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whimsicalish's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.25
My first V.E. Schwab book and it was not a strong start.
This was a very uninspired, mediocre story with bland characters. The MC was fine but no one else was as fleshed out.
I'm puzzled why the characters couldn't simply tell Olivia what was going on. Instead we had to spend the majority of the book in a shroud of mystery only to be dragged into the plot anyways. It's silly for authors to "build" suspense when someone could literally just explain and save the trouble.
It wasn't the worst thing I've read this year but it's not memorable in the slightest.
I'm puzzled why the characters couldn't simply tell Olivia what was going on. Instead we had to spend the majority of the book in a shroud of mystery only to be dragged into the plot anyways. It's silly for authors to "build" suspense when someone could literally just explain and save the trouble.
It wasn't the worst thing I've read this year but it's not memorable in the slightest.
Content Warnings
Minor: Bullying and Suicide
binreads's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
The kind of dark that tricks the eye. Makes you see things where ther are none. Or miss things when they are there. The dark that lives in spaces you know you should not look, lest you catch sight other eyes, staring back.
I loooooved this. The story was extremely detailed and immersive that I could picture it all in my mind as vividly as if I was watching a movie. Not only is the cover beautiful but the illustrations within the book are gorgeous and are a great addition.
Very much gave Coraline vibes with the themes of the a girl finding a portal to this other world..
The beginning was a bit slow but once I got to the halfway point then banged it out in one night. Would not recommend reading in the dark in the middle of the night because I started to spook myself out, unless you're into that then go for it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, Bullying, Confinement, and Violence
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Suicide
nickoliver's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
CW: death of parent, death, (view spoiler) blood, bullying (only at the beginning), suicide
Overall, the book was very quiet. That could be explained with Olivia being mute, since that led to not as much dialogue as usual, but in my opinion, that wasn’t the only reason. It was also just the whole vibe of the story. It didn’t hinge on shock value or on fast-paced action, and Olivia didn’t have over-the-top reactions or seemed like she even reacted much to begin with. While I kind of liked that, it also did admittedly make it a bit boring and monotonous. I never really found myself at the edge of my seat or completely invested, since not much seemed to be going on. On top of that, it took a while for the plot to really get going - the first half of the book barely had any action to begin with. So because of that, combined with the quietness, I can see why some people struggled with this.
I liked the way Schwab progressed the plot. The whole idea of there being two Gallants that were a bit like good and colourful and evil and grey was intriguing. I do wish she’d played with it a bit more than she ended up doing, though. I had some theories that I thought would come true that excited me, and when that didn’t happen, I was a little bit disappointed. Not that the actual twist was bad by any means, but there was some potential that wasn’t being used.
The ending was a bit too depressing - which, fair enough, did fit into the book’s atmosphere and the way the story’d been written up to that point, but it left me with a sour taste in my mouth. Something happened during the climax that I wish didn’t, and it ruined it a bit for me. Plus, there were certain things that didn’t feel wrapped up enough to me. They weren’t exactly loose threads that Schwab forgot to properly end, but they did give the story a half-finished look.
The characters themselves also didn’t add much loudness. They didn’t stand out at all, and relationships developed almost a bit too quickly. While it made sense that Olivia got attached fast - after all, she’d spent her entire life living in an unwelcome and uninviting place with no family or friends -, it was still hard to understand it completely. I didn’t feel like I saw the relationship buildup well enough. The story was only set over the course of a few days, though, so maybe there was just no way to do it more realistically.
Admittedly, there was nothing wrong with the characters themselves; they were completely fine. Olivia was a non-annoying, sometimes painfully relatable protagonist. Matthew I even liked a lot, which made the climax and the ending a bit emotional for me. They - or at least the side characters - just didn’t feel developed enough .
A part of the book I really loved and appreciated was Olivia’s muteness. I had never read about a mute protagonist before, so it was really interesting to me. Plus, it was an integral part of the story and showed some hardships that I’d never thought about before. And while there was ableism, it didn’t get to be too much, and Olivia knew how to fight against it. She wasn’t weak-willed and meek, especially not at the beginning of the story (later a bit more, but the circumstances were different, so it made sense) which was an almost pleasant surprise. On top of that, she was completely okay with being mute; it was always just other people's reactions and actions that frustrated her.
The only part I wasn’t completely a fan of was the sign language. Part of that might just be a me-thing. Years ago, I once watched a video from a Booktuber who knew sign language, and she talked about disliking the way it was usually portrayed in books, because it was always full sentences written in italics, despite the fact that sign language didn’t have the same kind of syntax as spoken language. Ever since I watched that video, I can’t unsee that, and so it always bothers me a bit, even if I don’t think it’s problematic or offensive to write full sentences.
The other part was the unlikeliness of Olivia even being fluent in sign language. Schwab explained it by there having been a matron at Olivia’s pre-Gallant home, Merilance, who had taught her. And sure, that was a good explanation. But at the same time, all the matrons currently at Merilance were all rather bad people who didn’t actually care about their students. So the idea that there used to be one patient enough to teach Olivia presumably everything about sign language so that she could be fluent wasn’t very realistic.
However, none of that bothered me that much; it's just that I simply couldn’t help but notice it.
Lastly, the writing. It was a bit weird at times - there were a lot of similes used, and not all of them really made sense. While I enjoyed Schwab’s writing for the most part - it was whimsical and wonderful -, it did read a bit forced sometimes. As if the author wanted to make it obvious that her writing was beautiful but without making sure that it actually fit.
Now that I'm finished with this review, I can see that I have almost more negative things to say, which makes the 4-star-rating confusing. But the thing is that I enjoyed the book! I just think you should go into it with the right expectations. There’s not going to be much action until like two thirds of the way in. It was more of a quiet character-driven story that focused specifically on Olivia and her yearning for a family and a place to call home, and less of a fast-paced, nail-biting, intricate fantasy novel.
