Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil - by V E Schwab

Book Synopsis

"Unmissable... Nobody can write like V. E. Schwab" --Jodi Picoult

#1 New York Times bestseller - #1 USA Today bestseller - #1 National Indie bestseller - #1 IndieNext List, June 2025

A MOST ANTICIPATED Pick from USA Today - New York Times Book Review - US Weekly - ELLE - TIME - Betches - AutoStraddle- Katie Couric Media - Men's Health - Woman's World - Reader's Digest - Goodreads - Paste Magazine - The Nerd Daily - BookRiot - Bookbub - ScreenRant - The Portalist - Publishers Weekly - Kirkus Reviews - Library Journal

A genre-defying novel about immortality and hunger from V. E. Schwab, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.

This is a story about hunger.
1532. Santo Domingo de la Calzada.
A young girl grows up wild and wily--her beauty is only outmatched by her dreams of escape. But María knows she can only ever be a prize, or a pawn, in the games played by men. When an alluring stranger offers an alternate path, María makes a desperate choice. She vows to have no regrets.

This is a story about love.
1827. London.
A young woman lives an idyllic but cloistered life on her family's estate, until a moment of forbidden intimacy sees her shipped off to London. Charlotte's tender heart and seemingly impossible wishes are swept away by an invitation from a beautiful widow--but the price of freedom is higher than she could have imagined.

This is a story about rage.
2019. Boston.
College was supposed to be her chance to be someone new. That's why Alice moved halfway across the world, leaving her old life behind. But after an out-of-character one-night stand leaves her questioning her past, her present, and her future, Alice throws herself into the hunt for answers . . . and revenge.

This is a story about life--how it ends, and how it starts.

"Schwab has impressively woven a compelling character drama and feminist critique into a horror thriller...sumptuous descriptions of place and time, and the slow-burn melodrama between each of the women... a tale told sharply but sweetly enough it goes down as easy as that happy-hour cocktail that, surprisingly, knocks you flat." --New York Times

"Schwab sends you whirling through a dizzying kaleidoscopic adventure through centuries filled with love, loss, art and war--all the while dazzling your senses with hundreds of tiny magical moments along the way." --Naomi Novik

Review Quotes

Praise for Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil:

"Immersive... A time-sweeping, character-juggling, lesbian vampire mystery." ―The New York Times

"A sensual and haunting look at women who refuse to be bound by convention and instead take what they want." ―The Washington Post

"A mesmerizing tale of immortality... A beautiful supernatural story that grapples with
loneliness, grief, and queer identity." ―Town & Country

"Told in alternating perspectives, this is a lush, atmospheric story about love, hunger, rage and sapphic desire. Those yearning for a queer take on Nosferatu will sink their fangs into this seductive gothic horror."― People

"Schwab doing messy sexy vampires is a dream come true... It might be my favorite book of the year so far." ―Lithub

"Phenomenal. V. E. Schwab absolutely smashes it out of the park in this beautifully written, considered dark fantasy novel about grief, revenge, and trying to fill the endless hunger inside." ―Nerd Daily

"Vampire fiction the way it should be done." ―Paste

"It's bloody, lush, escapist fun -- but it's also a gorgeous meditation on female hunger."― Bustle

"Lush, Gothic, historical fiction meets fierce, queer longing. Genre defying [and] brilliant, this irresistible pick will haunt the reader through the very last page."― Esquire

Praise for The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue:

"Epic yet intimate, sweeping but not sprawling... As we live through these darkened days, I feel brighter for having added Addie to mine." ― Slate

"An achingly poignant romantic fantasy about the desperate desire to make one's mark on the world." ― Oprah.com

"The kind of book you encounter only once in a lifetime." ― Peng Shepherd

About the Author

VICTORIA "V. E." SCHWAB is the #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than twenty books. Schwab's series and standalone titles for readers of all ages have made her a major literary figure, whose notable works include the Villains series, the Shades of Magic universe, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, and Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil. When not haunting Paris streets or writing in the corner of her favorite coffee shop, she lives in Edinburgh, Scotland.