Technical perfection is difficult to achieve in books, but Gallant is, for me, as close as possible to it. Schwab’s writing is always beautiful, but this book in particular felt like it was exploding at the seams with her flowering, elegant prose. In every scene, every line, it felt as though Schwab had taken special care to make the page a work of art. I found myself struck by how gifted they are as a writer in the process, and honestly, Gallant rivals Addie Larue in terms of technical skill for me. Both books are stunning examples of why Schwab is such a good writer. Wonderful writing aside, I found it difficult to get attached to any of the characters in this book. Perhaps that’s because I don’t read as much YA anymore, but for the most part I felt unaffected by the characters’ struggles. Olivia was a fine main character, and as a person who is hard of hearing, the disabled rep in this book was a joy to read. But I didn’t feel any particular way about Olivia, or Hannah, or Edgar. The one character I did get semi-invested in, Matthew, felt only half-realized. I wish this book had had more runtime; while it contains itself neatly in a wrapped-up ending, it could have been looked at more deeply and thoroughly with a longer page count.

V.E. Schwab has done it again! This author has a great talent for making all her books unique from each other, yet still maintaining her signature style that I adore in her stories. My favorite thing about Gallant that set it apar twas the atmospheric, poetic, and dark tones.
The eerie illustrations really helped tell the story and made the fact that our protagonist was a mute all the more compelling when she would communicate through art.
This book really adds something new to the YA genre and goes beyond it. Adults could easily enjoy this just as much as a teenager and take away something from the story.

Eerie, haunting, lyrical and addictive - it may be a clichee to say it, but VE Schwab truly never misses. I adore it.

WOW they’ve done it again. VE Schwab is one of the best writers I’ve ever had the pleasure to read the works of, and this book is no exception. Olivia is the perfect protagonist, broken but whole and flawed and gorgeous. The story ripped my heart to shreds but lovingly put it back in my chest, like a Prior would, I cannot overstate how many feels this book gave me and I can’t wait to get my hands on a physical copy for my “books that shape me” shelf

Thank you for Netgalley for the Advance Copy!

V. E. Schwab is one of my absolute favorite authors, so I'm going to be honest, this one disappointed me a little. This book is a ghost story, and a good one - however, that is all. I kept turning pages expecting it to become something MORE, but the synopsis describes the book in it's entirity pretty well. I'm not sure why I got the idea that it would transcend ghost stories and become something else entirely, but it did not.

If you're looking for a creepy (not scary) supernatural ghost story featuring gothic mansions and a plucky young girl as the MC, then this is for you.

This is utterly fantastic, I am completely at a loss for words. I expected nothing less from this author.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of this book!

This book was beautiful. Not an unusual statement for one of V.E. Schwab's books, but something that still must be said. The writing is solid, the characters and setting fleshed out and tangible. The plot kept me hooked from the beginning to the end, and did not leave me with unfinished plot threads. Definitely gives vibes of Crimson Peak and Coraline.

This is the book that will keep you up at night. My opinion is entirely my own but any v.e. Fan will absolutely love it. It’s an amazing question of who you are in the world and the journey to home.

This book was a delight to read. The main character Olivia is struggling to find her place to belong in the world and ends up in Gallant with an estranged family who is split on whether she can stay due to the curse on the family, the Priors. My favorite part of the book was how the world was painted in sound, Olivia studies the ambient sounds of the world and it adds such a layer to the overall story.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of this novel!

V.E. Schwab did it again! The tag is “Secret Garden meets Crimson Peak,” and I can see it! This is a read that is perfect for multiple generations to enjoy together! Literally the perfect buddy read for mother/daughter or aunt/niece as it can be easily read for middle school age to adults. Some might wonder if there is any romance as it’s YA. And yes, no romance, but that’s the beauty of this book. It’s perfect.

Dark, twisted, gothic feel. This was an enjoyable book and an easy read. It was interesting having a non-verbal character as the main. However I found the ending to be a bit lacking. Not in the it didn’t have a happily ever after way but the fact it felt a bit rush and that there was something missing from the story. I also was confused about when the story takes place. I did love the illustrations in the book. Overall Schwab always seems to write a book with an intriguing story and this definitely is.

Make this your next spooky read!

This was my first time reading one of V.E Schwab’s works. Let me preface this review with the fact that I am a scaredy-cat. Bumps in the night, scary music, horror films are the stuff of nightmares for me. So books of the same nature are not ones I gravitate toward. I went into Gallant not knowing much. I made the mistake of reading in the dark of night. The author does such an amazing job of creating suspense. The eerie feelings associated with a horror film. This book is a young adult fantasy novel. The main character Olivia is a young girl Abandoned by her family. She has been living in Merilance school for girls for as long as she can remember. One day a letter comes from a mysterious uncle. This story is mysterious, haunting, and includes one of my favorite tropes "Found Family". V. E. Schwab creates incredible imagery through her words. I can’t wait to travel down another one of her doors. Go check this title out releasing 3/1/22!

I don’t think I have ever read of Ms.Schwab’s book and didn’t end up enjoying it, because holy cow; not only I thoroughly enjoyed it but also, it was so engrossing and dauntingly beautiful and soooky that I just couldn’t put it down. I loved the main character, Olivia so much. However, what I really liked the most was the writing, as it was so beautiful, and reading it felt like as if loving vicariously through the MC and her journey. So, in a nutshell, it’s an absolute 5 stars read for me!

