V.E. Schwab

This Savage Song (Monsters of Verity Book 1)

Kate Harker and August Flynn's families rule opposite ends of Verity, a grisly metropolis where violent acts summon real monsters: bloodsucking Malchai; clawing Corsai; and soul-stealing Sunai. The truce that keeps the families at peace is crumbling, and August is sent to spy on Kate. But when Harker's men try to kill her and pin it on the Flynns, August and Kate find themselves running from both sides, in a city where monsters are real...

This Savage Song

Emma letkeman

He wanted the chance to matter. He wanted to live.

#1 New York Times Bestseller * An Amazon Best Book of the Year There's no such thing as safe in a city at war, a city overrun with monsters. In this dark urban fantasy from acclaimed 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, This Savage Song is a must-have for fans of Holly Black, Maggie Stiefvater, and Laini Taylor. 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. In This Savage Song, Victoria Schwab creates a gritty, seething metropolis, one worthy of being compared to Gotham and to the four versions of London in her critically acclaimed fantasy for adults, A Darker Shade of Magic. Her heroes will face monsters intent on destroying them from every side--including the monsters within. The repackaged paperback includes a map of V-City!

lt hadn't been l just about the sinner in the end, it was about the sin itself, the shadow that ate away a human's light.

"I am Sunai," he said. "I am holy fire. And if I have to burn the world to cleanse it, so help me, I will." 

Mind over body over bodies on the floor over tallies seared day by day by day into skin until it cracked and broke and bled into the beat of gunfire and the melody of pain and the world was made of savage music, made and was made of and that was the cycle, the big bang into the whimper and on and on and none of it was real except for August or all of it was real except for him. . .

"I read somewhere, said Kate, "that people are made of stardust." 

He dragged his eyes from the sky. "Really?"

"Maybe that's what you're made of. Just like us."

"Death and violence, isn't that what all monsters want?"

August stood, staring, trying to understand what made men break like this. Not in a physical way—human bodies were brittle—but heart and soul, what made them jump, fall, even they knew there was no ground beneath.

The only people who hid were the ones with something to hide.

but the beautiful thing about books was that anyone could open them. 

Away. Whole. Sane. Happy. A dozen different selves with a dozen different lives, but she wasn't living any of those. She had to be here. Had to be strong.

It was a cruel trick of the universe, thought August, that he felt human only after doing something monstrous. Which made him wonder if that brief glimpse of humanity was really just an illusion, an echo of the life he'd taken. An impostor sensation.

"People are users. It's a universal truth. Use them, or they'll use you."

"Every weakness exposes flesh," he'd said, "and flesh invites a knife"

Faces had so many features, infinitely divisible, and yet they all added up to single, identifiable expressions like pride, disgust frustration, fatigue...

#1 New York Times Bestseller * An Amazon Best Book of the Year There’s no such thing as safe in a city at war, a city overrun with monsters. In this dark urban fantasy from acclaimed 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, This Savage Song is a must-have for fans of Holly Black, Maggie Stiefvater, and Laini Taylor. 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. In This Savage Song, Victoria Schwab creates a gritty, seething metropolis, one worthy of being compared to Gotham and to the four versions of London in her critically acclaimed fantasy for adults, A Darker Shade of Magic. Her heroes will face monsters intent on destroying them from every side—including the monsters within.

kelsey

five stars

“why are there so many shadows in the world, kate? shouldn't there be just as much light?”

i will never tire of victoria schwab books, oh my god. (also it only took me this long to read bc i stopped to finish a whole series.)

i love august flynn with my whole heart. i love this book. i love her morally grey characters. i just love everything about this book

AND HOLY SHIT THAT ENDING HAD ME SHOOK

Hanna Rybchynska

I had so much fun with this book! This was a great adventure with so much action! This is more fantasy than romance book.

Nova

this was actually 4.5 at most cause not gay enough im picky like that but damn i loved this so much so i rounded it up to 5 thank u miss schwab id die for u

Date read: October 1-October 5, 2019 

 Actual Rating: 4.00 STARS 

A very fascinating and unique concept to read. I liked it whenever I go through a book without having a single idea on where the story would go but just continue to appeal its beauty to the reader. I liked the growing anticipation I felt with each chapters. And I liked this book a lot! A very strong first read book from Victoria Schwab. 

