Kai Spellmeier's Reviews > Our Dark Duet

"All monsters were not created equal."

4.5 Stars

This was so good. Much better than the first book. If you've read my review of This Savage Song you might know that I only rated it three stars. I struggled with the characters - especially Kate - and the predictability. Overall it just wasn't as spectacular as Schwab's previous novels. This one, however, was a huge improvement.

Where do I start? The plot was much more exciting and fast-paced. The characters felt more real and were more relatable, because of the character development they went through. And while August's and Kate's arch-enemies were a little washed up - the typical cruel and smart villains - they served their purpose. My favourite character is Ilsa. I honestly love everything about her, her grace, her wisdom, her trust in her brother and Kate.
And the writing! Don't even get me started. I wish I could write like this amazing and very talented woman. She keeps taking my breath away with her words and I'm so glad for every story she creates.
This is one of my favourite quotes from the book:

"There would always be cracks in the surface, shadows in the light, a hundred degrees of grey between black and white."

I still have so many questions about the Chaos Eater, though. Where did he come from? What cruel act created such a destructive and powerful monster? How exactly can he be killed? I wish there would have been more of a backstory to this.

The ending was on point. I think that is one of the most important things an author needs to do: keeping things real. With all these monsters, superpowers and other paranormal activities, it's easy to lose your head in the clouds. That's where many authors become distracted and the plot slips into absurdity (yes, I'm talking about you, Sarah J. Maas). This was also my problem with A Conjuring of Light. But this time, Victoria nailed it. (view spoiler)[ In a war/battle/fight with stakes this high and so many victims, how realistic is it when the whole main cast survives? Even though it might hurt, I think Kate's death was the only way to end this right. She was stubborn and reckless, but always with purpose and even though she died, she died true to herself. It shouldn't have been any other way. (hide spoiler)]

One thing that bothered me is something that I can only talk about in another hidden spoiler section. (view spoiler)[ What was that kiss all about? This series was praised as Romeo and Juliet but without the romance. This scene was completely out of character and quite unnecessary in my opinion. It's not like the actually have romantic feelings for each other, so where did all of this come from? (hide spoiler)]

In a nutshell: A spectacular and nearly perfect conclusion to this amazing series. Highly recommended!

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