"Everything casts a shadow. Even the world we live in. And as with every shadow, there is a place where it must touch. A seam, where the shadow meets its source." I love ve schwab, unfortunately my least favourite of her books but I still loved it

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

Actual rating: 3.5

Olivia is an orphan who has grown up at a kind of boarding school/orphanage and that's all the reality she has ever known. She doesn't have a lot of hope or expectations for her future, but then she receives a letter from an uncle she didn't even know existed and goes to a place she can call home: Gallant, but it may not be everything she was expecting it to be.

Well, I really liked the creepy vibe of the book. It's not exactly a horror book or anything like that, but her family members are mysterious characters, there are the weird illustrations (in a good way) and the descriptions of the school, mansion, garden, etc. all are very gothic-like.

I also thought the main character was quite interesting. Olivia is speech-impaired - which I think is always an important theme to be present in literature, especially for younger people - and her personality and attitudes made me root for her.

However, I thought the plot itself was not as interesting as it could be. There are some original points in there, but overall it didn't really appeal to me and if not for the main character and the writing style, I wouldn't have felt a lot of motivation to keep going. Also, the other characters were not as developed as Olivia, so I didn't care much for them.

Overall, it is a good book, but considering what the author has done before, it could be a bit longer, more developed and ultimately a better novel.

Gallant is an ambitious book. With the similar style of writing that V.E.Schwab adopted in Addie LaRue, the tone is spooky and eerie. And even with its slow start, there is a thick layer of mystery that makes this feel like a promising read.. It’s honestly unlike anything she’s ever written….but I’m afraid overall this was not a book for me.

For one, there was no emotional connection - the characters lacked substance. I found myself getting quite bored with the slow narrative - it wasn’t until the 60% mark that things started to pick up. Plot-wise, there’s not a lot going on. The only storyline I was invested in was about Olivia’s parents. The letters were my favourite part of reading this book and slowly piecing together how her parents fell in love.

I found the main villain quite plain & disappointing - ironic considering Schwab is infamous for writing some of the most complex morally grey characters. But all this tension & build up amounted to very little—it didn’t feel quite as high-stakes as maybe she wanted it to come across.

I think this book had a lot of potential, and I think the premise of the story was super interesting, but the execution fell flat. It could’ve used a lot more plot and characterisation.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC.

I had such high hopes for Gallant. I recently read Schwab's Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, and I enjoyed it well enough. I didn't adore it as much as many have, but I do get why it is so loved, and I did enjoy my time reading it. Then I read the blurb of her latest release and it sounded just perfect for my tastes. This one was bound to be for me, it was right up my street - I couldn't wait to dive in... sadly, the experience didn't live up to the expectation.

This one lands less well than Addie LaRue. It felt... obvious? It felt familiar, to the point where I'm certain I've read this book, several times, before. It does nothing new. The writing is not spectacular. The characters are not unique. The atmosphere did little for me... I just found it dull.

There is nothing inherently wrong with this book; it makes no missteps - I just wanted more from it. I was underwhelmed. I had wanted and expected more. Perhaps Schwab just isn't for me.

Overall a bland, and uninspiring 2 stars.

A lot of fantasy is about the boundaries between worlds. The ‘real’ and the supernatural; the living and the dead or magic versus science. This is something humans have done for millennia – be it in the form of religion, folklore, or stories. Our desire to explain our world, to answer the unknowable about what happens when we die or just to imagine there is more to life than what we see every day. In V E Schwab’s novel Gallant we get a tale of two worlds but not one I felt ever really pushed the boundaries of those questions despite an intriguing lead character.

Olivia Prior is sixteen and has stayed most of her life alone at Merilance School for Girls dreaming of escape. As a woman who is mute; and she has been a target of bullying and ignorance from both pupils and teachers often requiring her to fight back. She knows little of where she came from bar her mother’s strange journal which she reads constantly. Just as Olivia plans to prepare for finding a role in the outer world she is requested by her Uncle in writing to come to Gallant the family home of her mother. But there she finds her Uncle has been dead already for two years and that Matthew the sole remaining owner of the home clearly doesn’t want her here and Olivia notes there is a wall with a door that is fiercely locked. Olivia sees ghosts and starts to realise the secret of her family is going to have to be finally revealed to her.

