Gallant by V. E. Schwab

From the Sunday Times-bestselling author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, and A Darker Shade of Magic comes a standalone novel where The Secret Garden meets Stardust. Sixteen-year-old Olivia Prior is missing three things: a mother, a father, and a voice. Her mother vanished all at once, and her father by degrees, and her voice was a thing she never had to start with. She grew up at Merilance School for Girls. Now, nearing the end of her time there, Olivia receives a letter from an uncle she’s never met, her father’s older brother, summoning her to his estate, a place called Gallant. But when she arrives, she discovers that the letter she received was several years old. Her uncle is dead. The estate is empty, save for the servants. Olivia is permitted to remain, but must follow two rules: don’t go out after dusk, and always stay on the right side of a wall that runs along the estate’s western edge. Beyond it is another realm, ancient and magical, which calls to Olivia through her blood...

I DEVOURED THIS BOOK OMGG

4/5 stars

I want to, soooo so badly, to give this 5 stars. Because it's VE Schwab, my favorite author ever and I love everything they do, but I don't give out 5 stars as easily as I used to and we've got to be honest with my rating.

But let's be real here, I'll probably go back and give it 5 stars. I'm just such trash for Schwab that it's not even funny anymore. And there were definitely parts that were 5 stars here, especially the writing, which was absolutely gorgeous (as per usual with VE Schwab) and the story between Olivia's parents. If this story was just about Olivia's mother and father, it might be one of the easiest 5 stars I have ever given out, but, unfortunately, it probably would have been too reminiscent of Addie Larue and we got this book instead.

And, also as per usual with VE Schwab, the plot and the world are so beautiful and complex and unique. Truly unlike any other book out there.

I loved all that, but I was left wanting more (and not in the good way).

I just think the story was rushed and the characters didn't seem very fleshed out. And there were a few times here and there where I was bored. I wasn't compelled to pick it up.

I finished it a long time ago, just hasn't been active here lately. :) It was a very intriguing read, but it got quite repetitive near the end, and I was losing interest.

As Schwab is one of my favourite writers and ghosts one of my favourite subjects, it's no surprise that I really enjoyed this.
I agree with other reviewers that it's more of a very young adult or older childhood book rather than an adult read but that didn't make it any less enjoyable. I didn't agree with the fact that a lot of reviewers found Olivia really annoying. She's much more relatable and less obnoxious than Cassidy from Schwab's Cassidy Blake series, which is actually written for children. I found her mutism made her more interesting because she had to find more inventive ways to express herself or communicate, though these can be naughty as she's still a pre-teen and probably not as mentally/emotionally developed as normal having been raised by a religious orphanage. While she is communicating with the reader because it's from her POV, I didn't find her thoughts whiney or insufferable.
However, the plot didn't really feel as planned out as it should have been and, if you're an avid reader of the author like myself, you'll see a repeat of some ideas from their earlier books. It's obvious Schwab likes to write about ghosts and she has a specific idea of what they would look like, which is a theme throughout their descriptions in different books.
This reminded me a lot of Coraline, with some obvious influence from both Crimson Peak and The Haunting [on Hill House]. If you like fantastical or gothic horror, definitely give this a try.