Overall, the book was very quiet. That could be explained with Olivia being mute, since that led to not as much dialogue as usual, but in my opinion, that wasn’t the only reason. It was also just the whole vibe of the story. It didn’t hinge on shock value or on fast-paced action, and Olivia didn’t have over-the-top reactions or seemed like she even reacted much to begin with. While I kind of liked that, it also did admittedly make it a bit boring and monotonous. I never really found myself at the edge of my seat or completely invested, since not much seemed to be going on. On top of that, it took a while for the plot to really get going - the first half of the book barely had any action to begin with. So because of that, combined with the quietness, I can see why some people struggled with this.
I liked the way Schwab progressed the plot. The whole idea of there being
The ending was a bit too depressing - which, fair enough, did fit into the book’s atmosphere and the way the story’d been written up to that point, but it left me with a sour taste in my mouth. Something happened during the climax that I wish didn’t, and it ruined it a bit for me. Plus, there were certain things that didn’t feel wrapped up enough to me. They weren’t exactly loose threads that Schwab forgot to properly end, but they did give the story a half-finished look.
The characters themselves also didn’t add much loudness. They didn’t stand out at all, and relationships developed almost a bit too quickly. While it made sense that Olivia got attached fast - after all, she’d spent her entire life living in an unwelcome and uninviting place with no family or friends -, it was still hard to understand it completely. I didn’t feel like I saw the relationship buildup well enough. The story was only set over the course of a few days, though, so maybe there was just no way to do it more realistically.
Admittedly, there was nothing wrong with the characters themselves; they were completely fine. Olivia was a non-annoying, sometimes painfully relatable protagonist. Matthew I even liked a lot, which made the climax and the ending a bit emotional for me. They - or at least the side characters - just didn’t feel developed enough .
A part of the book I really loved and appreciated was Olivia’s muteness. I had never read about a mute protagonist before, so it was really interesting to me. Plus, it was an integral part of the story and showed some hardships that I’d never thought about before. And while there was ableism, it didn’t get to be too much, and Olivia knew how to fight against it. She wasn’t weak-willed and meek, especially not at the beginning of the story (later a bit more, but the circumstances were different, so it made sense) which was an almost pleasant surprise. On top of that, she was completely okay with being mute; it was always just other people's reactions and actions that frustrated her.
The only part I wasn’t completely a fan of was the sign language. Part of that might just be a me-thing. Years ago, I once watched a video from a Booktuber who knew sign language, and she talked about disliking the way it was usually portrayed in books, because it was always full sentences written in italics, despite the fact that sign language didn’t have the same kind of syntax as spoken language. Ever since I watched that video, I can’t unsee that, and so it always bothers me a bit, even if I don’t think it’s problematic or offensive to write full sentences.
The other part was the unlikeliness of Olivia even being fluent in sign language. Schwab explained it by there having been a matron at Olivia’s pre-Gallant home, Merilance, who had taught her. And sure, that was a good explanation. But at the same time, all the matrons currently at Merilance were all rather bad people who didn’t actually care about their students. So the idea that there used to be one patient enough to teach Olivia presumably everything about sign language so that she could be fluent wasn’t very realistic.
However, none of that bothered me that much; it's just that I simply couldn’t help but notice it.
Lastly, the writing. It was a bit weird at times - there were a lot of similes used, and not all of them really made sense. While I enjoyed Schwab’s writing for the most part - it was whimsical and wonderful -, it did read a bit forced sometimes. As if the author wanted to make it obvious that her writing was beautiful but without making sure that it actually fit.
Now that I'm finished with this review, I can see that I have almost more negative things to say, which makes the 4-star-rating confusing. But the thing is that I enjoyed the book! I just think you should go into it with the right expectations. There’s not going to be much action until like two thirds of the way in. It was more of a quiet character-driven story that focused specifically on Olivia and her yearning for a family and a place to call home, and less of a fast-paced, nail-biting, intricate fantasy novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Blood, Death, and Ableism
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, and Child death
bailey_the_bookworm's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I’ve found that Schwab’s books are always hit or miss for me—Addie LaRue was a miss, but Gallant was more of a hit. It’s atmospheric and dark, spooky, and well-written without being as precious as some of her other books feel.
Olivia is a fun character to get to know—passionate and stubborn and a little mean.
I don’t love books written in the present tense, but it’s not bad here.
Olivia is a fun character to get to know—passionate and stubborn and a little mean.
I don’t love books written in the present tense, but it’s not bad here.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Abandonment, Death of parent, and Bullying
louisegraveyard's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Bullying, Death, Murder, Suicide, Death of parent, Animal death, and Blood
tik_pabaigsiu_skyriu's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Grief, and Blood
danajoy's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
3.0
This is The Turn of the Screw mixed with the Darker Shade of Magic series but from the perspective of a child/orphan.
Gothic and atmospheric it is definitely a solid read but it felt a bit too familiar for me.
I did enjoy having a mute protagonist. Its always nice seeing disabled main characters.
The audiobook had some fun florishes - the sound of a pen crossing things out/tearing paper. I would recommend it.
Gothic and atmospheric it is definitely a solid read but it felt a bit too familiar for me.
I did enjoy having a mute protagonist. Its always nice seeing disabled main characters.
The audiobook had some fun florishes - the sound of a pen crossing things out/tearing paper. I would recommend it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death of parent, and Blood
missjeann's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death of parent, and Death
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Bullying
moonchild_cos's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Abandonment, Death, Grief, Death of parent, and Bullying
Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, and Religious bigotry
mandkips's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Moderate: Child death, Blood, Bullying, and Suicide
Minor: Animal death