Another wonderful novel by V.E. Schwab! I am so thankful for the chance to preview this for our store. Our customers have been sweeping this book of our shelves and the cover art is stunning!

This book follows Olivia Prior, who has grown up at Merilance School for Girls, and she is mute, and cannot speak. She doesn’t know a lot about herself or her past, save for a journal she has of her mother’s that she has memorized backwards and forwards. One day, a letter arrives from her Uncle Arthur asking her to come home to a place called Gallant. A car comes to take her away, but when she arrives at Gallant, no one there has been expecting her or knows anything about the letter. She doesn’t want to leave the first true home she has ever known, but as she learns more about Gallant and her family, she discovers so much more than she ever expected.

I know some people have struggled with this book, but I thought it was great! It was very different from the other V.E Schwab books I have read, but I thought it was awesome! It was spooky, and was giving me HELLA Neil Gaiman vibes, which I liked. It took me a bit to get to this title unfortunately BUT it meant the audiobook was out so I could listen to it, which I loved.

I was given an advanced reader's copy via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own

I think it's impossible for V.E. Schwab to write a bad book! I also like how the voice of her books are all so different! I never feel like her main characters are the same or even similar voices. Nothing will beat Addie LaRue for me but I definitely liked the ride and will continue to anxiously await every book she writes. I feel like her fantasy writing makes the fantasy elements seem almost too real, and in this case that realness definitely gives you the creeps in a good way. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Schwab ended up writing a story that is grounded in a dark reflection of our own world, one in which a ragged corpse holds court over a dead house and a rotting garden cries out for fresh blood. It’s horrifying and strangely beautiful by turns, eternal and decaying all at once, a story that primarily exists in the in-between of life and death, and whose images will stay with you long after the final page.

This book was phenomenal. It was atmospheric, creepy, unsettling, and dare I say magical? I’ll admit. I wasn’t sold after the first 2 chapters. A girl who was different, ostracized by her peers, and she could see ghouls. Once she made it to Gallant though, I was hooked. I would strongly encourage readers who love a good haunted house/parallel universe story to pick this up. If you’re into familial curses. Meeting Death. But I will warn you: I myself am a fan of a slow burn atmospheric novel. I love being immersed in the setting of a spooky house and being told every last detail. If you get bored by scene setting, this book may not be for you.

I love V.E. Schwab's writing. It is so beautiful and haunting in this book. The illustrations were gorgeous and really added to the ambiance of the story. I liked the story itself, but the end felt pretty rushed. Overall, I enjoyed it. Thank you to NetGalley for this digital ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you, VE Schwab for another delightful and fantastical novel! I really enjoy the worldbuilding of this one. The story is interesting, and I liked the characters, especially the MC. I finished this in one sitting on a flight from east to west US because of how into it I was.

Schwab once again brings her gorgeous writing to a new YA standalone about a Olivia Prior, a mute orphan who finds herself plucked from her school of girls and dropped off at her ancestral home, a place called Gallant. Her homecoming is met with anger from her cousin, the last known Prior. Determined to finally learn what happened to her parents, Olivia explores to the home and gardens. What she learns is haunting and dangerous.

The language is gorgeous. The world building is slow and meticulous. The narrator for the audio is perfect. That said, this is one is not likely to appeal to fans of fast-paced, action-packed books. The story unfolds slowly and relies on world building to move things forward. Schwab is a brilliant writer and die hard fans will appreciate this one.

This one also skews young-hand this to strong middle grade readers without worry about content.

Cue the creaky stairs, the voices of ghosts, and the sudden whoosh of the wind; Gallant is a spoooooooky read. Main character Olivia Prior has grown up all her life at the Merilance School for girls but suddenly, a letter arrives for her stating that Olivia has a home and long-lost family at a manor named Gallant. Olivia leaves her orphanage, knowing that any home will be better than her current living situation. But Gallant manor is hiding secrets, and after all, her late mother’s journal warned her to never return to Gallant.

While short and sweet (or perhaps eerie is the more appropriate word), Gallant is filled with spooky sensations. While I enjoyed the plot, what really intrigued me was the incredible atmosphere that V.E. Schwab created through her unique prose. You can’t help but wonder if there are ghosts in your house wandering around looking to create havoc. I quickly realized that the synopsis of Gallant gives way too much away, so I opted to read the novel for its ~vibes~ rather than for its plot. Gallant is one to read if you are looking for something ghostly and is the perfect novel for curling up on your couch while watching the fall leaves flutter to the ground outside.

