Oh my lord, where to start with this book? This beautiful love letter to women, to queerness, to yearning... I could not get enough.

This was my first read by V.E Schwab, and I'm so glad I went in blind. The only things I knew for certain was that it was a tale of toxic love and sapphic vampires. But that's barely scratching the surface.

This story explored existentialism to it's very core -- more specifically, It's a study of the human condition through the lens of womanhood. It's the yearning to be free from predatory men, a testament to women's (lack of) bodily autonomy, and all of the burning rage that comes with it. It poses the question; 'what does it mean for a woman to truly be "free", and is it worth the cost of her humanity?'. We get the privilige to explore this question thoroughly, trough the coarse of centuries.

"If you are so fond of living, why reject the gift of life?"
"Is it life," he counters, "if there is never death to balance it? Or is it's brevity what makes it beautiful?"

The narrative follows three distinct characters from as early as 1532, all the way to 2019. The plot isn't action-packed, and it doesn't need to be. Eventually we start to see how all three stories connect, overlappning like a tapestry, weaving seemingly unrelated threads together to create a larger picture. Furthermore, the lyrical prose and atmosphere of this book is more than enough to hook it's claws into you and refuse to let go.

I feel the need to note, though, that this is a character driven story, and you need to be in the right mood to truly appreciate the intricate character study that this book is. You need to let this story simmer, take your time with it -- don't rush! For it is gorgeous, it is viscious, hungry, and toxic. It truly is a sapphic vampire fever dream (with a dash of gothic horror, my favourite kind). And I personally enjoyed every blood-soaked second of it.

"The world will try to make you small. It will tell you to be modest, and meek. But the world is wrong. You should get to feel and love and live as boldly as you want."

A quick side note before I finish this review: I have not read The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue (that's about to change), but from what I know of that book I do think that the storytelling in Bury Our Bones and Addie LaRue are very similar. So it's probably quite safe to say that if you liked Addie LaRue, you will like Bury Our Bones also.

TLDR: A tale of ravenous hunger, female rage and sapphic yearning. Perfect for fans of Addie LaRue, but with toxic vampires, gothic horror and angst. Gorgeously lyrical prose and the study of the human condition -- the perfect combo for any litfic fiend, like myself. This is a slow paced, non-linear narrative with character driven storylines att it's centre.
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The is book was gritty and amazing the plot was incredible with the multiple POV, however I did struggle with the mixed time frames but that’s a personal preference. Failing this, the book was phenomenal and people need to pick this up.

I received an ARC of this from Netgalley.

I very much enjoyed this book. I loved the fact that there were a few timelines presented that gave an over arching plot and we could see how the characters progressed. I love the language of the book, I found it very beautifully descriptive without being flowery. V E Schwab has a great way of pulling emotions from me with the words that she choses.
The story follows three women caught up together in obsession and possessiveness. I really liked the way all the characters were protrayed and at how their stories were told. If I were to rank the V E Schwab books that I have read I would put this behind Adie Lerue but before the Shades of London series in enjoyment for me. This one definitley has a more sombre gothic tone in comparrison to the Shades Series.
The ending took me by surprise but I really liked it.

V.E. Schwab's stories are just pure masterclasses. Every time I pick one up I know I'm going to be head over heels in love with it and then bereft when it has ended and yet, somehow, it's even more so than I can anticipate.

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil is another story I will cherish forever and no doubt come back to like I have with Addie.

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil was... good. I enjoyed it, for the most part anyway. It had that typical Schwab slow burn until the last 20% or so when the story took off, but there was just a little too much repetition for me in places, almost word for word in some cases as well as it feeling a little too slow burn for my liking for me to truly love this one.

The standout part for me in this was the characters, and it really did feel more of a character exploration that a plot fueled story. We start the story in 1521 with Maria, the first character we meet and the first turned. She is complicated... they all are, but Maria is definitely the most complex. She is someone who always wanted more, even before she was turned, someone who has used her beauty to carve out a life for herself. People see her as nothing more than prey, but she is a wolf in sheep's clothing, and will do whatever it takes to ensure she gets the life she wants.

Next we jump to 2019 where we meet Alice, someone desperate to shed off her old life, become someone new after moving from Scotland to Boston. Weighed down by a grief we can't see she finds herself a pawn in a game she had no idea she was playing. One that will certainly change her. Our final POV doesn't pop up until around the 50% mark, but I think Charlotte might be the character that stuck with me the most. Shipped off to London after her brother catches her and her best friend sharing more than a chaste kiss, her life goes from running free in her family home to debutante balls, corsets and eventually Sabine. It's easy to see how Charlotte could fall for her, and even easier to see why she stayed so long, desperate for the person who freed her to return.

