Our Dark Duet (Monsters of Verity #2) by Victoria Schwab
Published by: Grenwillow Books
Date of Publication: June 13th 2017
Genres: Young Adult Fantasy/Paranormal
Pages: 510
Format: I own physical book
Rating:★★★★★ 5 Stars
*Please note there are spoilers for This Savage Song in this review. If you’d like to check out my review for This Savage Song, please see here.
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?
It has now been 1 week since I finished Our Dark Duet aka “Breaker of Hearts” in my home *sobs* & since this is the sequel to a duology, I’ll keep this review short, dark, and spoiler free 😉
When we last left Verity, Kate & August had confronted Harker (her dad) & asked for his truths. After finding out that Harker is responsible for the death of her mother & also for breaking the truce, Kate doesn’t hesitate to shoot at her father. August intervenes & reaps his soul so as to prevent her from making the kill shot & thus creating her own monster. They each go their own ways with the expectation that it would be their last time seeing each other. This was all fine & well until the world as they knew it grew even darker than before while under the “protection” of Harker. With Harker out of the way, Sloan a Malchai (Monster) has taken up the mantle with a full crew of monsters & deviants to do his dirty work. Up until now, Verity was the only place infested with these creatures. Kate soon learns about a new monster behind violent acts & it is roaming the streets of Prosperity a place known to be safe from the darkness that plagues Verity….
The events in This Savage Song left deep scars in all of the players involved & also left some questioning the very foundation of their principles. In this new world innocents seek shelter from the monsters that have taken over more than half of the city. However, a warm bed/meal on the opposite side of the city is made available only to those souls who have never taken a life voluntarily or in self defense. August is now a leader in the FTC & to him is left the toughest task of reaping souls. We all know August as a Sunai who longed to be just an ordinary boy going to school & not acceptant of his true nature. We see August give in to his darker side in ODD & kind of go numb to his new world. Kate on the other hand has gone full on vigilante mode in Prosperity. She’s even found a group of hackers that serve as kind of her “Over watch” who go by the name of The Wardens while she goes on missions to clean up the streets one monster at a time. I found this addition of new characters to be a bit odd this late in the game but I’m keeping hope alive that this leaves the door open for a spin-off. As always, Schwab doesn’t disappoint with character development. She has created a dark world filled with fear & desperation that has molded these characters in order to fight back. Seeing both Kate & August’ slow progression to their end game cemented my attachment to these characters. Heavily flawed & jaded yet holding on tight to the belief that humanity is worth saving…
Photo credit: alekzandermorozova
“People were messy. They were defined not only by what they’d done, but by what they would have done, under different circumstances, molded as much by their regrets as their actions, choices they stood by and those they wished they could undo. Of course, there was no going back – time only moved forward – but people could change.
For worse.
And for better.
It wasn’t easy. The world was complicated. Life was hard. And so often, living hurt.
So make it worth the pain.”
It’s safe to say that I will read anything Schwab writes at this point. She speaks to that dark part of your soul…yea I truly do believe we all have a smidge of that (some more than others lol). I’m also noticing that as I follow her writing career through her books, she gets better & better with each new book. I’ve gotten accustomed to her first book in any series being slow paced while it builds to the sequel & yet I do not mind. She is wonderful at weaving complex characters and worlds where nothing is ever as simple as Good or Evil. Her characters always walking that thin line between either or making them much more authentic. I’m sad to see this world come to a close & that ending truly destroyed me, yet I am satisfied with it all. A ending that isn’t neatly wrapped up & one where the reader shares in the pain of the characters they love. AMAZING. Fingers crossed that the door to Monsters of Verity is left even a fraction open, I’d take that 🙂
Are any readers out there mending a broken heart? (no spoilers in comm plz) I sure am! any theories on The Wardens? I’m being hopeful here lol!
LairOfBooks 
“yea I truly do believe we all have a smidge of that (some more than others lol)” LMFAO MEEEEEE MEMEMEMEMEMEMEME!!!!!!!!! i know we have gushed about this book twin but ugh, this was simply amazing! i would love to see a spinoff with the additional characters. because like you said, they were definitely added late into the game. maybe even a spinoff with Soro because they had this hella mysterious vibe. great review and love the aesthetic!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lmfaoooo uhu I know twin! 🤣 and yeah it really was Amazing & im so happy to have more books from her that I still haven’t read cuz I LOVE HER! Lol. And yes! I totally forgot about Soro who I would def love seeing more of. Anything from these characters really though 😂 thank you twin😃💜📚💜
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think this book has given me a book hangover because I’ve not been able to properly read anything else since. It was incredible and completely upped the ante from This Savage Song.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh no! 😕 I completely understand though smh, that ending truly was crushing & yet I was able to accept it, surprising even myself lol. It def was even better than This Savage Song & I’m loving following her writing career. She writes stories that stay with me & characters I can’t help getting attached to 😢
LikeLike
She’s certainly one of my auto-buy authors nowadays. I’m loving everything she writes.
