A fantastic read with a richly immersive atmosphere and intricately written, complex characters. The storytelling shines through its depth and tone, though the pacing felt uneven at times, dragging in some sections and rushing through others. Still, a compelling and worthwhile experience overall

Bury Our Bones In the Midnight Soil was my most anticipated release of 2025. I screamed when I got an ARC. But when you put so much pressure on a book I find it can often disappoint, and so I went into this one tentatively. Mind Blown. This book did not disappoint. It was reminiscent in many ways of Schwab’s The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, rekindling that spark that I felt had been missing in many of other works. The book follows three lesbian Vampires through different points in history. The worldbuilding is a little wishy washy in parts, and the pacing a little messy with the middle struggling. However, the character work in this book is truly masterful. I love a morally grey character, and the substantial timeline the book covers really allows Schwab to show how her characters change over time, weaving in and out of morality, and finding different coping mechanisms for dealing with being a vampire, and the constant thirst for blood. Despites its fairly evident flaws, Bones evokes such strong emotions within its reader and has such well written themes that these flaws are forgettable. Not to mention, Schwab’s prose in this novel is on another level, poetic and evocative in a way that draws you in even during narrative lulls. Like it’s characters, this book is imperfect, but it’s also really really really powerful and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since I finished it.

Toxic lesbian vampires meets dark, lyrical masterpiece in all the right ways

I went into Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil blind and if only I had known the ride I was in for! From the very first page, I was completely hooked. This book didn’t leave my side until the final word.

Spanning three timelines - Santo Domingo de la Calzada in 1532, London in 1837, and Boston in 2019, Schwab weaves a haunting and unforgettable tale of three women whose stories are as fierce as they are fragile. Where others often stumble with multiple timelines, Schwab excels. Each narrative is rich, emotionally charged, and seamlessly interlaced.

I felt each woman’s journey in my bones, and their stories will stay with me for a long time.

This was my first V.E. Schwab read and it certainly won’t be my last!

Thank you to BookBreakUK and the team at Pan Macmillan for the advanced copy 💗

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V. E. Schwab is a dark, lyrical tale that weaves together the lives of three women across centuries—each story rooted in pain, power, and a hunger that transcends time.

Set in Santo Domingo de la Calzada in 1532, London in 1837, and Boston in 2019, the book braids these timelines together in a haunting narrative where each woman’s life blooms and decays in its own way. Their stories are deeply entwined, layered with longing, vengeance, and an almost feral kind of love.

Schwab’s writing is as hypnotic as ever. There’s a feverish beauty to the prose that makes every page feel like you’re sinking deeper into a dark, mossy forest. The sapphic elements are rich with intensity and complexity, offering both tenderness and toxicity in equal measure.

Personally, I found this book unforgettable. It’s the kind of story that lingers, gnaws at your thoughts, and begs to be reread. A lush, eerie triumph.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

Another brilliant book from VE Schwab. I was hooked from the very beginning, and I loved reading about the relationships between the women and how they crossed over and intertwined.
My one criticism would be the pacing felt a bit off at times, some parts felt really slow and drawn out but the ending felt very quick and almost surprising.

Overall a fantastic book that I would absolutely recommend!!!

[...] “Once there was a girl afraid of growing up,” [...]
In short, I could just tell you that the book is about vengeful female vampires trying to find ways to indulge their bloodlust and to best enjoy their immortality. And while these things do come up, I feel that the story is much more about the question of what makes us human.

[...] "Time makes poets of us all" [...]
I just adore the V.E. Schwab's writing and the way she seamlessly weaves beautifully written prose about love, loss and loneliness into the stories of our main characters. This is what makes Bury our Bones a timelessly poetic book that itself tells a story spanning across centuries.

[...]“She didn’t know it then, but it turns out a soul is what makes the sun feel warm against your skin, what gives food taste, what makes you feel full."[...]

In many ways, this has all the markings of a good vampire novel and while I usually don't mind and sometimes even enjoy a multigenerational story, something about this just didn't click for me.

Schwab is clearly a very competent writer. A lot of her prose and characterisation is lovely to read but the way this novel is broken up and paced feels very off. Most of the first half is spent exploring the life and undeath of one of our three main characters, but then just as we properly begin to read about the other two, she falls entirely by the wayside. There is a bit of tonal disjointedness throughout because of this multi-POV narrative, and in some ways I wish this was a book about just one or two of these characters. The finale also feels a little underwhelming because of this.

Still, I enjoyed many of the secondary cast and wished we shared a little more time with them. Schwab's prose is very pleasant to read, too, and I did love many elements of each individual protagonists' stories.

Three women from three time periods, learning to embrace their new life in the midnight soil. The characters in this book are toxic. If you need likeable characters then this is not a book for you. I found it a compelling read. I did not want to look away. Those who enjoyed Addie LaRue will probable also enjoy this as it felt tonally similar.