This was an unusual reading experience for me. I really enjoy Schwab’s work but didn’t quite click with this in my usual fashion despite it sharing many of the characteristics of Schwab’s work that pulls me in. There are also some really interesting ideas being attempted. Olivia is a mute character so we have a book with a challenge of a character who does not have conversations as we are used to reading and so writing and sign language are the best forms of communication. Schwab does a great job of showing intolerance by particularly those at school never bothering to learn sign language and instead force Olivia to talk only through writing. When she finally meets characters who can understand her conversations move quicker and have far more emotional depth to them than hastily written messages. A really interesting approach to a character and one that reminds many readers of their own attitudes and privileges.

The school scenes help a lot at the start of the novel to make us understand the spiky Olivia and her unhappiness and desire to know who she is. This also puts the first glimpse of the supernatural themes in the story as we see Olivia uniquely sees ghosts often quite disfigured ghosts and that is very normal. When we reach Gallant though while there are lots of interesting moments and ideas none of them though I felt really glued the story together. We see Gallant is on a boundary with a world of the dead and there is a dark reflection of Gallant owned by a sinister powerful force who wants our world, but this is where I felt the story felt like it went a little off course for me. There are some lovely scenes created – a dance of corpses; a world of little colour and the other world has a sense of unnerving dark magic btu it really didn’t at novel length fill in this world. The magical force of death is in our world so why does it need containing? What really happened to Olivia’s parents and how did she survive. At novella length this story could have been tighter, and I’d not have so many questions but at circa 300 pages I felt it had quite a few gaps that despite enjoying it I felt I needed more answers about what happened next.

Gallant is an enjoyable ride into a magical folklore and fans of Schwab’s work will recognise the recurring themes of boundaries being crossed, atmospheric dark magic and leading characters who are not the standard template of a heroine but for me this tale didn’t quite feel complete enough to work properly. Fun but may not linger long in the memory.

✨Spoiler-free review✨

“𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒑 𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒍𝒔𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒂𝒚. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒕 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔𝒏'𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒓𝒚 𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒅, 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒓 𝒇𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅. 𝑨𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒈𝒊𝒓𝒍 𝒄𝒓𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈.”

This is my first introduction to V.E. Schwab, after hearing so much about her books I was tentative and worried she wouldn’t live up to the hype, however I’m so relieved that I loved every single minute of Gallant. It was both magical and haunting and there’s a real beauty to the way Schwab writes, in some ways it’s so understated and effortless that you feel as though everything written is simply real and not part of this incredible imagination the author clearly holds. I absolutely loved the Rorschach like images splattered throughout, they were a real feast for the eyes to break up the chapters, and they become this unique stamp to differentiate this fantasy from others (which is slowly revealed as the story progresses). It’s also so refreshing seeing an author use other means to showcase their ingenuity in which Schwab does by accompanying her words on paper with art.

Engaging, tantalising, a labyrinthine fantasy-telling with beautiful prose that will without a doubt stay with you long after you turn the last page.

STAR RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

*Thank you @netgalley for also sending me an advanced release of the e-book.

Gallant was a book that I had high hopes for, but didn’t execute well for me.

I was really interested in the idea of the book, as it was giving me gothic horror vibes, but as I got further into the book, it became more middle-grade style which isn’t something I particularly like.

I did not finish the book as it wasn’t something I was entirely enjoying, which is a huge shame as I was really hyped to be sucked into a world of eerie vibes and mysteries.

I will return to this book when I feel like I can read something that’s a lot less adult-ish than what I normally read.

This was a very highly anticipated title for me as I really loved the author's The Invisible Life of Addie Larue. As usual, the writing is impeccably atmospheric and it kept me hooked till about 30% of the book. Beyond which, however, nothing much was happening and the plot is almost non-existent. The climax felt flat and the ideas and actions were redundant. The ghouls were not spooky and there was no sense of any real danger. The one thing that I liked about this book was the mute representation.

