Gallant

I went into this book blind, and I'm SO glad I did! I had no idea what it was even about, and sometimes not having expectations makes a book that much better. I thoroughly enjoyed the mystery, the writing, the plot - all of it! Truly a fantastic read!

teen/adult fiction - ghosts and a battle with Death
another winner from VE Schwab, a lovingly and skillfully woven story about orphans and ghouls and dark shadows.

Schwab continues to impress with her genre-defying fantasies, this a Gothic tale of family secrets, ghosts, ghouls, and a battle against death itself. At the center of the tale, Gallant, an estate that sits at the edge of the land of the dead, and Olivia, an orphan who has long yearned for a family

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of her own, only to find that that family is nothing like what she imagined, but she may be the only one who can save them. The book itself is gorgeous, full of art and imagery that vividly brings the dark, haunted world of Gallant and Olivia's family to life on the page. I know this will be a book that I will enjoy revisiting in the future.

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Olivia Prior lives as an orphan in a "school" for poor girls. She is mute but intelligent, with the ability to see ghouls. Her most precious possession is her mother's journal, which devolves into fragments of unintelligible thoughts, but contains the warning to her daughter, "you will be safe as

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long as you stay away from Gallant". Then a letter comes from an uncle Olivia never knew she had, inviting him to his estate - Gallant. Olivia arrives to a house with two servants, and a cousin, Matthew, none of whom expect her and know anything about any letter, but definitely keeping a secret.

The atmosphere in this book is its driving force, and if you're a reader of books with Gothic feel and a shadow over the story, drop everything and put Gallant on the top of your TBR. If I was going to quibble, I would tell you that the character development is not as important as the feel and the main plot conflict takes a long time to reveal itself, but the honest truth is that for the two days I read this book at every moment I could, it didn't really matter. A clever and fun story I would recommend to fans of The Graveyard Book.

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An excellent ghostly tale with a dash of mystery and a bittersweet ending.

Woooo eeeee!! Another Victoria Schwab success!! She is definitely one of those insta-purchase authors... at least for me that is. She cranks out winners like one of those performers grinding away with his adorable little monkey... you know, the ones with the cute little hats. Anyway, I digress. VE

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Schwab is awesome and just so you know, this book is no exception!

I enjoyed this as an audiobook and boy did that make the story pop. There wasn't a lot of pomp and circumstance but what it did have was consistently effective/evocative writing and the narration was perfectly suited. The book was rich, detailed, gritty and dark. Was it terrifying? No, but it was slightly creepy and with the right voice, both story wise and orator wise, a little bit can go a long way! The synopsis did a great job of breaking the story down to its key points but the feeling... emotive and chilling... was executed in true V.S. style... and that's to say that is was brilliant. It made me care for the characters and vividly imagine the backdrop. It also pumped, through my earbuds, the desire, the despair and the determination emminating from the main characters... a direct line from my ear holes straight to my core... it definitely made me Feel.

Gallant was atmospheric, gothic, extremely well written and the audiobook made the whole experience that much better. The orator was British-ly dour yet brilliantly emotive. I stayed up 'til the wee hours just to hear what was going to happen next and THAT is a ringing endorsement. My only gripe was with the major showdown. The battle between Good and Evil was a bit on the skimpy side. It felt like a big crescendo for a short/underwhelming release... not a rating busting deal breaker but a bit of a letdown overall. Besides that foible, this book was a solid 4.5 Stars. This tale could only have been more perfect if it was released in Autumn instead of Spring so that I could kick back and enjoy it all warm and snuggly-like with some Jasmine tea and my go-to blanket in my favorite recliner, during the best season, with the best weather... but hey, beggars and chosing and all that jazz.

Overall;

I firmly believe that this is a winner for a variety of genre lovers. We've got: Urban, Gothic, Magically Realistic, Strong Female MC Fantasy and a bunch more genre types that evade me at the moment. If you're a fan of perfectly crafted/precisely chosen writing with brilliant world building and realistic, dimensional, tangible, relateable and loads more adjectives meaning unbelievably amazing characters/premise and execution... then this book here is for you!

~ Enjoy

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It is a book in line of traditional gothic novels, but something was missing, sadly I can't put my finger on what it was exactly.
It is a solid story, believable characters, enough back story explained, enough back story left in the dark for drawing ones own conclusions and yet, that little

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something ...

If I could I would give it 3 3/4 stars, as that is not possible, four it is.