AND!! I just so loved August Flynn. Very very much! I loved how humane he is despite being a monster.

chloe rae

This book was awesome! I have had the best luck picking up great books lately! 
Honestly, when this first came out, I didn't have much desire to read it. It just didn't spark my interest. But then there was so much hype around it and everyone had such lovely things to say so I thought, why not? And it turns out, they were right!
I'm not sure why this wasn't a total 5/5 stars for me. I think I was just a little shaky and unsure about a lot of stuff in the beginning. I feel like the world building could've been set-up or explained a little better or made easier to digest. It took me a while to really understand the characters situations and conflicts, and I still have questions about how certain things are 'created.' Maybe that's just me?
But once I got into it I was HOOKED. There's so much originality behind this story and I loved how the author tweaked and created her own monsters. It was so INTERESTING. And then we had a love story that wasn't really a love story but had my heart rooting for them anyway?! Amazing!
I can't wait to get home and buy the sequel on my kindle. SO GOOD.

nina 

3.5 stars

i actually really liked kate and august’s dynamic. ve schwab could’ve very easily took the predictable route but she didn’t

The beginning of the book was a bit slow for me and hard to really get into. Towards the middle It was fast paced and i really enjoyed reading it. Loved watching how the two main characters got closer and developed a liking towards one another.

Ksenija 

alexandra

SOME THOUGHTS:
- i really liked this book but didn't LOVE LOVE LOVEEEEE it
- felt the pacing was a bit off at times
- it took me apprx. 100 pages to get into the world and story
- so it was kinda confusing at first
- i like the plot & characters
- also the way their relationship builds. SO GREAT.
- the characters have lots of depth & potential to go even deeper
- the entiretly of the story progressively gets better and more intense
- but i also felt it could've pulled at my heartstrings more
- even so, i'd recommend to anyone who loves a good fantasy/dystopian(ISH) novel

Courtney

Is it even possible for Schwab to write a book that deserves anything less than five stars? She did it again and created an amazing world with amazing characters and an amazing plot that made for this amazing book! I read this in two sittings and highly recommend that you pick this up as well!

Lacy W

3.5 stars!

Alright, so this wasn't terrible but I didn't love it. There were aspects of it that were very cool, like the monsters, but some things kind of bothered me, like where the heck Verity actual was. It bothers me to no end when I can't figure out, roughly, where something is. Even if the world is fictional, I need some sort of landmarks or something to help me out. Heck, can I get a map? 

One of the things that bothered me was the world building, like I mentioned above. I couldn't get a feel for where Verity was. Des Moines was mentioned so maybe it was around Iowa? There were several states mentioned but since August didn't pay attention to his lessons, I never did figure out why they were mentioned. I have no idea and I still don't after finishing this book. Maybe the location could get cleaned up in the second book. Or someone can send me a map. Maps are good. 

The monsters were cool and highly original. I enjoyed learning about the different types and how they were created. The Sunai were my favorite because I spent so much time with August. But even if we didn't spend time with him, I enjoyed them. Ilsa was my most favorite and I would enjoy an entire book of just here, please and thank you. Victoria Schwab is incredibly creative with the creation of the monsters. 

Speaking of August, I didn't mind him. I appreciated how human he was and my heart broke for him and how much he just wanted to be "normal". Kate was okay. I did like that there was rep for partial deafness. It was mentioned frequently and not forgotten about, which can happen sometimes. Both of the characters were broken in their own way and I really just wanted to give them a hug. However, I preferred the two of them together. Their banter back and forth gave me life. Honestly, they were like an old married couple and that is something I can get behind.

Overall, I enjoyed this but I didn't love it like a lot of people did. It got better at the halfway mark, once August and Kate teamed up. But I am enjoying this world (even though I can't figure out where it is) and the monsters were incredibly original. I can't wait to get the next book to see Kate and August together again.

Gillian Rose

Oh, I really liked this. I love how lyrical Schwab's writing is. And I adored Kate and August almost instantly.

I’ve had mixed luck with V. E Schwab books over the years but THIS...THIS!!! WAS ABSOLUTE PERFECTION! THIS IS GOING STRAIGHT IN MY FAVOURITES SHELF

This was such a cool concept for a book! I really loved the world building in it and our 2 MC’s Kate and August (August my precious baby I love him so much), this whole book was just marvellous! It was really hard to put down! I kept wanting to read more and more and settled for a whole section a night to slow myself down. At first I was a little unsure but after the first 2 chapters or so I was hooked, it was so good!!