This is a beautifully written and haunting tale about an orphaned girl finally finding her home. The plot is unfolded in a suspenseful way, although it did lag a bit in places for me. I'm quite a demanding reader so can get a little distracted if there isn't enough excitement. Overall an enjoyable read!

I wanted to wait until I had attended the authors night with V. E. SCHWAB before I wrote this review. It was my 4th experience reading her works and has only made me want to go and pick up some more.
This is not a happy tale but it is one that gives a strength to the main character who is well written and has a disability, this inclusive writing seems to have been well thought out and investigated and was confirmed at the Q&A session with the author that she had actually reached out to people with hearing impediments to gain insight and to back up her writing which I think is an important factor.

The book itself had characters that were well written and made for a heartbreaking ending. Interesting world building, the mirror dark world is not an original theme but I do enjoy it anyway.

Gallant by V. E. Schwab is a young adult spooky tale about family, finding yourself, and home. From the first page, the eerie atmosphere of the story captured my attention. V. E Schwab’s writing is engaging and weaves a beautifully spooky tale.

Gallant tells the story of sixteen-year-old Olivia Prior as she is summoned to an estate and finds the family she didn’t know she had. Olivia has no voice and communicates through sign language, drawings and writing things down. I loved how the illustrations throughout Gallant helped to tell the story. Olivia is such an interesting character; she was determined to solve the mysteries of Gallant and what happened to her parents. The feelings of grief, loneliness and fear are explored so well in this book.

Overall, If you are looking for a dark, spooky and atmospheric tale, I highly recommend reading Gallant.

Thank you to Titan Publishing and New South Books for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you so much Titan Books for the opportunity to read my most anticipated book of 2022.

V. E. Schwab did it again. Another magical book that I just couldn't stop reading.
I really liked this book, all the characters were fantastic. And the plot was just a masterpiece.
I just had one issue with this book, although it was supposed to be YA I felt that it was a little bit more middle grade. Other than that this was an amazing read.
I just can't wait for more books from V. E. Schwab.

What did I just read! Victoria Schwab is one of my favourite authors and this book proves why. It was dark, Creepy and atmospheric and I absolutely loved it. I was absorbed in Olivias story from start to end. The whole story had me hooked while we follow Olivia from being an orphan in the school for girls to finding her place as a Prior at Gallant. It felt very lyrical and full of tension and mystery and I loved the build up. Brilliant

Another spellbindingly sublime novel from one of literature's best talents. Gallant tells the story of orphan Olivia, a girl who cannot verbally communicate, and who can see the ghosts of those who are now gone. At 16 she unexpectedly discovers she has relatives and a family home, but upon arrival all is not quite right, there are secrets .. and Olivia might just hold the key to unravelling mysteries and securing the safety of loved ones. This novel is perfect in every way, Olivia is a likeable soul and her relationship with the house - which is in itself a character - is creative and clever. the illustration and chapter headings are wonderful too.

From the very first time I read a V.E. Schwab book I fell in love with her writing, and with "Gallant" my experience has not been different. I believe she has a way of creating characters that are interesting and deep, not 100% good or bad, and always appealing.

I found in "Gallant" many elements that she has used in the other stories I've read, and it feels to me as if you can identify a V.E. Schwab book just by reading a few pages, even if you don't know it's hers. Ghosts, artists, darkness (specially darkness turned into a human form), a strong female lead and a way with words that is unique are a few of the recurring alements I met here.

Gallant is a place that is almost alive with all the stories that passed inside its walls. The house itself is like one of the characters, and that's amazing. About the human beings in the story, I confess I would have loved to see more of them, and sometimes I felt that a few things could have been summed up, the ending happening maybe a little bit in a hurry. But my general opinion is that it is not only a good fantasy book, but also a good horror (altough light horror) book. The kind that you are abble to read to youngsters (but I recommend checking it first to be sure your children can bear everything in it).

