I am a huge fan of both V E Schwab and vampires, so when I got approved for this arc, I was over the moon.

This story perfectly encapsulates the imperfect morality of vampiric characters, following stories across different eras and walks of life. Both Maria and Alice come from completely separate worlds, and yet their stories intersect through their shared desperation, isolation, and bloodlust.

It's difficult to wholeheartedly root for any of the characters in this book, but it still reads as a strongly character-driven narrative. There were a few places where I found myself slightly lost - particularly given how many different timeframes come into play - but on the whole, this was a highly original and engrossing read.

If you're looking for something dark and spooky, this is sure to fit the bill, and it powerfully asks the question: what does it mean to no longer be human?

Books with similar vibes: Lucy Undying by Kiersten White, A Dowry of Blood by S T Gibson, and Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is my first VE Schwab book, but I can assure you it won't be my last. This book is apparently 500+ pages but I devoured it in a few nights.

All of the characters in this are beautifully flawed and I love the progression from moral, to morally grey, to morally black.

This is set in a time spanning the 1500s to present day and from many different countries. Each place and time was beautifully written and immersive and just made the stories come to life.

I love a multiple POV book, and this is how you do it. Each woman had their own voice and I went through so many emotions reading this (and said "good for her" a lot).

I can't say if you like X you'll like this because I've not read anything like this before. It's a story of love and loss and female rage and sapphic vampires. If that sounds good, you'll love it.

This was perfection. The writing, the characters, the plot line EVERYTHING.

. And this is why VE Schwab will always be one of my favourites authors of all time. Zero notes, highly recommend you all read this, we have Vampires, Sapphics Vampires - do I need to say anymore? Ok more, The book is like a fine wine, it got better the further in you read. We have three characters who are all different, but the way Schwab wove the stories together to create this beautifully written and spellbinding book. A book about strength, three women from three different timelines and backgrounds, spanning many years and countries. Schwab as always captivates you in her web of words that you want to stay cocooned in forever.

This is why they are in my top five favourite authors of all time and everything they write I will read.

All I knew going in to this book was ‘toxic lesbian vampires’ and that it was focussed around three women in different time periods, I had no real expectations and didn’t realise I was about to read a new favourite book.

Schwab’s writing was so immersive, so incredibly and beautifully written that I could get lost in her words for hours. It is delicious and captivating and I wanted to savour every single word.

BOBTIMS was simply put - an incredible read. Told from the perspective of three women; Maria, Alice and Charlotte throughout several time periods in history. I felt like I was existing in each time period Schwab introduced, I was fully immersed and invested in the lives of these women. Schwab swept me up in the decadence, the darkness and the strength each of these women and their experiences all whilst throwing in the supernatural world of vampires.

The tangled web of story that Schwab takes you on, ends with a distinctly satisfying finish that I’m still thinking about several books later.

I’m not sure anything I were to write to review this book would do it justice, so mostly I just want to say - read it. Schwab is one of the most INCREDIBLE story tellers and this story was perfection.

This is my first Victoria Schwab book, and oh my God, it was perfect! I loved it so much! Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil features three different timelines and characters. Victoria Schwab's writing is captivating and lyrical. Her characters are well developed and complex. They were so toxic, and readers could feel their emotions while reading the story. This book is so sapphic and dark, and it was beautiful. I can't recommend it enough. I also heard that this is sort of a darker sister to the author's other book, Addie LaRue, which I think will be my next read from her. I can't wait to put this book on my shelf. You need to pick up this book immediately too. Thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. I'll post my review closer to the publication date.

Thank you to NetGalley, Pan Macmillan / Tor and V. E. Schwab for sending me an eARC of Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil in exchange for an honest review! (When I tell you, I screamed when I got this ARC!)

4.75 stars

Bury Our Bones follows three women throughout their lifetimes (and death-times?) in three different settings and three different time periods. Their lives have been intertwined for centuries. It’s incredibly gothic and sapphic, and has twists that definitely keep you on your toes.

