(Monsters of Verity Book #2, By: Victoria Schwab)

SUMMARY:

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?

Published June 2017 by Greenwillow Books

REVIEW:

Note: If you have not read the first book in this series, there will be mild series spoilers below.

I gave this book 4 stars. I thoroughly enjoyed This Savage Song, and couldn't wait to read the sequel and final book in this series. The beginning of this one was a bit slow, and until about a third of the way through the book I was slightly disappointed and was expecting to give it 3 stars. This was largely due to the plot, and had nothing to do with my love for the characters (which carried over from the first book, and stayed strong throughout the ups and downs of this plot). 

At the beginning, we follow August and Kate around separately and it just felt a bit lackluster. There was action, but it felt like the characters were doing the same things over and over, and I wanted something new to happen. Then, just before "Verse 3" the plot really started to pick up and it didn't slow down from there. The conflict was well done, and the pacing of the second half of the book was spot on. I hated the enemies, and sang for the heros to step up - everything you want in a dystopian world. 

As soon as Kate and August were in the same place again, the story was on fire just like the first book. The relationship that the author built between these characters - the tension, the connection - was incredible. Additionally, what these two characters brought out of one another was HEART WRENCHING. Also, I have to do a little blurb on Ilsa because - wow what a character. Victoria did such a wonderful job of making a character who doesn't have the traditional types of reader interaction (no dialog and nothing from her POV) so easy to connect with and understand. She was one of my very favorite parts of this series.

Finally, I really cherished the moral questions that came up in this book, and the way that they were highlighted through August, a character that is not human but who wonders what it means to be human. It allowed Victoria to ask the questions (Can people change? Can they be forgiven? Is being human a curse or a blessing? How do you judge someone for something they did when you don't know them? etc.) without coming off as preachy or all-knowing. 

Overall, this was a great end to the series and left me drowning in feelings for the characters and the world. 

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