Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this advance reader copy.


Description from NetGalley:
Olivia Prior has grown up in Merilance School for Girls, and all she has of her past is her mother’s journal—which seems to unravel into madness. Then, a letter invites Olivia to come home to Gallant. Yet when Olivia arrives, no one is expecting her. But Olivia is not about to leave the first place that feels like home; it doesn’t matter if her cousin Matthew is hostile, or if she sees half-formed ghouls haunting the hallways.
Olivia knows that Gallant is hiding secrets, and she is determined to uncover them. When she crosses a ruined wall at just the right moment, Olivia finds herself in a place that is Gallant—but not. The manor is crumbling, the ghouls are solid, and a mysterious figure rules over all. Now Olivia sees what has unraveled generations of her family, and where her father may have come from.
Olivia has always wanted to belong somewhere, but will she take her place as a Prior, protecting our world against the Master of the House? Or will she take her place beside him?
I have recently started reading VE Schwab’s novels and am quite enjoying them, including this one. The story follows Olivia and is definitely a character driven story. The pace is slow to start out but only because you need to really understand who Olivia is and what she has been through in her life before you face Gallant. Gallant very much feels like its own character as well. The story may be short, but the world feels very developed. I felt very much for Olivia.
Overall: 4.5/5

It is hard to sum up into words everything this book has to offer. A little bit of creepiness, haunting vibes, friendships, family, and wonderful prose to bring it all to life. I like V.E. Schwab books, and this one didn't disappoint.
Just get it and read it. I am still thinking about it.

Thanks NetGalley for this free Copy!

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins for the ARC of Gallant in exchange for my honest review. This is my first book by Schwab but I have many of her titles on my TBR list. I am much more eager to read them after this novel. Gallant has a little bit of everything. Olivia is an orphan who cannot speak and knows little about her family other than a journal her mother left with her when she was 2. Suddenly, Olivia finds herself at a family home far away from the orphanage that she knows and can start to put the pieces of her mysterious and odd family history together. Unfortunately, these answers come at a cost that may not be worth it.

The Secret Garden meets Crimson Peak describes this book so accurately! I would eagerly put it into the hands of youngsters who love creepy books and I think it’s great counterprogramming for some of the content in The Secret Garden that has aged so poorly. I especially loved the way the ghouls were described. The final showdown was my least favorite part, it reminded me a bit of the third act of a lot of superhero movies that always bore me a little, but all in all a great, quick read.

I certainly applaud the combination of fantasy and horror. Many scenarios that are presented as magical and ideal could be terrifying if viewed through a different lens. This book starts with a fairly standard scenario: an orphan in a dreary and hopeless living situation is claimed by long lost family and whisked away to the family estate. It's upon her arrival at the house that Olivia's story takes a darker turn. It becomes clear early on that something is very wrong at Gallant. Her efforts to unearth secrets put the whole household in danger. This can be very interesting and the book is strongly atmospheric. The writing can be dense, though, so heavy with details that you can lose track of what is going on if you don't read closely. That might make it a hard sell for the middle grade set.

This was one of my most anticipated books of this year and unfortunately I was completely disappointed.
The story had good potential just as V.E Schawb described it, the book has Crimson Peaks meets the Secret garden vibes, because of that I had high expectations because i love both movies but the truth is that it took me more than a month to finish it and I couldn't connect with Olivia or any of the side characters.
Gallant had good potential with a pretty and flowery writing but it was bland, boring and very Middle grade for my taste.
2 stars
Thank you so much to Greenwillow Books for this Arc in exchange for an honest review.

V.E. Schwab really knows how to tell a ghost story! Everything about this book was fantastic; the atmosphere, the characters, the pacing, etc. The sometimes haunting feeling that life's ups and down can have on people became more and more transfixing as the story went on, giving this story the perfect chilling, creepy vibes throughout. I wish the tragedies in my life could have been this lyrical. V.E. Schwab is an author that I feel just understands my soul and this book solidified that even more, along with her being one of my favorite authors.

V.E. Schwab excels at dark fantasy in a way very few authors do. She's a gateway author in that you can step into her novels at any age. Whether it's Cassidy Blake, monsters of Verity, or Shades of Magic, Schwab is a master at setting the scene for readers of all ages. That being said, I do feel like her strongest works are her series. In Gallant she has created this grand world that feels slightly wasted in just a singular book. I could have read an entire series set in these parallel worlds.

Thank you to NetGalley & Harper Collins for sending me an eARC of this book.

This was one of my most anticipated books of the year, and I DEVOURED it in one sitting.