Content warnings: death, death of a parent, grief, blood, suicide, child death, bullying, animal death

This was a good novel, it was just much younger than I was expecting or prepared for. That's not the book's fault, though I do wonder at some of the marketing choices made. I would recommend it to those looking to move from softer YA series into the more serious.

Olivia has never known her family. All she has of family is an old diary of her mother’s which seems to document her decent into insanity. When a mysterious letter arrives from an uncle she is sent “home” to Gallant. Once there she finds her uncle has been dead for a year and all her cousins Matthew wants is for her to leave. As she explores she discovers bizarre things about Gallant, like the grey weeds that sprout up over night that try to choke the roses. And the crumbling wall in the garden that leads to nowhere. The more she explores the more she uncovers the secrets of Gallant, what lives behind the wall, and why she was summoned home.

V.E. Schwab delivers yet again with another stunning, descriptive tale of a young lady and the monsters of her past and future. A delightful read, gothic and dark.

Book Review: ***/5

I have seen this book on multiple occasions on bookstgram so when I saw it on Netgalley I had to put in my request. I was so excited to receive this eARC from the publisher and Netgalley for my honest review. I found this book to be a bit of a slow read for me. I was just never completely grabbed. I found that I was just always waiting to be more drawn to the characters and setting and for me it just never happened.

Olive Prior is an orphan and all she knows of her parents is what she has read from her mother's journal. Her world is full of people she sees in the shadows. When a letter comes and its her time to leave the school for girls, Olive is brought to her new home, Gallant, but things are not as they seem and the Prior family and Gallant have secrets that slowly come to light. As Olive learns what it means to be a Prior she discovers what family truely means.

I just felt that the character development was lacking for me. I've heard so many great things about V.E. Schwab's books, his one just maybe wasnt my cup of tea.

I found this book a little slow moving, but so well written. I highly recommend as an audiobook. The author is definitely a pro!

Another home run from V.E. Schwab! The lush writing is unparalleled and it was a joy to have the world slowly unfurl as the story progressed. This is an atmospheric book over all else, and it felt more like a fairytale than a novel. This made the book less character-driven than some of the author's other titles, which made it initially hard to get into. But once the story grabbed me, it didn't let go and I was enchanted until the end.

A pretty interesting fantasy with a nonverbal main character who we follow as she attempts to figure out her family's history and her place in it. The writing style was great and easy to dive into but the story itself didn't always keep me engaged.

For as long as she can remember, Olivia has desired a family of her own. Having grown up in relative isolation at the Merilance School for Girls, she is eager to find a place that feels more like home. When she receives a letter in the mail from her uncle encouraging her to come home to Gallant, a sprawling estate in the countryside. When she arrives to a cousin who wishes she'd never come, a house full of ghouls and numerous secrets, she wonders if this is truly where she was meant to be. As she digs deeper into her past, she realizes she has more a connection than she originally thought.

This book had an engaging, tightly written plot with a strong narrative voice. I enjoyed every second of it, and I appreciated that Schwab didn't turn this into a massive tome. While I didn't find the "horror" bits super spooky, I enjoyed the overall paranormal vibe. As per usual, Schwab can do no wrong!

Gallant is V.E. Schwab’s newer standalone and is a YA paranormal/horror/fantasy mix up. I am a huge fan of her writing style and how she can fully immerse you into the world you are reading and Gallant did not disappoint. While this is not a new favorite, I definitely enjoyed it.

Gallant is rich, dark, gothic, and makes you feel as if ghosts could really exist. I love the representation of a lead character who is mute, and who manages to make herself heard in a world dominated by speech. I loved the perspective of Olivia as she discovered her past and her family history. The interwoven pieces of Olivia’s present and her mother’s past via the journals was wonderfully done and left me guessing until the very end.

This is the perfect spooky season read and fans of paranormal fantasy as well as V.E. Schwab’s other works will love it.

A rich and engaging read. Recommend this to your reluctant readers, it is something sure to get their interest and keep them engaged.

Olivia Prior's only connection to her mother is the journal she left behind. Growing up at the Merilance School for girls it is presumed Olivia is alone. No family, no friends, no body to care about her. Until a letter comes from her Uncle asking her to come stay with them. Olivia jumps at the chance to belong, to connect to someone beyond her mothers journal and it's descent into madness. Beyond the girls at school that don't care to connect with her.
Overall I think the premise of this book was amazing. I was intrigued and captivated and sneaking chances to read it at work.
I am disappointed to have read a majority of the book via audio because I think the illustrations and scratched out notes would have given even more to the experience but I didn't realize I was missing that aspect until too late.
Schwab has once again given us a hauntingly beautiful story. Towards the end I was hoping there would be a second book but I think it ended in the right spot.