I was so torn with this one, as having read most of Schwab's books I count her as one of my favourite authors. It's not that this was badly written or imperfectly plotted but the split narratives was really frustrating as there was one character that I really disliked which did impair my enjoyment of the book overall. However, I very much liked Maria with her sassy and strident character, and her story really stuck in my head after reading. This is very much a gothic tale of immortality, liberation and self determination that is still well worth reading.

Vampires. Vampires are everything I love in a book, and this gave me toxic lesbian vampires with lush and descriptive writing that I could truly enjoy. I had a great time exploring the historical time periods compared to the contemporary, and the plot had me asking myself what I would do in their shoes quite often. Even though we have three quite fleshed out main characters, my favourites were the side characters. Matteo's storyline broke my heart and I absolutely adored Ezra with everything in my soul. More of them, please! The ending was a spiral and crescendo of action. I only wish this were paced a little better, as the first half is quite slow.

This haunting, genre-defying novel follows three intertwined women across centuries, bound by vampirism, hunger, revenge and queer desire. From 16th-century Spain to 21st-century Boston, Schwab’s signature writing casts a spell that’s both haunting and unforgettable. It’s dark, it’s gripping, and it digs deep into themes of identity, legacy, and wanting more than fate allows.
If you're a fan of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and gothic queer fantasy, this one is unmissable!!

I am never disappointed by a V E Schwab book and Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil was no different.

Schwab has created a brilliant portrayal of vampires in the modern world. All of the characters want too much for the world and all have the desire for control in a male-dominated world and they have the power to fulfill those desires. Each character has a unique personality and I felt connected to all of them throughout the book.

Thank you to the publisher Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for providing me with a digital arc of Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil to read and review.

It was an absolute joy to read V.E. Schwab’s latest book. I could not put this down. This is one of my new all time favourite books and I adored everything about it. Toxic lesbian vampires… yes please!

This book was so gripping. I devoured it, not wanting to put it down.

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil was a beautiful, haunting and lyrical gothic book that intricately intertwines the lives, perspectives and stories of three women in different time periods. It’s a sapphic vampire story that is heart wrenching and mesmerising. This book meditates on longing, grief, power, hunger and feminine rage. I loved V.E. Schwab’s dreamy, atmospheric style of writing throughout this book.

I’ve seen a few reviews stating the ending in the ARC differs from the final published version, I have not seen the revised ending, so cannot comment on it, but I’m keen to see the difference.

I highly recommend this book.

This is my first book from V. E. Schwab but it certainly won't be my last.

I was hooked immediately and the story didnt let me go right up until the last page.

I love the characters and the world building.

The relationships were so well written, I really enjoyed the fact that it follows both the highs and lows and struggles that they faced.

I cant wait to read more from this author!

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for providing me with this arc

What a fabulous read, the author delivers the vampire book we all needed. The shifting timelines and changing worlds are carefully crafted with characters who will stay with you long after reading the last lines. It’s also filled with so much emotion and pain that makes it more than just a typical vampire book. A must-read for those who love a book with a great Gothic mood.
Thank you to the publisher and author for the ARC.

I absolutely loved this book. Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil is gothic, beautiful, and so haunting it’s hard to let go—like a dark, sapphic fever dream that leaves its marks on you long after the last page. V.E Schwab’s writing is as lush and lyrical as ever, and the characters are raw, always aching for more: freedom, love, safety, even revenge.

this is not your typical vampire tale—there’s so much pain, desire, rage, and regret, The relationships are equal parts poison and oxygen.

Lesbian vampires, what else do you need to know?

This was an intense, emotional book where, however evil they became, the motivations of each of the main point of view characters were very clear and sympathetic. It's a long book but it doesn't read that way. I whizzed through it, desperate to find out what was going to happen. All the threads of the different stories weave together into a really interesting and satisfying tale of what you would give to be free of societies expectations.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This book was such a rollercoaster 🎢 in both the best and most complicated ways. The story of three sisters navigating love ❤️, loyalty 🤝, and buried family secrets 🕰️ immediately pulled me in. Some scenes carried a raw honesty that hit hard 💔, the kind that lingers long after you turn the page. The characters felt alive and multi-layered, and Bergstrom captured sibling dynamics with such sharp precision 👭. If you’ve ever loved and fought with your siblings, you’ll nod along.

I’ll admit there were moments when the shifting timelines ⏳ threw me off, and a few side plots felt a little unfinished. Still, that touch of imperfection almost made it feel more real, like life itself with its loose ends and unanswered questions.

What I loved most was how honestly it portrayed family bonds. They can hold you up like a safety net 🕸️ but can also feel heavy, even suffocating. That tension gave the book incredible depth. Emotional, imperfect, heartfelt, and worth every page 📖.

Absolutely amazing vampire book! Love V.E Schwabs writing style and how she nailed the aspect of how Vampires are born. Story was great and seemed liked She really k new what she was talking about in regards to knowledge of Vampires and their wants.

