This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab

Rating this book 

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

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.

And leaving the psychoanalysis of the quote and my unhealthy obsession with reading aside, let’s dig onto the book impression. I liked it. Plenty of magic, monsters, cliffhangers, petty high school girls and chasing. At least one bad-ass female, sensitive male, enough of bad guys and good girls. This Savage Song was not the biggest mind-blow of 2016 but damn, Gina!

Personally, I appreciate the characters more than the setting when it comes to fantasy. However, This Savage Song is also quite thriller-ish. So, all in all, the world setting was intriguing but the plot cliffhangers were cheap. I am not saying I did not like it, I loved it. That is what I am looking in the book, I want to get hooked one way or another. This would mean an author has my attention.

I appreciate the contrast Victoria Schwab offered us with all the good and bad, brutality and gentleness, dark and light when leading to so-called grey areas. At first sight she let me believe that everything in Verity is already decided, black and white. That is how you keep order and safety here. However, safety is a very complicated concept, the price of which is define by the side citizens take. How much are you willing to pay for your life? Then comes the matter of siding, and it everything seems to be fairly simple on the surface but once you dig in…Holy mother of Lord, what should I do? The easiest way out is out of the province of Verity but then again, how could you leave if you could help? So, you see, there is a series of morally questionable choices that would get you hooked going on. Man, choices, choices,

As I said, I have a deeper appreciation for characters rather than the setting. This novel proved that Victoria Schwab got my heart when she created at least two Russian nesting doll character. Nothing too intricate but still, you can clearly see the complexity and once again faced with a questionable choice of liking or disliking. I set my likings right in the begging as Katherine Harker was everything I ever wanted my precious violent princess to be.

I am in love with strong female characters, who are not afraid to get their hands dirty. What I also loved about Katherine is that she is not flat out powerful and tough. I could see her flaws and fears very well and it made me sympathize with her even more. She was not depicted as an indestructible dummy but as a person who went through a lot. Her dark and light sides were very clear as well. As an example, take her appearance vs. whose daughter she is and many many more. I adored her.

Kate’s relationship with August described in one quote:
“She gave him a look that said yes, obviously the window, and he gave her a look that said I don’t commit petty crimes very often before he slammed his elbow into the glass to shatter it.”

I can’t say the same thing about August though. You know how you just fall in love with monsters trying to show at least a bit of humanity and hope for their brighter future? Well, was not the case for me. He just did not stick. Like my Chinese vocabulary characters, I get that they are important, they also look pretty but they just do not stick. He did have the same nesting doll structure to the character but he just was not appealing to me for some reason. I found that his character lacked the quirkiness I so much adore. He is just everything you expect him to be.