None of these characters are nice, good, wholesome. They all carry their own grief, their own weights from their past lives, some more recent than others. But it's their pasts that shape them, that mold them into the creatures they become, Sabine unwilling to be tied down to anything, Charlotte never willing to turn anyone after what happened to her. The tagline of 'toxic lesbian vampires' really does sum them up well. They're monstrous, vicious, uncaring of who they hurt, and I do think Schwab did a great job of showing just how much of their humanity they lose over the years.

It's a story filled with love, but not the soft, fuzzy kind. This love is filled with teeth and desperation, want and need, it's a love more akin to ownership than anything truly romantic. Sabine so desperate to never feel owned again after her experience of marriage, yet does just that to Charlotte when she turns her. Their initial love burns off swiftly into something more toxic, abusive in so many ways. It's so easy to look at Charlotte and ask why didn't she leave, easy from an outside perspective at least, but anyone who has been in a relationship they're desperate to save whilst it's slowly burning down around them can testify that's it's the hardest thing in the world.

As you can see, there was plenty about this book that I loved, but it just felt like a slog to get through at times, and had the characters not been as compelling I absolutely would have DNF'd it. There was so much repetition surrounding becoming a Vampire as well as life after. We spend a lot of time with Sabine when she is freshly turned and see her go through the learning curve, only to go through it again with Charlotte, and for a time Alice. Sometimes things were almost described word for word as they were previously, and it just really slowed the story down in parts. Something not helped by Schwab's penchant for a slow burning story. I normally don't mind it, it's worked for all her other books, but this was the first one I felt was a little too slow, and that made the ending feel rushed, as well as a little convenient. I think I would have preferred a little more of an open ending like we got in Addie, because this just came across as a little too easy.

If you've enjoyed Schwab's previous works you'll probably enjoy this one too. I do seem to be in the minority with some of my more negative feelings. It's still beautifully written, filled with prose and lush writing that really help transport you into the story, and each voice was diverse enough that you didn't have to wonder which POV you were reading, there were just a couple of issues that stopped this from being the five star read I hoped it would be.

we’re following three women across three different time periods, all dealing with identity, power, desire, and the kind of hunger you can’t satisfy with a snack. think: girlhood + immortality + bloodlust. sexy, sad, gothic stuff.

✦ maria, 1532: pretty girl. big dreams. small town. ends up stuck in a castle playing rich wife, but she wants MORE. more blood, more power, more freedom. she’s a menace in the making.

✦ charlotte, 1827: cottagecore debutante turned scandal queen. she falls for a rich widow (👀) and trades repression for a messy, high-stakes romance with a price. elegance meets danger. think regency sapphics but toxic.

✦ alice, 2019: modern-day college girl trying to outrun her past and pretend she’s not spiraling. spoiler: she’s spiraling. one impulsive hookup sends her down a rabbit hole of secrets and violence and oh yeah—revenge.

this is NOT your cutesy vampire story. this is blood and teeth and yearning that hurts. these girls are NOT likable. they lie, rage, manipulate. and it’s DELICIOUS.

highlights:
• the writing? disgustingly gorgeous. like it wants to bite you.
• the whole “toxic lesbian vampires through time” vibe? unmatched.
• “addie larue” melancholy + “vicious” feral energy = this book
• not one timeline felt boring once things got going (tho the start IS slow, ngl)
• the ✨sensual tension✨ was chefs kiss. sexy but not smutty. just intense enough to make you sweat a little.

lowkey complaints:
• the ending? low-effort. it felt like schwab had a deadline and hit submit.
• charlotte’s timeline came in super late and felt undercooked. like girl we just met u 😭
• you’re not gonna like anyone. and that’s kinda the point.

but listen. i was locked in. the whole time i was like “what the hell is going on” but in a fun way. this is about messed up girls making worse decisions and looking hot while doing it. and you WILL eat it up.

final take:
if you like beautiful prose, historical drama, broken women with blood on their hands, and chaotic sapphic energy—run, don’t walk. it’s giving cursed, it’s giving iconic. not perfect, but unforgettable.

This story is told over centuries and follows 3 different women and how their stories intertwine. It follows their relationships and how they go from friends to lovers to enemies.

