
Member Reviews

* i received this review copy through netgalley*
This captured all of the magic of Addie Larue with a vampiric, sapphic twist, and I couldn't have enjoyed it more. The drama, the way the characters grew over the centuries we spent with them, it was all just perfection.
It way maybe a touch longer than it needed to be, as the middle section did drag a bit, but then it picked back up at the end and I was instantly obsessed again.

Moody, immersive and enchanting are three best ways to describe this novel. It was the perfect pride month read. I loved following all the characters and even wanted more from them than I got. I would die to go back to this world.

Brooooooo. Victoria is god. It’s everything I wanted it to be and more. Maybe I’ll be more articulate in the future but good god this is genuinely perfect.

This was SO GOOD!!! I enjoy Schwab's books, but when she said let me give you morally grey lesbian vampires, she delivered and left no crumbs. Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil is an iconic vampire saga that I would LOVE to see adapted for TV.
Following multiple women across time from 1500's Spain to 2019 Boston, it brilliantly interweaves their narratives across time. It uses a lot of classic vampire lore and uses it to talk about social strictures placed on women, homophobia, obsession, and abusive relationships. I also thought the ending was perfect. I don't want to spoil the book but it absolutely lived up to my expectations. There were a few places where it was a bit slower than it needed to be, but honestly I wasn't that bothered. I definitely recommend it! I received a copy of this book for review, all opinions are my own.

My entire review could really be shortened to one word. WOW. This book was everything that I didn't know that I wanted or needed. It's amazing to me how this seamlessly transitions from three separate stories to one. The world building is what I have come to expect from Schwab, nothing but the best. It's so atmospheric and transporting. The story and plot is dark and violent and full of all the female rage one could ever want. The characters though are what really made this book for me. Sabine is a force to be reckoned with. The things that she goes through throughout her time it's understandable that she walks through the world with a disregard for any life but her own. I found her part of the story really compelling and can't imagine having to navigate changing with no one to guide or teach me. Lottie I liked a lot, I liked her back story and thought that it painted a good path to understanding why she was the way she was. Especially after the years that she spent with Sabine. It was easy to see why she wanted to change and not follow in the footsteps of her maker. I will say that I was sad at the way that her story ended but also it had a sort of poetic justice to it. Alice for me was more how I would see myself reacting to the situation. She was all nerves and denial until she wasn't and then she got stuff done. I don't think that I could choose a favorite character only for the fact that it was easy to identify and see myself in all three of them. This is a book that will forever be in my heart and I cannot wait to read it again.

It’s hard to put words together to make a proper review for this book. It’s raw and full of feminine rage. Rightfully so. It’s about life and death. What it means to live even after you died. The villain of the story you can’t help but root for. I will be thinking about this book for a long time. I will need to sit and simmer and ponder some more.

“You are my heartbeat. My feral rose. I laid you down in the midnight soil. I watered you until you bloomed. It is my job to tend our plot, and prune any weeds that try to grow.”
What a beautiful read! Her prose is just beautiful. The way she pulls you into a story and has you hanging on to each word like a lifeline. Definitely a book I'll be rereading.

Oh my! I’ve read a few of V. E. Schwab’s books, but Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil is by far my favorite.
"Bury my bones in the midnight soil, plant the shallow and water the deep, and in my place will grow a feral rose, soft red petals hiding sharp white teeth."
Who knew that this would bring back memories of how much I used to love vampire books. I thought the vampire genre was over, but Victoria brought it back with a bang. At least for me!
This book tells the tale of three women in three different eras, Maria in Santo Domingo de la Calzada in 1532, Charlotte in London in 1827, and Alice in Boston in 2019. This is a sapphic romance with some common vampire lore and some completely new to me lore. It had the feel of Interview with a Vampire, which I loved so much and read several times, rather than the shiny YA vampires of Twilight.
And that end…!! I’m still in shock! I immediately ordered a trophy copy of this book for my library.
*Thanks so much to partner Tor Books and to NetGalley for the gifted eARC!*

Thank you to the publisher for providing an eARC of this.
This was such an unexpectedly fun read. Truthfully, I forgot the premise of the book when initially asking, but was such a fan of the author, that when this was read, I knew to immediately go into it. Seeing how all the stories eventually intertwine was just as fun.
As someone with a background in marketing and publicity, I personally was surprised this release was not tied to a September/October release, but there' also no wrong time to explore creatures who lurk in the night.
V.E. Schwab has a great way of exploring this genre and the descriptions you can visualize. I was not a huge fan of the flashbacks with the sister and don't think it added to the story, and it kind of threw me off that the flashbacks weren't italicized in the version I received, but overall would still recommend this book.
This book is also being reviewed on ACOFAE Podcast, which the episode will be out on 6/16. This review will be updated with a link to that episode.

4.5 ⭐️
Yes, VE Schwab’s books are long, but man are they good!
Surface level synopsis: 3 toxic sapphic vampires
I loved these three characters and the ways in which their stories came together. I ended up reading via the audiobook, which was absolutely the way to go— it really brought them to life (insert vampire pun here).

I didn’t think I could love a V..E. Schwab book more than. I loved Addie LaRue, but Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil is perfection. Maybe it seems like a strange thing to say about a book revolving around the lives of three female vampires, but it’s so complex and multilayered. There’s love and obsession, trust and betrayal, patience and rage, and I loved every single sentence of it. Even though it’s a chunky book, checking in at 544 pages, the sheer beauty of it makes it fly by. I was sad when it ended, but it was the perfect conclusion.

V.E. Schwab never disappoints! BURY OUR BONES IN THE MIDNIGHT SOIL is a triumph! Epic in scope, I loved following the three women throughout their lives/unlives(?). Their stories hit hard and hit well.

