Forever grateful to @torbooks for the pleasure of reading this one early.

"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."

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V. E Schwab 😭 You. Are. Not. Ready. This is such a classic vampire story, it's giving Interview with a Vampire all day long.

Historical fiction vibes but with intoxicating modern club scenes that drip so much lust and blood you can practically taste it. You follow three main characters through centuries from Scotland, Boston, Spain, Italy, and more. Each is looking for something different: Sabine wants freedom, Lottie wants escape, and Alice wants to solve the mystery of what happened to her. Their stories intertwine together in a knot that tightens like a noose before the inevitable end and I couldn't look away. The scope of female characters is breathtaking, somehow all uniquely voiced and yet relatable at the same time. If you have ever watched a Bridgerton ball scene and wished it had vampires, IT'S RIGHT HERE. This is peak drama okay.

Am I turned on? Am I horrified? I don't knowww but I'm sitting here with the book on my chest wondering what even was that magic and where can I get more exactly like it?

• lesbian vampires
• toxic relationships
• morally gray characters
• revenge

I just finished Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab. I received a free eARC from NetGalley.

Three girls, centuries between them, stories intertwined, all buried in the midnight soil. A Sapphic love story, a book of feminist rage, a waltz through history spanning continents.

I have read every book that VE Schwab has ever published. This book is what I thought that Addie SHOULD have been. It's deep, it's expansive, it SPRAWLS across time and pages. The characters are fleshy, dynamic, complicated, beautiful. The storylines are like tangled limbs, wrapped so tightly it's impossible to find where one ends and one begins. I love how centered the women are in this book; male figures flit on the edges, impacting the characters, but never taking space away from them. There's something so relatable about the gaping chasm of thirst that the characters experience. As women through many time periods, the thirst is so indicative of the limitations that were placed on women by society. The enduring theme of the novel is freedom, and what that means to each character and time period. I do not want to spoil a single thing about this in this review. Read it, love it, go back and read it again.

An absolute treasure of a novel.

Let me start by saying Addie LaRue is my favorite book of all time. Okay I have a lot of thoughts for this book. This took me a very long time to read because the pacing felt off to me. We were often jumping around from the past to present with all three different povs and sometimes it was multiple times in one chapter. It also felt slow, but it had the same vibe as Addie LaRue where the slowness felt intentional at times. These are characters that have lived a long long life.

I didn't like any of the characters. The one character we were supposed to like I felt like we spent the least amount of time with. I would have liked more time with her. I was listening to an interview and it was intentional on the author's part for us to not like one character specifically and that shows, but we spent the most time with her which was rough (but maybe once again that's intentional because she was the oldest). This felt like Addie LaRue but was missing some of the important themes that made me fall in love with it. There were romances that happened but no true love story.

The ending of the book was great. I felt like it made up for it with all the back and forth in the chapters before, but at the same time it also wrapped up fast? I have so many mixed emotions with this book. Was this a good book? yes. Will some people enjoy it? yes, if you like lit fic. Do I love it as much as Addie LaRue? no. Will I reread it? no. Will I purchase it? maybe. Will I read more of VE Schwab's books? yes. The author said in the interview that this book is a happy medium between Addie LaRue and Viscious if that helps! I have yet to read Vicious.

V.E. Schwab’s poetic yet accessible writing captured my attention from the first page. I loved the drama, horror, and morally gray characters, especially mixed with the heart-wrenching prose akin to Addie LaRue. Schwab meaningfully explores what it means to inhabit a woman’s body across time and how sexuality intertwines with grief and rage.

I do wish we had more of Sabine’s perspective in the later half of the book. So much time was spent developing her character and complex inner world at the start, only to have it all unravel through the eyes of another.

Overall, I loved this story and will definitely be recommending it!

I think this book is a part of my personality now. Its raw intensity stays with you long after the last page. Just as the characters cannot be sated, readers will be left hungry for even more.

This book was incredible. My second read from V E Schwab, but I can’t wait to read more. A truly five star read and I can’t wait to add to my bookshelf!

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil was advertised for its rage. What I should have prepare for was the grief that lives on the other side of that anger, This book twisted me up, it pulled me in so many directions and, most importantly, it left me hungry. As a long time fan, I would say this book is a beautiful mix of The Invisible Life of Addie La Rue and Vicious. Her projects are so full of magic; they make you question and they make you ache.

