If you loved THE INVISIBLE LIFE OF ADDIE LARUE, here is the book you've been waiting for. Two words: Lesbian vampires. I loooooved this story from the very beginning and oh my gosh — the scream I screamt when I got to the ending. CHEF'S KISS.

I continue to admire Schwab’s writing, voice, and stories. Bury Our Bones is, at times, dark and heartless, and others, hopeful. Through the characters, readers are able to experience lifetimes, and whether vampire or human, the feelings the characters experience are universal: hatred, betrayal, jealousy, love, hope- all of which readers can connect with.
Highly recommend!

Dark. Thoughtful. Moody. Undeniably SAPPHIC. Vampires. Schwab is a master!
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil is truly Addie Larue’s grownup cousin. With some extra bite for flavor. :vampire:

A very feminine vampire novel about hunger for freedom, the need for love and companionship, and the role of the soul in compassion. Great writing; the angst of a vampire’s existence is felt throughout. The first part of the book seems like too long a setup for the confrontations you know are coming before the final page is turned. Interesting and entertaining.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for the ARC to read and review.

Rating: 3.75⭐️

Thank you to the publisher for gifting me an arc in exchange for an honest review.

V.E. Schwab fully embraces the symbolic allure of vampires, portraying them through our three main characters, who each share a similar desire. They hunger for freedom, power, and more than what society allows. The core of the story is queerness (specifically lesbianism) and the deep craving of control in a patriarchal society. Schwab has created a story that tells the true horrors of vampires: not their need of blood, but that their desires diverge from societal norms , and now, with their newfound power, they are free to pursue those desires endlessly, even if they can never truly be satisfied.

This story is written with poetic prose and beautiful metaphors, but there is a lot of repetition throughout this story. It focuses more on the characters than the plot (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing), but I found the characters started to blend together near the 3/4 mark. I completely understand why the characters are the way they are, but I found myself almost growing bored of the characters as they all started sounding the same. This ties into the ending as well. It’s understandable why it happens the way it does, however, I was left slightly unsatisfied with it.

This was overall a decent book but there were a couple things I just didn’t vibe with. If you’re looking for a story about lesbian vampires filled with female rage, and who not only hunger for blood but also power, then this might just be the story for you.

I devoured this epic vampire tale that was everything I wanted it to be and more!!!! Told over the span of 400 years and following three vampire women, Schwab weaves together a story of violence, passion and rage. She is a mastermind of drawing you so deep into a story that it takes you a minute to place where you are when interrupted from your reading. I loved every everything about this novel- Schwab continues to hold a spot in my top 5 author list!

A fascinating examination of slow rot and who you might be if you literally stopped being capable of evolving as a human because, well, you aren’t one anymore.

This didn’t end up being my favorite V.E. Schwab book, but that’s a pretty high bar at this point. This is such a thought-provoking book and while I desperately wanted more atmosphere and sense of place, especially given the myriad opportunities for that which the plot offers, this is well worth a read for its saga-style demonstration of slow decay and what it means to be human, or perhaps what it means to not be.

The three timelines are difficult to reconcile for a good deal of the book, but that is intentional and they come together very well in the end. I’ll warn readers who rely on snappy pacing and action that this probably isn’t the book for you. It’s extremely slow to progress for about 75% of the book and leans more on thought than action. None of that bothered me at all, but I happen to like slow burn stories a lot.

Again, I wish we’d gotten more immersive setting in this one. The section of the book that takes place in Venice is brilliantly done in that regard and I wish the rest of the locales featured had been given the same treatment. But other than that, I mostly just want to appreciate that it is an extraordinarily ambitious undertaking to write a book like this and do it well, and Schwab definitely pulled it off.

This book was fantastic. It is definitely in conversation with Addie LaRue. VE Schwab's examination of immortality and the cost of obtaining it makes for an interesting novel.

I loved spending time with Sabine and Charlotte. I wish we spent a little more time with current Alice. But I was obsessed with this book the whole time I was reading it. Highly recommend this one.

