I love V.E./Victoria Schwab is pretty much always a hit for me, and overall I liked this book, though I wasn't completely satisfied by the ending.. There's an author's note from Schwab explaining her fascination with doors of all kinds, and while I'm not sure I would have been able to say "oh yeah, she's super into doors" before reading it, I realized after that doors (physical and metaphorical) are a huge part of most of her books. This one focuses on a door that is both physical and metaphorical, a door between the living version of Gallant (an estate/house) and the dead version, ruled over by death itself. Olivia Prior has been living in what is essentially an orphanage for most of her life, always wondering exactly what happened to her mother and father. She's an outcast at school for being both mute and strange, and she's even stranger than the other girls realize, because she can see ghouls/ghosts. Out of the blue, a letter arrives from a long lost uncle, inviting Olivia to come and live with her remaining family on their estate at Gallant. Olivia's only possession is her mother's diary, which is fully of increasingly creepy entries and drawings, and includes a warning that Olivia must stay away from Gallant. Unfortunately, she has no choice but to go, and at Gallant she learns more about her mother and her family's history, which is tied very closely to Gallant and its mirror. Very strong creepy vibes, great illustrations, and an interesting fantasy world, but I wanted a happier ending. I think I've just been spoiled by all the romance that I read!

V.E. Schwab is an excellent writer and Gallant is no exception. This is an exciting and riveting story that will definitely keep readers glued to the page.

This one is more 3.5 ⭐️ but I like to err on the side of good. Gallant is a absolute sound bath. Schwab’s writing is lyrical and leading. The entire time that I was reading, I kept waiting for something more fantastical than a shadow version of our world to be revealed. I wanted talking lions or flying monkeys, lost rings or ruby slippers. What I got was an elusive, paper thin figure of Death who wants to walk on the bright side of life for some unknown purpose. I wanted the quiet, fairy tale to become… something… more.

For me, it never did. For you, who knows.

Wow, I loved this book! I want to press it into the hands of almost all students at my school. It brought me back to one of my first loves as a reader, The Secret Garden, but with a slightly darker take. Schwab is such a talented writer for both adult and young adult audiences. Gothic writing at its finest!

So Schwab has been on my TBR for entirely too long. I never intended to start my dive into her works with Gallant, but when the opportunity to read an advance copy ahead of its release presented itself, I just had to seize it.

I’ve seen descriptions of this book characterizing it as The Secret Garden meets Crimson Peak, and I definitely agree with the comparisons. As a kid I was captivated by the idea of magical, untamed places of wild natural beauty, hidden away and waiting to be discovered. I was also always drawn to the creepier, darker things of the world. If it had monsters, vampires, ghosts, or ghoulies, well then I was sold. I mean, my favorite shows were Scooby Doo and Forensic Files. I was, perhaps, a bit morbid. So to say that this story would have hit all the right notes for a younger me would not be an exaggeration.

Schwab really does a wonderful job of crafting a certain mood and ambience with her setting. There is not a lot of intense or sudden action happening in the plot, and while that does add to the eerie quietness of the overall vibe of the story, it also deflates the possible build up of some the tension throughout.

Olivia is a very interesting character. Largely unable to communicate in any meaningful way with a world that is determined to not make even the slightest effort to try to understand her, she is forced to be very inwardly focused. She truly wants to find somewhere she belongs and where she is both appreciated and understood, but without always having to put in the extra effort to accommodate the world around her in order to convey even a fraction of what she would like. Her circumstances, however, have resulted in her being keenly observant and curious, but aloof, withdrawn, suspicious, and feeling almost literally invisible.

Overall, I enjoyed the spooky atmosphere and characters that Schwab created. However, the plot could do with a bit more tension, since sometimes I almost felt too removed from the events taking place to be fully invested in the outcomes, and perhaps a side effect of the detached and aloof nature of the main character, Olivia. I also didn’t feel satisfied with the ending and found myself wanting something more, or maybe different. All of that said, though, I still enjoyed this book and would recommend it to kids (and adults) after my own spooky heart.

Victoria Schwab does it again, this time with a dark tale that leaves the readers with the feeling that they may have seen this world before, but makes them mournful to leave.

The plot itself is nothing completely new: an orphan - Olivia Prior - receives a letter from a long-lost uncle claiming he has been searching everywhere for her and demands she comes to see him at Gallant. Only problem is this is the same place her late mother’s diary begged her to stay away from. Haunted by visions of ghouls and tempestuous cousin, Olivia can’t help but feel temporary in this place meant to be her home, but alongside her journal and the help of her new friends in the manor, she begins to unravel the mysteries and find light in the darkness.

What makes this story stand out is the creativity of the narrative. Olivia herself is nonverbal but her personality and curiosity makes up for it and more. Paired with unique illustrations (that actually contribute to the book’s twist), this story captures the attention of readers from the very first page (Who is the master of the house?) and keeps them guessing.