V E Schwab describes this book as ‘toxic lesbian vampires’ and while that’s true, it doesn’t go deep enough - this is VE Schwab at her best - frankly, the prose is gorgeous. It’s poetic without being frivolous, it’s the sort of book that lingers in your veins long after you’ve put it down.
Everyone else should take note because this is how you do vampires. It’s not your usual trashy, campy vampire books, which, tbh who doesn’t love those? This is a book that doesn’t focus too much on what happens but how it feels. It is about loss, loneliness, obsession, and of course, vampires who happen to be sapphic.
I actually don’t know how to describe this to you - Bury our Bones in the Midnight Soil is nothing short of spectacular. It’s not only my new favourite V E Schwab book, but one of my new favourites of all time.
5 stars, no notes.

I went into this book blind and simply read it because of the author and thank god I did! The moment I realised it was a sapphic vampires story I was locked in.

The way this book is written, going back and forth not only through time periods but also the three characters was genius. Some parts seem irrelevant but later on it’s all tied together and it’s just so clever. Every change of scene makes you connect with the characters and as I neared the end of the book I was sad that it was coming to an end.

It was a great story, dark and twisted but so beautiful and I couldn’t recommend it more 🫶🏼 4.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC copy of this book.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. This is a incredible book, masterfully crafted with three interwoven stories that each felt like a unique voice, and building up to a highly satisfying climax where all three individuals intersect. Just fantastic in every way!

Absolutely incredible. The characters were great, the love stories were touching and horrifying, the plot unexpected. There were lots of time period changes and lack of chronological order but it all worked very well and I didn't find myself confused about what was going on. Another triumph from Schwab, probably the book of hers that I have most enjoyed, out of the 9 or so I have read. As atmospheric as Addie LaRue but with more energy and drive! Cannot recommend enough!!

I loved everything about this book. The characters were perfect and well fleshed out. I understood their motivations at all times and everything they did made sense which isn’t always the case!

The settings were also excellent, the descriptions were vivid and detailed. The plot flowed well and was well paced.

I absolutlely adored this book. Schwab is an brilliant writer and it shows yet again. Very toxic, very lesbian, very vampire, very good.

DNF - approx 25%

I really couldn't get into this one. Can't say if it picks up later, but the 150 pages I read were very slow. There have also been three different perspectives and multiple timelines so far, which doesn't help when the pace is dragging because it gives us less time to become invested in any one of the stories.

Also-- and I really do wonder if this is a way in which my preferences have changed, as opposed to the author's style -- this book felt very juvenile. It read like YA with a bit of sex and cussing thrown in (so, basically, like most YA these days). The characters were very basic, especially in Maria's chapters, where she fits every headstrong, obstinate heroine trope while still coming across as emotionally immature. Her husband and in-laws are such sexist caricatures, devoid of nuance, that it was hard to take them seriously (please do inform me if they experience some interesting growth later).

I have enjoyed Schwab's books in the past but it's been a good six or seven years since one wowed me. Perhaps I have just outgrown her work.

Wow what a read!… I was up all night reading this… An absolutely gripping psychological thriller that will keep you guessing until the last page… Full of mystery and suspense with twists and turns to keep you on your toes, I was completely hooked… Gives you goosebumps

'It is a lie that you only get one story.'

Stunning...
Masterpiece....

I'm a fantasy reader and vamps are my jam so I wanted to read this book because a) Schwab is like a gem, and b) I wondered what her vamps would be like!

This is going to sound strange but i feel like I've grown up, matured like a fine wine, reading this. Will I go be able to go back to my normal fantasy vamps? I hope not, this book is a rereader for sure!

In different places, different times, we have 3 lady vamps and we get to know their stories, their loves, how they survive, their lives and how they are woven together.

To say I'd loved this would be an understatement! Another hit from VE Schwab!

'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.'

V. E. Schwab does it again. Favourite book of the year so far. When I first saw that this story was going to focus on gay vampires I was already sold but it was better that I could have expected. I absolutely loved following all of the main characters and seeing how this life and their circumstances changed them all differently and yet almost the same way. While I’m glad it is a stand-alone I also wish there was more of it.

Toxic in the most alluring way.

Is there anything V.E. Schwab cannot do?
This era-spanning, sapphic, vampire extravaganza was easily devourable.
An absolute masterclass in character development as you go from cheering for Maria and her freedom to horrified at the posessive monster Sabine became.

Sure, Vampires are sexy. Sapphic vampires are the sexiest. But to take that and ensure that community and humanity is consistently at the heart of a tale is masterful.

V.E Schwab has captured my heart once again!
I was shocked and exited when I got accepted for an ARC and it didn’t disappoint.

This book is being marketed as a tale about “toxic lesbian vampires” and it most definitely is. The three central female characters are full of depth. Each with their own unique, tragic, interesting layers. Schwabs characters are always so fleshed out and robust and draw you in and these women are no exception. You love to hate them at various parts of this story.

Full of beautiful description, great characters and a plot that draws you in, I adored this book. The only thing stopping be from giving it the full 5 star rating is that personally I like a bit of a faster moving pace and this book is very much a slow burn, only picking up in momentum in the last 20%.

If you are already a V.E Schwab fan you will not be disappointed!

A very strong 4.5/5 stars

Thankyou to Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for the ebook ARC in exchange for an honest review