LikeLike
Awesome review Lilly! I just bought this today!😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Kim! I do hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I’ll be on the lookout for your thoughts 😃📚💙
LikeLiked by 1 person
Amazing review, Lily! Our Dark Duet is even better than the Savage Song. Despite the sad ending, I loved this book! Love those pics of Kate and August! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Raven! 😃💕I’ve never been this satisfied despite the heart breaking end to a book, still surprised by it. Right?!?! Looks just like what I imagine them as lol 💙
LikeLiked by 1 person
I was so sad that this book was over.I would love to see The Wardens in a spin-off and may be Soro and August too.
LikeLike
Fantastic review!! I still need to read the first novel, the series sounds so amazing 😊
LikeLike
AMAZING review for an AMAZING book! 🙈 I haven’t read this yet, but I’m SO sure I will love it and 200% sure it will also stomp on my heart and break it a million times?!? But I neeeeeed to read it and agh I love August and Kate so much! V.E Schwab is one of my favourite authors ever so I can’t wait to pick this up!! So glad you loved it. 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Omygosh! Yes! Now I can’t wait for you to pick it up 😱lol. Schwab is now one of my faves too which means def auto buy status 🙌🏼 I look forward to your thoughts even though I know it may take you a bit to get over that ending 😉
LikeLike
I have not read the Monsters of Verity series yet. Still reading ACOL but I like Schwab as a writer. Glad you loved the book
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’d like to finish that trilogy soon, I read ADSOM last year & liked it but I hear AGOS is even better. Thank you 😃💙📚💙
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, AGOS is better. Hope you enjoy that one
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you 😃💜📚💜
LikeLike
Great review for this book Lilly! I loved Our Dark Duet, it was darker than This Savage Song but it fit with the world, the characters and the story. After everything Kate and August went through in the first book they wouldn’t be able to begin the second unscathed would they? The ending was intense, it kind of broke my heart but again I don’t think it could have ended any differently. One thing I love about Schwab’s books is that she’s not afraid to put her characters through hell, kind of makes reading her books more intense in a way.
I am so glad you loved this book, are there any other of Schwab’s releases you need to pick up still?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Omg yes to everything Beth! 🙌🏼 It wouldn’t have been realistic (as much as it gets in Fantasy lol) for them to begin unscathed. The events in This Savage Song def set them off on diff paths & none were easy. There was so much pain in this book even btwn Kate & August friendship. Schwab knows how to deliver raw characters & like you said is t afraid to put them through it. That ending as devastating as it was…I couldn’t imagine it happening any other way. I haven’t picked up A Conjuring of Light just yet since I have AGOS to read at home but I’m already anxious to get to it since finishing ODD 😆 do you think she’ll give us a spin off for Monsters of Verity? On twitter she had mentioned 4 projects she was working on but I’ve only read about her middle grade series….
LikeLiked by 1 person
After everything that happened in the first book there needed to be a lot of scathing in Kate and August. Schwab is incredible at writing her character and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next. I hope you really love ACOL Lilly, and AGOS as well. I’ll definitely be excited to see what you think of both of those.
I hope so, I’d love to see more from that world! 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree & now I’m excited to get on with the other books I haven’t read 😃 thanks Beth, I’ll def review them on my blog 💜📚💜
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have to tell you the same I told Gretchen haha. I skipped the reviews because I haven’t read the first yet, but had to see how the sequel rated with you both ❤ I will be coming back to these if I manage to read the Savage Song soon!
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s ok Danielle! 😉 I hope you enjoy This Savage Song when you get around to it 😃
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ahhh I loved This Savage Song SO MUCH and have been looking forward to this one since forever? Yet I still somehow haven’t picked it up… my subconscious is probably putting it off because #helloheartbreak 😂 I’m so glad you loved it though, I can’t wait to read it!! ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did 😃💙📚💙
LikeLike