All my reviews live at https://deedispeaking.com/reads/.

TL;DR REVIEW:

Gallant is relatively straightforward, but beautiful and also unexpected in delightful ways. Victoria Schwab will sweep you up into dark YA fairytale land with her storyteller voice.

For you if: You like fairytale vibes, but with a twist.

FULL REVIEW:

OK, so Gallant doesn’t come out until March, but I was lucky enough to get my hands on an early review copy thanks to a truly wonderful bookseller friend. It’s a standalone, early-YA novel billed as The Secret Garden meets Crimson Peak (!). If you’re into dark (but not too dark) fairytales written in an atmospheric storyteller voice, this is the one. for. you. I enjoyed every minute.

The main character, Olivia, grew up in a school for girls, sort of like an orphanage. It’s gray and miserable, and she’s bullied and outcast (for reasons I loved discovering on my own so won’t name here). All she has is her mother’s last journal, which starts fine but descends into seeming madness. Until one day the school gets a letter from her long-lost uncle, and she’s brought to Gallant, the family estate. Enter: ghouls and curses and doors in mysterious walls. Olivia just wants is to belong; to finally have a family and a home.

The story is relatively simple and straightforward, but it was also beautiful, sad, curious, lovely, and very atmospheric. I think people of all ages will love this one, especially if you’re a fan of magical books that sweep you up into a what can only be described as a *story.* And while the plot isn’t very complex, it definitely surprised me several times, which was both delightful and contemplative.

I also think that Olivia is one of the most impressive characters I’ve ever read, for that secret reason I alluded to above. Writing her must have been such a unique challenge, but if anyone could do it, it was our girl Victoria. And she nailed it.

Preorder this one!