Synopsis:
An instant No. 1 Sunday Times & New York Times Bestseller, Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil is a twisting tale of power, immortality and the terrifying price of freedom from V. E. Schwab.
Three women share one desire: to break the rules men use to bind them.
1532. León, Spain: María, wild and wily, knows beauty is her only currency. So when an alluring stranger offers her a dark alternative path, María makes a desperate choice.
1827. London: Charlotte lives a cloistered life, her heart full of impossible wants. Swept away by a beautiful widow’s invitation, Charlotte discovers she can buy her freedom – if she sells her soul.
2019. Boston: Alice moved across the world to escape her past. But a one-night stand gives her a thirst for answers . . . and retribution.
Defying time and all odds, these women’s fates become tangled like roots. This is a story about life: how it ends, and how it starts again.
Review:
If The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo and Dowry of Blood by ST Gibson had a baby guided by VE Schwab’s dark, magical hands, this is what you would get.
Sapphic vampires, dual timelines, women ruling the night.
“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.”
Here we have feral, hungry girls.
1521, Maria wants more from her small village. She sets her eyes on a Viscount passing through and is soon betrothed. Maria knows when to be the predator, and when to play the part of prey. However, the life as a noble is boring and more restrictive than suits Maria’s hunger for more.
2019, Alice is dedicated to becoming someone new moving from Scotland to Boston to attend university. She has a cluttered head and anxious heart, running from a past, waiting for her future.
The third timeline only comes into play after the 55% mark in London 1827. Debutante balls and secret debauchery and another wish for freedom.
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.
The writing was delicious. The characters were angsty, angry, and sometimes atrocious. The yearning was blood red. The *scenes* were sensual and sexy but not overly detailed.
The ending was too easy, convenient, and sudden for me and thus anti-climatic, however it was still satisfying knowing this had to be condensed for a standalone.
Leave a Reply