I really liked the premise of the book. There was a lot of potential, the concept and characters were both really intriguing but unfortunately there was no real follow through. It just felt kind of flat to me. I don't know if it needed to be a little longer but things just felt underdeveloped. It wasn't bad by any means but for me it was just ok. It just left me wanting a little more

I constantly thought the narrator was actually Neil Gaiman and that is the highest order of compliment I can bestow to a male narrator.

Rep: white asexual(?) mute cis female MC, white side characters.

CWs: Death, death of parent, blood, grief, animal death, abandonment, bullying, ableism, child death, suicide, gore, self harm, suicidal thoughts, violence, kidnapping, murder. Moderate: injury/injury detail, mental illness, body horror. Minor: alcoholism. 

I gobbled this book up. I can't remember the last time I found a book where all I wanted to do in my free moments, no matter how short, was get in a few pages, where in the tense parts my eyes were racing over the pages almost faster than I could understand the words. It's a lovely, reflective little book. It's dark, but more in a Gothic way than a depressing way. Death is a major theme, but the persistence of our spirits and our connection with those we love beyond death is too, and definitely mitigates that. I wish it had resolved a little differently in some ways, but otherwise I really loved it. 

This book felt like a fairytale, in that the story was less about the actual narrative and more about the vibes and the mood. For me, I loved it, but it can be contentious to others. It feels episodic in that there might be other stories in this world, but Olivia's is complete. Schwab's prose is gorgeous as always, and I love the setting and tone developed, but it's fair to say that those who want a concrete plot a la ADSOM, Vicious, even Addie la Rue, this is a departure and worth keeping in mind for adequate expectations. 

All of that said, I loved that the lead was nonverbal and the secondary appears to be dyslexic. I would have loved the story to be longer in particular to explore the dynamic between them.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first experience reading anything by V.E. Schwab, and it certainly didn't disappoint. It was equal parts haunting and beautiful, and Schwab's writing is near lyrical. I'll definitely be recommending this to my readers that want something spooky, but not terrifyingly so.

 Thank you to Titan Books and Netgalley for the review copy in exchange for an honest review. This does not change my opinion in anyway. 

Over the years I've become a bit hesitant with Schwabs work. I tend to love her ideas but do not always enjoy the characters and the execution. So I was hesitant going into this book.

Gallant is a bit of a different work as it felt like a short story. It started as a typical story of an orphan in an orphanage who is different from the others and gets bullied. But Olivia can see ghosts and is mute. The diary she has of her mother is the third thing that caught my actual interest. It creates a bit of a mystery of what is going on. Why can she see ghosts and why is her mother's diary so jambled.

We move into a more interesting setting when a letter comes her way and she is send to her family. A big mansion and a garden. The idea of this legacy of her family and what they have to sacrifice for that really grabbed me. They are the kind of stories that I like to hear about.

The addition of the plants, the door, the secrets and the otherworld. It created something that I wanted to dive into. Deeper and deeper. There were the little things too. How Olivia felt when someone knew sign language and she could finally speak with someone. How heart breaking it was to see her nephew try to send her away. Those little bits I loved.

I feel like I would have liked to have gotten a bit more time with these characters in the mansion. Like her nephew. There was so much more to him than we really got. Of the two side characters too. It almost felt more like an introduction to a grander story of Olivia.