*ARC* This Savage Song - Review

This Savage Song (Monsters of Verity #1)

By: Victoria Schwab

Published: July 5, 2016 by Greenwillow Books

464 pages

Source: Edelweiss ARC from publisher

(Goodreads / Amazon)

Summary:

There’s no such thing as safe in a city at war, a city overrun with monsters. In this dark urban fantasy from 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.

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.

MY REVIEW:
This review will probably be one of the shortest ones I've written, and I don't typically tend to be real lengthy. Due to personal issues it took me longer to read this than I would've hoped. But it was of no fault to the book. I enjoyed the story. It didn't blow me out of the water but for a YA paranormal it was good.

In this story there are monsters that walk among the humans. You can either live in the north part of the city and pay a hefty fee to Callum Harker to be protected from the monsters or you can live in the south and fight for Henry Flynn and protect yourself and your loved ones. Either way it's not safe outside for humans after dark. There are 3 types of monsters, all vaguely resemble the idea of vampires only not quite the blood-sucking type. The Malchai who feed on blood, the Corsai who feed on flesh and bone and are allergic to the light of day, and the Sunai who feed on the souls of sinners. The Sunai are the rarest as they are not born but created out of extreme dark violence. Currently there are only 3 and one of the main characters, August is the youngest of the 3. He desires more than anything to be a good "person", to be human, as human as he can be. He is sent on a mission to go undercover as a student at a prestigious school where Kate Harker is a student. His job is to keep an eye on Kate, as she is the heir to her father's empire. But there's more going on with Harker's perfect plan. The monsters are starting to rise up against him and Kate is their target.

I suppose I would've preferred more of a "forbidden romance" kind of relationship between August and Kate. At least in book one it's fair to say that through circumstances of survival they become close, perhaps even friends. Kate begins to learn that not all monsters are bad and August begins to see that Kate Harker is not as much like her father as she would like to think she is.

As with any good story it had an ending I wasn't quite expecting and I look forward to seeing how the story wraps up in book two.

Favorite Quotes:
"I guess we all have our marks."

A confession didn't undo the crime...

"...most people want to escape. Get out of their heads. Out of their lives. Stories are the easiest way to do that."

Language Rating: 2 (medium)
Mature Content Rating: 0 (none)
Final Rating: 3.5 stars