Um....wow! What a wild ride. I have only read one other Schwab novel (Invisible Life of Addie LaRue), and I honestly wasn't sure this could ever compare for me. I was wrong. Like, seriously wrong. Bury Your Bones in the Midnight Soil was fierce with a bit of hope. I absolutely couldn't put it down. We will definitely be purchasing for the collection! Highly recommended.

I loved the historical backdrops, the writing and characters pulled me in immediately. It was refreshing to read a vampire novel with females as the protagonists and antagonists. VE Schwab's descriptions of her characters and their actions are so vivid. I devoured this book. Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy!

VE Schwab just never misses.

Bury Our Bones is, ultimately, about women trying to live their lives to the fullest in the face of constantly crushing societal expectations. While each is, in her own way and to her own degree, a villain, I was fully invested in their success and happiness. I wanted nothing more than for each to find peace—an impossible ask.

Schwab’s writing is, per usual, gorgeous and I would have happily stayed in this world longer. My one quibble is that I wish the stories had collided sooner—I wanted more interaction among the three than we ultimately got. Still, in each section I was convinced the character at the front was my favorite; which is quite the accomplishment.

Strongly recommended for lovers of any VE Schwab novel, fans of Ninth House, and perhaps even open minded readers of The Secret History. 4.75 stars rounded up.

Every book this woman writes is better than the last one. This book was so good I could hardly put it down. I can’t wait for this to release so I can talk it up with customers!

The first thought that came to mind once I finished this book was wow, that was intense. I don’t even know how to sum up my thoughts on this book. Of course. I absolutely loved it. I couldn’t stop reading, I had to know how all these stories came together. Bury Our Bones gives Addie LaRue vibes but much darker, I think If you loved Addie LaRue then you’ll definitely love this one as well.

DNF @ 37%.

I am so sad that I don't like "Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil", but I am absolutely convinced this is going to be a hit when it is released next year.

The premise of the book is very interesting - it tells the story of vampires through the lives of three women. I greatly enjoyed Maria's story and setting. The sapphic notes throughout her story (and the rest of the book) were very well done.

It falls apart for me when we get to Alice's POV. The shift in the writing style is jarring and not as well done as Maria's POV. It's very disappointing that the writing style does not stay consistent cause I was interested in the multiple POVs and seeing how they ended up connecting. It may be a spoiler, but I didn't even make it to our third character. I kept getting bogged down by Alice that I just do not want to continue to pick this book back up.

Projected rating 5 stars. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC ebook.

Appropriately, I devoured this book. I love how ruthless it was, yet so full of hope.

It follows three women in similar situations across different centuries in different continents. These women handle their situation in very different ways, yet I found both the flaws and strengths of each of the main characters so relatable.

I stayed up for hours to finish it, I needed to see how these characters would connect and how the story would end.

I can't recommend this book enough and must insist it be read listening to Florence + the Machine as they pair exceptionally well.

VE Schwab, as always, does not disappoint.

When I found out the vibes of this book were toxic lesbian vampires with a side of Florence + the Machine, I knew immediately I had to have it.

And wow did V.E. Schwab deliver.

BOBITMS is the story of three women (Alex, Charlotte, and Sabine) in three different times, connected by the midnight soil.

This was such a rich and real story. Setting aside the supernatural issues, so many things the girls go through are real life struggles and I saw myself reflected in so many of them. The way Schwab writes the inner dialogue of each girl is spectacular, each has their own distinct voice and story to tell.

The historical settings were so descriptive and beautiful. You really feel like you are walking the streets of Paris or Rome alongside them. I loved watching their stories move throughout history and maybe it’s because I’m a history nerd but I found it so interesting to see where the story took us next.

The supernatural aspect was so interesting and felt refreshing and new even though vampire stories have been around for ages. Schwab didn’t re-invent the vampire story but gave it an update that I really enjoyed while staying true to the legends.

I honestly felt like I never knew what was going to happen next and that made me love it even more. There were so many twists that I didn’t see coming but looking back I realized just how connected their stories were.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC copy in exchange for an honest review. I will start off by saying V.E. Schwab is an excellent writer and her love of words and prose remains undiminished in this book. I also believe that readers who enjoyed Addie LaRue will gravitate towards this one.

I am usually a V.E. Schwab superfan but Bones fell short for me. The reason there is no book jacket description is because there's no real story to preview.

