Reviewed by Joséphine on
Initial thoughts: I can't put my finger on it but I feel torn about Our Dark Duet, and that feeling is really weighing down on me. This one's a book where the anticipation was greater than the satisfaction of finally reading it. Part of that stems from the disconnect from Kate and August.
Even though this sequel is longer than This Savage Song, Kate and August weren't as central to the plot anymore. I mean, I get it, there was this raging war on and among monsters, and humans too in the periphery. So yeah, it makes sense that there were other characters whose perspectives were important too.
Still, there's this feeling of "missingness", I guess. At least for me. The characters became victims of their circumstances. That's not a bad thing, specifically, but it reshaped the narrative from This Savage Song. Moral ambiguity also started to be driven more towards absolutes when it came to August and Kate. In some ways that made them less interesting to me than before.
What I did like about Our Dark Duet was the prose — it was poetically eerie and atmospheric, making me forget my actual surroundings as I read. Our Dark Duet was imaginative and the monsters truly were terrors to reckon with.
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 15 February, 2018: Finished reading
- 15 February, 2018: Reviewed