I love VE Schwab so so so much. Bury our Bones in the Midnight Soil was expertly done. I loved our problematic lesbian vampires with everything in me. No one creates atmosphere and cultivates vibes quite like Schwab, I would read her to-do lists. Golly I wish I could read this book for the first time again. Is it too soon for a reread?

I accidentally double-ARC'd this one, oops! Thanks to Netgalley for providing the ebook ARC, to Libro.fm for the audiobook ALC, and to the publisher for so generously providing both.
If you’re looking for a dark sapphic novel brimming with feminine rage, I’ve got your next must-read. The writing in this book is absolutely gorgeous. In terms of prose style, it's closer to Addie LaRue than some of V.E. Schwab’s other previous novels. Just beautiful. I also liked the way it was structured. In the hands of a lesser writer it could have been easy for the three main characters to be too similar and for their sections run together in the reader’s mind, but I felt like each of their characters and their narratives were so very distinct. It helped that in the audiobook they all had different narrators, each of whom did a fantastic job. The pace was slow but my interest never waned, I was in it from start to finish. From what I have seen, the ending has gotten mixed reviews, but personally, I thought it was perfect. 4.5 stars, rounded up.
CW: sexual assault, child death, abusive relationship, stalking, gore
Representation: Lesbian main characters and other LGBTQ+ characters, POC characters

this was everything i wanted it to be and so much more! i loved every aspect of this novel. i've read a couple of reviews that commented the first 150+ pages are slow, but i didn't find that to be the case at all. i loved it. i actually probably enjoyed the earliest half of this book the most but it was all so. good.
i loved the concept of Addie LaRue a lot and it's still a novel i think about frequently, but i felt left wanting more... Bury Our Bones delivered that more for me. excuse me while i consider finding more vampire books to devour (bonus points for lesbian vampires).

This completely filled the void I had in my heart after finishing Addie LaRue back in 2020. Oh my word VE Schwab has outdone herself. This is full of queer and sapphic love and hungry females who want more in life. Plus the way vampires are so trendy, I love that this was still completely original. I will love this book forever.

V.E. Schwab is one of my favorite authors of all time, and this book was no exception. This book reminded me a little of Addie LaRue, and it doesn't have a massive plot that we are following. We follow three POVs, Maria, Alice & Charlotte as they come to terms with their new lives as vampires and what that means for them and their futures. We get to travel Europe with them and see all the relationships they build (and lose). It is not an action-packed book, but it does have some gut-wrenching moments.
I will read anything VE Schwab writes and will recommend her books to anyone/everyone. Her character work is unmatched - I was torn between loving and hating (mostly Maria) and some of the things she did to those around her.
I also loved how each of the three povs got their chance to shine as the story progressed and we moved along in time.

5/5⭐️
This book had me at toxic lesbian vampires and held onto me with V.E. Schwab’s poetically tragic storytelling.
This book centered around three beautifully flawed women and Schwab had me sympathizing, rooting for, and rooting against each of them at some point in the novel, all in different orders. Sabine’s ruthlessness, Charlotte’s heart, Alice’s mind - they were each of their strengths and weaknesses and that changed depending on what chapter you were on.
SO GOOD, we love complex characters and we love them more when they’re in a toxic sapphic lesbian throuple.
The vibe of the book swung wildly between romantic and horrific (which is right up my alley) and kept me reading for hours straight, eager to learn what the next chapter would bring.
Our gothic icon V.E. Schwab has done it again, I cannot recommend this book enough.

I didn't get a chance to finish this one before it came out, but I have no doubt that VE Schwab knocked it out of the park, as usual!

Santa Domingo de la Calzada, 1532: Maria thought she was hungry before her marriage when she dreamt of wealth, beauty, all of the things that can't be found in her village in Spain. That longing is nothing compared to the yearning she feels after her marriage and, later, after her death.
London, 1827: Charlotte has always feared she is too soft for this life. Until a mysterious widow offers to show her a different one. But as she grows sharper and harder, Charlotte begins to wonder if the price to walk a different path is far too high.
Boston, 2019: Eighteen and caught between, Alice knows she has been drifting. Moving a world away for college is supposed to be a fresh start. But being in a new city doesn't blunt the grief that clings to her like a second skin, it doesn't make her bold. One night, one party, making different choices is supposed to help Alice become brave. Instead it helps her become something else--something worse.
Searching for answers and a truth she's too afraid to confront brings Alice into a world where darkness and hunger walk hand in hand, where every choice has a dangerous consequence, and where endings can look very much like beginnings in Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil (2025) by VE Schwab.
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil is Schwab's latest standalone fantasy, set in the same world as The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. With each shift in perspective and each new insight--be it a flashback or during Alice's search for answers-- these three protagonists comes into sharper focus as their desperation gains definition and weight.
Colloquially referred to by Schwab as a novel about "toxic lesbian vampires," Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil delves into what it means to always feel out of step with the world around you and the lengths some will go to choose their own path. As one of the characters notes, forever is a long time--something that proves to have devastating results as time moves inexorably forward for these heroines.
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil is a story about the fragility of new beginnings. And vampires. Schwab artfully unearths the unique facets of the plot like a gem slowly brought into the light. Each of the three protagonists explore what happens when the connective tissue of a life—the relationships, the hopes, the dreams—is slowly stripped away leaving only hunger and want. Highly recommended.
Possible Pairings: The Curse of Penryth Hall by Jess Armstrong, Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas, The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi, Carmilla by Amy Chu, A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske, The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Projections by SE Porter, Lucy Undying by Kiersten White, The Naturalist Society by Carrie Vaughn, Don't Sleep With the Dead by Nghi Vo, To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara
*An advance copy of this title was provided by the publisher for review consideration*