*check trigger warnings
Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice : 🌶️
Format read: audiobook/kindle

Genres:
🩸Fantasy,
🩸historical fiction
🩸Horror

Tropes:
🥀Strong female characters
🌑LGBTQ/lesbian
🥀Vampires
🌑Dark/spooky
🥀Revenge
🌑Morally grey characters
🥀Historical fantasy
🌑Multi POV
🥀Toxic relationships


Trigger warning:
🩸Blood/gore
🪦Historic Misogyny
🩸Forced marriage
🪦Non-consensual sex
🩸Murder/death


Characters:
Similar to some of the author’s other works, this book is very character-driven. Now, this won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, as the people who appreciate plot-heavy books with loads of action and plot twists might end up a little unsatisfied. However, the people with a more open mind will find that this book features some of the most hauntingly complex characters — characters that make you feel a twisting sympathy, a burning anger, pain, love, and so, so much more.

Maria
The book starts off with Maria, a young girl from 16th-century Spain. With wild, fiery, curly red hair (a beautiful reflection of her personality) and a knack for disobedience, she is cursed to live a life as a woman in a time where women were nothing but accessories, stuck in an arranged, loveless marriage to a rather horrible man. She portrays an archetype of what I like to call too muchness. Too loud, too wild, too hungry, too strong, too much. Oh, how I love too muchness. As you can probably tell, she was not only my favorite character in the book, she was also my favorite part of the whole book. Anyway, I digress. After many unhappy years, Maria is sent to León to live with her in-laws, where she encounters a familiar woman who changes her life forever, causing a chain reaction of death, pain, lack of choice, and loneliness that will span for hundreds of years.

Sabine *spoiler, skip this if you haven’t read the book*
(Not referring to the widow) I needed to put this as a separate character because it feels like a completely different character to me. After years and years of her freedom being stripped away, of being left alone, left hungry, enduring rape and violence Sabine is born through death and blood and I loved it. A monster was born much worse than the monsters that made her, she becomes a product of her desire to be loved and be free.

“Is that blood?”
“Don’t worry… Most of it’s not mine.”


Alice
I think she was the character that I bonded to the least. I don’t know exactly what it was, I couldn’t really relate to her and often felt bored when reading her inner thoughts. Alice is a young Scottish girl studying at an American university in Boston, when one day at a party she meets Lottie, an encounter that would change her life completely. Starting her journey of revenge. I really struggled to get through her chapters, especially the constant flashbacks with her sister.

Charlotte
Charlotte is sent to London in order to prepare for marriage, but of course her heart has other desires. She falls for Sabine who turns her into a vampire and no matter how much she clings onto her humanity the cost of what it means to be immortal slowly pull her onto the dark side. Her character was only introduced a little over half way through the book so I felt a little disconnected to her for a while, I will say she grew on me and my heart broke for her.

Andres
Ew.

Irredeemable, manipulative, misogynistic and every bit as awful as the book wanted him to be.

"𝓣𝓸 𝓫𝓮 𝓪 𝓻𝓸𝓼𝓮 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱 𝓼𝓱𝓪𝓻𝓹 𝔀𝓱𝓲𝓽𝓮 𝓽𝓮𝓮𝓽𝓱..."

World building, setting and atmosphere:
This book is the perfect spooky season read and Im so glad I picked it up at the end of august. There was something so cozy about reading this at night with a cup of hot tea. The dark Gothic vibes were immaculate, It blended the dark melodrama of early Vampire Diaries with the historical depth of A Discovery of Witches season 2, oh and toxic lesbian vampires.

What I liked:
Maria. Maria. Maria.
Also, V.E. Schwab's writing is to die for. She has this way of morphing together this beautifully poetic writing, sprinkling in these emotion invoking topics, topping it all of with characters that make you love them and wrapping the whole piece up in these dark, eery atmospheres. I loved the historical aspect of the book; this was also a big part of what I loved about the indivisible life of Addie La Rue.


What I disliked:
As mentioned before, Alice’s chapters fell very flat for me. I caught myself losing concentration and checking when the next character`s chapter would start multiple times. I also think that this book was very much all vibes with very little plot, and while I still enjoyed it, I did feel a little unmotivated to pick the book up once I put it down. For readers who prefer fast-paced, twisty stories, this one may feel slow — but if you’re here for mood and character, it delivers.


Overall thoughts,
This book is the perfect Halloween read if you want something objectively well-written, that is somehow cozy despite the amount of blood mentioned. Dark, poetic, queer, and brimming with atmosphere — this is the kind of book that feels like curling up with a gothic ghost story, even as it spills blood across centuries.

Brutally brilliant and breathtaking. An immersive narrative that spans centuries and interlinks in ways that are not expected. I was enthralled by the narratives depicted and the characters created by Schwab.

Victoria Schwab's latest is the tale of three vampires, three toxic lesbian vampires, that crosses continents and centuries. It's not perfect by any stretch. It's full of her trademark strong characters, but not without its issues. Three vampires leads to three origins and more than a little repetition across those origins, but despite that it's still a compelling read. It just doesn't quite hit the heights of Addie LaRue!

