Review Posted On: 
 Ever the Reader 
 Read review for This Savage Song here. 
 Spoiler Free Review: 
 Our Dark Duet took a turn from the first book as the story became even more darker. Schwab dove into the morale of the characters and yet again focused on the fine line between good and evil. This wasnaEUR(tm)t my favorite Victoria Schwab book, but it was definitely one of her best written novels yet. If you look back on all of SchwabaEUR(tm)s previous works, you can see a massive improvement in her writing. Our Dark Duet really embodied the tone of the story through the addition of poems. The poems were weaved into the story and surprisingly, they werenaEUR(tm)t cryptic. As much as I love poetry, when theyaEUR(tm)re added into a book written in prose, itaEUR(tm)s usually obscure. Not only did the poems make sense, but it added to the story. 
 I didnaEUR(tm)t actually remember much from This Savage Song since I read it exactly a year ago. I actually had to read a recap which goes to show how little I remembered. As for the story line, it revolves around a new monster that is neither a Malchai, Corsai or Sunai. It was especially interesting because the monster didnaEUR(tm)t take a specific form. IaEUR(tm)ll leave it at that and have you figure it out for yourself. dY~%0 
 Schwab definitely delves deeper into the psyche of each of the characters. What makes this story so intriguing that it appears that the monsters are the villains. In reality, the monsters are a reflection of human actions, a concept I rarely ever see in YA. August and Kate are both morally grey characters and I really donaEUR(tm)t find any of them to be lovable. In dystopia/paranormal, thereaEUR(tm)s always the comical relief or a romantic subplot -_-, there to keep the story more engaging and make light of a conflict. What liked about Our Dark Duet was that it was a realistic portrayal, things are bleak until the very end. Did August and Kate feel very bland to me? Absolutely. But when youaEUR(tm)re in the midst of a broken city and monsters parading around killing everyone, there isnaEUR(tm)t much room for light and funny moments. 
 There is a new character introduced, Soro who is a Sunai and gender-less, they go by they/them pronouns. They were a really interesting character and I wished there was more about them. Soro was actually pretty similar to Leo, their views on sinners and thier belief in how all of them deserved to die. The only difference to Soro was that their was more of a open mindedness to their character that wasnaEUR(tm)t present in Leo. I would love to read a spinoff or short story from SoroaEUR(tm)s perspective, since they were such an intriguing Sunai. 
 The pacing definitely varied and I did find myself bored with a lot of what was happening. The book was a little too long and a lot of parts dragged which is why it took me so long to finish. Additionally, the nature of Kate and AugustaEUR(tm)s relationship was strange, to say the least. It didnaEUR(tm)t exactly stay a solid friendship is all IaEUR(tm)ll say. (view spoiler)[ The scene where they kissed was really weird. Did they have any romantic feelings towards each other or was it just an intense feeling of friendship? I really donaEUR(tm)t know but it wasnaEUR(tm)t really addressed and I wanted some closure. I would have preferred for them to stay friends. Obviously, Kate died which I actually thought was very fitting. Reminded me of the ending of Allegiant, but Schwab executed it far better than V. Roth. 
 (hide spoiler)] 
 Overall, Our Dark Duet had a very fitting conclusion to the series. Out of all of the dystopian IaEUR(tm)ve read, the Monsters of Verity duology definitely stands out from the rest. Victoria Schwab is an exceptional and progressive author so if you havenaEUR(tm)t read her books yet, I would highly recommend you do. dY(tm), 
 Rating: 3.75/5