Amazing writing from VE Schwab, my favorite title from her yet! The characters were multifaceted and their stories tragic. A vampire story you don’t want to miss.

I was really captivated by the writing—honestly, I didn’t expect to get so drawn in. I’m not someone who’s usually into vampire stories or supernatural themes, but something about this one just clicked for me. The way the author weaves emotion, tension, and character development into the story made it feel grounded, even with the fantastical elements.

I didn’t think I’d connect with the characters so much, but I did. Their relationships, the way they handled difficult emotions, and even their quiet moments all felt incredibly real. I found myself invested without even realizing it. The whole atmosphere was just so immersive—I could picture everything clearly, like I was right there with them.

It was also such a fitting read for Pride Month. The queer representation wasn’t just part of the background—it was an important part of the story, handled with care and depth. It explored themes of identity, love, and self-acceptance in a way that felt sincere and touching. It wasn’t heavy-handed, just beautifully done.

I didn’t expect to love this book, but I did. Even now, parts of it are still with me.

Lesbian vampires slay (quite literally). I really had a fun time with this book! I read it in mostly one sitting. What’s really impressive to me is how much I liked all three of the main characters and relatively equally. Usually there is a standout or someone falls short but I loved Sabine, Lottie, and Alice. Loses one star because it was a little slow placed at times but I didn’t mind.

I was a huge fan of V.E. Schwab’s The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue (and much of her other work as well) and so was excited to see her new book, Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil, was seemingly a bit similar. Unfortunately, while the writing on a sentence level remains strong, and there’s a lot of strong elements, I ended up somewhat disappointed with the tale. Some inevitable minor spoilers follow, but nothing more than appears on the page of a number of booksellers, though not all)

The novel covers a wide swathe of time via its three narrators. We first meet Maria in the 1500s, jump to Alice in 2019, briefly meet the third narrator, Lottie/Charlotte in the same year and then, an extensive time later, we meet her more fully in the 1800s. This being (and here is the first minor spoiler so stop here if you want to know absolutely nothing about this book) a vampire novel, all three women are turned and thus Maria and Alice are able to move through the centuries after their births and be co-existent with Alice, allowing their stories to converge.

While this is a vampire novel, you might not know that early on, as Maria’s first few hundred pages reads more like a well-done historical novel. At first, it seems as if Maria may be your stereotypical 16th century woman — powerless as she moves through a man’s world, especially when she arrives home one day to find she is to be wed to an older, albeit wealthy, man. But there is a hidden side to Maria:

She is many things — stubborn, cunning, selfish — but she has never been a fool. She knows that she was born in this body. She knows it comes with certain rules … But she is not meant for common paths … If she must walk a woman’s road, then it will take her somewhere new.

This seemingly surprise marriage proposal was orchestrated by Maria, and it’s the beginning of a pattern we will see in her many years: an adamant sense of independence, a strong tendency toward manipulation, and a viewpoint that views (most) other people with disdain and indifference. She is a predator above all else, one whose hunger is never seemingly sated. Alice, meanwhile, could hardly be more different: burdened by a slowly revealed backstory of some sort of trauma or grief, wracked by anxiety and lack of self-esteem, and aching for a fresh start. And finally there is Charlotte, desperate for love, particularly after she is sent away from home after her brother witnesses her kiss her friend and first love Jocelyn. Her desperation leaves her vulnerable to a lengthy toxic relationship, and while she is able to escape, her good-heartedness means she feels she cannot love or turn anyone else.

Though relationships play a major role and drive much of the action, this is not a romance novel. The relationships as noted are often toxic, tainted in possessiveness and selfishness. It’s a horror novel not just in the graphic violence done by some of the vampires but in the emotional violence done in the relationships. It also presents society itself as a horror setting, the violence in it being done to women’s autonomy, a theme we see throughout, whether it’s Maria in an arranged marriage, Charlotte being peremptorily shipped off by her brother who rules her life more than she does, or Alice noting how women cannot walk the streets without being accosted (or worse) or at a minimum, the fear of it.