I was enchanted by it, and it was amazing to follow Olivia and watch her braveness towards the world.

My huge thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for this ARC.

My Rating: 3.5
After Mexican Gothic, I think Gallant was the only house that was creepy and full of mystery. The anticipation around the house kept me on edge till the third act. Until then we have to come up with our own theories of the house and break our heads wondering what would happen if someone steps out in the night so the house can be added to the list of the characters in the book because it is the core of the story.

There were some parts that I was already familiar with. Having read a couple of Schwab's books, it didn't take me long to recognize those parts in the book.

This book was a bit dark and paranormal. I'd like to read it again for Halloween or in Fall.

Thanks to Titan Books and NetGalley for the ARC!!

“Remember this the shadows (cannot touch) are not real, the dreams (are only dreams) can never hurt you, and you will be safe as long as you stay away from Gallant.”*

Our story follows sixteen year old Olivia Prior, an orphan with no voice at a school for girls. She has no idea what to do after school - there aren’t many opportunities for a fiesty mute girl - when a letter comes from an uncle, inviting her to the Gallant house. Olivia finally has a family, a place where she belongs! Until the darkness that Gallant is surrounded by starts to reach out...

V E Schwab does it again. Wowee 🥀  I’m a huge fan of her writing, Gallant was one of my most exciting 2022 releases, and it doesn’t disappoint. The character of Olivia is so vivid, even without a voice I could see and hear her so strongly. And the setting. MAN the setting is divine. Gallant stands huge: a manor, with stunning gardens and more rooms than the inhabitants know what to do with, but with every passing chapter it get smaller, the tension closing around both the characters and reader. One of my fav literary techniques done SO well. The literary version of Luke, Leia, and Han in the garbage disposal (in the best way).

Gallant reads almost like a fairytale. A story that keeps you rapt from beginning to end, and craving more. I loved it. (4.5/5✨)

Absolutely loved this. The haunting eerie atmospheric vibes gave me chills.

Once again Schwab made me fall in love with the main character and made me cry.

This was not what I was expecting but in a good way. I cannot wait to see what comes next

Gallant was such a peculiar read that it is even difficult to find the right words to describe it.

The story is very very dark and you can almost breath the loneliness in which Olivia lives.

She can see ghosts, she cannot speak and she is an orphan. I can only imagine how difficult and painful it is to write about this and still be able to make her a great heroine. A character that is tempted to take the easiest path because she is human, but a heroine that still has the strength to do what is right because she is brave.

The Master of the House vaguely reminded me of Luc from Addie LaRue but there’s nothing of the sexual tension between the two.

The way in which it is written, with prose alternated to journal pages that sound like poetry is just amazing!

Olivia is just a girl who wants to find a family in a world in which she is an outcast, but there’s always a way to find your place in the world, even if it is one you would have never imagined.

“Come home, the letter says. Stay away, her mother warned.”
When a letter from her Uncle arrives at Merilance school for girls, summoning Olivia Prior to Gallant, she has little choice but to follow, even though her mother warned her to stay away. But on her arrival at Gallant, no one knows who sent the letter, and her uncle has been dead for years. Slowly, Olivia begins to unravel the mystery surrounding Gallant, her mother’s disappearance and the Prior family.

I enjoy VE Schwab’s writing and love a gothic setting, and in my opinion the hauntingly beautiful language was what stood out most. Victoria’s books are very visual for me and setting and events easily take shape in my mind thanks to her detailed descriptions. Gallant and its shadow twin make a magnificent setting, complete with creepy vines, secret passages, ghouls and shades.

While I didn’t identify overly much with the characters, it was still interesting to follow the journey of a non-verbal main character, to see how she formed connections with other characters. Overall, it was an enjoyable read, but it read more like a novella and the action felt short. I wonder if I would have connected more with the characters if there had been a bit more to the story.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with an eARC in exchange for a review.
3.5 stars rounded to 4.