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am just going to start off this review by saying THANK GOD I LIKED THIS BOOK. Schwab's last few books did not work well for me but this one reminded me why I am a fan of her stories.

Olivia, an orphan who is mute, is called back to her mysterious familial home only to discover a secret garden door that leads to another place that is a mirror of her own. This story is filled with everything you can expect from a Schwab novel; ghouls, creepy characters, an engaging mystery, and a dysfunctional but earnest found-family. This book was an easy read and I enjoyed the setting but I do think that the plot and the origin story of the house needed to be fleshed out more. The ending was also a little lackluster; it ended with me having more questions than answers. I wanted to know why the Priors were connected to the land on the other side of the garden wall.

Overall, I did find the book entertaining and I would recommend it to others.

Spooky, eerie, haunting. I really enjoyed this standalone from Schwab. I love horror, and this was a great YA horror/fantasy novel full of scary things that go bump in the night. Highly recommend to those looking for something different, interested in orphan/found family type stories, and fans of horror.

This is my first book that I have read by V.E. Schwab, but will not be my last. This book was so engrossing and fun to read. It was a very fast read that I probably could have finished in one sitting had I not started reading at 9:00 pm. I loved the main character, Olivia. I loved her backstory and her determination. I was fascinated by Gallant and the master of the house. It was very atmospheric and I could picture what Olivia must have felt as she walked through the houses. This book was a perfect escape. It was a tiny bit creepy (not scary at all) with a dash of mystery. Overall, a fun light read.

I have some, conflicting feelings about this book. Okay, definitely not one of my favourites by V.E. Schwab (but if I’m going to be fully honest, their YA works never hit me the same as their adult works do). I do feel slightly underwhelmed by the overarching plot of this book, things were only cleared up like 2/3s of the book.
HOWEVER, I tried to read this as I would’ve read the books I read for my gothic horror class and I loved that lens. The mystery and the intrigue and the writing !!!!!! V.E. Schwab will always hit with their writing and I am here for this. Even though I felt like the plot lacked a bit, the writing itself made the journey worth it. Seeing this world and just reading how things unraveled made it worth it.

Thank you to NetGalley, HCCFrenzy for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

In V.E. Schwab’s Gallant, we’re presented with a mute orphan girl trapped in awful girls’ school, ready to age out of it, who suddenly gets invited to her previously unknown “uncle’s” creepy mansion (named “Gallant” and the place her absent mother’s journal warned about)... It’s not Lemony Snicker’s Count Olaf beckoning her and Olivia only has herself and now an older mean cousin Matthew who is not welcoming since Uncle Arthur has apparently died. By the way, Olivia is very “Sixth Sense” — she sees dead people, although not wholly formed and “Gallant” is very haunted, but Olivia is not afraid of ghouls, specters, or ghosts.

The only thing Olivia has left from her mother is a journal and she finds a companion journal hidden in the house. She needs to know what happened to her mother and who was her father. A lot of the story is told via her mother’s diary entries and ink drawings presumably done by her mysterious father. Olivia is certain that the house will give up its secrets. But what will happen when it does?

V.E. Schwab has conjured up a magical book with a strong heroine and an unforgettable setting. 4 stars!

Thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): NO But Olivia’s eyes are an even rarer gray color.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO When the opening line is “The master of the house stands at the *garden* wall” there’s pressure to depict the garden accurately, including, alas, the gray and dead garden.

3.5 stars
I was looking forward to this book after having read Addie LaRue, which quickly became one of my favorite books.
I had a hard time getting in to this book. I can’t put my finger on why though. It took me an extraordinarily long time to read. It feels like it should be a ya novel but it seems sooo long for that as well.
The writing itself was great, maybe the story just didn’t come through for me. I suspect many will love this though.

The mood and setting of this book reminded me of a Tim Burton movie, but the writing style of this book was reminiscent of the poetic prose of her adult novel, The Invisible Life of Addie Larue. However, this is a YA novel. I would firmly recommend this for middle-grade students.

Olivia knows nothing of her past. All she has ever known is life a Merilance, an all-girls home. The only hint she has over her past is her mother's journal. One day Olivia gets a letter from an uncle she never knew she had, claiming he can't wait to meet her. Off to Gallant, her family home, she goes. When she arrives, no one is expecting her, and worse of all, her only living relative-her cousin- wants her gone. Olivia is determined to stay and learn about her family, but will she like what she learns?

I wish we could have seen more character development between Olivia and her cousin. I feel that their relationship was underdeveloped and had the potential for more. For me, my favorite part of books are the relationships characters build, and I wasn't satisfied with the relationships in this book. Oliva didn't pull on my heartstrings. I liked her. The girl has spunk.

The pacing of the novel was steady and even. If you are someone who enjoys a fast-paced, action-packed book, this is not for you.

I also wish there was more to the world development. I need to know more about the family secret. I want details on how it began. I was left wanting more.

I would rate this 3 stars because overall I found the book enjoyable and would recommend, but I didn't love it. I'm giving it four stars because I did like the setting and tone of the book. And as always, I enjoyed the writing style.