EyebrarianPrize winnersGet the app

Books › This Savage Song

Cover of This Savage Song

This Savage Song

V. E. Schwab

480 pages

A dark, rhythmic descent into a crumbling city where violence breeds literal monsters and humanity is a fragile choice.

Where to buyBooks like this

What it feels like

Reading this book feels like walking through a shadowed, crumbling metropolis where the air hums with a constant, eerie tension. It is a propulsive, dread-soaked experience that pulls you into a gritty world where violence manifests as literal monsters. The prose is sharp and rhythmic, echoing the musical magic at the heart of the story, while the tone balances cynical grit with a deep, melancholic yearning for humanity. Instead of a traditional romance, the emotional core is a fragile, high-stakes alliance between two lonely souls grappling with inherited sins and the blurry line between hero and villain. It is perfect for readers who devour dark urban fantasies, morally gray character studies, and stories about finding kinship in the darkest of places.

Mood
  • dread-soaked
  • shadowy
  • eerie
  • melancholic
Tone
  • gritty
  • cynical
  • yearning
  • atmospheric
Pace
propulsive
Themes
nature of humanity · inherited sins · monstrousness vs morality · weight of violence · platonic kinship
The writing
Sharp, rhythmic, and highly atmospheric, blending visceral action with poetic musings on darkness.
The arc
Moves from hardened isolation and self-denial to a fragile, desperate alliance and the painful acceptance of one's true nature.
Who it's for
Readers who love morally gray characters, dark urban fantasy, and platonic bonds forged in the fires of a crumbling city.
Content notes
  • violence
  • gore
  • parental neglect
  • murder
  • panic attacks

About the book

KATE HARKER wants to be as ruthless as her father. After five years and six boarding schools, she's finally going home to prove that she can be.

AUGUST FLYNN wants to be human. But he isn't. He's a monster, one that can steal souls with a song. He's one of the three most powerful monsters in a city overrun with them. His own father's secret weapon.

THEIR CITY IS DIVIDED.

THEIR CITY IS CRUMBLING.

Kate and August are the only two who see both sides, the only two who could do something.

But how do you decide to be a hero or a villain when it's hard to tell which is which?

This description comes from the publisher.

Description from Open Library.

Books like This Savage Song

See why they match