Really liked her last book. This one is not what I was expecting. It was not for me, but people love vampire books. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by @veschwab

Releases June 10

Review: I finished this book at 1am this morning, and honestly, that’s was the perfect time. Because I sat there, I stared, I contemplated, I genuinely considering immediately rereading it. This book was everything I could have wanted and so so much more. It’s no secret that The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is my favorite book of all time. I have a massive tattoo on my leg of my favorite quote from the book. There’s another quote from it at the top of my dissertation acknowledgements page. This book made me feel like Addie makes me feel. I found so many pieces of myself in all three main characters. I never wanted it to end as much as I desperately needed to know the ending. The writing? Absolutely luscious. It grabbed a hold of me and never quite let go. This is a character driven story at its best. WE see these characters go through and cause so much. We understand them, we love them, we hate them. We root for and against them. We live their lives with them. I always say I have two favorite books. I added another book to that list earlier this year, and here we are expanding it again. VE Schwab, you are a master at what you do, thank you for somehow writing another book that feels like pieces of my soul were sprinkled in.

Synopsis:

Santo Domingo de la Calzada, 1532.
London, 1837.
Boston, 2019.

Three young women, their bodies planted in the same soil, their stories tangling like roots.

One grows high, and one grows deep, and one grows wild.

And all of them grow teeth.

how is everything v.e. schwab writes soooo good?? I WORSHIP AT HER ALTAR!

(I actually wish it was LONGER! there's some characters I wanted to see more of (I need an Ezra spin-off or short story)!

Bury our Bones in the Midnight Soil was a hauntingly beautiful, meandering tale about traumatized toxic AF lesbian vampires. It reads slowly, very much like Addie La Rue, but I didn’t mind a single bit. Alice, Charlotte, and Sabine are all different, interesting, fully flushed out characters that each tell a tale of sacrifice, grief, loneliness, and love…with a heavy side of female rage. They are three broken women turned vampires whose stories weave a web of deceit and longing. This was vicious and gruesome at times and I was here for it.

I think many will find the longing, carnage, and angst top-tier Schwab. Read it as soon as you can.
4.5 stars

Thank you Net Galley for an eArc in exchange for my honest review.

This book was incredibly sad, showing that loneliness truly can make terrors of us all.
Despite the fabulous writing of V.E.Schwab and surprisingly violent finale, it lacked that unique quality of her previous stories. In the end, I found it to be just another vampire story. Bury Our Bones was all emotion, no magic. That being said, it was still a wonderful read. I just wouldn't read it again, thus bringing the rating down to 4 stars.

You had me at toxic lesbian vampires. You actually already had me at "VE Swchab has a new book", but the topics were a bonus.   

This has Addie LaRue vibes - slow and steady, beautiful prose spanning continents and centuries, but also Vicous-level cat-and-mouse & violence, plus vampires. 

Schwab has stated this is the most of herself she has ever put into a book and I truly felt the vulnerability dripping from these pages. There were so many moments (many relatable, though not all) that hit my heart so hard, and I thought, "This must be a piece of her, too."🥹 

I felt like Schwab packed so many words of wisdom into this, and was cheering us on to be our true selves, no matter what the world wants us to be - a message everyone needs to hear. 

I loved these characters, their unique voices, journeys, and growth. We have fierce and fearless, toxic decisions and refusal to conform to what was expected. We have insecurities, grief, loneliness, and desire. But all have a relentless hunger. 

A few of the many things you will find: 

🩸Vampires
🩸Queer rep
🩸Fierce, morally grey FMCs
🩸Toxicity
🩸Wisdom

There are SO many amazing quotes that I would love to add, hopefully I can add a couple soon.

Thank you Tor & NetGalley for this eARC, I quite literally jumped up and down screaming with bloody joy ❤️

I really really wanted to love this. Especially because it’s Schwab. But. This was… aggressive. There’s A LOT of murder to the point that it gets tiresome. I also felt this was longer than it needed to be. It took a while to pick up. Like at 50% is when things start to actually get interesting. But then things don’t really change. It’s the same thing over and over and then when it ends it’s not exactly the worthy build up.

This book is everything I've missed since Addie LaRue, but with so much more WANTING, and rage, and teeth. It takes us through stunning places and historical periods, following along with the intertwined lives of the three protagonists. The storyline jumps from past to present to in-between, building a mystery which is only solved in the last few pages. An absolute joy!

This book was incredible! VE Schwab is truly a master story teller. This book is very character driven and follows 3 different women (vampires) across centuries. It was truly captivating and had me constantly wondering what would happen next and how the story would conclude. Overall, I absolutely loved it!

Phenomenal book! I've been oversaturated with vampire novels and have given them up, but decided to request this one. I'm so glad I did! I loved the pacing, story and would absolutely recommend!

Gothic, sapphic vampires. If that sounds appealing to you, then sink your teeth into this luscious fantasy. V.E. Schwab’s writing is rich and atmospheric, painting a lush picture of cities and times spanning centuries. This book toys with traditional vampire tropes, using nuance in expectation to build tension between characters, but largely plays within the rules of vampire lore. Her characters are strong and complex, searching for independence and love that is often forbidden.

Jumping between characters and timelines, the story was slow to start, and it wasn’t until about halfway through that I was fully hooked, but once I was invested, I devoured the rest of the story. Highly recommend this book for anyone who is a fan of toxic sapphic love stories, good old-fashioned vampires, or V.E. Schwab’s glorious writing.

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil
V. E. Schwab
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Favorite Quote:
"She is a flame in the dark, and the night is full of moths."

As someone who is not always a fan of vampire novels, this book is the exception. This book was phenomenal. It was very well written and absorbing. That being said, I could not give this book a five star because it took until about half the book for me to actually be interested in anything going on. The pacing at the beginning felt a bit strange and then by 20% we go from no vampires to Oops! All Vampires! I would definitely recommend this to friends and will definitely be recommending to my library.