I liked the fact that Schwab gives Maria power to somewhat (not totally) evade those strictures but then shows her going down the darkest of paths with that power. She is a woman angered by the restrictions put upon her and Schwab lets her enact that anger down through the centuries in appalling fashion. And we see that to a lesser extent with the others as well. And of course, along with the theme of women’s power or lack of it, with all three characters being gay, it’s easy enough to read hiding one’s true self as a vampire as an analogy to queerness and what that burying of oneself might reverberate. And the way some people recoil from queers just as they would from a vampire. As Schwab makes overt when one character spits out to Alice, “I’m not a dyke.” And then

Alice remembers the first time a boy called her that … the sting of it like a slap … Alice feels her face go hot again, but this time it isn’t shame. It’s rage. Rage, at all the Hannahs of the world, convince the worst thing a girl like Alice can feel is want, and this particular Hannah, for looking at Alice and seeing a monster, just not the one she thinks.

That rage is one of the positives, if one can call it that, in the novel — that the women and queer characters are allowed to be angry, as well as evil, messy, violent. In other words, they’re given the same freedom to be completely awful as male/straight characters often are.

As for the reasons I was disappointed in the book. One is that it felt its entire length and more. It bogged down in places and felt like it could have been cut. In a related note, Alice’s back story, which is lengthy and doled out a little at a time only to end in a place that seemed utterly predictable (I had in fact predicted it sometime earlier), felt like it contributed little to the story. Had the entire storyline been cut I wouldn’t have missed it, and I think the streamlining would have benefitted the other plots, as well as perhaps given the ending a bit more time to breathe and develop. I’m guessing had Alice’s backstory been cut, I’d have given this a strong 4. As it is, I’ll stick to the three and a half stars and a qualified recommendation.

Schwab writes such an atmospheric tale, you fall head first into every storyline in this novel. I loved the inclusion of vampires and how moody the writing was. Another great read from VE Schwab.

What an absolute masterpiece! I'm not usually a vampire girlie, but I devoured every drop of this book like I was the one chasing that heartbeat. I loved the way it was written, told through multiple perspectives and timelines that all collide at the end, yet narrated so immersively. The characters were incredibly well written and fully realized from the very beginning, yet somehow still had room to grow, and descend into darkness.

Schwab crafted such a strong female lead in Sabine from her composed demeanor, to her intelligence, and brutally honest in how she sees and experiences the world. I loved everything about her, even as she unraveled. I found myself rooting for her throughout, despite her becoming the anti-hero.

Schwab’s writing is exquisite, the world so vivid, the characters so alive. I was completely drawn in and physically couldn’t put the book down.

there is just something schwab's writing that i just cannot get enough of. the feelings you get from reading bones (much like addie) pulls you in -- the emotions sit with you and imbed themselves into your very being. its poetic and haunting. the slowness of it did allow for more of a meaningful connection to the characters, there was a lot of build up. maria, charlotte and alice all had a story that needed to be told and this explores so many different facets of life -- love, pain, anger, rage, longing, loss.

the pacing was a little off for me, it did take me a little bit to get into it and actually want to pick it up and keep reading but once i did, i loved it!

I’ve read several books by V.E. Schwab, and trust her to provide an intriguing story with a resolution and interesting worldbuilding and character arcs. Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil delivers all of those essential ingredients in an intriguing story that spans centuries and follows the lives of multiple vampires.

It was interesting to follow their journeys and see how the characters changed throughout the course of the book. I found myself wondering what I’d do if I woke up and found out I’d been robbed of the future I thought I’d have. There are no easy answers, and each vampire in the story copes in their own ways.

Although some become power hungry and use their new strengths to satisfy their desires.

