by Victoria Schwab
Genre: YA urban fantasy/horror
My Rating: ★★★★★
Description:
In Verity, there's no such thing as safe.
Once, shadows stayed shadows. But since the Phenomenon, the violence in Verity spawns actual monsters -- and no one is safe.
Kate Harker wants to prove herself as ruthless as her father -- the man who lets his monsters roam the streets and offers protection... to those who can afford it.
August Flynn wants to be human. But he isn't. He's a monster, born of violence, who can steal a soul with a single song.
When August and Kate's worlds collide, they are forced to ally themselves against a threat that could tear their city apart.
Overall Thoughts
Excuse me while I go and scream at the sky, because this book is amazing and nobody talks about it! I would honestly give it 300/5 stars if I could. I know I didn't do it any justice in the blurb, but guys. Guys. Do yourself a favor and go read this book!
Okay, now to the actual review. :P
The Characters
The Characters
The characters were well-developed and sympathetic. August was hands-down my favorite character. He's so desperate not to be a monster, even while he's forced to steal souls for... reasons. (We're straying into spoiler territory now.)
It took me a little longer to warm up to Kate, but when I did, I loved her too. She's got two faces -- the fierce, ruthless, version of herself she presents to the public, and then the face she doesn't show anyone else. I won't say any more, because I feel like the less you know about the book before you start reading it, the better. This is one of those books where it's better to go in blind.
The other characters were excellently developed, too, but I can't devote a separate paragraph to each of them for the sake of keeping this review a decent length. So suffice it to say that cardboard characters are not a thing in this book. And Ilsa is amazing. That's important as well.
Plot/Pacing
Plot/Pacing
The plot was perfectly paced and riveting. Victoria Schwab did an amazing job with the tension in this book; sometimes it was hard to put down and I was on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next and how the characters were going to get out of this one. I'm finding immensely difficult to discuss the plot without getting into spoilers, but honestly, it was perfect and engrossing and there was never a boring moment. There were some really good plot twists as well, but those were never the highlight of the story for me -- I think my favorite parts of the book are a toss-up between the characters and the beautiful writing. (Okay, probably the characters.)
Worldbuilding
And the setting! The idea behind this book is kind of post-apocalyptic urban fantasy, and it was so dark and creepy and just perfectly atmospheric. I'm not a huge horror fan, but I did enjoy this book, even though it technically works in some horror elements. It wasn't scary enough to keep me awake at night, but just scary enough to keep me turning pages, which I loved.
Writing
But speaking of the writing! It was beautiful. Victoria Schwab has a way with words that paints a picture in my mind, and every sentence flows so smoothly into the next one, it's easy to forget you're reading at all. The writing really played into the overall feel of the book.
The themes also really impressed me. This book is about good and evil, what makes a person good or evil, what makes a monster. Each of the themes were beautifully handled.
Overall, I loved this book so much, along with its sequel, Our Dark Duet. I'm so glad I took a chance reading it, because this is now one of my new favorite book series.
Content
Recommended for ages 15 and up.
TRIGGER WARNINGS: References to a mass suicide, flashbacks to a school shooting.
Worldbuilding
And the setting! The idea behind this book is kind of post-apocalyptic urban fantasy, and it was so dark and creepy and just perfectly atmospheric. I'm not a huge horror fan, but I did enjoy this book, even though it technically works in some horror elements. It wasn't scary enough to keep me awake at night, but just scary enough to keep me turning pages, which I loved.
Writing
But speaking of the writing! It was beautiful. Victoria Schwab has a way with words that paints a picture in my mind, and every sentence flows so smoothly into the next one, it's easy to forget you're reading at all. The writing really played into the overall feel of the book.
The themes also really impressed me. This book is about good and evil, what makes a person good or evil, what makes a monster. Each of the themes were beautifully handled.
Overall, I loved this book so much, along with its sequel, Our Dark Duet. I'm so glad I took a chance reading it, because this is now one of my new favorite book series.
Content
Recommended for ages 15 and up.
TRIGGER WARNINGS: References to a mass suicide, flashbacks to a school shooting.
Swearing is infrequent, but does include some very strong language. It wasn't enough to bother me, personally, and wasn't used gratuitously or for shock value, which I appreciated.
No sexual content (you heard me right, not even kissing.)
There's quite a bit of violence, including some descriptions of blood and gore. Several descriptions of the bodies of people who have been attacked by monsters. Characters are wounded. At least one torture scene, with some details. Descriptions of monsters.
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