Honestly even though the fragment wasn’t really short it still was too little for me to form an actual opinion of the book. I still felt like I was just getting into it when it cut off. I’m not sure if I should be excited or indifferent to this book coming out to be honest. It seemed to be going in a good direction but the main characters hadn’t connected yet and whelp it was kinda boring for me. I will look forward to finishing it tho and form a beter opinion

firstly, thank you to the publisher for an arc and a sneak peak to the first 12 chapters of the alc!

3.5 stars? i don’t know how i feel yet, truly.

i do know that while i love schwab’s writing, i personally find that she fluffs her books up with so many beautiful descriptions of emotion and setting that i eventually lose interest in the overall plot. she also tends to time-skip between time periods and characters that i find i can only be so invested in one character and their time period.

in this instance, i truly only found sabine interesting until we were introduced to lottie towards almost the end of this novel. i did not care at all about alice.

one thing that stood out to me that i really loved was schwab calling the vampires roses from the midnight soil… i KNOW the literary girlies will eat that one up

as for the first 12 chapters of the audio — the narrators did a fantastic job!

i am excited to hear schwab talk about this book on tour though, because i always enjoy learning about the processes authors take, so maybe that experience will give me a different perspective from which i can look at this book

Starting a little slow, but very intriguing. Waiting to see what sort of creatures the women are.. witches.. vampires...
Can't wait to listen to the rest!

What an amazing start to this audiobook. There is a full cast narrators on this audiobook narrated by Julia Whelan, Katie Leung, Marisa Calin. This story is told in three point of views of three ladies in a span of centuries: Maria, Lottie and Alice. I loved that each of these ladies has their own narrator and it really sets the tone for this audiobook. I have always loved Julia Whelan as a narrator and she does such an amazing job with the tone, accent and narrating this story. Katie Leung and Marisa Calin bring in such an amazing narration for their characters and love the tone and emotion to their characters. I can’t wait to listen to this full book. This was such a tease but really got me hooked into the story!

This is possibly my most anticipated book of the year and this preview was EXCELLENT! The three narrators are all excellent, the story is engaging. I cannot wait for the rest of the book.
Thank you Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for this sneak peek!

I am SO EXCITED to listen to this book when it’s out! The narrator switched accents for each character and she nails every single one. The audiobook is so compelling and immersive, it’s a book that I would definitely prefer to listen to. The setup is interesting so far and I am looking forward to seeing where each storyline goes (especially Alice!). I can’t wait for this to be released so I can finish it!

The best/worst thing I have done in recent memory is pick up only a sneak peak of this book. I devoured these first 12 chapters and now I have to wait a month to see what happens with these three women. I'm particularly invested in Maria's story, but that's quite possibly because I've been dying for another Schwab/Whelan collab since Addie. This was great.

Thank you/darn you to NetGalley and the publisher for this sneak peak listen now.

Love love this sneak peak. I listened to it in one sitting I want wait to grab a copy to devour the rest

V.E Schwab is whoever she thinks she is!

I went into this without knowing much about the book and I will admit I was worried at first when it become obvious this was a multiple timeline setup, as those aren’t usually my thing. That said, the narrators alone made me keep going and I am glad I did. VE Schwab’s is very unique and captivating, and by the end of the sample I found myself wishing there were more. Having since read the overview, I’m even more curious about the widow and how this turns into the toxic, sapphic, love story!
Now back to the narrators: they are quite simply amazing. The accents, the inflection, their voice tones in general are all splendid and I would listen to the audiobook even if I hadn’t liked the story, just because I like listening to them. I want to see what else they have narrated now.
Thank you so much for the sneak peek! I cannot wait for the rest!

"Maria is already gone." YOU LEFT US HANGING ON THAT?!

Eeekk. I don't know if listening to this was a good idea or bad, because now I'll be thinking about it and NEEDING the rest of this book for the next month! Absolutely loving what I've heard so far. Back in a V.E. Schwab world with intriguing woman. I was VERY into Maria's story and cannot wait to see where it leads! Thank you for the opportunity to listen early!

I need the whole book now. The narrators Julia Whelan, Katie Leung, and Marisa Calin did a phenomenal job on this book.