Ultimately, Bury Our Bones In the Midnight Soil is a story about love, loss, longing, humanity, inhumanity, grief, and it’s brutal, bloody and full of feminine rage.

If I’m being honest, Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil is not the typical book I would pick up - but if V. E. Schwab writes it, I will read it. I was hooked from the start, and found myself thinking about the story and the characters when I wasn’t reading the book! Schwab’s writing is so beautiful and immersive - it pulls you into the story and leaves you wanting more whenever you’re not reading it. My only tiny critique is that the ending felt a little rushed for me.

I’d recommend this, but I’d also suggest checking out the trigger warning for this because it is about toxic lesbian vampires after all (and it’s definitely toxic)!

“Bury my bones in the midnight soil, plant them shallow but water them deep, and in my place will grow a feral rose, soft red petals hiding sharp white teeth.”

Where to even begin with this book?! Captivating, sensual and oh so beautiful, Schwab delivers a delicious tale of three women, spanning over centuries, and how their lives are inevitably entwined

I could not put this book down! I'm going to keep my review short because it's best to go into this blind but toxic lesbian vampires really is the perfect tag line for Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil.

The story follows Maria, Charlotte and Alice over different timelines. The pacing allows the story to unfold at a slower but not boring pace. We all love a slow burn don't we?! We see the struggles and suppression that the women go through. The hunger (literally and figuratively) they have for life. Bury Our Bones is filled with desperation and loneliness; grief and love; anger and vengeance.

Buried underneath all of the rage and toxicity though is a story about women wanting to find where they fit into the world without compromising who they are. The hunger for life never really dies...even when you're dead...

I was lucky enough to read this early on the readalong with Book Break, thank you so much Book Break and Tor Books for the ARC.

Looking at my highlights to prepare for writing this review had me falling in love with this book all over again. It’s a sumptuously gothic, queer, emotional, feminist masterpiece. As always, this will be vague but I hope to convince you to pick this up (if you’re not already, which is unlikely!)

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil combines comfortingly familiar vampire lore with the fresh and unique: a decidedly botanic take on our blood-sucking friends which I absolutely loved, and gave this book such a raw and deep quality. The imagery, smells and settings had me so immersed, it’s slower-paced but every page and turn these characters took felt intentional. For the clever reader, there’s so much to uncover and you’ll find so many links, metaphors and foreshadowing, and the way it all ties together is so impressive.

Schwab’s signature poetic prose weaves 3 distinct POV’s belonging to 3 very different women, all in shades of morally grey. This was honestly the most stunningly real depiction of the nuance of women I’ve ever encountered - they can be messy, selfish, they don’t always act the way you want them to and they each handle their situation in different ways.

I’m not even going to say unlikeable, because who said that female characters always have to be nice? Sometimes characters are fascinating because they’re not nice and we seem to allow this for male characters more than we do female. One of them was my favourite for this reason - she takes what she wants, she’s brutal and we love her. In fact, I loved them all for their uniqueness.

I laughed, I gasped, I raged, I cried. Definitely a new fave!

DNF at 29%

I was looking forward to reading Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil as a new release with lesbian main characters but unfortunately it just wasn't for me. My main criticism of the book is that a lot of the characters felt very two dimensional to me so I wasn't that interested in what happened to them.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC

V E Schwab never misses! Another fantastic book, complex characters, multiple timelines and LESBIANS! Occasionally the pacing was slow but overall a brilliant read.

5/5 Stars - A seductively dark, sapphic vampire tale that sinks its teeth in and doesn’t let go

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil is another triumph from V.E. Schwab. Her writing is, as always, fantastic - poetic, haunting, and effortlessly immersive. It’s sexy, it’s dark, and it’s absolutely addictive. This isn’t your typical vampire story; it’s a slow, unsettling descent into desire, death, and everything in between.

