Our Dark Duet (Monsters of Verity) Paperback – June 12, 2018

"the whole citya book ofmatchesjust waitingto be struck"3.5 STARSTW: death (including death of a loved one), gore, suicide, violence (including gun violence), smokingThe first word that comes to mind thinking about Our Dark Duet is "devastating." At the Columbus stop of her tour for The Near Witch, V mentioned that her editor wanted the ending to be just that: devastating, or else it wouldn't pay off, wouldn't work.And I think she pulled it off.Funny to say that, looking at the rating. 3.5 isn't bad at all, but anything around a middling range rating is such a weird review to write. What it comes down to this time, though, is that the first half of the book was disappointing, and the second half amped up in time to require a road map for navigating the emotional damage it left in its wake. Devastating is an excellent word for it, truly.But I'll get that first half out of the way first. What it boils down to here is that ODD is set six months after the end of TSS, and August and Kate have gone their separate ways. That alone is what brought the first half down for me, because the thing I took the greatest joy in was their interactions, the way they were shaping themselves into something new around one another. I loved that they liked to tease and joke together, and that there wasn't a romance between them. I love that they each saw what the other wanted, and they each wanted the other to stay safe in getting it. TSS was a hit for me because of these two, and seeing them fall into their old ways while apart made the first half drag.The second half, though, while lacking a little in plot (I just found it a bit rushed and loose, crammed into the duology and fleshed out a little too late), returned to the character-focused style of the first book. We get to see more of Kate and August questioning their choices, and making new ones with consequences beyond just their own lives. The stakes raise higher and higher in the later part of ODD, and the losses are enormous. To be expected, honestly, since it's a miracle that anyone survives in a city where ravenous monsters prowl every corner, and protection is bought rather than freely given.And the tension of parallels returned, too! That was what most interested me. A new monster reared its head, opposite in so many ways to August and his Sunai brethren, terrifying as a result. It was almost everything Kate once teetered on the edge of trying to become, an equally unsettling prospect, and it was certainly a question given shape: who are the real monsters after all?And in addition to the monster, we see August revisit the figures that have shaped him, as well as ones he wanted to avoid being shaped by. And we see Kate confront the darkest parts of herself given form. It's a story about mirrors, in a sense, about reflection, and about how to deal with the parts of our reflections that disgust us or make us afraid.On top of this wonderful return to questions of character, V did two more things that I really loved. For starters, there were snippets of verse, artfully placed within the novel. Turns out she has a poetry background, and she's put it to work well here, giving beautiful form to the words of a monstrous thing, another glorious tension.She's also included queer characters in this book! Less than ten pages in, we learn a side character is queer (he has a boyfriend, and yes, they both survive), and later on, a prominent nonbinary character comes into play, taking their place as a relatively key secondary character whom I would ABSOLUTELY read more about, since they have some growing to do yet that would be fascinating to see. It's a grim world, but it's nice to see queer characters carving out their mark all the same. I certainly wish they were more central, sure, but it's nice to have them (and to have them alive and with agency) all the same.Overall, Our Dark Duet was fantastic. It truly was. It just took a little too long to get to that point, to reach the conclusion it was turning toward, and that caused me enough frustration to lower the rating, as did a couple of loose ends (I have my theories about where the monster originated, for one, but it's not really even hinted at, which I think could have been a powerful hint, one that created closure). But on the whole, it was worth the read, and the heartache that it became. I'd absolutely read it again, even if the first half is slower than I'd like. I'd do it in a heartbeat.

