'It is a lie that you only get one story.'

Stunning...
Masterpiece....

I'm a fantasy reader and vamps are my jam so I wanted to read this book because a) Schwab is like a gem, and b) I wondered what her vamps would be like!

This is going to sound strange but i feel like I've grown up, matured like a fine wine, reading this. Will I go be able to go back to my normal fantasy vamps? I hope not, this book is a rereader for sure!

In different places, different times, we have 3 lady vamps and we get to know their stories, their loves, how they survive, their lives and how they are woven together.

To say I'd loved this would be an understatement! Another hit from VE Schwab!

'Bury my bones in the midnight soil,
Plant them shallow and water them deep.
And in my place will grow a feral rose.
Soft red petals hiding sharp white teeth.'

V. E. Schwab does it again. Favourite book of the year so far. When I first saw that this story was going to focus on gay vampires I was already sold but it was better that I could have expected. I absolutely loved following all of the main characters and seeing how this life and their circumstances changed them all differently and yet almost the same way. While I’m glad it is a stand-alone I also wish there was more of it.

Toxic in the most alluring way.

Is there anything V.E. Schwab cannot do?
This era-spanning, sapphic, vampire extravaganza was easily devourable.
An absolute masterclass in character development as you go from cheering for Maria and her freedom to horrified at the posessive monster Sabine became.

Sure, Vampires are sexy. Sapphic vampires are the sexiest. But to take that and ensure that community and humanity is consistently at the heart of a tale is masterful.

V.E Schwab has captured my heart once again!
I was shocked and exited when I got accepted for an ARC and it didn’t disappoint.

This book is being marketed as a tale about “toxic lesbian vampires” and it most definitely is. The three central female characters are full of depth. Each with their own unique, tragic, interesting layers. Schwabs characters are always so fleshed out and robust and draw you in and these women are no exception. You love to hate them at various parts of this story.

Full of beautiful description, great characters and a plot that draws you in, I adored this book. The only thing stopping be from giving it the full 5 star rating is that personally I like a bit of a faster moving pace and this book is very much a slow burn, only picking up in momentum in the last 20%.

If you are already a V.E Schwab fan you will not be disappointed!

A very strong 4.5/5 stars

Thankyou to Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for the ebook ARC in exchange for an honest review

Lush, gorgeous prose and a gripping new take that pages homage to the greats while doing something new.

Thank you to Netgalley and Pan MacMillan for an advance copy of this book. I loved V E Schwab's The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue so I couldn't wait to read this. Like Addie LaRue, it is gorgeously written, a dark, brutal tale, spanning centuries and following the stories of three women. It had some of the epic scope of Addie LaRue and I loved the scale of the story and the different places and time periods. I did find the repeated violence a bit much, especially in the middle sections of the book. Once I got onto Lottie's story, though, I was fully invested. and racing to the end.

V. E Schwabs The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue WAS my favourite book of all time. To say I have many copies of it would be an understatement. You notice the word WAS. Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil is simply incredible.. This is now my favourite book ever.. I have read many vampire books in my time but this far surpasses any of them.
It sweeps over centuries (Like Addie) but every character is there for a reason and I really could not put it down.
The main three characters interweave as the story progresses and I would love to see spin offs of this book. V. E. Schwab has written a true masterpiece. I thought Addie was unbeatable how wrong I was. Brave seriously the BEST vampire books EVER written. No correction one of the best books EVER written

First, one of the coolest blurbs ever. Even though it tells you barely anything about what the book is actually about.
The book is quite a ride and not really a happy book, maybe a tragedy? Without wanting to spoil it, I really cant describe this book. I was hooked the whole time and while some turns could be predicted, I did not see the end coming.

All main couples are gay, actually barely any hetero couples mentioned.
Would recommend to anybody that likes complex characters that blurr the lines of good and bad

The insights we gain of the characters, from their own perspective and from others, is so conflicting at times and so eye opening. You feel for them and understand even their mistakes and their trauma and you want to forgive them (mostly) but then a different light is shown on them and you just cant. You love the characters and you hate them, you root for them but also wish for their end.

Thanks to netgalley and Pan Macmillan for providing me with an ARC for this book in exchange for an honest review

I can absolutely see why so many people have given this 5 stars. Absolutely loved it!

I love a gothic fantasy, and I really enjoyed this one. Thank you for the opportunity to read this ARC of Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil, I'd love to read this in audiobook format too!

TLDR: This book was beautifully crafted, the prose was on point as ever, the story had so much potential but the ending was just not for me this time.

I so so wanted to love BOBItMS and I was well on my way to loving every moment of this book. It had everything i wanted, a woman who turned societal expectations on its head and got what she wanted. A woman from my fave historical era to read romance from. Angry women. Women loving each other to death. Honestly the whole shebang.

The prose was as gorgeous as ever from V Schwab. The poetry. The imagery. All beautiful and lush and so so vivid. So what was it that I didn't love?

The ending.

That ending felt so abrupt. What do you mean that she was tricked by something as simple as a shower with a baby vampire?! I guess the assumption here is that Sabine was so used to living in a world that couldn't harm her because she made sure it couldn't... so how was she so thoughtless as to not check for the murder weapon? Not to assume that this young woman who was very obviously pissed at being turned into a vamp would try something. Anything! Also Alice's backstory was just so... Lacklustre. We could have been so invested in all of it with far less info about Catty. We spent so much time reading about Catty I thought she was bound to be a vampire that Sabine had turned. But no.

