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Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

Gallant by V.E. Schwab

83 reviews

anntharai's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

The atmosphere of this book is phenomenally done. There are so many moments I would like to quote here, but in short this is a dark and truly haunting book with a good plot driving it and a plethora of horrific truths behind it. 

I fell that this is another one from V. E. S. that I will be thinking about for a while. 
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nytephoenyx's review against another edition

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dark reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

My absolute favorite part of Gallant was the same lilting brushstrokes that painted Schwab’s voice in The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. The language in this book is beautiful and I can’t get enough of it. I have always liked Schwab’s imagination – beautiful world filled with slithering corruption – but her voice has changed over the years. This new evolution is a lullaby and I am enamored.

As for the story in Gallant itself? It’s a little bit ghost story, a little bit orphan’s song, and a little bit Coraline. The darkness lives effortlessly on the edges of Olivia’s consciousness. The world building here is interesting – Gallant is in our-world-that-was, but somehow Schwab makes it all feel like a Victorian fairytale. And I do think it’s saying something that Olivia would rather stay at a haunted house than a poor excuse for a finishing school aimed to swallow up poor girls and spit out competent wives. It’s a small note of the story – at least it was for me – but it’s a thought I keep coming back to.

If you like ghost stories, you’ll probably like Gallant. It’s got the feel of Stranger Things in its earlier seasons, but it’s also a quiet book. And I say that not just because of Olivia – who is non-verbal – but because it is tucked away in a corner of the quiet countryside and the evil only affects a small handful of people rather than corrupting an entire town. And yet… Gallant echoes the feel of Addie LaRue in more than just tone. The relationship between devil and sorrowful girl is becoming a theme. I don’t mind it, but it feels as though the two stories could have been planted from the same seed. One grew taller, stronger than the other, but their roots are nonetheless entangled.

The plot of Gallant moves quickly, the characters rounded enough to be interesting but not so much that the reader is teased into thinking they are anything more that background silhouettes. The pace is a slow, steady drum beat and those familiar with Schwab’s other work will recognize the cadence. Gallant unfurls its story like the slow blossom of a summer rose. It takes patience, but the reader is rewarded with vibrant imagery and memorable worlds. I enjoyed it for a one-off read, but I’m not hungry for more of Olivia’s story. This taste was enough for me.

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vjlp22_reader's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

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anni_swanilda's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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falltumn's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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darkefyres's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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hayleygray's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

V.E. Schwab is a magical author. I find myself truly absorbed in her words, worlds and characters. With each of her novels, I have never read another one like it and I am mesmerised, each time. This book was dark, twisting and extraordinary with an incredible protagonist – young woman who cannot use her voice to speak – and the true meaning of home. Incredible!
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homestylereads's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Gallant is a book I will think about for a long time. The theme of family is probably one of my favorites, and that’s exactly what this book relays. The main character starts out completely alone with no friends or family, and then she meets these strangers who take her in, although with hesitation. Olivia is such a loveable character, and I very much enjoyed that she is a teenager, and I got to watch her discover the world. The writing is simple due to the fact the narrator is a teenager, but that does not mean the writing is bad because Schwab’s writing is utterly amazing and whimsical.

This book is definitely not light-hearted. It is the most unsettling non-horror book I have read. It’s not that is was scary, but it was creepy. I believe this has to do with some of my personal issues surrounding nightmares and how they are described in the book, but the unnerving scenes become more uneasy as the book progresses. If you are not comfortable with ghosts and death, I would recommend not reading this.  V. E. Schwab doesn’t go into gory detail, but the way she expresses scenes is very poetic, and I feel that tugs even harder than blatantly describing death and wounds. 

I would say Gallant is a wonderful story for teenagers and older, especially people who love to read about darker subjects. It was such an emotional book, so grab some tissues if you read this!

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stardustandrockets's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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arthur_ant18's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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