Learning about the different kinds of monsters and the world structure was super interesting. I lovedddd the plot just so much and the little hints of romance (I’m really glad there wasn’t a full on romance plot to this book and it kept focused on character development and the ongoing story instead of taking a side route) just made the book really entertaining, I got the little Romeo and Juliet hints without it being overpowering and it really made the story unique. How the story left off too was really intriguing, I wanna know more so badly!! I wanna know what happens next!!

Anyway I do ramble but August is my baby and I love him so much and I don’t want anything bad to happen to him ever omg...I ordered the next book which arrives tomorrow so hopefully I can start it before the end of the month because I want more!!

mercy

please protect ilsa flynn, my moon and stars, at all costs

dija

4 SAVAGE STARS!! 

 Thank you for slaying me well enough, book.  

So this was my first read of V.E Shwab's books and thankfully it did not disappoint me. 
This Savage song wasn't savage at all, it was a cute fluffy story about two normal teenagers in love with family problems. 

 Ha! YOU FREAKING WISH! 

*Clears throat* Khadidja, let's get to the real talk.
So, Verity is a city at war, that has the darkest monsters which are : 
● Corsai : “Corsai, Corsai, tooth and claw, Shadow and bone will eat you raw. 

● Malchai  : "Malchai, Malchai, sharp and sly, Smile and bite and drink you dry. ”

● Sunai: “Sunai, Sunai, eyes like coal,Sing you a song and steal your soul.”
 Pretty cool, right? 

And then there is our main characters: 
● Kate Harker : Our human kick-ass heroine, she likes to think that she's fearless and she's not fond of showing any kind of weakness.

● August Flynn : Our lovely dude, he's a monster and to be specific a Sunai  Which is the sexiest thing ever  he's very kind, sweet, smart and strong and a shitty monster as Kate once said. And ugh....You'll love him.

Our lovelies are on the opposite side of this war and each one of them wants to prove himself to their families. Well, kind of 
You would expect them to fall in love in the process and all but that's not what happens. Which is a good thing, right? 
However, i would be lying if i said i didn't want more skin ship contact. What can i say? *shrugs* a girl can always hope. 

So yeah, this is it. I loved it very much but i couldn't give it 5 stars because that won't do justice to the ones i rated 5 stars. RATING IS ALWAYS HARD FOR ME!! 

P.s : I know that i will probably get screwed by V.E shwab when i wrote this review at school.....In my physics class. *tight smile*

Jamieson

“He wasn't made of flesh and bone, or starlight.
He was made of darkness.” 



monsters who wish they were human, and a human girl doing all she can to become a monster. Victoria Schwab always comes up with the best concepts, and This Savage Song is no exception - there's morally grey characters, deadly music, gangs, violence breeding actual physical monsters and so much more. 

I never actually intended to read this book. I enjoy what V.E Schwab does and liked both Vicious and A Darker Shade of Magic, but I just had it in my head I wouldn't enjoy this book. The theming sounded uninteresting to me and I wasn't sold on some of the plot elements. This book definitely took me by surprise in terms of how much I liked it. It was full of action and I adored the worldbuilding. Honestly, worldbuilding is always my favourite aspect of Schwab's books, followed by characters. 

As I said, the worldbuilding was impeccable. We're introduced to a city where violent acts create actual monsters, and a war between two rival gangs has seen the city divided between the North and the South. I loved the entire aesthetic of the setting and just the entire concept of all these monsters. Victoria Schwab is just so excellent at coming up with intriguing and palpable settings for her stories, and I just want to know more and more about them. 

Although I generally like Schwab's character work, I do think it was lacking just a little bit here. While the characters are still well written, and I really liked them I feel like they weren't as complex as they could have been. Victoria Schwab always creates characters with dimensions but I think both August and Kate felt a bit predictable. Like I had seen them before. 


  “Not with a bang, but with a whimper.
In with gunfire and out with smoke.” 


One of the things I didn't like about this was that it was too repetitive. What I mean is: Schwab parrots themes and ideas she's introduced in her other books, and while that's fine, coming straight off reading Vicious this felt really repetitive. And so the whole thematic thing going on didn't really grab me. 

