This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab | Book Review

 RATING: dark beautiful breathtaking read (5) // AMAZON

PAGES: 427 PAGES | PUBLISHER: Greenwillow Books

FORMAT: Hardcover | SOURCE: bought | AGE GROUP: YOUNG ADULT

GOODREADS SUMMARY

There’s no such thing as safe.

Kate Harker wants to be as ruthless as her father. After five years and six boarding schools, she’s finally going home to prove that she can be.

August Flynn wants to be human. But he isn’t. He’s a monster, one that can steal souls with a song. He’s one of the three most powerful monsters in a city overrun with them. His own father’s secret weapon.

Their city is divided.

Their city is crumbling.

Kate and August are the only two who see both sides, the only two who could do something.

But how do you decide to be a hero or a villain when it’s hard to tell which is which?

5

I’m a fan of this cover. I like the mysterious-yet-creepy vibes it gives off, and the red-orange-black color scheme goes well with the book. The silhouette of the violin that contains the sketchy alleyway is just perfect! And I love how the calligraphy of the title looks like chalk.

I have no idea how I was able to read and blog for this long without reading a Victoria Schwab book. Obviously I’ve been living under a rock or something. I seriously need to devour more of this woman’s words! This Savage Song blew my mind and left me unable to form coherent thoughts or words. It’s a complex and twisted and alluring read enhanced by Schwab’s beautiful and captivating writing. I did not want to put this book down.

This Savage Song is a character-driven book. There is a dual POV where we follow Kate Harker and August Flynn, who represent the two opposing sides of the city Verity. Kate does her best to be a “monster” by putting up a cruel facade in order to gain her father’s love and acknowledgement. August is an actual monster—a Sunai—who longs to be human. The irony and contradiction between these two made them the perfect characters to follow along in this story. Although Kate’s actions could be quite despicable, I still found myself rooting for this girl to break out of her father’s control and find a better version of herself. August is a boy with such a pure kind heart, who I just wanted to give a hug to throughout the entire book. I loved reading about his character growth, and he was definitely my favorite one. Schwab does a brilliant job at crafting intricate characters, who cause you to pause and think and feel all the emotions. 

Although I had heard there was a lack of romance in This Savage Song beforehand, it was actually such a breath of fresh air to read a YA book with no romance. I’m a romantic at heart, so I don’t mind the added romance in a book but I’m glad Schwab decided to forgo the romance. These two already had enough to deal with without romance to complicate their lives, and I prefer to think of them as unexpected allies/frenemies.

I was absolutely fascinated by the world Schwab created. Verity is a dying city where evil acts breed actual monsters. This idea is such a frightening concept, and it made me wonder how many monsters would be lurking around today if this was our reality. It was also interesting how there were three different classes of monsters depending on how bad the evil act. There are the Corsai, which are monsters of shadows with teeth that feed on flesh and bone. There are the Malchai, which are corpse-like monsters that feed on blood. And there are the Sunai, which are monsters that look like humans and feed on the souls of sinners through music. I find the Sunai to be a bit romantic in a twisted way.

Although This Savage Song was mainly driven by its convoluted characters, there was some intense action towards the end. I do have a lot to say about the exciting end, but since this is a spoiler-free review all I can reveal is that you’ll definitely want to stick around till the end. Both Kate and August come into their own, and embrace the darkness in Verity and in themselves.

This Savage Song was a thought-provoking, moving, dark, beautiful read. I need the sequel, like yesterday. It was a dazzling balance of darkness and beauty, and I am ecstatic to see what Victoria Schwab has in store for us and Kate and August. This is by far my favorite book of 2017 so far! If you haven’t picked up This Savage Song, please do!

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