As promised here is my review of Our Dark Duet which is the second book in the Monsters of Verity duology. The book picks up right after the events in the first book. Kate has moved to another city, Prosperity, where there are not any monsters however, that doesn’t last very long and Kate becomes a monster hunter. All of this happens in the first couple pages of the first chapter so no spoilers.
In Prosperity a new monster has emerged that is very powerful and it actually attacks Kate leaving her marked. From Kate the monster learns of Verity and so Kate returns to Verity following the new monster.
August has become alpha of the FTF in Verity and has the voice of his brother in his head telling him what he must do. August fights against it but feels guilty and follows what he thinks is the path he needs to take given the fates that befell his sister and brother in the first book. Again, no spoilers.
This is the beginning of the book and what transpires is life changing for both our main characters. One of the things I love about this author is she doesn’t pull any punches with her characters. They are not spared hardship and are always in danger. This is a very dark story and very violent so be warned.
So, what didn’t I like about this book? Not much to be honest. I think if I HAD to pick something I would say there were times Kate had tunnel vision which caused a lot of problems. Did she grow over time? Yes, a little bit but given all she was dealing with it fit into the story.
What I loved about this book was the relationship between August and Kate. Even with their differences they came together and found common ground. Kate was placed in a position where she learned what it was like for August to fight against the monster part of himself and that understanding drew them closer together. There was also the conflict between August and a new Sunai called The Sorrows who sees the world in black and white. Kate challenges August to live in the grey and as he struggles with this his role as the leader of the fighting force starts to change. I am NOT going to talk about the ending of this book because I want you to have the same experience and feelings I had. I will say it is worth reading both of these books to get to this ending,
I am so happy I decided to read this duology. I was a fan of V.E. Schwab and now I can say she is my favorite author. These books successfully killed my reading slump. I give this book 5 out of 5.
Since we’re talking about V.E. Schwab I though I would share a little news. I follow V.E. Schwab on Instagram and recently she posted an update of her “To Write” list. Here is what she talked about that has me very excited.
There will be a “Threads” series which are the next three books in the Shades of Magic series. Holy cow!!
There will be a book after Vengeful. So that’s book three. I’m very excited to see where the story goes next. If you haven’t read the first two books I highly recommend them.
TBR: I just finished Bound by Benedict Jacka. I have two more books to read to catch up on the series. I’ll write a review on this book for next week. Why this book and not Shorefall? Well I’m still reading that book and I don’t want to commit to a review and then go back on my word. I respect you too much to do that so I ask for your patience. I have read 60 pages so far and I will say it is very good. My plan is to get in some solid reading time this weekend so I’m hopeful I can finish. It’s not a hard book to read. It’s the complete opposite. I just have had other priorities that required my attention.
Libby is fast asleep right now. I’m sitting in my bed typing and she’s on the floor snoring away. She had a tough couple of days this week because we had some thunder and she doesn’t do very well with noise. But I put on her Calming Collar and now she’s sleeping peacefully. Thankfully the sun is out today. Maybe we can take a little walk later on.
I hope you enjoyed this review. I really enjoy writing this blog because I am able to read some good books and share my love with all of you. So, until next week, stay safe and stay healthy my friends.
Therese
Therese M Woolley 