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majavink's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
anatrnd's review against another edition
4.0
нарешті. НАРЕШТІ мені сподобалась книжка Вікторії Шваб, бо до цього я читала Адді Лярю і Галант, під час прочитання яких мені було просто жахливо нудно.
тут у нас є місто І-Сіті, яке поділене на дві частини, в кожній з яких править інша родина: на півночі - Гаркери (багатий чоловік, донькою якого є Кейт), на півдні - Флінни (сунаї, це такі "люди" з надздібностями, одним з них є Огаст). безжальна Кейт повертається в місто, навчається в школі і хоче стати наступницею свого батька. Огаст навпаки дуже людяний, але при цьому він все одно чудовисько, сунай, який може вбивати людей (пожинати їхні душі, якими він харчується) своєю грою на скрипці.
перемир'я, яке існує між цими сім'ями дуже хитке: Гаркер хоче заволодіти південною частиною, а Флінни - зробити все для утримання перемир'я. саме тому вони відправляють Огаста (під прикриттям, звичайно) навчатись в школі разом з Кейт, щоб вони змогли "подружитись", і таким чином Флінни мали якийсь важіль / перевагу, якщо Гаркери все-таки нападуть.
це красиво написана та дуже динамічна антиутопія (так, тут є саме фентезі елементи, які інколи теж бувають в антиутопіях, але атмосфера оцього закритого, небезпечного міста нагадує мені більше саме антиутопію, а не якесь навіть міське фентезі). персонажам інколи співчуваєш, а інколи - навпаки хочеться вдарити їх, бо ну які ж вони неприємні.
любовної лінії тут, в разі чого, немає, лише якісь натяки, тому не очікуйте цього від історії. але якщо ви тут заради гостросюжетних подій, цікавої світобудови, неоднозначних персонажів та політичних інтриг, то вам б мало сподобатись. раптово захотілось прочитати цю книжку, я її відкрила - і на три з половиною години випала з реального світу. дуже затягує. тому раджу вам теж спробувати, а я тим часом йду читати продовження.
тут у нас є місто І-Сіті, яке поділене на дві частини, в кожній з яких править інша родина: на півночі - Гаркери (багатий чоловік, донькою якого є Кейт), на півдні - Флінни (сунаї, це такі "люди" з надздібностями, одним з них є Огаст). безжальна Кейт повертається в місто, навчається в школі і хоче стати наступницею свого батька. Огаст навпаки дуже людяний, але при цьому він все одно чудовисько, сунай, який може вбивати людей (пожинати їхні душі, якими він харчується) своєю грою на скрипці.
перемир'я, яке існує між цими сім'ями дуже хитке: Гаркер хоче заволодіти південною частиною, а Флінни - зробити все для утримання перемир'я. саме тому вони відправляють Огаста (під прикриттям, звичайно) навчатись в школі разом з Кейт, щоб вони змогли "подружитись", і таким чином Флінни мали якийсь важіль / перевагу, якщо Гаркери все-таки нападуть.
це красиво написана та дуже динамічна антиутопія (так, тут є саме фентезі елементи, які інколи теж бувають в антиутопіях, але атмосфера оцього закритого, небезпечного міста нагадує мені більше саме антиутопію, а не якесь навіть міське фентезі). персонажам інколи співчуваєш, а інколи - навпаки хочеться вдарити їх, бо ну які ж вони неприємні.
любовної лінії тут, в разі чого, немає, лише якісь натяки, тому не очікуйте цього від історії. але якщо ви тут заради гостросюжетних подій, цікавої світобудови, неоднозначних персонажів та політичних інтриг, то вам б мало сподобатись. раптово захотілось прочитати цю книжку, я її відкрила - і на три з половиною години випала з реального світу. дуже затягує. тому раджу вам теж спробувати, а я тим часом йду читати продовження.
eliover's review against another edition
4.0
3 1/2 to 4 stars
1st thing- I like the Title. So dark and soo wow.