I just couldn't get behind the decisions made at the last moment of this book and it disappointed me so much.

I'm always down for a vampire novel, and including gay main characters seemed to gel even better. If I'm honest, I struggled with Alice's POV as the flashbacks were so frequent and often quite jarring. Maria's perspective was the most interesting to me.

When I fell in love with The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, it cemented V.E. Schwab as one of my all time favourite authors. The trouble with that is that you have huge expectations for any future books that author releases.

When I heard the synopsis of Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil, I was intrigued – toxic lesbian vampires, it sounded exactly my cup of tea. However, I was a little apprehensive in case my expectations were too high. But from the very first chapter I was hooked. I was excited every time I picked it up and thought about it when I wasn’t able to read (work can be so inconvenient when you’re in the middle of a great book!). Sometimes you don’t realise you’ve been in a bit of a reading slump until a book really grabs you, heart and soul. The physical book is 560 pages, but it felt like half of that as I flew through it, I was just so engrossed.

As with Addie LaRue, BOBITMS has the author’s signature poetic writing style, where you know she has considered every single word. She has said that she intended never to put as much of herself into a book as she did with Addie, but then she put everything she loved, everything she wanted and everything she feared into this one. And I think you can definitely tell how personal it is for her. This makes for an amazing reading experience as the emotions feel almost visceral.

I do not want to give too much of the plot away as I think you are best going into it knowing very little. It follows three very different young women, born hundreds of years apart, and their stories that tangle together. As well as a captivating queer love story, this book has so much depth and covers many serious topics.

I am already looking forward to rereading this book once my physical copy arrives, so I can savour every word, rather than having to rush through it because I was so desperate to know what happened!

I don't even know where to start with this book!
I was sold on toxic lesbian vampires but that does not even come close to covering the multitudes that this book contains.
I honestly thought that V E Schwab could not surpass Addie La Rue in its greatness but Bury our Bones in the Midnight Soil does exactly that and as well as being a sold five star read it has joined the ranks of my favourite books of all time and something I already cannot wait to read again.

A vampire storyline which intertwines the stories of three women, individual but bonded across time. I loved the historical theme, unique character building and overall flow of this book

A new take on a classic genre.

I’ve read a few of this author’s novels and this has been my favourite by far, I’m not sure what I was expecting going into a vampire novel in 2025 but I was pleasantly surprised.

The story follows three women who seem very different from the outset but who in reality are trying to be independent and find joy however they can (and to varying degrees of acceptability). Maria’s storyline and the evocative descriptions of Europe through the ages was a particular highlight.

The book was not without issue, the ending was far to swift and neat and the American-isms for a character that is Scottish was a little jarring at points.

Would recommend reading in the autumn when you can cosy up and get lost in it.

I was hugely looking forward to this book. Vampires have been my favourite sub-genre for decades, and I was so excited to see what VE Schwab did with them.

It almost physically hurts me to say that this is a DNF.

I didn't like any of the characters; several actively infuriated me. The only one that I liked because I was curious about their backstory turned out to be an NPC who died pretty early on for no reason at all. All of the vampire tropes that I detest because they've been done to death are here. I found myself getting more and more frustrated until my lack of enjoyment just said 'put the book aside'.

I know I'm in the minority and that most readers will enjoy this. I guess I'm the exception, and I'm so very disappointed.

Thank you Netgalley for approving my request and nearly giving me a heart attack! I never thought I'd get to read this book early! My opinions are my own.

So this is for sure my favourite book of the year and it's only March. It might even be on my all-time favourites list!

I loved Addie LaRue by the same author and this had a similar poetic vibe - she has really honed her writing style with these novels into such a romantic and mysterious tone.

I loved the timeline jumps and seeing all the powerful/toxic/beautiful women jump out of the page at me. They were so distinct but also so hurt by the world around them, and you really feel it in their voices.

Interestingly, Lottie reminded me of the main character of Claire North's Touch, how much love she had in her for everyone and how little control she had over falling head over heels. She felt so endearing and so frustrating at the same time.

I don't want to spoil anything in this novel, because I think it all needs to be experienced firsthand - but it's absolutely amazing, and THAT ENDING. VE Schwab always blows me away with her endings, I have absolutely nothing negative to say at all.

my first v.e. schwab and i was not disappointed - this is a glorious book. twisty and dark, and dripping with interesting, conflicted characters. delicious.

Thank you to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for the advance reader copy of this book for an honest review.

This book was a beast I must admit it took me awhile to get into the story as the book is a long one with a dense plot spanning multiple points of view.

I appreciate the plot being well flushed out and in usual V E Schwab style it is beautifully crafted and written.

We're there some elements of the story I could have done without to make it shorter probably bits of Sabines timeline maybe while interesting I am not sure if it all was needed.

Overall though I did really enjoy the story once I was more invested about 2/3rds of the way in. V E Schwab is always great at crafting these stories and making you feel like you're there experiencing it as reading.

A different newer take on vampires that was really well done.

when I thought I couldn't love Schwab anymore I have been proved wrong. Schwab excels at telling a story. She had me right at the start, and I mean, toxic lesbian vampires? sign me up.
I was immersed in the story, the evocative writing, and omg my heart was feeling everything.
I need to sit on this one and pull my thoughts together! This is one of the easiest 5 stars I've ever given.