Common Sense Media Review
By Michael Berry
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Hard-driving finale neatly wraps up harsh urban fantasy.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
At the start of OUR DARK DUET, Kate Harker has become accustomed to being a monster hunter. But when she catches a glimpse of a terrifying entity that feeds off chaos, she returns to Verity, the city she left in This Savage Song, determined to destroy the monster before it wipes out humankind. Waiting for her are old enemies who want to take revenge, as well as her soulmate August Flynn, a near-immortal who once yearned to be human and now seems to have embraced his violent side. As monsters gather and devise new threats, Kate and August must repair their relationship if they have any hope of saving themselves and their loved ones.
Is It Any Good?
Readers who like take-no-prisoners urban fantasy will enjoy this intense showdown between humankind and various monsters who haunt the darkness. In Kate and August, the two main characters of Our Dark Duet, author Victoria Schwab has created protagonists worth following to hell and back, as they fight for survival and salvation.
Sometimes the action gets a little repetitive, with Kate being told not to do something dangerous, resisting, and then learning why everyone was trying to warn her. It's an effective gambit once or twice, but the pattern wears out its welcome. Otherwise, this is another stellar effort from a writer supremely comfortable with both YA and adult audiences.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the examination of good and evil in Our Dark Duet. How can you tell if a person is one or the other?
How is violence used in Our Dark Duet? What do the characters hope to gain through its use? Does it always have the intended consequences?
What defines a monster? Can terrible deeds be forgiven?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Fantasy
- Topics : Fantasy ( Magic )
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Greenwillow
- Publication date : June 13, 2017
- Number of pages : 510
- Available on : Nook, Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 30, 2025
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