review.

Have you read this book yet? Are you planning to? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!