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zenduck's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
mercey's review against another edition
4.0
Seeing as this is primarily a character-driven narrative, it’s only right to draw focus to Schwab’s two protagonists: Kate Harker and August Flynn. At first I feared that Kate would be a Mary Sue—an idealistic and unrealistically fantastical femme fatale—but god I love being wrong. Kate’s so complex as a character, complete with flaws, skills, weaknesses, ambitions, and agency in the story. I was also fascinated by August’s character and the high stakes he puts on music, likening it to addiction and even life itself. This series will make you laugh, cry, gasp, and scream. It’s the total package and the perfect read for lovers of fantasy and morally grey societies breeding dubious heroes.
In Schwab’s author note, she says that this series “nearly killed her” to write and, to be perfectly honest, it nearly killed me to read. The ‘Monsters of Verity’ series is ultimately a hopeful one but it isn’t without tragedy. These characters tore my chest open and laid my entire soul bare and I feel hollow and sad and like I could cry for weeks, but I’m so thankful these books made their way to me.
Madi
king4's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
dannaolay's review
5.0
Desperately courageous. Achingly hopeful. Hungry for freedom.
" Why are there so many shadows in the world, Kate? Shouldn't there be just as much light? "
I am constantly in awe of how each book makes you feel after finishing them. Some books make me want to be braver, some make me want to fangirl my heart out, some make me simply want to have a good cry.
The Monsters of Verity series is incredibly philosophical, and I've been here asking all the questions days after.
Does it make us more human for wanting to feel alive?
Does it turn us into monsters for making mistakes?
Who's to judge us, when those we call judges cross the lines between human and monster themselves?
These books grapple with identity :
Who am I, when I feel human but everyone sees me as monster?
Who am I, when everyone sees me as human but I've done monstrous things?
These books call for us to bridge the divide amongst ourselves, so that we can move forward and actually affect change – or at least make a ripple that we could turn into a wave.
These books show us that humans and monsters have much in common :
There are innocent souls, there are stained souls, and most importantly, there are infinite degrees of gray souls in between.
Verity is such a dangerous place to live in :
Would you rethink every single step you have to make, just to be sure you don't create a monster in the process?
If you can't pay for safety, would you hide yourself in the dark trying to survive the monsters lurking?
What a precarious thing, the balance between living and surviving; freedom and fear.
" I just think that life is short, you know? You can't spend it afraid. "
I've said it a hundred times before : I have a soft spot for lost boys and girls.
August Flynn and Kate Harker are no exception.
Two lost souls find themselves in a world uncertain of its own identity; a monster who's afraid he will never be human, and a human who's afraid she will become a monster.
All the while the pull of the Waste and the nothingness – or something, anything else – beyond was so strong, and yet the monsters kept dragging them back to V-City, one way or another for they each had a part to play in the war to come.
Kate has longed for a place she could call home; to stop running away from everyone, from herself and the guilt over the sins she carries. But her demons are catching up to her, destroying the city of her childhood, and she's beginning to realize that the only way to escape them is to fight back.
August has longed to feel alive, to feel as real as humans do; to run away from his horrid nature and become something else, something good. But his demons have him in a vise grip, no matter that he strays to get away from them; eating up his soul and bringing him closer to darkness, to nothingness, and perhaps he could quiet the voices if he'd finally give in to his monster. . .
Both unreservedly brave and frightened all at once, for the things they long for and the things they fear come clashing together in the battle for Verity.
" I'm willing to walk in darkness if it keeps humans in the light. "
But the enemies without are winning for the allies within are contending amongst themselves, and Kate & August seem to be the only ones with enough sense left, despite keeping personal monsters at bay and crumbling apart on their own.
Are we so thoughtless as to only set aside our differences when there is no other choice left? When the stakes are highest, no matter how terrifying, our souls fight to be brave in the end. But should we truly wait for the end just to let our courage surface?
If we don't all come together, the world may very well end now; let's not wait for the monsters to destroy us – we're doing it to ourselves. What do we fight for if we cannot even see the goal anymore?
The world is breaking. Will we let the monsters have it so easily?
Time is running out. If they weren't literally at our doorstep, would we hide forever, or face the demons we deny ourselves even exist?
" You cannot win unless you're willing to fight. "
But the fight for Verity may well turn out to be the fight of their lives. The monsters outside and inside themselves are coalescing into a great final wave that could annihilate everything in their path and beyond.
There can be no more 'us and them'.
There can only be a today and tomorrow.
Will we let ourselves be fragile humans, cowardly and weak, to surrender the city, becoming monsters for failing the future?
Or will we be monster enough to brave through the darkness to reach the light of day, and thus humanity be saved?
" I am a man, not a movement. But if a movement is what it takes to end this war, then I will play my part. "
P.S. if I have gone overboard with the high stakes and monsters vs. humans and all that – I didn't mean to . . . But like I said, this series is very philosophical and it just had me thinking too much XD
sorodeeznuts's review
- 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
3.75
mercey's review
4.0
Seeing as this is primarily a character-driven narrative, it’s only right to draw focus to Schwab’s two protagonists: Kate Harker and August Flynn. At first I feared that Kate would be a Mary Sue—an idealistic and unrealistically fantastical femme fatale—but god I love being wrong. Kate’s so complex as a character, complete with flaws, skills, weaknesses, ambitions, and agency in the story. I was also fascinated by August’s character and the high stakes he puts on music, likening it to addiction and even life itself. This series will make you laugh, cry, gasp, and scream. It’s the total package and the perfect read for lovers of fantasy and morally grey societies breeding dubious heroes.
In Schwab’s author note, she says that this series “nearly killed her” to write and, to be perfectly honest, it nearly killed me to read. The ‘Monsters of Verity’ series is ultimately a hopeful one but it isn’t without tragedy. These characters tore my chest open and laid my entire soul bare and I feel hollow and sad and like I could cry for weeks, but I’m so thankful these books made their way to me.
Madi
robyna's review
- 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
5.0