Thanks to NetGalley, Pan Macmillan/Tor and the author for an advance copy.

VE Schwab writes with such a beautiful, lyrical prose that creates an atmosphere that I just want to enjoy being immersed in. This was definitely less action/plot driven and more about the characters and themes of wanting, rage, the patriarchy, acceptance, cyclicality.

The ending left me feeling wanting, but I realize now - maybe that’s the point?

I lurrve a vampire story that is more than just the vampires and Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil delivered! A bit controversial but my fave character is Sabine, she is the definition of problematic fave! She’s messy, bloodthirsty and serves centuries of main character energy.
I devoured this book and it devoured me right back!

A story through the centuries this story has 3 timelines of 3 women Maria, Charlotte and Alice their stories all come together in a story of love and rage.

At times I found the pacing in this a bit slow and the story lost my attention in parts and I didn't live the ending but overall I really enjoyed this and would definitely recommend giving this a go.

Thank you to Netgalley, Pan MacMillan and V.E Schwab for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Review of ‘Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil’ by V.E. Schwab. Discover the haunting, poetic tale of three women connected across time by grief, longing, and a desperate need to belong. This story blends love, loss, and the supernatural into something utterly unforgettable. The Dutch limited edition is not only stunning to look at but a true gem for your bookshelf. Absolutely breathtaking.

In Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil, V.E. Schwab weaves a gothic, time-bending tale about love, identity, and longing. In 2019 Boston, Alice wakes up without a heartbeat after a mysterious encounter at a party. In 1827 London, Charlotte Sutherland trades her pulse for a promise of eternal love with the beautiful but dangerous Sabine. As past and present intertwine, their stories echo with grief, desire and the fear of being forgotten. It’s dark, lyrical and unlike anything I’ve read in a long time.

And let’s just get it out there: this limited edition? A literal work of art. That cover, the pink flowers, the sprayed edges… I was obsessed before I even read a single word. Luckily, the story inside was just as hauntingly beautiful.

It’s a slow book, but in that addictive kind of way that keeps you turning the pages. Schwab’s writing is once again so poetic that I found myself lingering on every sentence. She builds an atmosphere that sinks under your skin. It’s melancholic, occasionally a bit confusing, but always captivating.

Schwab has been one of my favorite authors for a long time. I absolutely loved The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and honestly didn’t think anything else would hit me quite the same. But this one came close. In a different way, of course, but that’s the beauty of books. No two stories move you in exactly the same way.

The characters really worked for me. Maria-Sabine and Charlotte were both intense and layered, and I loved following their journey. Charlotte was my favorite by far, and I wish we had met her earlier in the book. Her setting, the Regency era, is a personal favorite of mine, so it’s no surprise she stole the spotlight for me. Alice’s story was still interesting, but it felt less lyrical. Maybe because it’s set in 2019? I think I just felt less connected to her.

Also, let’s not forget: lesbian vampires. Do I even need to say more?

Let’s talk about the length for a second. The book is pretty long, and that’s fine, but I did notice that the storylines didn’t always flow into each other seamlessly. Alice is introduced early on, but it takes a while to really get to know her. That was a bit frustrating. Charlotte doesn’t show up until later, which is a shame because she added so much depth to the book. Still, Schwab’s writing kept me fully engaged and I had no trouble staying invested.

I want to end by talking about Schwab as a writer. I’m constantly in awe of how her mind works. Her stories are never simple or predictable. They’re layered, poetic, often slow-burning, but always compelling. Whether she’s writing about forgotten girls, time-traveling thieves or emotionally complex vampires, Schwab always pulls you into her world completely. Her voice is distinct and emotionally rich.

What I love most is how much love and intention she pours into her stories. You can feel it. She writes with her whole heart and it shows. Not only is she an incredible author, she’s also a kind and generous person. I had the chance to meet her in 2021 and was blown away by how warm and down to earth she was. She truly takes the time for her readers and that has stayed with me.

Final thoughts

Whether you’re a long-time fan or picking up one of her books for the first time, Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil will sweep you away, break your heart and linger long after the final page. Schwab proves once again why she remains one of my favorite authors.

After Addie, I didn’t think V E Schwab could write anything as original or as beautiful.
And then she did it again.

V.E. Schwab has done it again. This book is atmospheric, and absolutely magnetic. It pulls you into a story that feels both timeless and urgent, rich with longing, rage, and the kind of beauty that makes your chest ache.

It’s not just another vampire novel; it’s a meditation on hunger, identity, and freedom, told with prose that feels sharp and luminous at the same time. Schwab gives us characters you’ll carry with you long after you close the book, messy, powerful, and achingly human, even in their monstrosity.

The pacing is deliberate, almost hypnotic, and the atmosphere? Thick enough to taste. It’s the kind of book you sink into slowly, and then suddenly realize you can’t put down.

If you loved the darker, fiercer, and more feral, this is the book you’ve been waiting for.