I've heard a lot of really good things about This Savage Song, and I know it's received a lot of rave reviews, but unfortunately, this book wasn't for me. 
 I thought the world-building was really confusing and not very clear. I knew there were monsters and they were born from really horrible things, but for me, the book made that concept seem a lot more confusing than it really was. And the differences between the different kinds of monsters was also really confusing. I wasn't sure what the differences between them were, and it seemed like they were different, but it wasn't really explained how they came to be or how they were different. 
 And the city of Verity, and it being closed off also seemed really confusing. Sometimes, it seemed like the things going on in Verity were happening elsewhere around the country. Other times, it seemed like Verity was the only city affected. I ended up feeling really confused about it, because the history and how Verity got to that point wasn't explained very clearly. Not that we get much, because we don't. It's hard to tell how much backstory there is on Verity and the monsters, because I thought the things we do get were confusing and not explained well. 
 I didn't like Kate at all, and she seemed to be intentionally horrible and destructive- she seems to act that way to get attention and prove she's like her father. She sets a school on fire because she didn't want to be there, and I wouldn't have minded it, except it seemed random and for no reason. As much as I know that people do act that way for no apparent reason, I also wanted something more from her. 
 As for August, I didn't really care for him either. He's very much a tortured soul that's supposed to be poetic and romantic and swoon-worthy, but in his case, it was just unappealing and annoying. They live in a bleak world, but I wanted something more from them. Maybe some hope or something? I'm not really sure, but something was missing from both of them. Maybe it's because of the world they live in, which is really dark and hopeless and not a world I'd want to live in. 
 My Rating: 2 stars. It's definitely not for me, but I can sort of see why people love the book.