Book Review: Our Dark Duet (Monsters of Verity, #2)

After finishing the amazingness that was This Savage Song, I was super excited to dive right into Our Dark Duet (Monsters of Verity, #2) by Victoria Schwab. And… OH. MY. GOD. Why is Schwab such a goddess at writing?

THE WORLD IS BREAKING. AND SO ARE THEY.

KATE HARKER isn’t afraid of monsters. She hunts them. And she’s good at it.

AUGUST FLYNN once yearned to be human. He has a part to play. And he will play it, no matter the cost.

THE WAR HAS BEGUN.

THE MONSTERS ARE WINNING.

Kate will have to return to Verity. August will have to let her back in. And a new monster is waiting—one that feeds on chaos and brings out its victims’ inner demons.

Which will be harder to conquer: the monsters they face, or the monsters within?

What can I say about Schwab’s writing that hasn’t already been said many times before? She knows exactly how to engage you from the beginning and pull you completely into the story, even before you’re entirely sure about what’s going on. From page one, you are thrown immediately into this dark world that Kate and August are trying to navigate and survive in. I never once found myself bored or wishing for it to be over already. Instead, I was savoring every moment of it. From start to finish, I was on the edge of my seat with worry over what was going to happen next and if my sweet babies were going to have a happy ending. Needless to say, this is a Schwab book so I should have known better…

To say that our two protagonists have gone through some changes, would be an understatement. Kate is now a battle-hardened monster hunter – think Buffy Summers but with more of an attitude. I really liked seeing how much she’s been affected by what happened in Verity. You can see that she’s fighting monsters as a way to fight her own personal demons, especially the guilt over what happened in the previous book. She’s even become more closed off than before. August is no longer the same as well. He’s embraced being Sunai and is now leading his father’s troops. He has brushed aside his humanity in order to take control and try to live up to the expectations of everyone else, or at least what he believes to be their expectations. He’s also carrying his own inner demons and unfortunately, they’re winning. I loved seeing how the events in This Savage Song have profoundly changed the MCs. I hate how in some series you can barely see anything affect how the characters behave, but that’s not the case here. Yay!

Truthfully, I actually enjoyed the action much more in this book than I did in the first one. It came across much more intense and I could really feel how high the stakes were. Every scene felt like it was life or death and could possibly be the end for our characters. Schwab really was able to amp up the battle scenes. They were liberally spread throughout the story, never leaving us with a moment’s rest from the action. I loved it.

However, I think the strongest part of this book was the ending. Schwab always knows how to deliver the perfect ending that isn’t full of rainbows and sunshine, but one that is realistic and bittersweet. And she doesn’t disappoint here! It never felt rushed or left me feeling like anything was missing. It gave me everything I look for in endings – strong emotions, a clear and concise conclusion, and left me wanting more! It’s actually sad knowing that this story wrapped up so nicely that you know there’s nothing else coming afterwards. Yes yes yes, I do realize that it’s a duology but a girl can dream right?!

If you haven’t read this series yet, you definitely need to. It might just be Schwab’s best work yet.

Final Verdict: 5/5 Stars

Have you read Our Dark Duet? What did you think of it? Do you think it’s Schwab’s best work?