One of the most interesting things about this book is that the author changed the last few lines of the book after the advance review copies were released. Since I had an advanced review copy from the publisher via Netgalley, I’d read that version. When the book came out, I checked my finished copy and read the new ending.

I’ve sat with the ending for a long time, comparing the original and the final last lines. For me, it was interesting, because those few lines have a significant impact on the tone and the inference of what’s to come for that character. The original version suggested a character focused on surviving in their current situation. The final version hinted at a character who was already changing, and may become like her predecessors. It’s an incredible example of how just a few words can have such a significant impact on the storytelling.

I did find what I’d call the second fifth of the book to be a little slow, but things really picked up pace after the midpoint and I enjoyed the book overall. There are many memorable characters, and some moments that had me teary. I do recommend this book for those who enjoy vampire stories and like stories with multiple perspectives.

Obsessed! Schwab’s prose is gorgeous. The “toxic lesbian vampires” held me captive from start to end.

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil is a character-driven book, and Schwab has composed an enthralling tale featuring multilayered women who are alluring, haunted, and dynamic.

I listened to a sample of the audiobook early, and I held off on finishing my early digital copy until post-publication because the audio was that good!

The narrators are fantastic! Julia Whelan stuns as usual. It was my first time listening to Katie Leung, and I absolutely loved her accent and narration of Alice’s perspective!

As a longtime fan of VE Schwab, I can say with certainty that she is the queen of novel concepts. Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil is just the latest in her lengthy catalog. Not to sound too on the nose, but it's like this book was compelling me to keep reading, from its sharp prose to its complex menagerie of characters and timelines, I couldn't stop reading until I had consumed every last drop. This book feels closer to Addie LaRue than her other books--similar bargains, slightly different devil--so new fans of VE Schwab are sure to enjoy this one as much as the diehards.

PROBLEMATIC. LESBIAN. VAMPIRES. Put that together with VE Schwab's beautiful, enchanting writing, and you have my favourite book of the year by far.

The queerness of this book really shines though, not just in that the characters are in lesbian relationships, but their ways of thinking about each other, their places in the world, and their cutting thoughts about the "norm" of their places and times feels deeply authentic. Maria/Sabine's earlier chapters really shone for me this way, where she's able to articulate sapphic desires without having the modern words for them, and her revulsion of the expectation to be a wife, a mother, a piece of window dressing. Every time she did something "evil" I felt myself shout YES, because it often feels like a perfect revenge dream that countless queer women have had.

The relationships in this book are PEAK. No, they aren't perfectly compatible and non-problematic. They're toxic and posessive and dark, and I absolutely ate it up. The friction and addictive quality of Maria/Sabine and Charlotte, especially, was so so compelling. We could really feel how Charlotte was enchanted by Sabine's confidence and otherwordly quality, and the punch-drunk feeling of being the centre of someone that beautiful's attention. Being the centre of Sabine's world carries her for decades, and Schwab really makes us FEEL why. I'd also have been enchanted by the darkly alluring Sabine the same way, I fear.

As it always does, Schwab's writing REALLY shines. In Bury Our Bones, especially, it has a really otherworldly quality to it in Maria's chapters that place us in the past--then it sharpens for Alice's pieces, shooting us right to the present. It made shifting between times really easy to follow, which is often a challenge in multiple-POV books where the author's style is so distinct that we can't tell which character we're folllwing.

Easily a 5-star read, and easily my favourite Schwab book to date. Lesbian friends make lesbian friends read "Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil."

A quick disclaimer before diving in: I’m not much of a vampire fan. I’ve occasionally enjoyed books that explore them in unique ways, but I tend to lose interest quickly regarding the “figuring out the rules” phase of vampirehood. That trope has been done so many times, and I felt frustrated the first time it appeared in this book, only to then watch two more characters go through the exact same discovery process. The shock at not being able to go out in the sun, the horror of craving blood - it’s not compelling anymore on its own. If authors want to revisit this, they need to offer something more to keep it fresh: rich character development, beautiful and poetic prose, or a strong thematic integration. Unfortunately, I didn’t feel this novel delivered any of those things effectively enough to justify revisiting the trope not once, but three times.

