Genre: Literary Fiction

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…

I’ve read a lot of great and not so great book synopses, but the opening line of Sarah Winman’s Tin Man describes the novel the best: “This is almost a love story. But it’s not as simple as that.” When interpreted at face value, Tin Man‘s story is just that, an emotional story of almost love and the complex relationship between Ellis and Michael. But the theme of love goes far beyond simple romantic love, and that is where this novel incredibly well-executed yet quiet reflections are their strongest. Love for a treasured friend, love for a family member (despite not being blood related), love as caregiver, love as safe haven, or as simple as comforting company. Bittersweet, moving and poignant matched with a gorgeously beautiful prose, Sarah Winman’s Tin Man is a shorter yet wonderful read that I also loved and finished in one day. I honestly don’t have much to say about Tin Man apart from how much I loved it and found it exceptional, but I will try anyway. It’s difficult to review or write about this story as it’s quite meandering in its approach. Divided into two sections, one devoted to Ellis and the other Michael,…

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…

I knew full well going into it that Ocean Vuong’s On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous was not going to play to my preferred tastes and interests at all, but I still wanted to give it a try anyway to expand my reading experiences. Unfortunately my initial impression was right. Despite how much I wanted to like the novel for its earnest, ambitious aspirations and to connect with the powerful content and memories, this was a complete stylistic miss for me. On Earth there were briefly moments that were impactful where I thought I would experience what so many others have loved in Ocean Vuong’s debut novel, but the presentation constantly disappointed me and ruined each moving moment rather than enhancing it. Ordinarily I would and should’ve DNF’d this, but I stuck it out with hopes that it would get better since I was recommended this from a friend; it did slightly to an extent. Divided into three parts loosely based around Little Dog’s childhood, adolescence, and young adult/reflective years, I found the 3rd part to be the most impactful and moving. Focusing on themes of death, mortality, addiction, and familial caregiving, these themes were ones that I could understand and…

Full disclosure, I decided to read The Glass Hotel purely because I had purchased a copy of the Sea of Tranquility not realizing there’s a bit of overlap and a cameo appearance by the character of Mirella who has a supporting role in The Glass Hotel and a main arc in Tranquility (they’re both standalone but I wanted to read them in order regardless). I had little expectation based on the vague and convoluted synopsis for the Glass Hotel, but perhaps having no expectations enhanced the reading experience as I was blow away by the back half and ending of this book. This was an absolute page-turner for me from the half-way mark but not in a traditional sense or one that most readers will agree with. It’s difficult to describe and summarize, but the gist of The Glass Hotel involved the reveal and collapse of a large-scale Ponzi scheme involving investments and the impact it has on a giant cast of characters (money and wealth is a constant theme throughout but that’s not the only fallout involved). Reading the Glass Hotel feels like watching Mandel play a game of chess with herself. The novel includes no less than at…