Rating: 4.5/5 StarsTitle: Our Dark DuetAuthor: Victoria SchwabSynopsis:Kate Harker is a girl who isn’t afraid of the dark. She’s a girl who hunts monsters. And she’s good at it. August Flynn is a monster who can never be human. No matter how much he once yearned for it. He has a part to play. And he will play it, no matter the cost.Nearly six months after Kate and August were first thrown together, the war between the monsters and the humans is a terrifying reality. In Verity, August has become the leader he never wished to be, and in Prosperity, Kate has become the ruthless hunter she knew she could be. When a new monster emerges from the shadows—one who feeds on chaos and brings out its victim’s inner demons—it lures Kate home, where she finds more than she bargained for. She’ll face a monster she thought she killed, a boy she thought she knew, and a demon all her own.Initial thoughts:After reading the first book in this series, I hurried and picked up a copy of the second book. I was really excited to see how Verity was going to hold up after everything that had happened and the cliffhanger that was left at the end of book 1. I was also very excited to see how the characters had changed after six months. The cover of the book is stunning (I love both the US and UK versions so of course I had to get a copy of both). Again this series really pulled me because of the author as well as the concept and now the concept had changed to the monsters within our own heads and I loved the change.Plot:What I liked:The characters were really dynamic and there was a lot of action throughout the entire book. I really liked how every time the new monster (the Chaos Eater) came into play, the style of writing changed to that of a free verse poem. The execution of the work was well played and worked hand in hand with what we had learned in the previous book. I still love the dynamic between Kate and August, and the questions that came along with them. The instruments were weapons and that was so cool, but it made me wonder how much more difficult it would be to actually play them after battling monsters all day.What I didn't like:Something that I wish Victoria would have done with this book was explain more about the actual phenomena that caused monsters to be created in Verity and not in other regions of the world. I also found myself rereading the same phrases over and over again. I feel like this was done for a stylistic effect, but it still had me feeling as though I had read the lines more than once.Characters:Kate Harker: Still a kick butt girl who has a very strong will and was able to fight back against her own human urges to keep moving.August Flynn: This kid needed a break, but never wanted to take one. He was very conflicted through the entire book until Kate showed up.Ilsa Flynn: I love her to death and I just wanted to see her happy throughout the entire book after everything that happened from the last book.Soro Flynn: They made me want to cosplay them so badly. Seriously I am getting my flute together and I am going to do this. But in all seriousness, I really enjoyed Soro’s character. They were a lot like Leo, but they were more willing to listen and work with others.Alpha Team: Even after being pushed away by August they were very supportive and a good team.Alice: I loved her. She was a fantastic villain and I thought it was interesting in the way that she worked a lot like Kate, but wasn’t her at the same time.Sloan: Still thought he was very cunning and calculating much like in the first book. I loved being able to read things more from his POV.Overall:I would highly recommend this series to just about everyone who is over the age of 15. It is a little darker for younger audiences and has its fair share of violence and gore in it. I did lower my rating on this book though due to the fact that there were some plot holes from both books that hadn’t been addressed, but if Victoria ever wanted to write a third book for this series focusing on my two favorite Sunai I wouldn’t complain at all.

Oh. My. Life. How did I wait months to read this?! Our Dark Duet is the second (and final) book in the Monsters of Verity duology and it was a brilliant finale to a brilliant series. I can't wait to read more of Victoria' Schwab's work because this was just fantastic!THE WORLD IS BREAKING. AND SO ARE THEY.KATE HARKER isn't afraid of monsters. She hunts them. And she's good at it.AUGUST FLYNN once yearned to be human. He has a part to play. And he will play it, no matter the cost.THE WAR HAS BEGUN.THE MONSTERS ARE WINNING.Kate will have to return to Verity. August will have to let her back in. And a new monster is waiting—one that feeds on chaos and brings out its victims' inner demons.Which will be harder to conquer: the monsters they face or the monsters within?I'm guessing that if you're reading this review, you've read the perfection that is This Savage Song. It pains me so much to say this but honestly? I don't think Our Dark Duet was as good as the first one, but it was still good enough to earn five stars so it's all good! Don't come at me with your pitchforks! Our Dark Duet had more badass fighting from Kate which made me so proud because she just wanted to make her city a safe place. We were also introduced to a new monster that's like a shadow, but when it feeds on chaos, it starts to become more and more solid. This new monster is scary. I know that the Malachai are vicious and bloodthirsty, but this new monster is pure fear. I was scared of it just by reading about it.“People were messy. They were defined not only by what they'd done, but by what they would have done, under different circumstances, moulded as much by their regrets as their actions, choices they stood by and those they wished they could undo. Of course, there was no going back - time only moved forward - but people could change.For worse.And for better.It wasn't easy. The world was complicated. Life was hard. And so often, living hurt.So make it worth the pain.”― Victoria Schwab, Our Dark DuetThe let down of this book? Again, it absolutely kills me to say this... August. I love him. I really do. He was amazing and my little smol bean in the first book, but in Our Dark Duet, I didn't even recognise him. He could have been a completely different character. If was hard-faced and NOTHING LIKE OUR AUGUST AT ALL... You saw glimpses of him now and then again (mainly towards the end), but it just wasn't enough. Even Kate was getting angry, yelling at him for being so blank about everything. GO KATE!I can't talk about this book without mentioning how amazing V.E Schwab's writing style is. She's got it bang on. Every word just flowed into the other with perfection and I was hooked... I couldn't bring myself to stop reading so I ended up reading it in a couple of hours. I was absolutely addicted to the writing, the description, the dialogue, the poetry... Everything.AND THAT ENDING! <---- that's all I can say about the ending because of spoilers, but just know that it was worth putting it at the end in capital letters because OH MY GOD!Overall, this was a brilliant finale to the Monsters of Verity duology, and I would happily read the series over and over and over again. Even though the character of August slightly let this book down for me, it was still an amazing read and has a storyline that I will never forget.