Maria, one of the protagonists, is deeply unlikeable, and not in a fun, complex way. She’s painted as “not like other girls,” red-haired and beautiful, bristling at gender roles in ways that feel clichéd rather than compelling. I briefly hoped that her queerness might add some interesting dimension, but my hope faded quickly. She ended up as a bundle of tired tropes rather than a fully realized character, and was insufferable, to boot.

Alice, on the other hand, I found genuinely intriguing. Her backstory was layered, her personality distinctive, and her circumstances compelling. I loved her chapters and found myself gritting my teeth through Maria’s, just waiting to get back to Alice’s perspective. In the first half of the novel, the POVs felt reasonably balanced, but in the second half, we’re introduced to yet another character, Charlotte, and we suddenly spend an inordinate amount of time on her and Sabine’s story, while Alice is largely sidelined.

Now, I don’t mind multiple POVs or timelines in theory. When done well, they can create a rich tapestry of narrative. But in this case, it didn’t feel well-balanced or well-handled. Charlotte eventually became interesting too, but her story was told in such painstaking detail, starting from her teenage years all the way through her life, that it felt unnecessary and out of proportion with the rest of the book. If she had been the sole protagonist, or if we had opened with her story and skipped Maria’s altogether, maybe it wouldn’t have bothered me. But introducing her so far in and then sidelining another character to accommodate her backstory felt frustrating. Of course, I was especially annoyed because Alice was the character I connected with most, so others might not find it as bothersome if they gravitate toward a different protagonist, but for me, it felt uneven and unnecessarily so.

The writing style didn’t help either. It’s emotionally distant and dense with similes and metaphors, many of which felt clunky or oddly phrased. That lack of emotional resonance made it harder to connect with the book’s presumed themes of losing your humanity, grief, and cycles of abuse. The style created a barrier to the very feelings the story seemed to want to explore.

One of my biggest issues, though, was how repetitive and overlong the book felt. Not only are we made to watch three different characters go through the same adjustment to vampirism, but there are also smaller repeated details that just felt unnecessary. For instance, both Maria and Alice have moments where they see sisters but can’t remember who is who - an oddly specific repetition that felt extraneous the first time and baffling the second. Then there are the frequent references to Orpheus. If these had formed an extended metaphor or tied into the story in a meaningful way, I might have appreciated them. But instead, they felt more like filler, repeated without purpose, as if Schwab forgot she’d already used that comparison.

And of course, there’s the classic “corset makes you pale and unable to breathe” moment. Naturally.

Overall, I found this novel too long and repetitive, with little payoff in terms of theme, plot, prose, or emotional impact. It felt like pure vibes (and the vibes were minimal at best, sadly), with the exception of Alice’s story, which was the one bright spot. I think I would’ve enjoyed the book far more if it had focused entirely on Alice, with brief glimpses into vignettes of the other characters’ lives as they intersected with hers. But that’s not the story we got.

I didn’t hate reading it, but I was often bored, frustrated, and rolling my eyes. It felt like a huge missed opportunity. I know this review sounds harsh, but it felt like hundreds of pages of padding around the core of a story with real potential, and that’s always the most frustrating kind of read.

At the moment, I’m sitting around 2.5 stars, rounded up. I might adjust that depending on how I feel as I sit with it longer. I have loved some of V. E. Schwab’s previous work, so I imagine my extremely high expectations were part of why this felt so disappointing. It does seem that others have enjoyed this far more than I did, and I’m glad for them!

Representation: lesbian MCs, gay and bisexual secondary characters, secondary characters of colour.

Trigger/Content Warnings:
Loss of Parents
Animal Cruelty
Animal Death
Sexual Assault
Murder
Blood
Blood Drinking
Internalized Homophobia/Lesbophobia
Emotional Abuse
Suicide