I enjoyed the story and the dark elements of a cursed family, but felt certain details were missing or rushed. The final twenty pages contained so much action that the ending feels like coming out of an adrenaline rush, but with not enough time to cool down. While the big questions were answered, which some authors fail to do, other elements were not fully flushed out. Gallant has the world-building of a series, with the plot of a standalone, meaning with so much dedicated to the atmospheric description, we missed out on narrative elements, but the ending leaves little potential for continuation.

This is for fans of Coraline, Over the Garden Wall, and of course includes the patented Schwab charm (especially similar in Addie Larue). While this story is for a younger audience, even bordering middle grade, it was missing that bit of edge I look for in Schwab’s novels. But, overall, despite the black and white pages, Schwab succeeded in transporting their readers to a world filled with colour, proving that there is hope where you least expect it.

I'll admit that I'm not a die-hard VE Schwab fan like many people, but I find her books enjoyable and readable, with just enough compelling elements to hold my attention. GALLANT is no different from her other works in this regard. I'm a sucker for a 'misfit orphan learns that she has a Great Purpose' plot, particularly if there are spooky and/or magical elements involved. Add a cursed family mansion to the mix, and I'm very much on board. I enjoyed Schwab's take on the archetype and particularly enjoyed Olivia as a curious, hot-tempered heroine. I would've enjoyed a bit more exploration of the stakes/context -- or perhaps just an explanation of the difference between Death and mortality. The CRIMSON PEAK vibes are strooooong in this book (& you can't convince me that Olivia and Matthew don't have some sexual tension), so if female gothic is your genre of choice, you'll really like this one!

Although I really did enjoy this one. I wish that the synopsis didn't the entire book away. I accidentally read it and I really wished I hadn't since it ruined a lot of the story. This book is pretty simple in its telling/showing and I really did enjoy the ride. The characters were great and the story was ok.

Olivia Prior’s childhood has been miserable and lonely as an orphan living in the Merilance School for Girls. She doesn’t speak and is ostracized by the other girls — and, just to make her life even harder, she sees ghouls everywhere. Olivia’s only solace is a journal that belonged to her mother and contains the warning: “you will be safe as long as you stay away from Gallant.” One day she receives a mysterious letter telling her to come to Gallant (her mother’s childhood home) & she is caught up in a fight to save herself and her newfound family from the world of shadows.

•-•-•-•

Gallant is middle-grade-level spooky — not too over the top, but definitely a little shivery — and the illustrations are gorgeous. I wish it had been a bit longer or maybe split into two books because there was a kind of long buildup to an ending that felt really abrupt and kind of unsatisfying to me. I also wish I got to know the characters a bit better — there’s a lot of story potential here (so much!) & it felt too compressed. That said, Gallant will be a good pick for Cassidy Blake fans, and I will definitely be recommending it to my favorite batch of 5th grade girls who frequent the scary books section at my work library because I think they’ll love it.

(Also posted on IG @leavemetomybooks on 2/28)

Gallant by V E Schwab is a young adult fantasy book with some horror themes.
Olivia Prior lives at the Merrilance School for Girls where she has lived since her mother died. She reads her mother's journal that she wrote as she descended into madness. When a letter from a relative arrives, Olivia is sent to Gallant, her family's estate. The house is not what she expected and the person who wrote the letter has died. However, Olivia is determined to stay.
The story is very simple, but it's Schwab's writing that makes it such a fascinating read.

Dreaming of having a family and what that will be like might not always live up to expectations but family is still important. This family is extremely important as they are the only ones who can keep death from claiming the entire world. Quick read with interesting characters.

At first, I wasn't quite sure how I felt about this book. I was teetering on the verge of not really liking it and wondering what I was actually reading. But then I got to about the middle of the book and it all started to make more sense and I got sucked in. One of the things I had to keep reminding myself was that this was not an adult novel. I tend to enjoy Schwab's content and depth with her adult novels.

That being said, the overall story is simple. I also kept wanting more complexity, but needed to step back and realize that part of the beauty of the novel was the simplicity. Overall, I enjoyed this book-it gave me dark Alice in Wonderland meets Coraline meets the Secret Garden vibes. Eerie, and charming; if you're a fan of Schwab, I would wager you'll be a fan of Gallant!!

Oh my goodness this was so good!!

I actually recommend going into this without reading the synopsis/jacket copy. V.E. Schwab is an auto-read for me, having loved her Villains series, and I didn't read much about Gallant before I started it. I'm glad I didn't! Just know that it's an excellent Gothic novel with loads of dread, atmosphere, family secrets, decrepit houses, and more.

Schwab has this incredible ability to craft luscious worlds with seemingly little effort. She doesn't devote paragraphs to worldbuilding, but I can picture her worlds perfectly which speaks to her command of language. I felt that way reading Vicious and Vengeful, too.