However, what did grab me was the breakneck speed of this book. I think of all the Schwab books I've read, this one has the most well constructed plot. It was tight, and it didn't falter one bit. There was always some action occurring, and tension rising, which made this hard to put down. I have had pacing issues with Schwab before but they were nowhere to be seen here, and that is a testament to her growth as an author between this book and say, Vicious. 


  August found himself nodding, even though he spent most of his time afraid. Afraid of what he was, afraid of what he wasn’t, afraid of unraveling, becoming something else, becoming nothing 


I definitely enjoyed this, and I want to read Our Dark Duet asap it's not my favourite of her works (I tend to enjoy her adult more?) but this was still really good. I love Victoria Schwab, I think she comes up with the most interesting and exciting premises of any author going at the moment, and her worlds and setting are always so freakin amazing. While I didn't think this was the perfect book, I still really enjoyed it, for it's excellent action, plotting and pacing.

lisa roeling 

aaaagdghfjekdk i love her writing so much!!¡!!! 
so freaking much

grace richards

1. Read [September 2019]: ☆☆☆☆☆
2. Read [May 2020]: ☆☆☆☆

Rachel Kanyid

Very interested in this world and the monsters. Can't wait to read more.

Nicole

SO FUCKING GOOD!
I literally finished this book a few minutes ago, after I read it in one sitting! I just could not put it down! And oh my god, what about that last scene? I need the second book NOW!
August is so cute and Kate is such a bad bitch! I definitely ship those two ❤️❤️
First V.E Schwab book I've read and I'm not disappointed at all!

tina

second read: aug. 5, 2019

still !! so !! fucking !! good !! 🥺🤘🏼


first read: nov. 22, 2017

  “I mean, most people want to escape. Get out of their heads. Out of their lives. Stories are the easiest way to do that.”   

It took me such a long time to finish this book, and trust me, it wasn’t because it was horrible. I just didn’t have that much time to sit and read because second semester started and I didn’t want to read this book when my mind wasn’t completely immersed in the story. But I finally finished it, and what can I say? You can never go wrong with a Victoria Schwab book. 

  “Why are there so many shadows in the world, Kate? Shouldn’t there be just as much light?”  

Leave it to Victoria Schwab to create a completely unique concept and manage to pull it off successfully. Violence breeding monsters? That’s definitely something that I haven’t read of before. This one is urban fantasy mixed with dystopian which is what makes the worldbuilding so different from ADSOM. With ADSOM, the world is already set up to its complexity, whilst this one is still kind of a work in progress. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t interesting at all. There’s a lot of things going on. The city is divided into two and the only thing that’s keeping them from going at each other’s throats is the truce. There are monsters lurking all around the city and they are classified into three— Corsai, Malchai, and Sunai. And we follow these two main characters who are very different but at the same time very similar to each other. 

What’s really fascinating about this book is the monsters being created through violent acts. Imagine that happening to our world, we’d probably have a million monsters right now! Of course, it’s a VE Schwab so this didn’t just excel in the worldbuilding aspect. The characters are always my favorite part in Schwab’s books. She’s a master of characterization. I love both August and Kate so much. I love how their relationship developed from hating each other to actually helping each other out. Another thing that I love about this book is that there was no trace of romance at all! So much of the fantasy books that we’ve been getting are mostly romance-driven and, sure, it’s entertaining but it’s definitely getting old for me. I love that VE Schwab didn’t include romance in this book. It’s so refreshing to just see these characters become friends and nothing more than that. 

  “It was a cruel trick of the universe, thought August, that he only felt human after doing something monstrous.”   

The plot was kind of slow at first but it gets insane later! A slow beginning is usually what I’d expect from a Schwab book knowing that she takes time to just kind of let us breathe in the world that she created. It gets real crazy later on in the book, and when I say crazy, I mean like REALLY crazy. 

I’m glad I didn’t force myself to read this when I didn’t feel like it because that probably would’ve ruined my reading experience. 

Overall, this was such a good book and I loved it! I mean, what can I say? You can never go wrong with a VE Schwab book.

  “You wanted to feel alive, right? It doesn’t matter if you’re monster or human. Living hurts.”

Izza

4.5 stars | I don't know how Victoria Schwab can create these amazing worlds and characters. SO GOOD!

Shay Lynn Crace

5 out of 5 stars
I Will recommend it to friends. 

I couldn't put the book down. It was the very first book of Victoria Schwab that I read, and I am so glad that I liked it.

This Savage Song (Monsters of Verity Book 1)

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