Our Dark Duet audiobook

Because she knew a secret: there were two kinds of monsters, the kind that hunted the streets and the kind that lived in your head. She could fight the first, but the second was more dangerous. It was always, always, always a step ahead. Oh shiiiiit. Schwab was not playing nice with our feelings when she wrote this book. I suspect she might be a bit evil, but, you know, in a good way.Our Dark Duet picks up several months after the events of This Savage Song. August is busy fulfilling his monstrous duty in Verity - reaping the souls of those who have committed violent acts - and Kate is now part of a monster-fighting gang in Prosperity. The book starts slowly with some introspection. August struggles between his duty and what he believes, deep down, is right. He hears the voice of his dead brother instructing him in his head. Kate, on the other hand, is now battling her own inner and outer demons. She hunts monsters to ignore the sadness and loneliness she feels. This all seems fairly innocuous.But then a new monster comes to town. The air smelled like blood and panic as she forced herself toward the restaurant, toward the massacre, toward the chaos.And there, in the middle of it all, so still she almost didn’t see it, stood a monster. I'll let you find out the details for yourself, but this monster is unlike anything Kate or August have seen before. Not a Corsai, not a Malchai, and not a Sunai, but something else. Kate trails it back to the place that has been calling her for months - Verity.When I started the book I didn't have a clear memory of This Savage Song and wondered if I would have to do a reread, but a couple of chapters in and it all came flooding back to me. I figured out somewhere along the way what this series reminds me of, and that's Kagawa's The Immortal Rules. Both are dark, creepy, and full of monsters and I get a similar vibe from them.New and interesting characters emerge, such as the genderless Soro, who it's just a shame we won't get to see more of. But the very best part of this book is the ending. In fact, the whole latter half of the story just explodes. Breakneck pacing leading towards a fittingly dramatic conclusion that pretty much destroyed me.I will end with my favourite quote: People were messy. They were defined not only by what they’d done, but by what they would have done, under different circumstances, molded 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. Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Youtube

I WILL NEVER RECOVER

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 This Savage Song 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. (view spoiler)[ 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. (hide spoiler)] 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 (view spoiler)[ 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. (hide spoiler)] 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.

"All monsters were not created equal."4.5 StarsThis was so good. Much better than the first book. If you've read my review of This Savage Song you might know that I only rated it three stars. I struggled with the characters - especially Kate - and the predictability. Overall it just wasn't as spectacular as Schwab's previous novels. This one, however, was a huge improvement.Where do I start? The plot was much more exciting and fast-paced. The characters felt more real and were more relatable, because of the character development they went through. And while August's and Kate's arch-enemies were a little washed up - the typical cruel and smart villains - they served their purpose. My favourite character is Ilsa. I honestly love everything about her, her grace, her wisdom, her trust in her brother and Kate.And the writing! Don't even get me started. I wish I could write like this amazing and very talented woman. She keeps taking my breath away with her words and I'm so glad for every story she creates.This is one of my favourite quotes from the book:"There would always be cracks in the surface, shadows in the light, a hundred degrees of grey between black and white."I still have so many questions about the Chaos Eater, though. Where did he come from? What cruel act created such a destructive and powerful monster? How exactly can he be killed? I wish there would have been more of a backstory to this.The ending was on point. I think that is one of the most important things an author needs to do: keeping things real. With all these monsters, superpowers and other paranormal activities, it's easy to lose your head in the clouds. That's where many authors become distracted and the plot slips into absurdity (yes, I'm talking about you, Sarah J. Maas). This was also my problem with A Conjuring of Light. But this time, Victoria nailed it. (view spoiler)[ In a war/battle/fight with stakes this high and so many victims, how realistic is it when the whole main cast survives? Even though it might hurt, I think Kate's death was the only way to end this right. She was stubborn and reckless, but always with purpose and even though she died, she died true to herself. It shouldn't have been any other way. (hide spoiler)]One thing that bothered me is something that I can only talk about in another hidden spoiler section. (view spoiler)[ What was that kiss all about? This series was praised as Romeo and Juliet but without the romance. This scene was completely out of character and quite unnecessary in my opinion. It's not like the actually have romantic feelings for each other, so where did all of this come from? (hide spoiler)]In a nutshell: A spectacular and nearly perfect conclusion to this amazing series. Highly recommended!Find more of my books on Instagram

iiiim baaack!! i loved my soft little monster, august, way too much to stay away.

"It wasn't easy. The world was complicated. Life was hard. And so often, living hurt. So make it worth the pain." // I think I died a little inside. I loved it so much yet hate that it's all over now. 🙁