I liked the way it switched between Maria, Alice, and Lottie. I have so many questions. Did Lottie mean to turn Alice? Is Lottie the widow in the 1500’s? I’ve already preordered the book and can’t believe I have to wait over a month to find out what happens next.

Great female empowerment as well.

So good.

Oh, what a mixed bag. On the one hand, I was deeply invested in Maria’s story and very much wanting to read more. I loved the narrator for her, thought she was compelling as a character, and truly wanted to see her vengeance.

On the other hand, I didn’t care in the slightest about Alice. I wasn’t a fan of her narration, the voice used for her one that kind of just grated on me. I wasn’t interested in her story and didn’t feel like anything interesting was happening to her.

I know this is just a sneak peek and therefore the story has a much longer way to go, but I do feel as though I’m a little on the fence for whether or not I’ll continue reading it. I just don’t know how much I wanted to sit through Alice’s tale and whether it’s even worth doing so just to follow Maria’s story. Thing is, I know they’ll have to connect at some point and therefore I just feel rather meh about it.

Oh my GOD I need this book in my hands immediately. VE Schwab never disappoints—the prose and dialogue in this is out of this world. Multi-POV and spanning across centuries, this is an immersive and entrancing book. I cannot wait until release. Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan for this preview.

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil – Sneak Peek

I need more!! I didn’t realize this was just a sneak peek of the audiobook, and now I’m so sad it’s over already. The narrators did a fantastic job, especially Maria. She completely brought her character to life, and her story was my favorite of the ones I’ve heard so far.

Since I’ve only listened to the first two hours, I can’t give a full review of the book yet. But based on what I’ve heard, I cannot wait to listen to the rest. I’ll definitely be picking this up on release day and highly recommend others do the same!

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the ARC of Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil (Sneak Peek) by V.E. Schwab.

What a perfect way to raise anticipation for this book! Julia Whelan is a perfect, god-tier narrator and this came through on the sneak peak I got to listen to here.

Sapphic vampires, written by V.E. Schwab set in a story with a multitude of different characters we get to follow? Sign me up.

I’m even more excited for the release date and will definitely buy the audiobook for a tandem-read with my physical copy.

Immediately went and preordered the audiobook after listening to the sneak peak advanced listener copy.

This book is one of my highly anticipated new releases this year and the sneak peak has me wanting June 10 to get here fast!

Only listened to the first 12 chapter sneak peek-

Holy moly this was a deliciously perfect sneak peek. The immersive setting for weaving these 3 womens stories is beautiful and the voice acting for the audio is amazing! I cannot wait until this releases and I can keep reading about how these lives interconnect and what is about to happen to the viscount and his shitty mother because I know it’s going to be GOOD.

“That” declares Maria “Was a miracle”
The widow seems to consider “How is a miracle different from a spell? Who is to say the Saint was not a witch?”
She says it blithely as if the words have no weight and Maria finds herself grinning at the shear blasphemy. The way it would make Rapha scowl and mother cross herself. —— I love this sentiment and often wonder this myself the difference between magic and religion and the lies we tell ourselves to distinguish the two

“But she decides to take a chance. If Kathy were here she would make it a game.Not that Kathy actually needed an excuse to be reckless. But Alice liked games, because games come with rules and it’s easier to be bold when there are boundaries, edges, and ends. So here it is, the game, the rules. When Alice steps out of the bathroom, she will turn right to the party, not left toward the door and she will be the girl in the mirror, the backward reflection of herself. Not old Alice, but new. New Alice who leans in instead of out.”
——Alice is trying push the boundaries of her comfort but doesn’t know where to start or where to stray from the rules, how can you be bold when you don’t know what is the threshold for boldness?

A terrific little peek into VE Schwab’s upcoming sapphic vampire novel.

This book is one of my most anticipated reads for 2025, so it was lovely to get an early look at a bit of it.

The tone of this is fantastic, exactly what I hoped it would be given the premise. I love that Schwab always sounds like herself but also seems to keep reinventing perspective in her novels. Can’t wait to read the full text!

Julia whelan?? VE Schwab?? Say less!! I need more! This sample was so good and hooked me immediately. I need MORE!

Ahhh I already can tell that this is gonna be a five star read, I need more, I devoured this so quickly. I cannot wait for the rest of this book!