I did enjoy the story however it took me a while to get into it. I didn’t really have a connection to any of the characters which is why I struggled with it at the start but it was an interesting tale. I loved the last half of the book as the pace seemed to pick up. I like V. E. Schwab’s writing style and would recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley, V E Schwab and Pan MacMillan/Tor for this ARC

#booksbooksbooks #bookstagram #books #arc #netgalley #arc #veschwab #buryourbonesinthemidnightsoil

A dark, disturbing love story....lesbian vampires....a beautifully described story that spans centuries.

All of these can describe this story. My first by V.E.Schwab, but it is so vividly written that you feel truly invested in the lives of Sabine, Charlotte and Alice.

I’m genuinely blown away by this masterpiece of a book! The writing is phenomenal and the plot was exactly what I wanted.
Whoever told me this was the female version of Interview With The Vampire, I owe you my firstborn

Wow. How do I even start to review this beautiful, monstrous, insane book? I’ve seen it described as ‘toxic lesbian vampires’ and yes, absolutely that tracks. But it’s also a history of female oppression and rage and a celebration of that anger. It’s also devastatingly sad… what dregs of humanity can you hold onto when you’re human no longer?

The book spans hundreds of years and it’s told from the point of view of three young women; Maria, Alice and Charlotte. At first I thought one thing linked them - their vampirism - but actually now I’ve finished the book I think it’s a lot of things. Grief, the wish to escape and the desperation to be ‘more’. I felt myself absolutely drawn into their world and I loved how the author makes you love them… and then start to hate them a little, the more you learn. At least that’s how I felt!

I loved seeing the different snapshots in time that the women occupied and the friends, lovers and enemies that they make along the way. Everything felt so believable and realistic… I can completely imagine these ageless women walking amongst us, at the edges of society but also hiding in plain sight. The widows of the world.

I absolutely recommend this book but especially for fans of historical fiction and for anyone who enjoys reading about women’s wrongs. Because oh boy, these girls are monsters, but they all approach it in a different way.

Read BOBITMS for:
✨ Toxic lesbian vampires
✨ History spanning centuries
✨ Celebrating women’s wrongs
✨ From girls to monsters
✨ Immersive storytelling
✨ Powerful and emotional
✨ Three interwoven POVs
✨ Glimpses of moments in time
✨ Can women truly achieve freedom?

A massive thank you to Tor for an eARC of this enthralling book. It’s available on 10th June!

This tale of lesbian vampires across time is as beautifully told as Addie La Rue. It is dark and haunting and lyrical and I just loved it.

I went in not really knowing anything about it, and it was a wonderful surprise. Schwab’s writing is delicious as always. It needed sustained reading as when I put it down for a little while i did struggle a little to pick up the thread again, but that didn’t impact my enjoyment.

Highly recommend this gorgeous book!

In Bury Our Bones In The Midnight Soil, we follow the story of three women dealing with societal expectations, rage and their own desires. The structure is almost episodic, telling stories of different eras and showing how these women adjust to their new realities as they follow the path that will eventually lead to one another.

I love V. E. Schwab’s writing style and am a huge fan of most of her previous work, but vampires were never super compelling to me. I’ve always found that it is difficult to write a vampire story that feels unique. Also, the episodic nature of the story meant that some passages of the book were really enjoyable while others not as much, but the writing is as beautiful as it is in Addie LaRue.

Fans of vampires and slow paced, character focused books will certainly enjoy this one!

BURY OUR BONES IN THE MIDNIGHT SOIL is a story of loss and power with vampires who have to decide how they're going to handle an eternity alone.

Of all Schwab's books, this feels most similar to THE INVISIBLE LIFE OF ADDIE LA RUE. It's a more lyrical tale of loneliness and power and the desire for connection, as well as how a long life could turn someone into something dark. This loneliness manifests in a pretty small cast. Though the story plays out over several centuries, jumping between cities across Europe and the US, only the three women stay in the story for any length of time. Everyone comes and goes (and often dies badly.)

I was a bit surprised that it took about 2/3 of the book for the last perspective - Charlotte - to come into play (she has a very short chapter at the start and then nothing). She then has probably the longest single POV section of the book, following her story through to being made a vampire in one go, rather than being split up like Maria/Sabine's or Alice's. Charlotte's perspective then replaces Sabine's, telling their side of the tale.

It's an interesting set up but it works because it means you are only seeing one side of the story at once. You don't get Charlotte's until after Sabine's has played out and can understand why she does what she does to Charlotte. And then you just see Alice and Charlotte having to contend with the consequences, because they're able to change, to react.