A bullied orphaned child who only has her mother’s nonsensical journal to cling to, Olivia is mute and communicates through sign language with only the ghouls to keep her company. One day, a mysterious letter enthusiastically announces she will go and live with her Uncle Arthur. When she arrives, she finds a less than welcome reception at Gallant, the house her mother warned her never to enter. Olivia curiously explores the grounds, haunted by the ghouls who warn her against entering the garden alone. There is a peculiar darkness surrounding the old garden wall and iron gate, which induces panic for the inhabitants of Gallant. When Olivia discovers strange messages left behind by the dead, she must cross a threshold into an unknown world to discover the truth.

Once again, Victoria Schwab has created a magical world that swept me up the moment I opened the pages, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since. If you like We Have Always Lived in the Castle, you will love this dark academia/Secret Garden inspired YA low fantasy.

I think V.E. Schwab is a wonderful writer and world builder. Unfortunately, this book was a bit lacking for me. I think if this was the first book in a series it would have been rated higher. I just didn't really feel a connection with Olivia. Nothing really seemed to happen for most of the book. I loved visiting the other Gallant which was where things started getting interesting. I just felt like this story was a bit incomplete.
I received an ARC of a book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Olivia, a nonverbal girl with no family, has been alone most of her life. With little more than her mother’s journals for comfort, her monotonous days are interrupted by a letter, telling of family and a home. But when she arrives, much to her cousin’s dismay, she finds an eerie world that holds the history of the Prior family.

I don’t know if I was in the right mood for this book. I ended up switching between the ebook and audiobook in hopes that I would find a way for this to click, but I was left a little underwhelmed. I thought the writing was beautiful and the illustrations were absolutely gorgeous, but that there was something missing.

To be fair, this is my first time experiencing a V. E. Schwab book, and maybe I’m just not used to this type of book? Especially as someone who has heard amazing things about previous books, I feel like I was doomed to fail here.

I really enjoyed the world, and again, it was absolutely beautiful, but I found the ending so unsatisfying and floated into the already blah mood I was in. I’m hoping that revisiting this in the future will lead to better results, but the story just wasn’t for me.

Interesting story and world building. I think this will be popular at the library and with book clubs.

Anything by this author is always going to be an excellent read. I enjoyed this story!! The format was so fun and the storyline was excellent! Like I said, this author can do no wrong.

Thank you to #NetGalley and Publishers for the ARC of #Gallant in exchange for the honest review.

I really liked this book - which is a simple thing to say and yet something that doesn't get said enough. The main character uses Sign Langauge to communicate, so while there is dialogue, there is a lot more "showing" and not so much "telling" that happens throughout the story and that really adds to the suspense and ominous feeling of the novel. (Admittedly, I was hesitant because of /Invisible Life/ and how much I disliked that novel by this same author.) But the differences are what made this novel much better. If you were on the fence, I suggest picking this one up.

I DNFd this book at page 145. I could not connect with any of the characters and the mystery was not enough to fuel my curiosity to see what happens. I’m giving this 2 stars because while I did not care much for the story, as usual, Schwab blew me away with her absolute skill with the written word!

Thank you NetGalley and Greenwillow Books for an advanced copy of this to read. I really enjoyed this story. It was a quick read that drew you in immediately and felt so familiar. It reminded me of Jane Eyre in the same atmospheric, dark setting, the school for girls, and a young woman with a talent for drawing and who has lost her parents. It also felt a little like The Secret Garden with the big mysterious house, a garden that drew the main character in, and a sickly cousin. It is marketed as YA but you could give it to the right middle grader. Overall, really enjoyable.

I'm must thank Netgalley for the ARC of this book (even if I couldn't manage to finish it before the release date). I liked the atmosphere and characters of the book, but I also wish that we had a little more time with the Priors. Thought-provoking and compelling (especially once the setting moves to Gallant), fans of Gothic literature and horror should love this book. This book is still sitting with me, and I'm still processing all of my feelings about it.

Another heart-breakingly sad and beautiful story by VE Schwab. Olivia is an orphan; her mother's diary, filled with drawings, is her only link to her parents. When she finds out that she has an uncle, she is sent to live at the mysterious Gallant.

Had shades of Jane Eyre mixed with Wuthering Heights plus magic.

Once again, there are images integral to the plot. Fortunately, they were included in the eARC i read. And those illustrations are beautiful.

Olivia, 14, a mute girl living in a an orphanage, is invited to Gallant, the Price family mansion. Her family's dark secrets and history of premature deaths and the presence of disembodied ghouls make her an unwelcome visitor. This is a very dark story.

VE Schwab has a talent for filling every one of her books with gothic whimsy, and although I will admit I am more of a fan of her adult fiction (ie. Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, Vicious), but Gallant was still an engrossing read and I will highly recommend it to anyone who needs a good magical young adult story in their life.