Our Dark Duet

Loved this duology. Every single character was so well written with so many emotions. Do you always have to kill the character who starts to change after giving them a redemption arc 😢

3.5 rounded up; I didn't enjoy it as much as the first book but happy I finished the duology! I didn't expect August to have such character development, but I suppose that is natural in a dystopian world. I wish Kate had survived at the end and had a happy ending with August. ;-; though, she was a character I had difficulties liking

4.5 stars.

I hate how this book brought me to tears with no real cause other than the fact that I knew Kate would die and I desperately needed every August and Kate moment possible.
I think a part of me severely wanted them together while another part was warring and wanted them to just have a connection without romance. With that, once Kate died at the end, I held onto hope she'd be back as a Sunai. Too bad August just has her as a memory, it's for sure enough to bring me to tears all over again.

I still can't believe I cried when they kissed though.

I did not love it as much as the first one.
I loved that we were seing new Monsters in a new city, but in Verity I was not grasping the motivation for the bad side behavior as clearly as in the first one.
I loved the kind of quest (and I am using the Term very freely) at the end.
I would have liked an epilogue more focused on the life after everything that happened in the book.

No es lo que esperaba.
Es un buen libro y como continuación de la historia está más que bien, pero lo que me pasó fue que la primera parte (una canción salvaje) me encantó, tanto la historia como personajes, y quizás esperaba que esta segunda parte fuese como la primera.
Recién en las últimas 50 páginas sentí que me estaba gustando. Durante todo el libro sentía que no pasaba nada (aunque estaban pasando cosas todo el tiempo), por momentos me aburría y se me hacia eterno, no lograba conectar con la historia ni con los personajes (que ya había tenido una gran conexión en el libro anterior).
El libro como tal es bueno, interesante, con mucha acción, y una continuación y desarrollo de historia genial. Quizás no estaba en el mood para leerlo, o quizás era que simplemente esperaba que siguiera por el mismo lado tranquilo, por así decirlo, del anterior.
Estoy segura que si lo vuelvo a leer en in tiempo voy a disfrutarlo mucho más.
El final me pareció medio apresurado pero me gustó.

En conclusión, no era lo que esperaba pero no fue malo.
Probablemente mi mente solo retenga la historia como tal del primer libro

As I mentioned in the review above Destiny, and I jumped straight into this one after finishing This Savage Song because while the events in that book were concluded it still left off with a cliffhanger because things weren't fully resolved. If you haven't read This Savage Song, I suggest you skip this review because it might be spoilery. 

We are back in Verity but we also get a little glimpse of Prosperity because that is where she fled to after the events of This Savage Song. We learn a little about what the world is like outside of Verity but the author still never elaborates on what happened to cause this world to be in such chaos. I wish we could have gotten a little more back story about that but luckily that didn't affect my feelings on the book overall. 

We are still following Kate and August but things have changed drastically for the both of them. I still wasn't the biggest fan of Kate and I still loved August. I have to admit the whole time I was reading both of these books I was waiting for a romance to blossom but that never came. We did get a little whisper of a romance but for reasons I want name that never came to be and surprisingly I was totally ok with that. I really loved that there wasn't a romance because it totally made sense and it fit the story. 

This book broke me and of course I can't say why because of spoilers. Just know that I was grabbing my chest at the ending exclaiming NO!! Like why did it have to end that way. I loved the ending, which if you know me then you know why it's such a shock to me that I loved it so much it just shattered my poor little heart. 

This was an amazing duology and I wish I could read it again for the first time. Like Destiny said in her review for This Savage Song I wish we could see this on the big screen. If you haven't read this duology, what are you waiting for? Run don't walk and get yourself a copy of both of these books I don't think you will be disappointed. 

Funny, she thought, that even monsters had fragile hearts. 10382950/5 stars RIP EMI, 1998-2017 I'm so dead.Victoria Schwab has killed me one too many times that I'm all out of lives. I just can't.The fact that this series is only two books and I'll never get to see my children again makes me so mad. I'm currently saving up for a lawyer so I can sue Victoria for emotional distress. Also sorry, this review is a complete mess, much like myself right now. I've been trying to write it for three days now and I just don't know what to day. Everything I want to say is so spoilerly and I just can't. If you read [b:This Savage Song 23299512 This Savage Song (Monsters of Verity, #1) Victoria Schwab https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1445529989l/23299512.SY75.jpg 42855493] and was like “it's good but not my favorite” which, shame on you for ever saying that about a Victoria novel then you are gonna die even more than I did because this book wasn't even on the same level as TSS. I can't believe they are even the same series. We start off 6 months after TSS and holy f*ck shit has gone down in between books. Kate's off ignoring her responsibilities and monster hunting in a different city and being a bamf. August is in Verity running an army and slowly dying inside and every time he is sad I am sad and I don't like it. If you didn't know this already, August is my son. He's five years old and I love him very much. His first day of Kindergarten is in September and I am very excited for him to go off into the world and make friends. He's just growing up so quickly Then there's this creepy monster that feeds off chaos that goes to Verity to create chaos and Kate has to return home and reunite with her bff August to take down this monster downAnd that's when everythign goes to shit August Flynn First of all, someone please teach me to kill people with a violin like August does. I honestly want to be that badass. August is one of the most interesting characters to ever exist. This may be just a duology but his character development in these two book spanned a entire ten book series. It was just so spot on? He was so cute and naive in TSS and he still in in ODD but he's also strong and capable and thoughtful and acts so much older than his age. Also can we talk about fascinating he is as a person/monster/species. He was born from the ashes of a mass killing, gets tally mark tattoos on his body for not being a monster, can steal someone's soul using just a violin. I am so intrigued by him. I kinda wanna be him. My favorite scene in the entire book is when he reaps the soul of that mother. It was such a heartbreaking scene, but it really set up the theme of the book. Kate Harker Kate is literally human goals. She doesn't take anyone's shit. She does her own thing. There are big bad monsters that are intimidated by her. I love her so much. I love how she became this monster hunter in the city of Prosperity at the beginning and she made this great group of friends and she was starting to get to a point in her life where she could finally be happy. There's a major spoiler below that I just really need to talk about. Please do not click unless you've read the book He didn't want it-didn't want anything except to give it back, to hold her the way she'd held him. But he couldn't. He didn't know how. He closed his eyes as the light of Kate's soul flowed through him, strong and bright."I don't know," he whispered. "I don't know if the souls stay with me. But I hope they do." There was no answer. August opened his eyes. "Kate?"But the room was dark and quiet, and she was gone. Just typing that quote up. I'm crying again.The scene where Kate dies was absolutely perfect. It's weird to say that since it also happens to be the worst thing to ever happen to me ever, but it was such a gorgeously written scene. It really shows the stregnth and beauty of Victoria's writing. It highlighted the tragedy of this book and the battle that was at hand. The Monsters of Verity series is very much a book about the main characters. There are side characters, but they aren't the focus. I was barely fazed with Ilsa's death. While she was an important character, I never connected with her. So it really is Kate's death that shows just the extent of the world they are living in and how much darkness and sorrow exists within. Also, Kate is a very strong-willed, take-charged character. She constantly got herself into situations she probably shouldn't have been in. While most YA characters with similar personalities always come out virtually unscathed, Kate didn't. Her death made me feel like Victoria really knew her characters and the consequences of their actions. Kate acted invincible, but she wasn't.Damn you Victoria for making me understand a main character's death. I never thought it would happen. I'm still mad at you though. Her death will never make me trust you again. Conclusion As you can tell, I'm still haven't' found a way out of hell yet. I don't think I'll ever be able to read a book as good as this again. August Flynn is my baby and I love him so much.This book was dark af and I love it. Both Victoria Schwab series ended this year and now I don't know what I am going to do with my life until her next book comes out. This review is the worst. I'm sorry. I'm too dead to care.

Honestly this book was pretty underwhelming compared to the first. The first wasn't perfect, but it had real potential and I was excited to go into this one. It really let me down as I was bored pretty much 80% of the book. August went through some weird character change and I wasn't interested in him at all most of the book.

Also talking about the kiss for a moment. Just before it happened I was thinking to myself how nice it was that this series didn't force a romance that didn't seem to fit just for the sake of every teen fantasy having a romance and then the kiss... so there went that.

The ending was actually decently written to me though sad. I like where August and Kate ended up in their final scene together as it felt like the most authentic and real part of the whole story to me.

OK I admit I was a TAD worried about how this was going to end. This is a duology and there was SO much happening at the end of This Savage Song that I was sure there was NO WAY it could wrap up cleanly...

OH me of little faith... I should have known better because well V.E. Schwab...enough said.

DIOSES ESTOY LLORANDO

esto fue demasiado hermoso y triste. Me estrujó el corazón. Me hizo reflexionar.
En serio, lloré de emoción y tristeza al mismo tiempo. My poor babies :((
Me encantó. La forma en la que está escrito, me mantuvo en tensión todo el tiempo, y también me hizo detenerme a suspirar por las frases.

Kate escaped and August stayed. Each are fighting monsters both within and without. The war between the humans and the monsters has come to a head now that Callum Harker has died and becoming increasingly more dangerous with each passing day with Sloane at the helm. With a new, more dangerous and destructive monster on the rise, Kate returns to Verity, but will she, August, and the FTF be able to defeat it or will this new monster spell the end for Humanity.

I wondered if I would like this book as much as I liked the first one and I loved it. I loved August's character arc and the growth he made from the beginning to the end. The first book I felt was really Kate focused whereas this one was definitely more focused on August. I was not prepared for the ending though. 💔

dying would hurt less tbh

I don't know how I feel about the ending. It's definitly not bad, but I just feel that it missed something I cannot put into words right now.
But enough of that. What about the book as a whole and as a sequel?

It was really good, but not mind-blowingly good - if that makes sense :D
I really appreciated the characters (especially the protagonists - damn son, I love'em dearly) and the snippets of worldbuilding that we got besides the main setting - even though i wished there has been more, so I would have been even more immersed in the story. I don't feel that the 2nd one is as strong as it could have been. The stakes where higher and I enjoyed the twist that she put in the setting that became familiar.

Oh and on a side note: Not a lot happens plot wise, particular in the middle - the characters made it up for me but it might be something to consider.
But hey, who am I to judge. I'm just a girl who has no clue about anything and is writing this at midnight, although she should be sleeping.

4,2 outta 5

Would recommend checking out.
Because let's be honest: Just the way Victoria writes makes it worth reading.

http://charami.com/2018/10/22/gelezen-in-juni-2/#DarkDuet

Zonder te veel in detail te willen treden en zaken te verklappen, vond ik dit boek toch een klein beetje te kort schieten.
Het plot blijft in veel aspecten op de oppervlakte. Heel veel zaken worden naar voren gebracht, zonder te worden uitgediept of nader te worden onderzocht. Niet alles moet voor mij volledig worden uitgediept, maar hier had ik het gevoel dat veel zaken gewoon even werden aangeraakt, om dan weer prompt vergeten te worden voor een nieuw aspect. Context ontbrak en heel veel voelde gewoon willekeurige ideeën die op de hoop werden gegooid.

Ook het tempo lag me niet helemaal.
Terwijl ik boek 1 in slechts 2 dagen uitlas, had ik voor dit vervolg 5 keer zoveel tijd nodig. Ik kwam er niet helemaal in. Waarschijnlijk opnieuw omdat ik het onvoldoende uitgewerkt vond, dat we van het ene plotpunt naar het andere werden gedreven, zonder inleiding of achtergrond. Bijvoorbeeld de overvloed aan vijanden, big-bads, in dit verhaal deden het gevoel van dringendheid en spanning verminderen.

Het einde vond ik wel verfrissend. Het was het einde zoals het hoorde te zijn, maar ik had het – opnieuw – graag wat meer uitgewerkt gezien.

