She wants to be, but she isn’t there yet. But, despite her tough act and her gritty resolve, she isn’t cold. She’s angry, she has a chip on her shoulder and something to prove. She reminded me a lot of Lila Bard from Shades of Magic, which is never a bad thing. His attachment to his violin goes beyond the fact that he needs it to feed. I also love that, though music is the Sunai method of feeding on souls, he also seems to just legitimately love music.

August! I love his complexity, his inner-turmoil and how much he struggles with the concept of what he is versus who he is.

They are scary in new ways, and I just found them really interesting.

The monsters!!! They are just familiar enough that I’m not confused by them or get them confused with one another, but they’re new too.

Just like August didn’t intend to actually like Kate, he was just supposed to spy on her. Now is her chance to prove that she isn’t weak, that she deserves to be in Verity, and that she is the rightful heir of Callum Harker.īut she didn’t plan on making friends with the quiet boy with a violin and one hell of a secret. She’s burned (in one case, literally) through boarding school after boarding school until her father finally lets her come home. Kate Harker, the other half of this duo, is a quintessential problem child. What could be more human than going to high school? And when word reaches South City that Kate Harker, daughter of North City’s mob boss-esque leader, is back in town, he finally gets his chance. But August doesn’t want to be an angel, all he’s ever wanted is to be human. The eldest Sunai believes they are akin to avenging angels, sent to reap the souls of sinners and cleanse the city. Then there’s the Sunai, the rarest of them all.Īugust Flynn, one half of the two-perspective narration, is the youngest of the only three Sunai in Verity. They have a mouth full of super sharp needlelike teeth and bright red eyes, and though they are weaker in the daylight, they can move around in it. They hate UV light and will literally tear you to shreds. They’re made of shadow, teeth and claws, as the song would lead you to believe. So, a breakdown for you, because I found the monsters fascinating.

There’s even a little song to help you remember them! Violent acts lead to the birth of literal monsters. Civil war split the city down what’s called The Seam, where violence overflowed the world. South City, where people band together to fight back the monsters, and North City where the people pay for protection from Callum Harker who brought the monsters to heel.

I looked at a couple of reviews and decided that the Monsters of Verity series would be the right series to start with in my quest to read her entire bibliography. Schwab pretty much blew my mind with those books, and left me with a desperate need to read more of her work. This book was not on my radar until I finished reading the Shades of Magic series.

Ve schwab this savage song