Review of Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V. E. Schwab

This wonderfully creepy lesbian vampire story is largely about female empowerment, but also about love, discovery, reinvention, and revenge. I loved each time period and the evolution of each strong female character.

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.

Schwab's lesbian vampire tale spans centuries, beginning in 1532 Santo Domingo de la Calzada as a young woman named Maria makes choices to shield her from being a man's pawn and vessel for children until her death--then enters into a future she never could have imagined.

In 1827 London, naive young Charlotte lives a sheltered, lovely pastoral life, until an indiscretion results in her banishment to London society. There she encounters an intriguing widow with promises of freedom with deep repercussions.

And in 2019 Boston, Alice is trying to break out of her shell at college, and a one-night stand feels like a daring start. But the evening leaves her forever changed, and she's bent on finding answers--and revenge.

She reaches out and runs her fingers through the ash. Knows she should feel horrified. But as she rises to her feet, all she feels is hungry.

I loved that the women of each time insist upon creating situations in which they have autonomy and agency. For some, this means becoming a vampire and escaping men's foolishness, cruelty, or simply male-dominated societal control. Within the female-focused vampirism of the story, women demand even more from their lives, refusing to be limited by other women, by expectations, or by fear. They create their own versions of freedom, however unorthodox they may be.

I enjoyed spending time in each time period. The storyline threading the three timelines together is deliciously intriguing, and a character that was initially a wilting flower finds her strength, her purpose, and her desire for vengeance, all of which is satisfying to witness.

The pacing didn't flag, and this was a fast 535-page read.

More Love for V. E. Schwab

Schwab is also the author of The Fragile Threads of Power, Vengeful, and the wonderful Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, as well as the Shades of Magic series. (The first two books in that series are A Darker Shade of Magic and A Gathering of Shadows, each of which I gave four Bossy stars. You can check out my review of book 3, A Conjuring of Light, here.)