Ik ben altijd blij wanneer een auteur een verhaal weet af te ronden en niet nodeloos uitrekt over vervolg na vervolg na vervolg, maar Our Dark Duet mocht voor mij toch wat meer ontwikkeld zijn. Nu voelde het te gehaast en voor mij ontbraken er te veel stukjes in het kader. Niet dat ik het niet graag las, daarvoor waren de plot en personages te interessant, maar het kon meer geweest zijn.

4-4.5*

???Stay with me, Kate.???
???Do they stay with you????

honestly i was enjoying this book but i wasn???t super invested until suddenly the last 50-100 pages really freakin got to me. tears in my eyes got to me.

Adorei! Tinha gostado da primeira parte da história, mas esse segundo livro superou as expectativas, apesar de eu achar que o ritmo só embalou de verdade lá pros últimos 35% da história. Queria ler mais sobre Veracidade, Kate e August, ter raiva de Sloan e Alice, ouvir as músicas que são tocadas ao longo da história, porque acabei de terminar e já estou com saudades do mundo criado aqui.

4.5 stars Perfect ending to an amazing series, even if it killed me.

I mentioned in my previous review that This Savage Song was a creepy fun read and hoped the same for this book too. Ohh was I wrong!!! “Fun” is not the right word to describe this book. It's deep, dark, violent, monstrous, horrifying and gut wrenching. Mind you, this is not a negative review. The writing is brilliant and I have to give a hats off to the author for this amazingly thought out plot. And the characters are just WOW!!!! No other words that I can think of to describe my feelings towards them.

Kate has fled to Prosperity and become a monster hunter. August has become the leader of the task force and given up his pursuit of trying to live in exchange for the protection of everyone who needs him. And there are new monsters in town – Soro is a new Sunai who doesn't think like August but believes that all sinners deserve their punishment, irrespective of their intent, everything is just black or white; Alice a Malchai is born out of Kate's sin and is ruthless, baiting and trying to kill August and waiting for the day when she can destroy her maker; and a new shadow monster who feeds on chaos and turns everyone into killing each other. Kate's encounter with this Chaos Monster forces her to come back to Verity, to August. The book is full of deaths, each side killing the other, monsters and humans fighting each other and themselves and the ultimate fight that everyone is waiting for – Alice vs Kate, August vs Sloan.

I just love Kate and August. She is a warrior through and through and will fight any obstacles to defeat her enemy. August has changed, he is not the shy boy from the first book, he is a leader now, but doesn't mean he has started to enjoy the reaping. Finally when they both meet, I realized why they should be together. Because he makes Kate think of someone other than herself, and she makes August think of himself rather than all of South City. They bring out the best of each other and I just love the implicit trust and friendship that they share. They are the pillars of this book and the character development through just two books is astounding. The ending is bittersweet, heartbreaking but still hopeful. The monsters still linger, but hopefully they can be defeated.

My heart...oh God. My heart.

K a t e .
Me at the beggining : everyone is going to be fine !
At the end : what even is this ??? I ... n O .

Read a book published this year

A great if not perfect sequel in this series (a “bilogy”? “duology”?) with a similar structure as the first book.
It picks up after a length of time wherin Kate is in a new city with a new set of friends but still fighting monsters though she only knows what little combat training she learned in high school P.E. class (which she tends to mention a LOT). August is still in Verity but moving up the ranks of his adoptive father's taskforce, being emo about how emo but also how not emo he is, and has a new metal-plated violin with a bow that is also a sword??? (where they found a master violin maker that could also defy the laws of what makes a violin actually work isn't part of the story and also magic etc). They still think of each other - because this is Romeo and Juliet with monsters - but without the communication grid between cities, they have nothing but nostalgia to go on. Then things happen as they tend to do which causes a new monster to be formed, who then finds out about a larger food source in Verity via Kate so Kate uses it as an excuse to be a dick to those who gave her things for free and follows the monster because she's strong and brave and true and stubborn to the point of stupidity like all YA heroines. Anyway, more things happen that are exciting and then sad and then maddening and then more sad but also exciting. There's no happy ending here.