Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil
Author: V. E. Schwab
Published by: Pan Macmillan
Pages: 535
Format: Hardback
My Rating ★★★★★
Published by: Pan Macmillan
Pages: 535
Format: Hardback
My Rating ★★★★★
This is a story about hunger.
1532. Santo Domingo de la Calzada.
A young girl grows up wild and wily—her beauty is only outmatched by her dreams of escape. But María knows she can only ever be a prize, or a pawn, in the games played by men. When an alluring stranger offers an alternate path, María makes a desperate choice. She vows to have no regrets.
This is a story about love.
1827. London.
A young woman lives an idyllic but cloistered life on her family’s estate, until a moment of forbidden intimacy sees her shipped off to London. Charlotte’s tender heart and seemingly impossible wishes are swept away by an invitation from a beautiful widow - but the price of freedom is higher than she could have imagined.
This is a story about rage.
2019. Boston.
College was supposed to be her chance to be someone new. That’s why Alice moved halfway across the world, leaving her old life behind. But after an out-of-character one-night stand leaves her questioning her past, her present, and her future, Alice throws herself into the hunt for answers . . . and revenge.
This is a story about life -
how it ends, and how it starts.
1532. Santo Domingo de la Calzada.
A young girl grows up wild and wily—her beauty is only outmatched by her dreams of escape. But María knows she can only ever be a prize, or a pawn, in the games played by men. When an alluring stranger offers an alternate path, María makes a desperate choice. She vows to have no regrets.
This is a story about love.
1827. London.
A young woman lives an idyllic but cloistered life on her family’s estate, until a moment of forbidden intimacy sees her shipped off to London. Charlotte’s tender heart and seemingly impossible wishes are swept away by an invitation from a beautiful widow - but the price of freedom is higher than she could have imagined.
This is a story about rage.
2019. Boston.
College was supposed to be her chance to be someone new. That’s why Alice moved halfway across the world, leaving her old life behind. But after an out-of-character one-night stand leaves her questioning her past, her present, and her future, Alice throws herself into the hunt for answers . . . and revenge.
This is a story about life -
how it ends, and how it starts.
My thoughts:
There are books that entertain, and then there are books that haunt - that settle into your bones, whisper in your ear long after you’ve closed the final page. Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab is absolutely one of those books. I finished it late last night, heart heavy and full, now already missing the world Schwab so beautifully created.
Despite promptly picking up my copy of the hardback on its UK release day, I found myself still savouring this story and stretching it out until last night when I read those last few chapters. It’s that rare kind of novel that makes you want to linger, even though you’re desperate to find out what will happen next.
It is fairly rare for me to give a 5-star rating, but here I can’t think of a more deserving title. I’ve long admired Schwab’s work but Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil is something truly special: a gothic, atmospheric, deeply emotional novel that breathes new life into vampire mythology while honouring the literary bloodlines it comes from.
As someone who has already loved classic vampire stories such as Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice and Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu, I found Bury Our Bones to be a worthy descendent of those classics. Like Rice’s Interview with the Vampire, Schwab's novel explores the loneliness and longing of immortality, the shifting power dynamics between creator and creation, and the blurred line between affection and obsession. And much like Carmilla, it pulses with queer desire, ambiguity, and the eerie elegance of a world always on the edge of ruin.
But Schwab does more than echo her literary ancestors, she evolves them. Her vampires are achingly human in their monstrosity, tragic in their hunger. The themes of grief, identity, and memory are woven through every sentence like silver thread.
One of the most striking elements of Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil is its masterful use of place and time. Schwab doesn’t just set scenes—she inhabits them, drawing readers into vividly rendered landscapes and carefully chosen historical moments that feel both grounded and otherworldly. The sense of atmosphere is thick and immersive, whether we’re wandering through fog-drenched moors, shadowed city alleyways, or centuries-old estates crumbling under the weight of secrets.
I was also lucky enough to attend one of Schwab’s Bury Our Bones tour events earlier this year, held at Bath Abbey. Hearing the author speak about her inspiration, research, and writing process added a new layer of appreciation for the novel. She spoke with such insight about the gothic tradition, about the inspiration for characters in the book, and about queerness in horror. It was clear how much of herself she poured into this story, and that honesty and intensity radiates from every page.
If you’re a reader who craves stories that are both emotionally rich and thematically resonant, this is the book you’ve been waiting for. I recommend it to lovers of gothic literature, to fans of complex and morally grey characters, and to anyone who understands that sometimes the monsters are the most human of us all.
I’ll be thinking about this one for a long time.
Overall reaction:
There are books that entertain, and then there are books that haunt - that settle into your bones, whisper in your ear long after you’ve closed the final page. Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab is absolutely one of those books. I finished it late last night, heart heavy and full, now already missing the world Schwab so beautifully created.
Despite promptly picking up my copy of the hardback on its UK release day, I found myself still savouring this story and stretching it out until last night when I read those last few chapters. It’s that rare kind of novel that makes you want to linger, even though you’re desperate to find out what will happen next.
It is fairly rare for me to give a 5-star rating, but here I can’t think of a more deserving title. I’ve long admired Schwab’s work but Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil is something truly special: a gothic, atmospheric, deeply emotional novel that breathes new life into vampire mythology while honouring the literary bloodlines it comes from.
As someone who has already loved classic vampire stories such as Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice and Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu, I found Bury Our Bones to be a worthy descendent of those classics. Like Rice’s Interview with the Vampire, Schwab's novel explores the loneliness and longing of immortality, the shifting power dynamics between creator and creation, and the blurred line between affection and obsession. And much like Carmilla, it pulses with queer desire, ambiguity, and the eerie elegance of a world always on the edge of ruin.
But Schwab does more than echo her literary ancestors, she evolves them. Her vampires are achingly human in their monstrosity, tragic in their hunger. The themes of grief, identity, and memory are woven through every sentence like silver thread.
One of the most striking elements of Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil is its masterful use of place and time. Schwab doesn’t just set scenes—she inhabits them, drawing readers into vividly rendered landscapes and carefully chosen historical moments that feel both grounded and otherworldly. The sense of atmosphere is thick and immersive, whether we’re wandering through fog-drenched moors, shadowed city alleyways, or centuries-old estates crumbling under the weight of secrets.
I was also lucky enough to attend one of Schwab’s Bury Our Bones tour events earlier this year, held at Bath Abbey. Hearing the author speak about her inspiration, research, and writing process added a new layer of appreciation for the novel. She spoke with such insight about the gothic tradition, about the inspiration for characters in the book, and about queerness in horror. It was clear how much of herself she poured into this story, and that honesty and intensity radiates from every page.
If you’re a reader who craves stories that are both emotionally rich and thematically resonant, this is the book you’ve been waiting for. I recommend it to lovers of gothic literature, to fans of complex and morally grey characters, and to anyone who understands that sometimes the monsters are the most human of us all.
I’ll be thinking about this one for a long time.
Overall reaction:
