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

I recently finished reading Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab. This was my book club's November book.

~POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT~

  Rating: 3.25/5 stars

"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."

All vibes and a very slim plot, which I’m usually okay with, but in this case, I was begging for something to keep me going. Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s not bad. It’s actually great, and the writing is just so mesmerizing; however, I just didn’t care. Like, I don’t care about any of these characters. I was waiting for an overarching plot to connect at the end (not a plot twist) and was left feeling “eh?”

The atmosphere is eerie and complex; however, a bit too slow for me, which again, I wouldn’t have minded had I been given something to anticipate. I like slow books. I expect them from this author. But overall, the pacing dragged in parts, and I found myself wishing for more movement in the plot and characters. I think if you’re into quiet horror or slow-burn suspense, this might hit harder for you. For me, it just didn’t fully stick the landing. I was, dare I say, bored at times

I really only liked 1.5/3 of our toxic lesbian vampires, María and Charlotte. Alice and her backstory, I couldn’t care for. I fear there was a lot of missed potential for this particular character. I liked the otherworldly tone and the way grief and guilt were explored, but emotionally, I just couldn’t connect the way I wanted to.

What I did like, however, was the want and need parallels. These women are so bound by society’s standards and expectations of them. The freedom that they think they get from vampirism. putting men in their place or in their grave. very pleasing

Check out Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil and discover what happens when the world strives to bury your bones.