Review: “Our Dark Duet” (Monsters of Verity #2) by V.E. Schwab

Author: V.E. Schwab
Genre: Fantas
Publisher: Titan Books
Release Date: 13th June 2016
Pages: 474
Spoilers: No spoilers unless you haven’t read the first book!
Rating: (4.5 / 5)

After reading This Savage Song for the Bored to Death Book Club (which of course I hadn’t finished in time so I finished the book later which is why Ellen reviewed This Savage Song HERE), I promised myself to read its sequel ASAP. And I did. IN TIME for the next bookclub (tomorrow) which is totally awesome. So yes, Ellen reviewed the first book (I totally agree with her review tho) and I will review this book (unless Ellen decides she wants to review it as well, which would mean we will just post both of our reviews). Okay, this took way to long. Lets get ready for an emotional review because this book was something. Really something. 

“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.” [Goodreads]

The book takes of a few months after This Savage Song happened. Unfortunately, I read it a year after the first book came out, so I was very confused about everything that had happened in the first book and what was happening in Our Dark Duet. I decided to read a recap of the first book before continuing on in the second book. It helped a bit, but I have to be honest: just keep reading. Keep reading, because the first part will be confusing. Why? Let me explain.

Our Dark Duet isn’t set in Verity at first. Kate fled to Prosperity, a city with no monsters. She wants to forget everything that happened (she can’t, honestly) and she has taken on a different identity. Unfortunately, like Harry Potter attracts problems, Kate attracts monsters. And that’s what sets off a couple of things that will speed up the book. At the same time, you read parts of the story from August’s perspective, who’s stayed in Verity to fight the monsters Kate has fled from. But you’ll also get to read some parts of the story from a new point of view, which I will say nothing about. But it gives the book some extra depth.

While the first part of the book is a bit slow and confusing, the middle part is quite interesting and really emotional, as the characters in the book are slowly figuring out who they one were, who they are now and mostly who they want to be in the future. A future full of monsters and danger.

The ending is devastating. The fast paced story will make you sit on the couch (or your bed, whatever you prefer), until you’ve read the last page and have closed the book with tears in your eyes. Whether those tears are of joy or of sadness, I won’t tell. But let me tell you this: Our Dark Duet is freaking emotional. DO NOT read it in public. Ever.

Our Dark Duet is, for once, a sequel that’s better than the first book. It is emotional, funny and also very exciting. The book unfortunately also leaves us with some questions, but over all, it’s a great ending to a duology. I think anybody who’d like to read a deep, meaning full fantasy series that is also full of wit and excitement, will come to love this story. No sappy love stories but real feelings. I can’t wait to read more books by V.E. Schwab!