Published June 10th, 2025 by Tor
Fantasy Fiction, Dark Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, Lesbian Literature, Contemporary Fantasy
Welcome to my bookish thoughts for this magnificent gothic chiller.
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ABOUT THE BOOK:
The Heart-Stopping International Sensation!
Instant No. 1 Sunday Times Bestseller
No. 1 New York Times Bestseller
The Radio 2 Book Club Pick
From V. E. Schwab, a genre-defying, unforgettable novel to sink your teeth into . . .
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 again.
Utterly unmissable, this is a twisting, gothic tale of immortality and hunger. From the bestselling author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.
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MY REVIEW:
“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.”
Achingly beautiful, deliciously gothic, haunting and consuming, this dark and twisted treasure is one of the most magnificent books I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. I knew quickly that this would be a five star read and one of my favourite books this year. I was obsessed, beguiled from the first pages by this story that feels both ancient and modern, and felt utterly bereft when it was all over.
V. E. Schwab is an author I’ve heard so many great things about but her books sat on my shelves unread for years. But after hearing how passionate she was about her writing at an event this summer, I knew I had to finally pick up one of her books. And where better to start that with a vampire story during spooky season. Lyrical, poetic and descriptive, Schwab’s writing is sheer perfection. You can feel the love and attention that has gone into every word on the page. I get the hype. She is a phenomenal talent and after just one book I think I’d read her shopping list.
And while it’s undoubtedly beautiful, buried within it is something dark and filled with malevolence, heartache, longing, rage and fear. This is a story about hunger. A story about desire. A story about women. And a story about vampires. It’s a story about dark secrets, depravity, fractured people, complex love, trauma, obsession and violence against women all wrapped up in a hypnotic bow. The trio of women at the heart of this story are richly drawn, vivacious, charismatic and deeply flawed characters that I loved reading. I was enthralled as Schwab slowly but expertly wove their stories together, revealing how their destinies tragically interlaced. And while I loved reading them all, I particularly enjoyed Marie as there is just something about a really dark character that I find captivating and she had me in her thrall as she took me to the darkest depths of inhumanity.
Seductive, sapphic, ferocious and menacing, this is a must for your spooky season TBR.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
VICTORIA ‘V. E.’ SCHWAB is the No. 1 Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author of more than twenty books, including the international sensation The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, the acclaimed Shades of Magic universe, the Villains series, the City of Ghosts trilogy, Gallant, and The Fragile Threads of Power. When not haunting Paris streets or trudging up English hillsides, she lives in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is usually tucked in the corner of a coffee shop, dreaming up monsters.
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Thanks for reading, Bibliophiles xxxxx
Emma's Biblio Treasures 