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This is my first V.E. Schwab book, and it was a propulsive read. I kind of wanted to hug the book after reading it, like Olivia does with her mother’s journal. Hauntingly fabulous illustrations help set the eerie mood. Walls can only keep the darkness out for so long until the cracks emerge.

Olivia has spent most of her life living in the grey world of Merilance, a boarding school for orphaned girls, with only her mother's journal for company. One day a letter arrives from her uncle indicating that he's been looking for her and wants her to come to live at his estate, Gallant. While

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the journal's final page warns Olivia never to go there, she cannot resist the opportunity to find a family of her own. Once she arrives at Gallant she'll discover many secrets that lurk and that shadows are more threatening than she imagined.

Another solid novel from Schwab that creates a compelling tale of things that lurk in the shadows. Those familiar with Schwab's work will find some themes returning again but as always, she creates a new twist for them. The whole novel has a vaguely ominous and creepy air, amplified by the regular appearance of ghouls, the excerpt's from Olivia's mother's journal, and the strangeness of life at Gallant. Olivia is an excellent protagonist and Schwab does an excellent job of incorporating the frustrations she faces due to her mutism, which also makes the perils she face seem even greater as she's unable to call for help. The novel is also beautifully supported by gorgeous illustrations from Manuel Sumberac. Recommended for fans of Schwab's previous novels or those who like an atmospheric read that is spooky but doesn't cross into horror territory.

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Olivia knows her mother only through her journal and longs to escape her life at the orphanage where everything seems to exist in shades of grey and ghouls that only she can see lurk in the corners and under the beds. When a letter from her uncle arrives at the orphanage and promises her a home and

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family, she leaps at the chance. But her mother's journal has warned her to stay away from Gallant, the family home. And maybe her mother was right that not having a family is better than what she'll face on the other side of the wall.

I confess that I hadn't read anything by Victoria (V. E.) Schwab until The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, and I confess that I only picked up Gallant because I loved Addie LaRue so much. I knew that Addie LaRue differed from her other work, but I was curious. And I was not disappointed. Although it seems that Schwab has returned to something closer to her previous brand, her writing is just as lovely as it was in Addie LaRue, and the story is just as compelling.

FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for this review.

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A very spooky and atmospheric, almost gothic tragedy, with very spooky and atmospheric accompanying illustrations. I only wish it was a little less tragic!

Fourteen year old orphan Olivia has never known a home other than Merilance, an orphanage. She is non-verbal, and is bullied and shunned. That’s all right with her; she prefers to be alone, anyway. Her only possession, other than the gray dresses the orphanage provides, is her mother’s old

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journal, a green notebook with a “G” on the cover. She’s got that book memorized, even though most of it makes no sense to her.

She’s about to age out of the orphanage and be sent somewhere to be a scullery maid or the like, when a letter arrives from her uncle, inviting her to come home to Gallant. And so, off she goes. She cannot remember ever having been off the premises of Merilance, so the trip by hired car is exciting. Her reception, however, is exciting in a less than good way: no one was expecting her, she has no living uncle, the estate is home to only three people-her cousin, the housekeeper, and the groundskeeper- and that cousin tells her to get out. Obviously, she does not heed this advice/order.
Olivia has always been able to see ghosts- she calls them ‘ghouls’- so the fact that the house is full of them doesn’t bother her. They are, though, quite a bit more solid seeming than the ones at Merilance. But that’s not the oddest thing about the place; at the foot of the garden, on the other side of a rock wall, stands another Gallant. It’s almost a mirror image, but the inhabitants are very different. Between both these Gallants, she may be able to figure out her family history; why she is an orphan; and why she is being told to flee.

I enjoyed the book; I stayed up one night with it. But, it’s not solid five star. The writing itself is exquisite, and it leads one on and on. But the plot is thin, and characters other than Olivia are pretty shallow, too. You’d think that, with so few characters, they would have a chance to be fleshed out. Sadly, no. Hannah and Edgar, the staff, are shadowy figures of goodness. Matthew, her cousin, is volatile and storms around and changes his mind rapidly and confusingly. (I’d have things to say about others, but it would be too spoiler-y.) So even though I loved the book on some levels, (and will look at what else the author has written) I can only assign it four stars.

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Gothic vibe which keeps you unbalanced. Teenaged Olivia, left a girls' school and orphaned as a toddler, she is mute and the only link to her past is her mother's journal.

Not quite a nightmare, more like a cautious fairytale. Gave me a similar feeling to Coraline.
The language, as always with V.E.

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Schwab, is beautiful.

