Reviews

This Savage Song by V.E. Schwab

copascribe's review against another edition

3.0

The idea of monsters and music was new and I liked the subtle themes weaved throughout the story (human vs monster; what defines a father). The plot itself was predictable and nothing surprised me, but the character development was well done. I doubt I'll continue with the series, but I do recommend for YA readers 12+.

demievrything's review against another edition

4.0

Die Bücher von V.E. Schwab können mich wirklich immer von sich überzeugen. Die zwei Protagonisten haben beide ihre eigenen Probleme mit ihren Vätern und begegnen diesen auf unterschiedlichen Weisen. Es war deshalb sehr interessant und spannend die beiden Sichtweisen zu verfolgen und zu spekulieren, was wohl passieren wird, wenn die beiden "richtig" aufeinander treffen.
Besonders originell fand ich das Setting der dystopischen Welt und die Stadt Verity mit ihren verschiedenen Arten von Monstern.
Schwab hat es geschafft die Handlung schnell und actionreich zu erzählen, ohne viel Infodumping oder abschweifende Beschreibungen, was sehr gut zur Story gepasst hat. Allerdings gibt es hier ein paar kleine Abzüge, da ich mir stellenweise tatsächlich etwas mehr tiefe und Einblicke in die Welt gewünscht hätte.

Insgesamt ein sehr gelungener Dilogie-Auftakt und ich freue mich schon auf Band 2!

m00plays's review against another edition

5.0

I think Victoria Schwab just became one of my favourite authors. This book is not only unique but has an incredible writing style that's so smooth you don't even notice the change in characters voice. You just know who's point of view you're reading without being confused.
Kate and August are amazing characters and thank God I've found a book where there is no element of romance! YAY!
A very intricate World that can be tricky to understand at first but is like nothing else I've ever read!
Wow.

beckahh_i's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

chelsisz's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

herl0cksh0lmes's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

trin's review against another edition

1.0

Victoria Schwab also writes under the name [a:V.E. Schwab|7168230|V.E. Schwab|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/f_50x66-6a03a5c12233c941481992b82eea8d23.png], whose [b:A Darker Shade of Magic|22055262|A Darker Shade of Magic (A Darker Shade of Magic, #1)|V.E. Schwab|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1400322851s/22055262.jpg|40098252] I'd heard great things about (although I'd yet to get my hands on it), so I was excited to try this YA outing of hers. Now I'm not excited about Darker Shade anymore. This was just...muddled -- muddled world-building, flat, muddled characters. I never felt anything the entire time I was slogging through the 400 plus pages, except perhaps impatience -- certainly not wonder, or shock, or any affection for anybody. Supposedly this book addresses one of my favorite questions -- what does it mean to be human? -- but I honestly can't tell what Schwab thought she was saying on the topic. Further, I found the novel's take on violence and sin to be reductive and trite.

Finally, giving vampires a fancy name does not make them not-vampires, and I am really, really bored of vampires.

smateer73's review against another edition

4.0

This book was insane. It mixes feelings that shouldn’t exist, heart-wrenching excitement, exquisitely terrifying plot twists and so much more. The story of a human monster and monstrous humans is touching, terrifying, and twisted all at once. Every character has so many different sides, and the whole book was really flushed out well. It is disturbing at parts, but I think that’s part of the appeal: it really makes you take a look at yourself and the monsters inside of you.

thebookaholic's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-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

4.25

I’ve no idea why I waited so long to read this!! This is my ninth Schwab book (I think) and I’ve owned the duology for three years but never picked it up until I did the other day, and I’m so gald I did - after months of slow reads I flew through this one in 3 days, and it was WONDERFUL. The dark side and eeriness of Schwab’s voice shines through this book in such a weirdly hope-filled way; August and Kate are wonderful main characters to follow, and I can’t wait to pick up the next book. 

5secondsofleah's review against another edition

5.0

at first, I wasn't sure if I'd be able to read a book of this nature without having some type of romance in it, but I'm super glad that there was no romance. Much like the other books I've read, I literally had no idea what I was getting into, I saw it at the book store – I liked the author, and the invisible life of Addie La Rue, and the blurb seemed cool enough – so I got it.

It was so refreshing to read a story without a love story, it's like a buffer, something I didn't think I needed but did. I love friendship <3 or whatever it is that was going on between Kate and August... They really went through it during the book. And despite how much I like it as a story, while I was reading it, I was imagining it as a movie – it would be a cool movie, but it shouldn't be one, but god it would be so cool.

Also, Leo is so hot. And it took me a solid 15 chapters to figure out what all the monsters were, but that's just me.