Review: Gallant

Gallant by V.E. Schwab
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Wow. Just finished this one. I got to start it a little early because I received an arc from the publisher. I've been trying to process it all and decide what to do about my rating.

I enjoyed a lot of the novel. It felt so very gothic. Gray landscapes, dark imagery, it begins a little like Jane Eyre, an orphan left at a school for girls. Her only option to obey the matrons - but she can't speak and explain or express herself. All she has is a journal that her mother left her full of art and half-truths. There are cobwebs, and ghouls, and finally a mysterious letter asking her to go to Gallant, to be with her family.

When she finally arrives we see a classic gothic mansion full of secret passages, ghosts, ghouls, mysterious innkeepers, and an even more mysterious garden and gate to explore.

Olivia's story was extremely interesting and full of twists. The only think missing from this gothic tale would be the mysterious byronic hero. What I can't decide is what to think of Gallant. He is a villain, not a byronic hero or an anti-hero. Cousin Matthew is non of the above...So will this novel stand alone or will it have a sequel? I think that changes everything for me.

Final decision: Closer to a 3.5 - but I reserve my 4's and 5's for books that I can't put down. I would definitely recommend it to my YA readers. I think it is a great look at some of Schwab's more dark tales.

View all my reviews