The story is uniquely structured, driven entirely by its raw, flawed characters. It doesn’t follow a traditional plot structure; instead, it’s deeply character-driven. You’re not so much following a narrative as you are living alongside these characters as they drift through their beautifully tragic lives.
Each point of view comes with its own distinct voice, and Schwab masterfully shifts her style to reflect the nuances of each character. The result is a book that feels layered and intimate, with a tone that’s both sexy and dark in all the right ways.

It’s messy, manipulative, vulnerable, and so real it hurts. The emotional dynamics are jagged and unflinching - there’s no glamourizing the dark undercurrent of obsession and control. You’re left unsettled, a little haunted, and completely enthralled.

It’s not a book for readers looking for fast-paced action or tightly wound plots, but if you love atmospheric storytelling and deeply emotional character work, this is absolutely worth the read.

This book doesn’t just bite - it devours. And honestly? I loved every bloodstained page.

Schwab's delicate, lyrical prose did not disappoint and there were some gorgeous passages in this novel but unfortunately the rest of it really didn't work for me which came as a huge surprise.

The characters felt predictable and pretty flat, the pacing made it difficult for me to really immerse myself in any of the multiple perspectives and the plot just wasn't grabbing me. Reading other people's reviews I definitely seem to be in the minority here and it might just be that this book wasn't right for me at the minute, but it hasn't put me off reaching for any of Schwab's other works which I have always enjoyed in the past.

2.5 rating rounded up.

V.E. Schwab has the innate ability to have me so immersed in her writing that I physically feel the impact of every word. I fell so deeply in love with Addie, I had it tattooed. So, when I was accepted for this arc, I knew I had to both mentally and emotionally prepare myself.

Nothing could have prepared me enough for Bury Our Bones.

“Once there was a girl afraid of growing up. When she was a child, she was a giant, free and large and boundless. But growing up, she knew, meant becoming small, small enough to fit in a man’s open hand. No longer a person at all, but a trophy, a trinket.”

A sapphic telling from the perspective of women throughout time. From the 16th century through to modern day, the times may have changed, but men have not.

An Interview with a Vampire, but the queer undertones are no longer subtle. They are screaming throughout this haunting and powerful story of Maria, Charlotte and Alice.

Centuries apart, but in typical (and brilliant) Schwab style, they effortlessly overlap. It depicts the history of arranged marriages, the social season throughout the regency era, and navigating college all while exploring sexuality. It’s toxic. It’s gothic. It’s perfect.

“But Maria has known, all her life, that she is not meant for common paths, for humble houses and modest men. If she must walk a woman’s road, then it will take her somewhere new.”

More than anything, Bury Our Bones is about freedom. Freedom from expectations. Freedom from judgement. Freedom to explore what you want and who you are. But as all three women discover, freedom comes with a price and the longer your soul submits to the darkened urges, the harder it becomes to chase the light.

“Is it life, if there is never death to balance it? Or is it brevity what makes it beautiful?”

Alice was by far my favourite character throughout. It was more of a realistic (as realistic as a story about lesbian vampires can be) telling of having that choice of freedom taken away from you. Allowing herself to indulge in a part of herself that she has resisted for so long, only to rise from a memorable experience to a lack of a heartbeat and an insatiable thirst.

“Alice is no fool. She was raised on good books and bad TV, and she knows what this looks like, but she also knows that it’s not real. It's not real, and yet she is, and she’s not sure how to square the two, and there is a word she will not use.”

The metaphor of the midnight soil, yet death calling to death, provided another, deeper layer to those seeking freedom. How being free in many ways, does not provide freedom for all. The slaughter and the urge to cure a thirst that never leaves yet always has you seeking more.

The writing sunk its teeth into my heart and didn’t let go for 500+ pages. I understand what Schwab meant when she said she put her whole self into this book. It left me hollow and wanting more. It left me wanting to bury my own bones in the midnight soil and reside there while I processed the ruin.

“Those grown in the midnight soil are never alone.”

Thank you ruining every other book for me. For redefining the standards of fantasy and vampiric romance.

Thank you NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Absolutely stunning vampire story about lesbian inter generational relationships & control. Fantastic characters, the story felt like centuries and a new bright reflection on the first vampire book Carmilla.

