#BookevinReads Our Dark Duet by Victoria Schwab

Our Dark Duet by Victoria Schwab
Publisher: Titan Books (13th Jun 2017)
Series: Monsters of Verity #2

Blurb:
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’s a monster with 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 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.

Rating: 4.5/5

I'd like to thank Pansing for sending me a copy of Our Dark Duet for review.

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The thing about Victoria Schwab is that she's such an incredibly versatile writer that her writing style just bodes well with any genre she writes. Having loved her Shades of Magic series and This Savage Song, I was prepared to be ruined by Our Dark Duet.

“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.”

Schwab first introduces a world where monsters live among humans in the distant future, the sequel picks up 6 months after the events of This Savage Song. However, in Our Dark Duet, lines have been drawn and both sides are at war.

We return to the familiar setting of a monster-ridden, dark world where humanity is at the brink of extinction, both protagonists Kate and August are completely different characters, deeply affected by what happened in the end of This Savage Song – wicked grin – where each of them are leading different lives.

“Mourning was its own kind of music—the sound of so many hearts, of so many breaths, of so many standing together.”

In the conclusion of the duology, Our Dark Duet follows Kate Harker, who left Verity (or V-City) at the end of This Savage Song and finds herself in Prosperity, where she works with a group known as the Wardens, battling monsters and being an all-around badass. However hard she fights these monsters, she can’t get rid of her inner demons and the loneliness she feels, despite her bravado.

On the other side, August Flynn is a stark contrast of who he was in the first book. Working under the FTF, he leads the humans in the war against monsters.

“I’m willing to walk in darkness if it keeps humans in the light.”

The thing about This Savage Song that was a breath of fresh air when I read it last year was the fact that there was close to nothing romantic between Kate and August. Get this: a YA novel where romance wasn't a central element in the story! Believe it or not, it's true. Though we do get some PG-13 shit going on between the pair in Our Dark Duet. Just so you know.

I liked that Schwab took time to develop their friendship into something more meaningful and substantial.

“August stared at her, aghast. "Did I know that kissing you would bring your soul to surface? That - THAT - would have the same effect as pain or music? No, I must have missed that lesson."

She stared at him, agape. "August, was that sarcasm?”

Our Dark Duet was a rather slow burn for me in the beginning. It did take me a while to get myself familiarised with the world again and in a way, Schwab did a great job in recapping some key events that happened in This Savage Song.

But the emergence of a new monster that threatened the existence of humanity did add a dose of terror and intrigue to the story and from the on, I was hooked!

Action-packed and adrenaline-fuelled, Our Dark Duet is quite the beastly roller coaster that will leave you a broken and sobbing mess.

“I am a man, not a movement,” he said. “But if a movement is what it takes to end this war, then I will play my part.”

Masterful world building in Our Dark Duet which is practically sublime in a Schwab book. The narrative is evocative and at times, haunting and I thought it perfectly captures the tone of the story. As it is told from alternating POVs {Kate, August and Sloan), it did add more depth to the story and made the flow of the plot more cohesive.

A mage in storytelling, Schwab almost killed me with that ending. So evil yet genius. An epic conclusion to this duology, I thought the ending was shocking and impactful. Despite the slow beginning, the second half of the book was explosive and heart-stopping!

Gripping from the beginning until the very end, Our Dark Duet makes it on the list of my favourites this year with its unique writing and multi-faceted characters. If you've not read the Monsters of Verity duology, what are you doing with your life?