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A review by bookswithcesco
Gallant by V.E. Schwab
2.0
Probably a super unpopular opinion on this one but here we go.
I should preface this by saying that I’ve read and watched every Coraline theory imaginable, and I knew this was a YA and adjusted my expectations accordingly.
Schwab is a fantastic writer, her prose is captivating and her ideas and interpretations always fascinate me. That being said, I have yet to read a book of hers that captivates me with characters and execution alone.
Olivia was a good character on paper. But I just didn’t care about her or the conflict. I found myself more interested in her investigation with her mom’s past and the journals than any of the shadow/ghoul shit we had going on.
The book reads like Coraline, but if it was made to be higher fantasy with a niche magic system that only works with a handful of people. The antagonist was bland, but mirrored Coraline in so many ways that I couldn’t stop comparing it in the ways he failed to meet my expectations. I wanted more to happen and needed better closure on half of the minor plot points sooner than we got.
Also the ending is pretty lacklustre, but it was the highlight of the book for me, since I got too far to justify a DNF without just finishing it.
I should preface this by saying that I’ve read and watched every Coraline theory imaginable, and I knew this was a YA and adjusted my expectations accordingly.
Schwab is a fantastic writer, her prose is captivating and her ideas and interpretations always fascinate me. That being said, I have yet to read a book of hers that captivates me with characters and execution alone.
Olivia was a good character on paper. But I just didn’t care about her or the conflict. I found myself more interested in her investigation with her mom’s past and the journals than any of the shadow/ghoul shit we had going on.
The book reads like Coraline, but if it was made to be higher fantasy with a niche magic system that only works with a handful of people. The antagonist was bland, but mirrored Coraline in so many ways that I couldn’t stop comparing it in the ways he failed to meet my expectations. I wanted more to happen and needed better closure on half of the minor plot points sooner than we got.
Also the ending is pretty lacklustre, but it was the highlight of the book for me, since I got too far to justify a DNF without just finishing it.