6 out of 5 stars. All spoilers are marked.holyshitholyshitholyshitholyshitTHIS IS A FUCKING MASTERPIECEhow fucking dare you, miss victoria schwab. how fucking dare you play with my emotions like that.*sighs**cries**screams**wipes tear**gets self back together*okay, okay, I'm done ranting. Actually, I'll never be done. This book has skyrocketed its way into the second place my favorites list (let's be real, the first will always be Vicious) and I can't stop thinking about it. honestly, how can someone finish this series and still be the same person they were when they started it? this made me question things in so many ways, like how our actions have consequences, and how not everything is black or white. I cannot do justice to how amazing and incredible this book is.I also can't describe the characters. How the actual fuck did schwab manage to develop them so much in less than 1000 pages? It might not seem that impressive, but the things they go through and the way they grow and how it's written, no author can compare. They are so flawed and they are so real, it's impossible to not care about them.I can now say without doubt that Victoria Schwab is the best author of our generation.This book messed with me, made me question my choices and it made me question why the fuck I put myself through this suffering that is reading books, especially Victoria's.(view spoiler)[ okay so I need to scream a little bit about a certain scene in this book, and it will be spoilery. please do not continue if you have not read the book.HOW THE FUCK WHAT THE HELL ??? KATE WAS MY EVERYTHING. HOW THE FUCK IS SHE DEAD? I DO NOT ACCEPT. I WILL GO TO HEAVEN (SHE IS IN HEAVEN) MYSELF AND DRAG HER SELF CONFIDENT ASS BACK HERE MYSELF IF I HAVE TO. but I actually understand why and how she died. it was hauntingly poetic, the effect killing the cause. BUT THAT DOESN'T EXCUSE KILLING ONE OF THE BEST WRITTEN CHARACTERS IN ALL OF LITERATURE: KATE OLIVIA HARKER, THE OWNER OF MY HEART. *takes deep breath*okay I'm done. back to semi-civilized me again. (hide spoiler)]Yeah, it looks like I'm not emotionally stable enough to write a review about this. All I can say is, if you didn't like This Savage Song that much, please give this a try. It's so incredible, it will blow your mind.FIRST THOUGHTSI'm broken beyond repair, I just spent 10 minutes sobbing on the floor. I don't know what to do with my life now.This is definitely one of the best books I've ever read, 6/5 stars.RTC if I can make the mess that is my thoughts coherent (post-review update: I still can't)

"Everything was going exactly to plan. And that was exactly why she didn't trust it." 3.5 ⭐️I didn't find myself as invested in this book as the first one, it took longer for me to become gripped. I didn't like Kate's character very much in this one, she came across as arrogant and rude and times.In Our Dark Duet, Kate and August are living entirely different lives. August is living in Verity - building an army in order to fight the monsters who work for Sloan. And the numbers of monsters seem to be growing every day. Kate is in Prosperity, trying to forget Verity, forget her past and start again. But it is harder said than done, and eventually Kate realises she must return to Verity. It is pretty action packed, there is plenty going on plot wise. I'm not sure, but the characters just weren't enough for me. I was entertained, but not enthralled.(view spoiler)[ I didn't like that Kate left her friends in Prosperity and then because of her death she will never see them again. In fact they wouldn't even have known she had died - which was a bit shit. Also I didn't like the relationship between her and August but that's no surprise of course. (hide spoiler)]If you enjoy the supernatural, and an easy fast paced read then I recommend.

“So often, living hurt.”3.5 maybe? Something between that and 4 stars, anyway.•I must admit, I didn't remember much from This Savage Song. It was easy to brush everything up once I got started, but the first pages had me a little lost. And then something strange happened: my difficulty to get in sync with the story remained, only its cause shifted from my temporary lack of basic information to something that I'm still not really able to pinpoint with precision, but that is most definitely internal to the book. I know I'm difficult to follow. That's kind of my thing. Just bear with me. •I think the best stories are the ones where the artifice is least evident. Of course we all know fictional stories always are the children of someone's mind. And of course we accept that without giving it even half a thought: suspension of disbelief, narrative covenant, call it what you will, the core doesn't change: I'll happily believe anything as long as you don't allow me to notice it's all a lie. Now, I think Our Dark Duet misses this fundamental target when it comes to the storyline—but mind you, the storyline and nothing else. The rest is as perfect as we've learned to expect from the one and only Victoria Schwab, and sure enough, unsurprisingly, I enjoyed it. But the plot was somewhat awkward, it couldn't hold my attention, and it even bored me, which is a first for me, with Schwab's name in the equation. •An instance could be towards the end, when Kate (view spoiler)[leaves the Compound to chase after Alice when she knows it's a trap, the whole crew goes after her, Henry is captured during the action, and three minutes later, they all (minus Henry) are home again (hide spoiler)]. Like I'm not supposed to notice the whole sequence is just an excuse to (view spoiler)[get Henry into Sloan's hands (hide spoiler)]?This is only the clearest example I can think of, but I perceived this effect more or less throughout the whole book. It was as if the frame of the plot, which should be invisible, showed through all the time. It sounds so futile a thing, but if you think about it, those are always the ones that really ruin it. And probably, had the author been anyone else, I wouldn't have even noticed it.•The ending is a big yes for me. Poignant, beautiful, absolutely heart-rending, and sadly necessary. (Leigh, Bardugo, just so you know, this is how you (view spoiler)[kill a main character in the last pages (hide spoiler)]. I love your books but on this you should take some notes.)➽ Our Dark Duet surely is a worthy conclusion to one of the best YA series out there, and I can only recommend it wholeheartedly. But Schwab's name on the cover alone should be enough to melt your doubts like snow in the sun-

well, isn't that an unexpected amount of pain

I finished this book the other day but I forgot to update you guys because I was ... you know... sobbing.

This book was amazing!!If I am honest with you, I wasn't expecting it to be. I read This Savage Song last year and while I really enjoyed it, I just didn't love it so when this book came along I was expecting those same feelings.I am so happy to be proved wrong. I loved the second book! It was easier to get back into the world of Verity and the monsters in them because you already know them. This book isn't happy. It's a dark, gritty book about monsters and fighting and wrong vs. right but my goodness was it freaking good!Please let me know if you would like me to do a series review on both of the books!

what even is the point of reading any books after this everything is cancelled