This books IS fictional but not big on world building but very interesting and you'll just easily read the whole book. The characters are dark and edgy just like in all Schwab's books.
In a world where monsters(3types) are formed when violence takes place, this is a tale of two cities.
Kate is living in North city(Verity) where the rich live and she is the only daughter of the boss of the city.
August is a monster(a good one actually) lives in South city, as the son of the South city Boss.
Kate wants to be hard and ruthless like her dad. August wants to live just like humans.
Their paths cross in school and August tries his best to keep his identity a secret but something changes their life suddenly and they have to work together to keep each other alive....and sane.
I love the fact that Kate and August don't become love interests.
Like plain old you help me, I help you. Woww.
I Lovee how their characters are different yet soo similar like?? They both try soo hard to become a person they want to be. They both understand the truths of their world..... It's truly awesome.
The other characters are also good.
And the ending.....well... Didn't expect that definitely. But yeah, it does make sense.
And the fact that they go their own ways in the end..... Yeahhh. Woww.
1st thing- I like the Title. So dark and soo wow.
This books IS fictional but not big on world building but very interesting and you'll just easily read the whole book. The characters are dark and edgy just like in all Schwab's books.
In a world where monsters(3types) are formed when violence takes place, this is a tale of two cities.
Kate is living in North city(Verity) where the rich live and she is the only daughter of the boss of the city.
August is a monster(a good one actually) lives in South city, as the son of the South city Boss.
Kate wants to be hard and ruthless like her dad. August wants to live just like humans.
Their paths cross in school and August tries his best to keep his identity a secret but something changes their life suddenly and they have to work together to keep each other alive....and sane.
I love the fact that Kate and August don't become love interests.
Like plain old you help me, I help you. Woww.
I Lovee how their characters are different yet soo similar like?? They both try soo hard to become a person they want to be. They both understand the truths of their world..... It's truly awesome.
The other characters are also good.
And the ending.....well... Didn't expect that definitely. But yeah, it does make sense.
And the fact that they go their own ways in the end..... Yeahhh. Woww.
faeriesparks's review
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.
sonya92's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
queenoferebor's review against another edition
4.0
It took me about 100 to really get into the story. After that, I could not put it down.
geak96_'s review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
rhiaintheclouds's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
yep. that was a 6 stars.
absolutely one of my favourites. i don't know how miss Schwab does it time and time again, but I absolutely loved this one. I'm actually so confused as to why this wasn't blown up like her other series but this was incredibly written? the monsters were so unique!? and the two main characters (although Kate irritated me at times), I absolutely loved. & that plot twist? oh man. I need to read the second book like ASAP.
I always knew V.E. Schwab was an auto buy author but gosh darn. I really do have to get through all of her backlog.
absolutely one of my favourites. i don't know how miss Schwab does it time and time again, but I absolutely loved this one. I'm actually so confused as to why this wasn't blown up like her other series but this was incredibly written? the monsters were so unique!? and the two main characters (although Kate irritated me at times), I absolutely loved. & that plot twist? oh man. I need to read the second book like ASAP.
I always knew V.E. Schwab was an auto buy author but gosh darn. I really do have to get through all of her backlog.
markalkman's review against another edition
3.0
Actual rating: 3.5 stars
I really liked the concept of the book, but it took me a while before I got into it, actually. The first half was okay but kind of bland, the second half was action packed but August and Kate seemed to be going from battle to battle and from fight to fight. I liked the story and I'm definitely going to read 'Our Dark duet', but I wasn't that blown away by it to be honest. Maybe my expectations were a bit too high.
Full review coming later.
I really liked the concept of the book, but it took me a while before I got into it, actually. The first half was okay but kind of bland, the second half was action packed but August and Kate seemed to be going from battle to battle and from fight to fight. I liked the story and I'm definitely going to read 'Our Dark duet', but I wasn't that blown away by it to be honest. Maybe my expectations were a bit too high.
Full review coming later.