Sabine, Lottie, and Alice are three women across different eras (1500s, 1800s, and 2000s) who are caught in the toxic web of a sapphic huntress. However, not all women are given equal narrative time or plot depth. I love a "how are these 3 women connected?!" historical plot and even more when sapphic chaos is involved, but Bones is more about relationship toxicity and murder than lesbians and weaving the web. I wanted to like these characters but it's hard to cheer for the brittle, cruel huntress, the 100-year old naiveté of an abused lover, or the underdeveloped grieving youth who is randomly caught between them. The author missed the opportunity to cultivate meaningful relationships between the women, and so it just felt depressing and long instead (and I love a yearning sapphic story).

Schwab deals in monsters, this we know. But this is the first time I've felt like I was reading about real monsters - ones who don't think very hard about human life because they have become so isolated from them. All three women also die before 20 which makes me think some of their shortcomings are in fact from their youth and not their vampiric age. Where the moral complexities - and character development - shines is when Sabine, Lottie, or Alice encounter other undead characters like Ezra, Antonia, Matteo, or the OG Sabine. But those moments are short-lived and so, too, is the character building beyond it. The three women are almost exclusively explored in relationship to one another, but rarely through dialogue and moment building and rather in brief time lapses (1970-79) or "100 years later" anniversaries that don't endear them to the reader, or offer a true window into their lives.

While the prose is beautiful, the book is also slow and long at 560 pages or ~8.5 hours. Static observations of a long life plot does not make. While the Darker Shade of Magic series are also quite large and dense, they leverage great character work, dialogue, and plot point weaving to deliver a BANG! of an ending. I have a theory that as authors become more famous and their readers more consistent, book editors decide to become less aggressive in cutting. I would argue this book could have easily cut 100-150 pages to improve the pacing, or trade some of those pages to develop a more compelling story for Alice. Alternatively, I would have recommended the structure of the book be altered so that Alice finds Lottie faster and at the beginning, and then "who is Sabine/Lottie/Alice" is introduced as more of the middle. Covering 400 years in decade+ chunks is long and boring, especially when there's not much in the character to like. Which, ultimately, is a shame because I think all 3 women have really interesting origin stories: Sabine fiercely craved independence in a time where only widows had it; Lottie wanted to be queer and compassionate in the Regency era; and Alice wanted to know who she could be after a loved one's death. Those are all beautiful starting points, and I wish that we had seen these characters grow and change first like in Addie LaRue, as opposed to remain static until unravelling.

Ultimately, Bones is what I would call a "window book" - a glimpse into unremarkable lives, lacking a plot drive to keep me invested or deliver a kick at the end. There are plenty of these out there who garner good audiences like "City of Girls" or "Happy Place" but this kind of book simply isn't for me, as I want to be dropped in the middle of the action and deeply satisfied with the final reveals/resolutions. I'll look forward to the adventures in Book #2 in Threads of Power and hope this novel finds its audience.

It's also worth calling out that this book deals with: emotional/physical abuse, stalking, child death, parent death, and toxic relationships.

An intricate masterpiece of a book that had a hold on me from the very first page. The historical story is sweeping and far-reaching, completely transforming, and compelling in its anger. The contemporary plot meshes seamlessly and serves as a pacey, page-turning meditation on what it means to keep living after death, in so many different ways. I was utterly captivated - this will go down in the classic cannon of vampire fiction, I'm sure of it.

4.5

Sapphic vampires, what is there not to like?

Such an amazing book! Writing was so compelling, I loved all of the different time periods and stories, and the characters are all written so beautifully.

The style of how the story was told kinda gave me seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo vibes with there being a present day POV and it telling the story through different flashbacks throughout history so if you enjoyed that, you’ll enjoy this one too!

Thank you TOR and NetGalley for this ARC!

To be a rose with sharp white teeth. 🖤

This book very much gave me Addie LaRue vibes in the best of ways. Women on their own, alone even in company, going through time & trying to find their way.

We span centuries discovering and following three women as they navigate family, love, loss, revenge, and what it means to be of the midnight soil.

Sapphic vampires. Morally grey FMC. Trauma. Feminine rage.

VE Schwab gave us a beautiful melancholy tale in this one and I can’t wait for it to be out in the world!

Thank you to TOR & NetGalley for the eARC!

This is one of my most anticipated reads and it did not disappoint. I love the road this book took. VE Schwab can spin a compelling story like no one else.