Author: V.E. Schwab

A ghostwriting challenge with a lucrative reward, a windswept and isolated island estate, and seven authors full of writing insecurities and personal baggage. A book revolving around a potential collab to finish a famed late author’s last serial entry, the Ending Writes Itself is itself a collaborative novel by veteran fantasy author V.E. Schwab and scriptwriter Cat Clarke (yes, pun intended). Pitched as a mystery thriller, this story also doubles as a literary/contemporary fiction book filled with strong commentary and discussions about the publishing industry’s flaws and authors’ struggles. As a study on character writing, this novel gets top marks and is conceptually brilliant. But as a mystery thriller for casual readers, the ending perhaps wrote itself too much with some notable narrative flaws and questionable pacing. There are quite a lot of books out there about ghostwriting in the publishing industry and ghostwriting job vetting, but has it ever been crossed with a free‑for‑all challenge turned survival story? The Ending Writes Itself is a book that blends familiar mystery‑thriller beats and connects them to the highs and lows of publishing; more often the lows. Easily the most impressive aspect of this book is its strong commentary on the publishing…

Lyrical, reflective, poetically beautiful, not to mention a proudly sapphic and historical take on vampires, Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil is a slow and thoughtful literary fiction and historical novel wearing an exquisite paranormal fantasy gown. Very similar in tone and approach to The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, this novel is everything one would expect from V.E. Schwab. Spanning over five hundred years and featuring FMC’s of various backgrounds and stories, Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil is a sprawling and meandering narrative that won’t be for everyone, but is sure to please Schwab fans and classy readers. The best way I can describe Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil is vibrant women growing from the midnight soil, restricted by a society dominated by men and the roles they are slotted into. The novel covers the life stories of three women in three different centuries and how obstacles and circumstances in their lives led them to a future of being immortal. The recollection of their lives is unveiled in chronological order, starting with Maria in 16th century Spain, Charlotte in 19th Century Britain, and finally Alice in modern day Boston. Coming off Schwab’s most recent…

This one of those rare books that made me think “how does someone come up with this?” The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is a difficult book to describe or categorize due to how many different elements and themes it incorporates, but one thing that is easy to summarize is how ambitious and beautiful V. E. Schwab’s writing is. And by that I don’t mean flowery lyrical language or awe inspiring visuals (which the book does feature at times), but by its poignant pondering and wistfully quiet tone coupled with incredible portrayals of emotions. This is all on top of a wildly creative premise that takes the common plot of an immortal person and devil deal and runs in a completely new direction. I will attempt to review just why I found this book to be brilliant in execution shortly (i personally was in awe of the book despite not necessarily being emotionally attached to it like many other readers were), but know that this is easily one of the most impressive and critically strong books I’ve read since getting back into reading. I initially had mild reservations about the premise on paper considering it vaguely sounded like some other…