REVIEW: THIS SAVAGE SONG by V. E. Schwab ~ P.S. I love that book!

Title: This Savage Song
Author: V. E. Schwab
Series: Monsters of Verity #1
Genres: YA, Fantasy, Paranormal
Publisher: Titan Books Ltd
Source: Paperback
Pages: 407

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SYNOPSIS: 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.

This was an August read for All our TBR's group. I love Victoria Schwab's Shades of Magic books. I wanted to read this one badly, very badly. And omg she is sooooo good! It lived up to my expectations although I think I still prefer A Darker Shade of Magic but this one was great and the story has potential. Gimme the second book now!

THE WORLD: It takes place in Verity City, a.k.a V-City. After Vietnam war (I don't know if the Vietnam war or a Vietnam war) US fell apart and several states morphed together to form ten new territories: Valor, Prosperity, Charity, Fortitude, Grace, Verity, etc. Verity comprises the states of old Kentucky, Missouri, Illinois and Iowa. V-city, the capital of Verity, was further divided into two after The Catalyst happened (which is when monsters started creating themselves after monstrous things humans did). So there is the North, controlled by Harker, where people who pay are protected from the monsters independently of whether those people are good or bad and the South, controlled by Flynn where the FTF (military) seeks the safety of all inhabitants.

Talking about monsters... there are 3 types: the Corsai who are born after violent but not deadly crimes, the Malchai who are born after murders, and the Sunai who are born after massacres. They are in order of power being the Sunai the most deadly if encountered but they are also rare to find.

"Monsters, monsters, big and small,
They re gonna come and eat you all.
Corsai, Corsai, tooth and claw,
Shadow and bone will eat you raw.
Malchai, Malchai, sharp and sly,
Smile and bite and drink you dry.
Sunai, Sunai, eyes like coal,
Sing you a song and steal your soul.
Monsters, monsters, big and small,
They re gonna come and eat you all."

CHARACTERS: The story is written in two POVs, Kate Harker's and August Flynn's. You can guess that Kate is Callum Harker's daughter and August is Henry Flynn's son. I tell you that Harker is the typical neurotic and violent human while Flynn is more controlled and peace strategist type. The thing is that Kate wants nothing more than to please her father and be as terrifying and powerful as him so she built herself with steel (dang, she even burned down a school because she wanted to move back to the city!) and it took me a while to like her character... I really didn't like her at first because I thought she was doing such stupid things but she changes towards the end. Phew!
Then, August... my monster baby... he doesn't want to be a deadly Sunai but has no choice because he is what he is. I find it ironically funny that a monster trying to be human and a human trying to be a monster have to partner up to save lives. Anyway, in the middle of this ~~almost~~ civil war we have August's brother and sister, Leo and Ilse who are also Sunai. They are the only three Sunai on the entire city and live as a family with Flynn. I adored Ilse but Leo was aaarggghhh I wanted to kill him! And let's not forget about Sloan. He's Harker's Malchai, his pet if you want to call him that. Tricky one that one.

LOVE: No romance. Which is good but I also suffered internally because I ship them. It's impossible not to ship them. Dang it Victoria! I don't really know if I ship them romantically or platonically but they're so good together. Best pals for sure.

Special mention to the family bonds we see. Some are really good and cute while others... well, better ignore those.

PLUS: Everything? I loved the pace. I loved the story. I loved the idea of monsters. I loved the characters, specially the monsters! They were interesting and mysterious and my baby August... protect him at all costs. He's the best character of the book (eerr I should mention he has gray eyes and dark hair... my weakness. I am Magnus Bane guys.)

MINUS: Nothing really. It didn't have anything I didn't like or was annoying. I know some people didn't like this book as much as others from Victoria but that's the beauty of books, you may like it or not. I could complain about the cliffhanger... ugh why? I want to know what will happen!

OVERALL: Oops she did it again, she played with my heart. Got lost in the game. Oops I think I have another faaaaav ♫ 5 stars and goes to favorites! I love Victoria's books and she is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors, soon to be a must-buy. Can't wait to read more of her books!