Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil

Chris 👎

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil had an intriguing premise, but the execution left me a bit underwhelmed. The pacing was slow, and many of the cutbacks and lengthy scene descriptions felt unnecessary, making the reading experience drag more than it should have. While the writing itself had moments of beauty, the story often became bogged down in detail, rather than moving forward. The ending, too, left me wanting more. It felt abrupt and unresolved, as though the book stopped just before reaching its full potential. Overall, a decent read with flashes of promise, but one I wish had been tighter and more satisfying.

thenextgoodbook.com

What’s it about?

Spanning from Europe in the early 1500s to Boston in 2019, we meet three queer women who have been “planted in the midnight soil”. Basically, we meet three different female vampires in three separate centuries. As their paths cross, the story deepens.

What did it make me think about?

Vampires- really?

Should I read it?

I didn’t realize this was a vampire book when I first picked it up. I had read “The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue” and enjoyed it. I saw this on some “best of” lists and thought I would try it. Two hundred pages in, I was kicking myself. I like V.E. Schwab’s writing style. However, I didn’t like these characters. I also found the first 300 pages relatively dull and slow. The last 200 pages picked up, but it was too late to save this one for me. Basically, this is not a book I would recommend to anyone who is not a real hardcore fantasy fan.

Quote-

“Sixty minutes to an hour.

Twenty-four hours to a day.

These are mortal measurements, for mortal lives.

But when you live forever, time is something far less constant.

When you are happy, a decade rushes by.

When you are sad, a minute crawls.

When you are lonely and afraid, time seems to lose all meaning.

Blink, and a year is gone.

Blink, and it has only been a night.

Only, it is not a life at all.

It is a prison sentence.”

Collective “meh”

I want to start by saying—I’m not someone who DNFs. That being said, this book made me realize I need to be way more selective moving forward. (Joking… but not.) I saw this floating around different spaces, and I’ve had V.E. Schwab on my radar for years now. After really enjoying ‘This Savage Song’ some time ago. I jumped on this thinking it would be a good place to start again. In hindsight, it probably wasn’t. While I did enjoy the writing and the way Schwab captured certain feelings and moments in time, the story and characters just didn’t connect for me. I found myself more irritated than invested—and oddly, more drawn to the side characters. The main plot felt like it dragged, despite the immersive writing. Still, I pushed on, hoping the ending would redeem the journey (and my time). To its credit, it did enough to gain a solid three stars, though it was touch and go through most of it. In the end, what was promised…wasn’t. What was owed, was. I’m still looking forward to picking up another Schwab read—this one just wasn’t it.