Thanks to the UK publisher, Titan, for sending me an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Read my full review here: https://readingthroughinfinity.com/2022/03/08/book-review-gallant/

Gallant is a place that creeps into the hearts and souls of the Prior family and takes up space in their bones. Just like its namesake, this book will creep into your mind and take up residence, even after you’ve finished reading.

I’m still thinking about this book several weeks after reading it, particularly because of it’s haunting, evocative writing style. One of the standout aspects of Victoria Schwab novels is always her writing style and Gallant is no different.

The narrative is atmospheric, dark, and melodic, creating a tension that unfurls out of the story and into the set of our shoulders as we read. This sinister feeling is pervasive, beginning when Olivia arrives at Gallant and never dissipating until we reach the story’s final conclusion.

The narrative style of this novel doesn’t perhaps pack the same punch and power of A Darker Shade of Magic or Vicious, but it’s not meant to.

This is more of a character-driven story about the ambience of an old house and the history of the Prior family and for that we need evocative prose, which is exactly what Schwab gives us.

The plot is linear and relatively simple and the pacing is on the slow side, but this feels purposeful; Olivia is gradually uncovering the dark secrets of the house and so are we.

Olivia herself is an inherently curious, contemplative character. She communicates non-verbally throughout the novel, meaning she doesn’t speak orally but uses sign language, drawings, writing, and gestures to communicate. Inside the Master’s house, she discovers that she needs only to think of something and the ghouls there respond to her.

The novel explores themes of home, family, grief, and loss in detail, focusing especially on the idea that home is sometimes as much about the people as it is about the place. The illustrations in the book beautifully compliment the descriptions of Olivia's mother's journal and they take on even more significance when we find out a key piece of information later on in the story.

Overall, Gallant is a book that crosses genres as part-thriller, part-fantasy, part murder mystery. I would have liked more from the magic/supernatural aspects of the world building and felt there were a few missed opportunities for twists or further subplots, but on the whole, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. The narrative style is engrossing and the mystery of the house and the Prior family will keep you hooked to the very end. 

Content warnings for bullying, parental abandonment, suicide (off-page) and discussions of suicide, discussions of eating disorders and weight loss, death, death of a parent, death of a sibling, emotional manipulation, violence.

ARC from work

I actually don't really know how to review this one. It gives me definite horror vibes, and horror is just one of those genres that I don't read, and while it did leave me feeling unsettled a lot of the time I did like the characters and the premise and just the general intrigue that Schwab's writing brought.

The ending I found to be really satisfying, which was a bit surprising given what happens, but like... it gave me some closure for Olivia??? It was nice???

Once I reached a certain point in the book it gave some STRONG Coraline vibes, which is open to interpretation of whether it's one of the book's merits or not (having been traumatised as a child, this didn't make me feel great necessarily)

The main character uses sign language!!! I really enjoyed some of the reflections on how people who don't communicate in the "standard" way think and feel in a world that's not designed for them. However, I'll just mention that because of this, we witness a bit of ableism that personally incites RAGE.

 It’s rare that I genuinely don’t want to put a book down. I could not stop reading this book, and even when I had to, I was thinking about it. 

 

Schwab does a great job at setting a scene and she creates such a vivid image of this haunted house. It isn’t quite scary, but there is a spookiness that follows you around the entire book. 

 

I will caution that this book is YA and I find that YA doesn’t typically get into the depth of the horror genre as well as it could. But I think that if you like ghosts stories, this is beautifully told. 

 

Overall, as a fan of horror and magic, I absolutely loved this book! It was a quick, immersive read. 

 

I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.