Because of the three timelines, it's a book best read in as few sittings as possible, I think, so you leave the world as little as possible. I appreciated that each POV was clearly signposted with their current time and location after a jump (though Alice does have a lot of flashbacks) as that made it easier to situate where you were in relation to one another.

Toxic lesbian vampires, say no more! Thank you Pan MacMillan for this eARC

“Bury my bones in the midnight soil, plant them shallow but water them deep, and in my place will grow a feral rose, soft red petals hiding sharp white teeth.”

I love a good vampire book and Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil did not disappoint! This book is dark, addicting and full of toxic relationships, it gave me interview with a vampire vibes in the best way, the kind of controlling mind games and destructive relationships only people who have been together and alive for centuries can possibly have.

The timeline follows three women throughout different time periods and settings, navigating the world as women and the issues and challenges that come along with that despite what age you are in. The story intertwines beautifully creating a tapestry of lives and history.
I love that this book takes you from the pious Spanish countryside to Venice in its masquerade heyday, London in its Bridgerton era all the way to Boston.

One of my favourite passages I highlighted:

“Why does Charlotte stay? That is like asking—why stay inside a house on fire? Easy to say when you are standing on the street, a safe distance from the flames. Harder when you are still inside, convinced you can douse the blaze before it spreads, or rushing room to room, trying to save what you love before it burns.”

This is my first VE Schwab and I will definitely be reading more of her work this year!

Schwab knows how to write emotional, traumatic, unforgettable characters.

I was obsessed with Addie La’Rue and this was another book I enjoyed.

At first I was unsure of what was going on. There are different POV throughout and that was difficult to switch between at first.

The characters were memorable and dark, there was a lot of suspense around each of them and how their lives took a dark turn. The emotional depth of the characters helped to build the story onto a deeper level.

Unfortunately, I had really high hopes for this but I didn’t enjoy the characters. I find it hard to get on board with them and I think set myself too high of an expectation because of how much I loved Addie!

A searing, poetic reckoning of female rage, this story burns with quiet fury and hard-won growth. Through lyrical prose and a slow-building tension , it draws readers into a world where the supernatural and psychological intertwine.
What struck me most were the female protagonists—their differences, their evolution, and the stark contrast between male and female experiences. It powerfully explores how women are taught by society to repair, endure, and carry pain—often in silence. But what happens when women choose to be honest about their anger?
Perfect for fans of atmospheric dark fantasy with heart.

I have been so looking forward to this release - and I'm so thrilled it lived up to my very high expectations. I loved every moment of this and I couldn't recommend it enough.

V.E. Schwab has done it again. I haven’t wanted to put this book down ever since I started reading it. It captured me and didn’t let go until I finished. The vibe of it definitely felt similar to The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, just darker and queer which is just a superior combination in my opinion.

I loved the character driven plot. Getting to know them bit by bit while traveling through the years and around the world. The way V.E. Schwab tells the story is just so beautiful and captivating. As someone who struggles visualising things, she makes it so so easy.

Reading this is such an experience and I honestly have no clue how to explain it with words. Would definitely recommend to anyone who likes these vibes.

After Addie, I didn't think I'd ever like anything VE Schwab wrote anywear near as much... but I was wrong! This story is anchored by 3 incredibly interesting and differing POVs weaved together over hundreds of years, and I truly couldn't get enough.

3.5 stars ✨

“The world will try to make you small. It will tell you to be modest, and meek. But the world is wrong. You should get to feel and love and live as boldly as you want.”

The more I reflect on this book, the more I love it. On the surface, it’s an easy read—the story of three women, born centuries apart, whose lives become entangled. But look a little deeper, and it’s a haunting slow burn, eerily unraveling toward an inevitable and bloody end.

”You will learn, it is better to bend than to break.”
“Why should I be the one that bends?”

This is not a pretty romance. It’s ugly, toxic, and destructive, leaving a trail of bodies in its wake. The narrative focusses on the emotional states of the characters - how cracks are smoothed over and ignored until they become gaping fissures beyond repair. It touches on the expectations placed on women and the roles we’re taught to play, whether we want to or not. It explores themes of feminine rage, history repeating itself, and the question of fate: are we the makers of our own doom, or simply bound to repeat what’s come before?

“It won’t change what happened. It won’t change what I am. What she did. You’re right, there’s no going back. But it might help you go forward.”

This already feels like it will be one of my favourite reads of the year and will sit with me for a long time after finishing it. Thank you NetGalley and Tor Publishing for the arc.