I have to hand it to Victoria Schwab, she has the keenest knack for making sure you’re stressed and thoroughly entertained as you flip through the pages of her books. I was a huge fan of the first two books in the Shades of Magic series so when I had the chance to pick up This Savage Song at Y’all West, I made sure I was in the line to receive a copy. Now one whole day of reading later, I have finished the book and can report it’s certainly worth your time (even if you read it in a day like I did).
This Savage Song is the story of duel narrators, August (a Sunai) and Kate (daughter of the ruler of North City), and how their paths intertwine as the fragile peace between their two cities begins to crumble. This book is weird, so so weird (monsters playing music to entice souls of victims before snatching them???). Definitely one of the strangest YA books I’ve picked up, but this was a good thing. Schwab manages to use the familiar setting of dystopia and make it wholly her own through reinvention of monsters. The Malachi and Coarse are some fearsome creatures, evolutions of the vampire and werewolf no doubt, and I found them endlessly fascinating, the Sunai as well. The world building is what impressed me the most because even as new information gets revealed, the story stays grounded and focused on our characters. This Savage Song is an action packed read and definitely one of the best books I’ve read so far this year.