Books to fall for

Our Dark Duet by Victoria Schwab (Book Review)

Kat Impossible38 Comments

Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Page Count: 510

Our Dark Duet is the second and final book in the Monsters of Verity duology (you can read my review for the first book, This Savage Song, here). While I will try to avoid spoilers for this part as best as I can, I don’t recommend you read on if you haven’t read This Savage Song.

Back in 2016, I talked about this series all the time. So much so, that I pre-ordered the hardcover copy of Our Dark Duet, fully knowing that I’d be in Canada by the time it would arrive and therefore also buying the ebook version for my Kindle. All of that because I truly loved This Savage Song. I loved how quietly exciting it was, how original the creation of the monsters was. But most of all, I loved the characters and that’s what lead me to put off reading the book for such a long time. I was worried about their future and their livelihood and rightly so, because Monsters of Verity doesn’t have a happy end, but it might just have a hopeful one (even if it comes at a price, as Schwab so deftly put it in her acknowledgements).

To me, Our Dark Duet was a lot … well, darker. Whereas Kate’s opportunity at a family and a place where she belongs got once again taken away, August tried to embrace his supposed purpose in life and lost himself in the process. They had to grow up even more than in the last book and it just made me feel terribly sad for their circumstances. Only when the two are together, they can allow themselves to be themselves. I am very protective of my son August, but Kate grew even more on me here than she did in the last book. They see each other for who and what they are and that’s such a vital and beautiful quality whether it’s in friendship or whatever else they were having. It’s my favorite part about their relationship, while I simultaneously hated that they spent most of the book apart.

The book didn’t just deliver more of the same old, it had quite a lot of new elements – a terrifying monster and a new Sunai, by the name of Soro. The latter, in particular, was quite the enigma to me, which leads me to a final statement I want to make with this review: There’s still a lot of unanswered questions. It’s not like the book ended on a cliffhanger and I won’t survive, but there is so much more that this world has to offer, so many characters that we could still explore and I truly want to spend more time with. I don’t know if that is an option, or if Schwab is truly done with this world, but I, for one, would really enjoy some sort of spin-off or continuation in Verity and its surrounding areas (aka maybe a Prosperity spin-off???).

A lot happens in the book, we get several different POVs and there was a lot of heart in the story. My heart broke and hurt for hours after I was done. It’s always that way when I truly loved something and I just need to establish it one more time – if I could, I would adopt August and coddle him for life!

Rating: 5/5 stars! I am sad it is over, but this story was freaking fantastic.

Have you read the Monsters of Verity duology? I am telling you, it is totally worth it!

38 thoughts on “Our Dark Duet by Victoria Schwab (Book Review)”

  1. I am so glad you loved this so much, Kat, even if I am very, very, veryyyyyyy nervous to read it. I don’t want anything bad to happen haha. I’m so glad that Kate grew on you even more in this book – I ended up liking her by the end of TSS, but I’m still not really, in love with her or something, ahah, she is just an average, interesting character for now but I’m not rooting for her like I am rooting for August haha. Great review! 🙂

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    • Don’t worry, I was quite late to the party as well. Most people like the Shades of Magic trilogy more than the Monsters of Verity duology, but I am the other way round. I bet you will find one of her stories that’s right for you as well someday!

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  3. Oh gosh, I absolutely adored the first book. It was my first Schwab book too! I hesitated so much, and I still sort of, in completing this duology. I couldn’t imagine how she could top off the first one and deliver a perfect finale to this. I’m so glad to see how much you enjoyed it though, Kat. 😀 Great review!

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    • I completely understand that hesitation. It literally took me months of owning several copies of the book until I actually read it. I didn’t find it disappointing at all (although there are some who hate a certain event in the second book), but it’s not a happy ending. I think deep down I knew that it could never be, but that’s still something to consider when diving in.

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  4. Great review for this book Kat, and I am so glad you loved this one especially given you put it off for a while because you were worried. I guess in a way you were right to be worried about the characters (that ending right?) but it’s still an amazing book. 😀
    I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a spin-off or sequel to this series, like you I still have a lot of questions and, well, I just hope that V.E. Schwab will go back to this world one day. 🙂
    Again great review. 🙂 ❤

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    • I was SO freaking terrified of the book, but I don’t think it was really necessary. Schwab knows what she’s doing.
      I think we were all left with a lot of unanswered questions. I know that Schwab’s approach to world-building is the window and not the door. I don’t know if you saw her video on that, but basically it means, if you look at a world through a window, you can only ever see that much of the room. If you open the door and get to see the entire room/world, it’s a whole other way of storytelling. So, I don’t think we will ever know EVERYTHING there is to it, but I’d still like a little more. Considering she’s doing a lot of secret projects, who knows?

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  9. Hello Kat! Love this review!
    I am reading this book right now (actually I am about 30 pages from the end) and I love it so far. I feel the same way about Kate and August in that they both grew up so much since the first novel. It is heartbreaking to see how August has developed into a tougher but perhaps more jaded version of himself. I also wished that the two could have spent more time together. I think it was a good chunk of the novel before they actually met up again. In any case I am very excited to read how this ends, however judging by your review, it seems like a sad ending?! (don’t tell me haha!!)

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  10. I’ve read This Savage Song and I really liked it. I didn’t like Kate but August is my darling! It ended on a cliffhanger so I’m really interested in reading Our Dark Duet. I haven’t gotten around to that though.

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