A MASTERPIECE!!!!

I have to admit it was a bit slow at the beginning and I almost dnfed it, but it picked up around the middle and after that I couldn't put it down. The vibes are immaculate, the characters are well fleshed out and the plot is just so well thought of.

Amazing work from Schwab!

Absolutely brilliant! I devoured this book, another highly anticipated book for this year and I say it lives up to its hype! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book.

”As if love and horror could not go hand in hand.”

I LOVE the way VE Schwab writes characters it’s like they have this brilliant huge brain and just understands how people work. This skill is so clear in Bury our Bones. Sabine, Charlotte, and Alice are all so distinct and well thought out. No matter what happens and what any of them do, you get such a feel for the way their minds work that it comes together perfectly. You get toxicity, passion, HUNGER, and desire for freedom. Also, lesbian vampires !!!

I think this one is for the Addie Larue and Vicious fans. Not to oversimplify though because Bury our Bones is unique, don’t get me wrong. But it is paced similarly to Addie Larue and has similar themes of loneliness etc, tracing through a long period of time. But also has that the air of toxic connection that we see with Evervale.


Thank you NetGalley and Tor, Pan Macmillan for sending me this ebook. All thoughts are my own.

Absolute masterpiece, this is 100% my favourite Schwab book. The characters are so messy and amazing I could not put this down

Wow, just wow. It takes an enormous amount of talent as a writer to weave a story with as many moving parts as Bury Our Bones In The Midnight Soil and make it seem effortless to the reader. V E Schwab, I am in awe of you.

I've seen this book being marketed a lot as 'toxic lesbian vampires' and whilst it is that, I think it's a tad reductive because it is SO much more. What this book actually is, is a beautifully woven historical fiction novel with folkloric vampires that spans over four centuries and explores three very different women and the way their individual stories become intertwined. It is a delicious tale of hunger, passion, selfishness and life, and it is just brilliant.

Once again, WOW!

(Full review coming on my TikTok tomorrow)

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor for this ARC!

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil is the perfect vampire novel. We follow the POVs of three women as they navigate life and death, a story spanning nearly 500 years.
I don’t want to say much more, because this is a novel that is hard to summarise without spoiling anything.

Once, as I was still in the middle of reading, I described this book as “the sort where the journey is the goal”, and I would still largely agree with that assessment. While there is a clear end to the journey, and it becomes apparent what this end will be as you follow the story, I would argue that the things we have read before getting to this ending were what really made the book.

Schwab takes us on a trip through history, full of flowery descriptions and lush scenery. If you liked her other work, “The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue”, I imagine you will like this book too. However, if you read Schwab more so for her more fantasy heavy works, like the Shades of Magic series, and didn’t care for Addie LaRue, I’m not sure this book will be your favourite. The point here is less action or setting up an intricate world.

I, however, had a fantastic time with this book. I love anything vampire related, and enjoy reading the lore different writers choose to adhere to, which they choose to add or leave out, and Schwab’s version of vampires as powerful beings with supernatural abilities was certainly right up my alley. I also enjoyed other ways that the author chose to make vampires seem more creature than human, but no spoilers here ;)

Another element I really liked was how unapologetically lesbian this book was. While I’m personally partial to the bisexual vampire trope, I greatly enjoyed the way these vampires' experience of sexuality was portrayed. I recently read an article on the uniquely lonely experience of growing up as a lesbian in a world that favours male centeredness, and with large parts of this book being set in the past you may be able to imagine how this loneliness is only exacerbated. Each of these vampires’ lesbianism was unique, partially as they are products of their time, but also because they each had their own likes and dislikes (iykyk) and things they looked for in a partner.

As always, Schwab also excels at giving each character in her multi-POV books their own voice, almost to an extent where certain characters seemed to have been written in a different style, which made for an immensely enjoyable experience.

Overall I would recommend this book to anyone who likes lesbians, toxic vampires, and beautiful writing that transports you to beautifully luscious sceneries throughout history.