Book Review :: Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by VE Schwab

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab
ISBN: 1035064650
Published by Pan Macmillan, Tor
on 10 June 2025
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, LGBTQ+, Supernatural, Vampires
Pages: 560
Goodreads

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.

Last updated on 30 June 2025

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What is Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by VE Schwab about?

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by VE Schwab is a tale of three women, interconnecting stories over the centuries. It’s a story of hunger, love, and loss. And everything in between.

What do a runaway in 16th-century Spain, a sheltered heiress in Georgian England, and a modern-day uni student in Boston have in common? More than you’d think. Especially when VE Schwab is involved.

In 1532, María’s world is small, but her dreams aren’t. She’s not waiting around to be married off like all the other girls in her town, to some man she doesn’t know (or worse, to one she knows and wants nothing to do with). But when a stranger offers her a way out, she grabs it with both hands. Even if it means risking everything. Even if it means burning bridges she hasn’t even crossed yet.

She marries him simply to get away, knowing that even if it’s pretty bad where they’re going, at least they’re going somewhere. And when she does, everything changes.

Then in 1827, Charlotte learns the hard way that one wrong kiss can ruin your life, or start a whole new one. London’s calling, and with it, a woman who sees her in ways no one else ever has. But, as it turns out, nothing is free, and Charlotte finds herself pretty locked in a relationship that was great at the beginning but grows ever-challenging as the years go by.

Fast forward to 2019, and Alice is done pretending. She came to Boston to reinvent herself, to start fresh, but a one-night stand and a few buried memories have other plans. What starts as confusion quickly turns into obsession, and she’s not afraid to go digging for the truth. Even if she doesn’t like what she finds.

Three women. Three timelines. All interweaving.

Oh and vampires.

“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.”

My thoughts on Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil

I’ve said it before, and I’ll probably say it until the end of time, but I love VE Schwab’s stories. Her Shades of Magic series is one of my favourites, and I have read it multiple times. I also loved The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. And, to be honest, everything else I’ve read by Schwab.

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil is another fantastic read. I realise that the back of the book doesn’t say anything about vampires. But just so you know: it’s a vampire book. I haven’t read a vampire book in a long time, so it was a lot of fun diving back into that genre, and even more fun that it had its twists and turns and historical elements throughout.

“A name is like a dress. It might be by nature pretty or plain, but it is the person wearing it who matters most.”

The characters were brilliant – those that wove through the story are the most prominent, which makes sense, but even those who are stuck in the one timeline or era had their quirks and personalities. And I like that. Just because they’re minor characters who only show up for a few chapters, doesn’t mean they’re not fully themselves. And Schwab does this very well.

“But María has known, all her life, that she is not meant for common paths, for humble houses and modest men. If she must walk a woman’s road, then it will take her somewhere new.”

Our three main women are also very different. María is all fire and feist, determined to get what she wants and let nothing stop her. Charlotte is more reserved, more questioning, more jump in the deep end but only then realise how deep it actually is. And Alice is 2019 … and she doesn’t want to accept the life she’s now been forced with, and takes matters into her own hands while trying to uncover the ‘why’ behind it all.

Bones was very well done, and I don’t want to give anything away, but I was definitely surprised at how events played out and how characters were portrayed. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it had an air of ‘wait a minute’ about it, a ‘huh, I didn’t realise that’s what was going to happen’ and ‘this is brilliant’ about it.

Another great book from VE Schwab. Her next one can’t come fast enough.

If you loved The Invisible life of Addie LaRue or you’ve enjoyed Schwab’s other stories, then Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil will be right up your alley. If you’ve already read it, I’d love to know what you thought! Drop your (spoiler-free for others!) comments below!