Yet again, the characters in this novel were fantastic. I obviously already loved Kate and August from This Savage Song, but it was so wonderful to see them develop further in this book. I really liked some of the new characters as well, like Riley and all the others from Prosperity. I also liked Soro, I thought that they were a really interesting character and I thought that it was really good that Schwab included a non-binary character (although I'm not sure if people would count this as good representation, as the character is a monster, but I still think it's better than in a lot of books where there is no diversity within the characters). There was one character in this book who I can't name because of spoilers, but there was this one male character who was giving me major Elijah/Klaus vibes (from The Originals) so I really enjoyed that because I love those two!The story was so fast-paced, in my opinion, and I didn't want to put it down (clearly - I finished it in 2 days). I really enjoyed the new type of monster that was introduced in this book and I think it made it so different from the first. I just loved it so much!The writing, as usual, was beautiful and amazing and WHY CAN'T I WRITE LIKE THAT! Schwab has such a way with words and I just adore (most of) her books. I can't wait to read Schwab's future books as I'm sure they'll continue to blow my socks off!

"Progress was being made, but August was coming to realise that there would always be cracks in the surface, shadows in the light, a hundred degrees of grays between black and white. People were messy. They were defined not only by what they'd done, but by what they would have done, under different circumstances."Victoria Schwab you've broke my heart in to two, heartbreak doesn't even come close to what I'm feeling. Outstanding novel, full of the perfect plot and the not so perfect characters. I'm in complete awe.

I am usually a great fan of VE Schwab's books and the stories she comes up with. I tried again and again to become lost in the plot of this one and really enmeshed in the story, but there were just too many things bothering me about this one, I just couldn't do it.The only thing I did like is the writing - the author always manages to write lyrically while keeping her prose accessible, and this book was no exception. I also liked the general idea of this series - monsters being born from terrible deeds, which is a really interesting idea in theory. I also quite liked certain elements of the ending, which was not as terrible as the rest of the story.Unfortunately, that is about all the positive things I can say about this book (and the series in general), and here's what I didn't like about it:First of all, the plot in this novel is super repetitive and is more or less exactly the same as in book one (with minor differences, it's true, but it still feels like a deja vu, reading it).Secondly, the characters (and especially the two MCs) are insufferably annoying and almost stupidly lucky in everything they do. Also, they are both supposed to be morally grey characters, but they're really not, which them as characters even more obnoxious...Furthermore, everything about this novel was just a bit too smooth and convenient to be believable - everything appears neatly black-and-white, good-and-bad, which is all just much too convenient for the world the author crafted here.And also, and this is a biggie: This whole world with its magic and monsters does not make a lot of sense at all. There are so many logical inconsistencies and plot holes in this story and soooo, so many plot conveniences to make it work, they are almost more numerous than the parts that actually do make sense.And last, but certainly not least, and from a violin player's perspective who generally loves his instrument: I HATE the portrayal of violins here and the constant instrument abuse as a murder weapon - you can NOT kill a person with a violin bow! And if you have a bow you can kill someone with (though you really shouldn't because then there will be blood and gore all over your instrument), then you certainly can't make a sound on the strings because the bow hair will be full of fluids, which is not how violins work! I'd really like to know how August is physically able to both stab and club persons with his violin but still make it work as an instrument - that is just too far fetched, and one of the many inconsistencies that made me hugely dislike this book and series.

Victoria Schwab has again proven her mastery of storytelling with this sequel to ‘This Savage Song’.There are those familiar things that populate these pages; the monsters of course, and the monster hunters, Kate and August, who find themselves again joined in a fierce battle to save souls and – if even at times unwillingly – to reap others. The creature who cost them so dearly in Savage Song was not vanquished and his cruelty not diminished. If he is not destroyed this time, there will be little hope for human survival.Schwab creates characters that the reader accepts as real; so believable that one readily accepts the challenge (the ‘want’ if you like) to fight with the hunters against evil in all its forms.Our Dark Duet is well-paced with suspenseful action and a tale I found difficult to put down, start to finish.