A dark, mysterious story told with stunning atmospheric writing! While I enjoyed my time reading this book, I was left wishing there was a bit more explanation behind Gallant's secrets.

Gosh I love V. E. Schwab. This is so different from her other stuff I've read so far, and I loved it. It was the perfect amount of creepy and tense, the MC was really interesting and also pretty badass for a kid lol I love that she's mute and yet also kinda has this superpower to

bring life in the shadow Gallant.

I think that aspect of her identity also works well because so much of the narrative then can be in her own head through thoughts and memories rather than dialogue. And the

shadow Gallant being a place where the only one who speaks is the Master/Death but she doesn't need to speak, that this is a place where she SHOULD feel more at home, is really interesting to me.

The journals are also really interesting and the way the artwork in them works with the story, especially once you learn what exactly they are and who drew them. The entire

shadow Gallant aspect

is such a cool concept for a horror story like this.
Honestly I just can't wait to talk about this book with others in our book club! I feel like there's a lot of cool stuff going on that I'm only scratching the surface of on my own.

I'm going to be honest here, I just don't think this really worked for me. This book just completely failed to pull me in. There wasn't a single point in the novel were I actually felt invested, and when I closed the book at the end, all I could think about was just how underwhelming the reading experience it was for me.
I do have to say that I did really like the concept of this book. The story was interesting to me. I read this book relatively quickly, and most of that was because I was intrigued enough to find out what was going on. The atmosphere was also really well build. I do think the resolution was a little dissapointing, but overall I did really like the story. I did also really like the illustrations througout the book. They were absolutely stunning.
I also quite liked our cast of characters. Besides Olivia they were quite one dimensional but I still quite liked seeing them. Olivia was a really interesting main character. I just liked being inside her head. She is obviously extremely smart, but also quite creative, and very brave. The cast of side characters were a great addition to the story, and I liked the role they got to play. 
So yeah, this wasn't a bad book at all, and I definitely wouldn't want to steer you away from this book, however it just completely wasn't for me. I would be quite curious to see this book adapted though because I do think this would make a great movie if done correctly (of course).

This book had INCREDIBLE vibes. Every chapter had me ready to dive in! The plot was so engaging and well paced, if a little slow at times. This book was very easy to immerse myself in. The art and design of the book adds to the overall experience. I would have ADORED this book as a young teen! While it didn’t absolutely blow me away at 23, I have no complaints! I’m looking forward to reading more of V.E. Schwab’s books. She has a wonderful voice as a writer!

As I struggle to write this review, I’m doubting if it really deserves 5 stars. Because the thing about a 5 star review is that it implies perfection, an exemplary book, a story that would be universally enjoyed. This book is not perfect and I don’t think everyone would enjoy it. But it was perfect for me; and so, it gets 5 stars.

The thing is, I just really love VE Schwab. I love how her prose can be both beautiful yet haunting: a shiny rose, vivid and colorful; its stem full of sharp thorns, tangling around a skeletal hand. This story was as dark, mysterious and fantastical as I hoped it would be. Though I wouldn’t describe it as fast paced, I was constantly kept at the edge of my seat, savoring the rich setting that is the Gallant manor along the way. The illustrations and the diary were beautiful, a perfect picture of Olivia’s parents’ relationship. This book, I think, will stay with me for a long time to come, and will probably remain one of my favorites of 2024.

This was delightful, I genuinely loved this book. It's been a while since something I've read has actually creeped me out or made me feel so intensely empathetic towards the MC. As far as I'm aware, the author is not disabled, however she seems to have done a great job writing for a

mute MC

and representing how frustrating it is to be so easily silenced and ignored. The reason this didn't get a full 5 from me is mostly the ending: most of the book was very slow-paced and did an excellent job at drawing you into the mystery and asking you to keep guessing, giving bits and pieces at a time. Unfortunately, the end felt really rushed. So much of the novel, we spend so much time in Olivia's head, and that falls off very quickly as the conclusion approached. It ended up feeling very impersonal to me, just because it stopped telling the story of Olivia's internal world/experience and moved on to the events as they were. It made it hard to celebrate with the characters at the end and connect with the stakes. Otherwise, I would read this over again just for the atmosphere and world-building that Schwab crafted, gripes aside. Had it been stretched to 400ish pages, I think this would've been perfect.