If you’ve followed along here enough, you may know by now that I am not always the biggest fantasy/ magical genre reader. However, I did become a big fan of VE Schwab after loving the SHADES OF MAGIC series last year (I also previously enjoyed ADDIE LARUE well enough and am planning to read VICIOUS this year!) so I was pretty excited when I received this digital arc in my inbox!

I went into this blind because I just knew that whatever story being told was going to be done in a way that would hook me. So, while I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into, it turns out that a gothic/ horror/ sapphic vampire book did indeed enrapture me more than I would’ve expected!

This books tells the story of a few different women spanning centuries, cities/ countries/ continents, and cultures. It is told in alternating perspectives and timelines and I found myself completely immersed in the world, our characters, and the toxic relationships. It was fully of yearning and lust and HUNGER and it was just hard to put down once you got going.

As the story progressed, I kept trying to figure out what threaded all three of the young women together, only to have it slowly unravel towards the end. I also really enjoyed the themes of loneliness and freedom and being accepted, particularly with its focus of course being on women and how that never changed from the 1500s to the 2000s. (Hello, feminine rage!)

I just love this author’s writing and her prose because it just made the storytelling that more enthralling. It’s such a mixture of just being angsty and violent (so much thirst and carnage just casually mentioned) and also kind of beautiful? The ending was both propulsive yet satisfying and I was kind of sad when it was over.

Vampire stories aren’t always my forte (usually they aren’t something I would gravitate towards), but VE Schwab delivered and I am so so excited for this book to eventually be released into the world because I can see people just devouring it up!

Although I tore through this novel like Sabine on a nightly rampage, I have to say it fell a bit flat for me. The connections between the characters, the slight twists and turns, were all very interesting but I left feeling like I had been shortchanged of some stories. I can't say I cared much at all for Charlotte's side of the story, I would've preferred more from Alice to contrast the majority of the novel's focus on Sabine.

V.E. Schwab has once again pushed the boundaries of genre with Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil, a fresh and thrilling take on the vampire mythos that turns everything you thought you knew on its head. This is not just another vampire story; Schwab breathes new life into the genre, presenting a narrative that is as much about power, identity, morality, and agency as it is about blood and immortality.

In Bury Our Bones, Schwab introduces us to a captivating ensemble of vampires, most of whom are women—an empowered, sapphic lense that spans across centuries. These women are not bound by the traditional tropes of vampire lore. The characters’ independence and strength resonate deeply, offering a refreshing departure from the typical portrayal of women in vampire fiction.

Of all the characters, Lottie stood out to me the most—her story and her time in history captivated me. Schwab’s ability to weave together the personal and the supernatural gives the novel a literary depth rarely seen in vampire fiction, making it a stand-out in the genre. It’s a beautiful, haunting, and empowering read that challenges expectations and redefines what a vampire story can be.

This book is an exhilarating exploration of vampire lore reimagined, with Schwab’s signature storytelling blending timeless themes with modern sensibilities. If you think you’ve seen it all in vampire fiction, think again—this book will change the way you see the genre forever.



#Torpublishing #tor #buryourbonesinthemidnightsoil #veschwab

V.E. Schwab’s Bury Our Bones is a beautifully haunting tale that digs deep into the soil of history, mystery, and myth, intertwining the lives of three women across centuries. From 16th-century Spain to Victorian London to modern-day Boston. The narrative roots itself in the stories of these women who, despite their different eras, share a terrifying connection: their bodies, their histories, and yes, even their TEETH.

Schwab’s writing is as sharp as the teeth that mark these women’s fates. Never a failing moment. The world-building is rich, atmospheric, and lush with danger, mystery, and a slow-burn tension that had me turning pages so deep into the night. The way these characters each have a uniquely tragic and fierce growth and change-and the way they ultimately collide is both beautiful and devastating.

It’s a genre defying story that blends historical fiction with dark fantasy, creating a world where the past never fully lets go, and the women who live within it are as formidable as they are unforgettable. This isn’t just a story of survival, it’s one of reclaiming power, confronting what haunts you, and watching the roots of your own story take hold in ways you never imagined.

Highly recommended for anyone who loves a twist of folklore with a dash of gothic mystery, Bury Our Bones will leave you thinking about it long after you’ve turned the last page, I physically need the book in my hands now so I can highlight all those amazing quotes that are now deep rooted into my brain.

Where do I even start? This is like the best parts of Vicious and Addie Larue, but more epic with messy, chaotic sapphic vampires. Complicated female characters that are fully fleshed out and relatable in their own ways, but also evil in their own right. While reading, I wasn’t sure how they were all connected at first, but it came together perfectly. Schwab took the vampire trope and created a timeless story that sweeps countries, centuries, and tackles what it means to live a life on your own terms. Very poetic and could feel the yearning. Something I’ll be thinking about for a long time.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-arc.

Wowza! Bury Our Bones in Midnight Soil is an absolute masterpiece. Dark, poetic, and beautifully haunting, it intertwines the lives of three unforgettable women across centuries—each grappling with loss, transformation, and the price of immortality. This book left me breathless. A must-read for fans of Addie LaRue and anyone craving a story that lingers long after the final page.

I have no words for how perfect this was. The prose, the wonderfully intricate plot, the structure! It’s both raw and incredibly polished. An absolute joy to read. It was so beautiful I cried. I will be shouting about this one from the rooftops for a long time to come. A review could not do this book justice.

Absolutely stunning. The best I've read from Schwab yet. I appreciated how subtly we were given the villain's point of view, and how masterfully combined the narratives became toward the end. This book is a masterclass in queer literary horror.