Schwab has done it again with her "toxic lesbian vampire" novel. Her writing is again in top form, and I honestly don't know how she does it, but every book is just as good if not better than her last. There is no doubt in my mind this will be another bestseller for Schwab, and really my only big though here is that I hope to god this book isn't shoved into the romantasy box, because while I love a good romantasy that's not what this book is, and to call it that is to do it a disservice. This book is dark, and contemplative, and all together intoxicating. It spans centuries and deals with love and hunger and need and so much more. None of the girls/women in this book are overly warm and fuzzy, and while some are more likeable than others none of them are what I would call overly likeable characters, but that's okay, because they don't need to be. Schwab shows that life as a girl/woman in society (whether it be today or a hundred years ago) is messy, and that we are not necessarily here to be liked. I do think after sitting with this for a week or so that I still like some of her other work better, but that doesn't in any way diminish what has been accomplished here, and I'm more than happy to have already written a shelf talker for this one and hyped it up to more than a few customers. I look forward to re-reading this book a few years down the line, but either way Schwab has already cemented herself in my mind as one of my favorite writers and a force to be reckoned with. I can't wait to see what she comes up with next, and god knows that I'll devour it regardless because she doesn't miss.

They really weren't lying about there being toxic sapphic vampires throughout this book, and I loved every second of it! This was a beautifully written book that deserves all the praise it's getting. I appreciated how visibly toxic one character is while the other's was much more subtle, making the whole thing feel very realistic (even though they're vampires).

Toxic lesbian vampires? Hunger, love, and rage?? Okay I’m listening🙂‍↕️!!

I really didn’t know anything going into this outside of said “toxic lesbian vampires” and that worked for me! I had no expectations of what *kind* of vampire story this was going to be (I’ve read silly romances, teen romances, romantasies, etc. all very different vibes) and I’m happy to report this leans the more feminine revenge, historical, fight the patriarchy✊🧛‍♀️ type of way!

I really love Schwab’s writing style - the way she weaves a story together is 10/10. Here we have multiple POVs and timelines and I never once got confused (even with doing the audio🎧), each voice was distinctive and I could so easily envision each location and era.

HOWEVER, this one had some pretty big pacing issues and I wanted a bit more from the ending🫢 but I still really enjoyed it and I’ll be thinking of it for a long time coming!

What a novel. This book is poetic, romantic, and a masterclass in character work. Schwab introduces us to three women across three time periods all of whom are such rich characters in both their flaws and desires. I found myself really enthralled with the various women even though we don’t really get to the plot until about half way through the book. I enjoyed all of women profoundly but Alice was crafted to perfection. She is so flawed and is looking for her purpose, that is until she wakes up a vampire. All of these women are just so unique from one another all while being so intriguing.

I can’t say too much without giving anything away but suffice to say if you like or loved Addie LaRue would be devour this one. I love that this book is not easily slotted into any single genre. While it is a dark fantasy I find it also fits into romance, thriller and horror in equal measure.

The publisher synopsis really does hit the nail on the head, this book is about hunger, love, and rage. We travel from 1532 to 2019 with our three main characters Sabine, Charlotte, and Alice. I’m going to leave the synopsis at that!

Ok this book was a chunk-er! It took me a long time to read this one, but it was because I was truly savoring every sentence! Schwab has such a gorgeous writing style, I just needed to soak it all in. I do feel like it could have been a tad shorter, but that could also just be my aversion to massive books! I went into this one with only the synopsis, and I did’t know where it was going, but I think that made it all the better! I loved the different timelines and how they eventually came together. You will love some characters, hate others, but in the end you will just adore this story of Sabine, Charlotte and Alice.

Thank you to @torbooks for my gifted copy of this book!

4.5⭐️

This book is so beautifully written. The storytelling feels rich and layered, and I loved how it moves through three different timelines that each add something special. It took me a little bit to really get into it, but once I did, I was all in. The ending had me on the edge of my seat!!

At its heart, this is a story about three women: María in 1500s Spain, Charlotte in 1800s London, and Alice in present-day Boston. Each one is navigating desire, survival, and the cost of freedom in very different worlds. Their lives span centuries, but the themes of love, rage, and resilience tie them together in a powerful and haunting way.

I docked the book .5 star because it felt a little long at times, but the story was beautiful and full of meaning. I truly enjoyed my time reading it and I know it's a story I won't soon forget.

Thank you to Tor Books and NetGalley for the eARC!

This is my first read from V.E. Schwab, and it didn't disappoint.

BURY OUR BONES IN THE MIDNIGHT SOIL perfectly fits within the rising literary trends of female rage, sapphic romance, and feminist horror. These three women are flawed, angsty, and dangerous, and yet, I couldn't help wonder what their fate would be. After all, they are blood-thirsty and murderous. It does take a bit of time to understand how these trio of vampires connect, but I was satisfied to discover why. That said, I do wish the ending wrapped up slower. Regardless, I am excited to visit her previous releases after finishing this one. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

This book was amazing. VE Schwab is a wordsmith, her writing is beautiful and haunting. Her characters were tragic and yet you wish they would get the happy ending. Loved it.

