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Pros: The idea of the Phenomenon, Monsters coming to life in the wake of violent deaths (Corsai), murder (Malchai) and mass killings (Orsai), was definitely unique/It left off perfectly open-ended, allowing for expansion or leaving it as a stand-alone//To me, Schwab is a master of Magical Realism.
Cons: As I have a soft spot for the "quiet, tortured hero" (August), I get irritaed by the "dark, gloomy, loner" (Kate) but their interaction was done well enough that I coudl handle the momentary cliches.
Full Review:
Monsters are very real. They came into being during the Phenomenon, a chaotic event, wherein creatures suddenly appeared after people died in specific ways. Corsai, Malchai and Orsai. Together they're called Sunai. Their sudden explosion into the world was the reason for the Territory Wars. It broke the Country apart into 10 territories and this story focuses on Verity and the intertwined lives of Kate Harker and August Flynn.
Kate Harker is the only daughter of Callum Harker. He rules over Verity by offering protection, for a fee of course. When the Territory Wars began, Kate and her mother were separated from her father for years. Kate was happy but, of course, everything changed once the truce occurred and they were allowed back into the city.
Kate never quite felt like she adjusted, always wanting to be back alone with her mother. For months, her mother tried to pretend like everything was fine. Until one night, her mother finally relents and they try to escape, only to leave her mother dead and Kate broken and scarred, in more ways than one. Instead of loving his only daughter, her father sends her off to multiple boarding schools, all of which she's promptly expelled from. Her rebellion is a desperate plea for her father to see her, to love her. When he finally relents and allows her back to V-City, she knows this is her chance. She'll have to navigate her way around the slinking creatures that surround her father like a shadow, like the ever smirking, Malchai, Sloan.
August Flynn is an Orsai. He's a Monster that's created when someone causes death to themselves and multiple others, IE, a school shooting. He, as well as his sister, Ilsa and his brother, Leo, work with their adoptive parents the Flynns to form the FTF, the resistance. They offer the people of Verity protection in the form of military enforcement and barracks. August and his siblings, militant Leo and sweet but scattered, Ilsa, try to help their parents as best they can. Leo is adamant that they use their powers, the ability to kill with only their voice, to burn away the evil in the world. August has a hard time finding balance in his brother's stark view but at the same time, he wants to help protect his family and he can't deny that there is a darker side to him. He knows there's a monster in him but there are 400+ marks on his skin that show that he has endured that Monster and will continue to do so. When he doesn't, that's when people die.
The chance for Kate to prove her worth and August to help his family come when they both enroll at Colton Academy, a school in the heart of V-City. Their pathes violently collide and their thrown into a run or die situation. It had a surreal, steampunk, frenemies, "Romeo and Juliet" feel. And though the Phenomenoni itself was vague and left a few questions, once the story hit its stride, you just sat back and enjoyed watching the story unfold.
I'm really eager to see what Our Dark Duet has in store.
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