I listened to the audiobook and I LOVED the feature where there is a scratching sound emitted after the narrator reads any crossed out text from Olivia's mother's journal. I had never experienced a narration like that. I thought that was an excellent addition! I will have to seek out a copy of the actual book to see how the crossed out texts are rendered. And to see if there are any drawings from the journal included.

My library has this title classified as YA and think this could be either MG Juvenile or YA.

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Creepy, Victorian vibe to this story about a girl, Olivia, who thought she was an orphan suddenly getting a letter from her uncle to join the family. She's had her mom's journal but could never really make sense of it.
When she gets to Gallant, a huge sprawling estate, she loves belonging. But it

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is clear that something is not quite right. From her angry, ill cousin to the wall where the light is never right for drawing to the weeds that seem to be strangling all living things. Olivia sees this sculpture of two mirror houses, and it seems like art is imitating life. To solve the mystery of a missing boy, Olivia must put her life on the line for her new found family and home.

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Gallant by Victoria Schwab is dark and heart-breaking on several different levels. There is so much complexity to it, even though it is a relatively simple story. One great example of this is that it would have been easy for Ms. Schwab to make Olivia a tragic figure, given her background. Instead,

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she is anything but pitiable; instead is fierce, independent, and a figure to admire. In Gallant, Ms. Schwab proves once again that she is a master at creating atmospheric novels in which she blurs the lines between good and evil and heroes and antiheroes.

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Creepy and atmospheric and delicious, it's an Old Manor fantasy but written by someone who had a serious Goth phase. If you read Goudge's Moonacre or Burnett's Secret Garden and thought "you know what this shit needs is more blood and death" this is ABSOLUTELY the book for you. Read it. It's great.

Ecstatic and Magical.................

I have been dying to say that Gallant by V. E. Schwab is one of its kind. The book takes on a magical journey of a girl's life who is set to find her identity. Each and every page was full of something new with lots of emotions. I must say that Olivia Prior's

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character was one of the amazing YA characters. She is young, strong and hopeful. From the beginning to the end, the plot envelopes you into a veil of love, hope and magic. Although, the climax does not end the story, it only leaves you to think ahead of it.

Gallant by V. E. Schwab deserves 5 stars for its amazing plot, characters and climax. Thanks to Netgalley and Titan Books for providing me an opportunity to read and review the book.

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Another heart-breakingly sad and beautiful story by VE Schwab. Olivia is an orphan; her mother's diary, filled with drawings, is her only link to her parents. When she finds out that she has an uncle, she is sent to live at the mysterious Gallant.

Had shades of Jane Eyre mixed with Wuthering

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Heights plus magic.

Once again, there are images integral to the plot. Fortunately, they were included in the eARC i read. And those illustrations are beautiful.

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What a fun, dark and monstrous tale! Horror and gothic fans will love stepping into Olivia Prior’s creepy and haunted shoes as her life goes from silent child in a nasty orphanage to moving to a mysterious estate called Gallant, summoned by an uncle she never knew existed. Gallant is not only

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falling apart in disrepair, but is filled with darkness and hidden mysteries that Olivia begins to tap into. As the mysteries unfold, the pace of the novel picks up and I found myself completely wrapped up in the story. The artwork is equally strange and made me curious. Reminiscent of Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book, Beautiful Creatures, and even Penny Dreadful but for a younger audience.

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Olivia Prior has spent her whole life in an orphanage. Her most treasured possession is her mother's diary, which contains a letter that her mother wrote to her. Her mother's enigmatic final message is "You'll be safe if you stay away from Gallant." When a letter from an unknown uncle warmly

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invites her to come home to the family estate, she's thrilled to get away from the orphanage . . . except for the fact that the name of the estate is Gallant. When she arrives, it's clear that nobody is expecting her. Her uncle is dead, the servants are kind but secretive, and her only cousin is unwelcoming and possibly mad. Still, she longs for a real home and wants to learn more about her parents. As she learns more about the house and her family, it's clear that Gallant holds secrets which could be deadly.

I found this a solid read, well-written and atmospheric. There were some good twists and turns to the plot, but I felt that the secondary characters could have been fleshed out a little more. I'm not a horror fan, and this book had just enough creepiness for me without slipping into horror territory. Recommended for fans of this author and for those who enjoy books by authors like Holly Black and Libba Bray.

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Wasn't bad. The world felt a bit empty to me. There was the orphanage and Gallant, and that was it.
I didn't think the ending was very satisfactory.