Author: Victoria Schwab
Genre: Fantasy; Young Adult; Dystopian
Rating: 9.5/10
Our Dark Duet is the conclusion to the Monsters of Verity duology. Kate Harker fights monsters, and she’s damn good at it. August Flynn once longed to be human, but he now serves his purpose–as dark as it is–if it allows humans to walk in the light. With a new monster unleashed into Verity, one question remains: will they be able to stop it?
Oh my GOD. My heart actually hurts. It’s crazy, how much we can feel for people who don’t actually walk on earth, but still exist; in stories, in between ink and paper, in our hearts. August and Kate are those sort of characters, the ones that stay and haunt your waking thoughts. The ending of the book was neither entirely happy nor entirely devastating, and I think the bittersweetness of the conclusion made the book profound. The story was written in such a realistic way and really explored the morally grey space.
Mourning was its own kind of music—the sound of so many hearts, of so many breaths, of so many standing together.
V.E. Schwab’s plotting is amazing. So many strands came together and led to a spectacular finish, and as far as I could tell, there were no plot-holes. I did find the pacing a little slow for the first hundred or so pages, and I found myself pushing through the pages till August and Kate finally met again because I was getting a little impatient. It was, however, still quite enjoyable, and I can understand why the pacing chosen for the rising action was necessary to the story.
The thing with V.E. Schwab’s writing is that it’s so complex. The characters’ emotions, motivations, fears and struggles are so vividly painted. I loved how they popped out of the page and became something three dimensional. The interactions between various characters in different scenes were also very well written, and I savoured every word.
There were also quite a few secondary characters introduced in this book, and while it may get confusing at times, I really liked the diverse cast. I also loved how each character in the big cast had a very deliberate “screen time”, with the POV switching purposefully throughout the story. Every aspect was perfectly planned and fleshed out.
The entire duology really explores the complexity of humanity, the experience of living, the pain we have to endure for the greater good; themes which I felt were beautifully incorporated into the story. There were some sentences which really made me pause and think, and I am amazed by how sensitively Schwab conveys so many messages. I would say this is definitely a must-read for anyone interested in gripping dystopian-esque worlds with danger lurking at every corner.
Are you afraid of your own shadow?
Reviewed by: S.R. Scribbles (1st Reading)
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