I absolutely adored Addie laRue and am lowkey obsessed with that book and highly obsessed with the ending of that incredible novel, So it's hard for me to feel less enthusiastic about this book and all that the author has professed to be so important to her.
Schwab's writing is every bit as perfectly honed in all her lush details, but much of the historical portions of the book felt like a retread of The Invisible Life of Addie laRue, all while happening at a remarkably slow pace. I found myself reading it in small bits and pieces instead of devouring it because I struggled with the pace and how Alice was a tough character to enjoy by comparison. Still a fan, but not as solid as I had hoped.

In Santo Domingo de la Calzada, 1532, Maria isn’t interested in what her family wants from her. She likes being free, but her older brother has other plans for her and, soon, Maria is taken far from home to be married. Married life doesn’t agree with her, with a husband that only wants her to carry his heir. But Maria meets an alluring woman that sets her life on an alternate path. Feeling like she has no other option, Maria makes a desperate and irrevocable choice. She emerges a new woman and takes a new name and now she is unstoppable.

In London, 1827, Charlotte lives a quiet life on her family’s estate and wants for nothing. When she is caught in a forbidden, intimate moment with a friend, Charlotte is sent to London to live with her aunt, who has a great disdain for Charlotte. But Charlotte’s thoughts still don’t align with society when the person she wants to spend the most time with is a young widow that tempts Charlotte in ways she never imagined. But Charlotte will unknowingly trade one type of captivity for another, and freedom comes with a cost.

In Boston, 2019, Alice has arrived from Scotland to attend college. She wants to study and explore and be someone new. A one-night stand with an alluring woman changes everything about Alice and she won’t stop until she has answers with a strong side of revenge.

This is my first V.E. Schwab book and I am aware the author has an enthusiastic following. I was really intrigued by the sound and style of the blurb. I was caught up in learning about the strong female characters here and the lives they have led. I don’t read that much historical fiction, but I enjoyed the fully immersive and visual scenes with light touches of history that were on display here. The story covers hundreds of years of time in snapshots and large jumps in time, as we learn of the characters’ histories and fates.

It’s difficult to discuss the book, as one of the characters has a name change and that part is best discovered as you read. Maria, Charlotte, and Alice are intertwined, even though centuries separate their births. I was extremely involved in this book, until I started to wonder what the plot was. We learn a lot about the characters at a little more than surface level and I was looking for more in-depth character development. Many of the choices the characters make aren’t explored in detail and I wanted to know more about them. This isn’t a true love story, although there are romantic elements at each stage of the book. By the end, it was difficult to say that I liked any of the characters and, after 550+ pages, I wanted a bit more from the ending. I did appreciate the visuals and atmosphere the book offered, but did want more from the plot and the characters. I am glad I got to try a book by this author and would consider another.

Haunting. Atmospheric. Sultry.

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil transports readers into the lives of three vampires as they navigate their respective timelines, societies, circumstances, expectations, and troubles. Echoes of one another's stories reverberate through the narrative of each of our toxic lesbian vampires, and VE Schwab tells their stories with diligent historical context (and just the right amount of spookiness).

The stories of Sabine, Charlotte, and Alice are filled with layers upon layers of grief, rage, fear, femininity, power, betrayal, and nuance. We're gifted their tale in only the way VE Schwab can provide, with a carefully crafted atmosphere, vivid storytelling, and meticulous detail.

Highly recommend for a rainy day, a glass of red, and maybe a trip to the garden at night.

**Thank you to Tor Books and VE Schwab for an early copy of BOBITMS and the opportunity to leave my honest, voluntary review! All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

V.E. Schwab has done it again. I adore everything she writes, but this book? This book wrecked me in the best way. It’s haunting, beautiful, aching with rage, love, and longing — and it’s the kind of story that lingers long after the last page.

You must read this with a glass of wine, a cozy blanket, and someone you love on speed dial. Trust me, you're going to need all three. An instant favorite.

I've been excited about this book since the moment I learned of its conceptualization. I am a huge fan of all of V. E. Schwab's works, including their newsletters.

Let me start by affirming that if you love:

Schwab's writing style
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
Slow paced, character driven plot
Vampires
Lesbian Vampires
Toxic lesbian Vampires
The new Interview With a Vampire t.v. show

You will likely also love Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil.

This book beautifully weaves three women's life stories together spanning over 500 years. I love the way that Schwab recounts history in these century spanning works. We discover how our characters come to be vampires and how their lives are intertwined. The themes are feminine rage, sapphic love, self discovery, grief, and how far we're willing to go in the name of self preservation.

The vampire lore is unique and iconic. These vampires have elements of gothic romance minus being outwardly grotesque. Without giving too much away I loved how these vampires survive, what powers and weaknesses they have, and what threats they face.