At first I thought the story started off a bit slow, but I soon began to revel in it and I wished it went on longer—not really, it was actually the perfect length, but I wanted to stay in the world longer. Again, Schwab is a master storyteller!

And I cried at the end, so you know what they say: if you cry, you buy.

Thank you HarperCollins Children's and NetGalley for a free arc in exchange for an honest review!

This book entirely satisfied the 8yo in me who loved Frances Hodgson Burnett but wished the creepy atmosphere had real payoff...like ghosts...or actual skeletons. What if Ms Rochester was both dead AND in the attic???

Gallant delivers on these types of chills and more. Especially noteworthy are the watered ink illustrations that are exactly the opposite of Stephen-Gammell-style: instead of hiding them from myself, I wanted to stare at them long enough to absorb all of the beauty and emotion they evoked.

I highly recommend for any child (or younger self) who likes Sendak's "Outside Over There", confronting life's darkness, or watching horrible families treat each other poorly out of good intent but emotional repression. It would make a good read-to- or read-together for a parent & child, or any established VE Schwab fan.

For some reason I never connected with this book. While I could acknowledge that it has an interesting premise, and I'm a big fan of V. E. Schwab, I didn't get captured by the story. Like the protagonist, Olivia, I felt like an outsider to the story and kept waiting for something to draw me in. Maybe it's just a me problem. That being said, the world building, setting, and ideas behind the book are interesting, creepy, and haunting. My favorite thing is the accompanying artwork, which is dark and elegantly unsettling.

Gallant by Victoria Schwab is a young adult horror story dealing in the paranormal. Despite Schwab being a huge author this was my first attempt at her writing and I was curious to see if I would enjoy it.

After Olivia Prior lost her mother she was sent to Merilance School for Girls were every day felt like survival. Olivia did not make friends at Merilance and was often picked on as she did not speak. Olivia also held a secret the others did not know, that she could see the dead around them. One day a letter arrives at Merilance beckoning Olivia home to family she did not know existed, home to Gallant.

Gallant by Victoria Schwab was a slow moving story which can often be a turn off for me but for this one I didn’t mind quite as much. With this book I felt the author did a good job making it just dark and foreboding enough to keep my interest as the story progressed. The real action takes place towards the end of this with the gothic dark vibes holding one over until then. Overall I found myself rating this one at three and a half stars with an interest still in reading more from this author.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

This was my first experience with V.E. Schwab and I will definitely be picking up more from her. Gallant is an atmospheric, gothic, fairy tale that I could not put down. The settings are so well developed that I felt as though I had visited this world after reading it. Olivia Prior is our heroine, she is stubborn and short tempered. Her character is very much in the vein of Mary Lennox from The Secret Garden (which is fitting considering this is being marketed as The Secret Garden meets Crimson Peak, a very accurate description). Much her frustration and temperament are due to her inability to communicate verbally. The isolation and uncertainty that Olivia feels is relatable, especially for anyone that has felt ignored or misjudged. The highlight of the book though is the love story that develops along the edges of the main plot. As intriguing as the mysteries of Gallant and Olivia’s explorations are, it is her parent’s story that really drew me in and I would love to see Schwab return to this world in some way or another. The only reason I did not give this book five stars is due to the abruptness of the end. It felt as though the final confrontation was somewhat anticlimactic after such a strong build up. Overall, I truly enjoyed every minute of this book and will be picking up a copy for myself. Thank you to NetGalley and Greenwillow Books for send me an advanced e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

Really well written. Great world building. Would definitely include in our libraries. Did stop at 15% but four stars easy if it continues as it has.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins for the ARC.

One word to describe this book? Immersive.

I was captivated within the first paragraph, completely pulled into the Gallant universe. I saw all the gray, I felt the gravel crunch under my feet, I was inside the misty, chilly, dreary garden shed. I did not once leave this universe until the book was over. This was my first V.E. Schwab book (shocking, I know, but I only got into fantasy in December 2021!!) and it made me add the author's entire backlog to my TBR, that's how much trust in V.E. Schwab this book gave me. I only wish it were longer, the last 20% of the book made me aching for more!

This book gets released on March 10, I highly recommend you grab it. 👌

Victoria Schwab is a master of atmospheric literature. The beginning of this book spooked me so bad that I couldn’t read it in bed. Of course, then it got a little more tame. I got used to the atmosphere and the plot became slow. That’s another thing I find with her books, while they’re extremely well written and have absolutely beautiful prose, they also move rather slowly. Not much happened in this book between 30 and 70% of it. And even though I wanted the plot to pick up and for something to happen... I found myself enjoying the journey and the ghouls Olivia encountered along the way. I also adored the illustrations and journal pieces. Such a genius way of incorporating that storyline.