This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab

This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab
Series: Monsters of Verity #1
Genre: Paranormal
Release Date: 5th July 2016
Publisher: Greenwillow
Source: Publisher
Add it: Goodreads
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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.

Apparently I just don’t get one well with Victoria Schwab’s YA books. I don’t know what it is, but I felt fairly neutral about The Archived books, and unfortunately I felt the same way about This Savage Song. Schwab’s adult books? Wonderful. I adore Vicious, and ADSOM was excellent. Can’t wait to finish the trilogy. But her YA just doesn’t click with me.

Now, I enjoyed the dystopian world in which this was set. I didn’t have a problem with it at all. I loved how gritty Verity City is, and I liked that the two characters are from two different sides. So the setting was intriguing, and it helped that I really like post-apocalyptic worlds in both books and TV shows.

I think my main problem was the story itself. I didn’t connect with either of the characters, although I did feel for Kate as she tried to make her father finally accept her, and that meant that I didn’t really get into the plot either. The story was a bit of a slog for me. I wasn’t invested.

I’ll probably read the sequel eventually. Maybe. If I ever get through my massive TBR backlog. But it’s not going to be top of my list because I’m just not emotionally invested at all.