SPOILER FOR THE ENDING DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU DO NOT WANT THE ENDING TO BE SPOILED FOR YOU
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The ending to the book felt out of place for me. We spent the entirety of the book hearing these women's origin stories, and we have a brand new vampire, Alice, who somehow manages to take out two centuries old, cunning, cutthroat, ruthless vampire's with little to no morality left in them. Unless the message was that in the end Charlotte and Sabine's detachment from their humanity was ultimately their downfall, it just seemed rushed and Alice's plot armor enabled her to come out the other side. I'm curious to see what other reader's thoughts are on the ending. For that alone I'm rating it 4.5/5 rounded up to 5 because I just love Schwab, their writing, and who they are as a person. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

VE Schwab and vampires?! Yes please, is there anything this gothic author can't do? Fans of VE Schwabs will certainly BITE into this one. (see what I did there?)

This book is incredibly intense and emotional. And even though it falls into the realm of fantasy/ fiction, I do not think that is the over-arcing vibe of the book. Yes, we are dealing with lesbian vampires and we do have some yearning and betrayal, but I think this is far more about the characters and their relationships.

Each woman in this story is seeking for a level of power or control in what is a male-dominated world. We span ages in history to glimpse their lives and each seems to burn with a want or need for more than the world around them wants to give. I feel as though the author is writing each woman in a very raw way to give the scenes a sense of poetry and darkness. They are flawed and more real rather than being cookie-cutter perfect. They obsess and unravel at times.

think It's hard to put into words because I feel as though the overall plot is a bit flimsy. However, the writing is incredibly well done and the reader (if this resonates with them) will feel a ton of emotions as they work through these relationships. I do find the ending to be really good and intense. You may be left with a bit of a book hang over.

This is my first adult book by V.E Schwab and I am in love with her writing here!
Is it life, if there is never death to balance it? Or is its brevity what makes it beautiful?" Ugh, yes.

found it so atmospheric and the yearning was what really sold it for me. I'm a sucker for anything vampire (yes, still) so this really hit all the plot points for me.

I would definitely recommend this!

𝘽𝙪𝙧𝙮 𝙊𝙪𝙧 𝘽𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙈𝙞𝙙𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙎𝙤𝙞𝙡 𝙗𝙮 𝙑.𝙀. 𝙎𝙘𝙝𝙬𝙖𝙗 is a slow, elegant unraveling of hunger, grief, power and freedom across centuries. V. E. Schwab weaves the lives of three women into a haunting tapestry of longing and transformation. There’s María in 1532 Spain, Charlotte in 1827 London, and Alice in modern-day Boston. Each woman’s story feels grounded in her own time, yet they echo one another. The threads between them are delicate but powerful.

The author’s writing here is lyrical and deliberate. The novel isn’t concerned with action for the sake of momentum. Schwab doesn’t give us vampires that seduce or terrorize in the usual way. Instead, she offers something more intimate.

I must admit that halfway in I started to find the book a bit long. Some parts meandered, and I found myself wishing it had tightened its focus just a little. But then I settled into it realising this was probably a deliberate choice by the author because she excels in world-building and atmosphere.

This is not your typical vampire novel. So, if you like character-driven gothic horror, this one’s worth your time. Solid 4.5 stars!!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for sending a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the story of Lottie, which is intertwined with the story of Alice, which began because of Sabine who was once Maria. We only get one life…or so the saying goes. Some of us get many lives for hundreds of years. However, that can also be unsatisfying and sometimes very lonely. So how do we choose to live these lives, particularly if the person living has been buried in the midnight soil and could perhaps live for hundreds of years?

Reading a book about vampire lesbians was not on my BINGO card this year, but now I have done it. Schwab’s writing continues to be all absorbing. Even though this is not a book topic I would normally choose, it was a fantastic read.

Was the writing pretty? Yes.
Was the writing repetitive AF? Also yes.

It kills me to give this book two stars -- I wanted to love it SO MUCH and was so bored by the end. I really hoped for (and expected!) Schwab to switch up the vampire lore/tropes and come up with something spectacular and unique, but these ladies did all the same dumb stuff as every other vampire. It all felt very Anne Rice meets Twilight with the sexy vampires in period costumes running amok and having Big Feelings… but everybody’s a lesbian so I guess that’s different?

I will still read whatever Schwab writes next - she’s written too many things I absolutely love (Vicious, Darker Shade of Magic, Cassidy Blake) to ever stop reading her books, but this one is definitely not being added to my faves. (And pleeeeease let the next thing published be the third Vicious book...!!! please?)

🥀 Goodness, I was certainly intrigued by this. It’s a story that, while nearly 600 pages, keeps moving. I was always interested and looked forward to picking it up, but by the end, it felt a bit like… nothing happened?

🥀 What I DID love:
- the travel through centuries
- the three distinct MC’s and their different approaches to life
- the changing attitudes toward LGBTQ people as time went on (though it was made clear the fight is not over)

🥀 I was hoping to feel the magic of Addie LaRue again and this just wasn’t it for me. I’ve seen others say it’s their favorite book of the year and they were completely swept up so PLEASE remember I’m just one person. Also, I read this during a stressful time so maybe I couldn’t get wrapped up for my own reasons.