Gallant by V.E. Schwab

"An interesting stand alone by Schwab that follows Olivia Prior, an orphan girl whose only link to her past is her mother's journal. On the very last page is a letter to Olivia, expressly telling her to stay away from Gallant. And of course, that's the one place where Olivia ends up. This was an interesting story about family, courage, love and how everything has a balance."

3 Stars

Pros: The idea of a shadow world is an interesting one/Hannah & Edgar 💖/The ending was good but, it hit hard.

Cons: I do wish we'd gotten to see more of Olivia's parents and the history of the Priors but, I guess that's part of the mystery, the not knowing.

Full Review

Olivia Prior has nothing. No friends, no family, no place to call her own. She's lived her entire life in Merilance, an orphanage for independent girls. The girls are cruel, the matrons strict but Olivia just keeps to herself. She's non-verbal and can't communicate with the others, so she's very much alone. But the one thing that brings her comfort is her only possession, a journal that belonged to her mother. She's memorized every page and passage. They're vague but she gets the general idea that most of the entries are directed towards her Father. It starts out as a love story but soon turns into a tragedy.

Her father passes away shortly before Olivia is born and the entries in the journal grow darker, more despondent and sinister. Olivia doesn't like to linger on the last entries until at the very end, there is a letter to Olivia, explaining that the dreams cannot hurt her, that the shadows are not real and that she'll be safe, as long as she stays away from Gallant.

Of course, she's soon called to the Head Matron's office and given a letter. It's from an Uncle she never knew she had, Arthur Prior, and the letter is calling her home, to the only place she's not supposed to go, Gallant. But, Olivia's stuck, so she takes the letter and is brought to the sprawling estate of Gallant and there she meets Edgar and Hannah and her cousin, Matthew.

No one quite knows how Olivia got the letter and it's obvious that Matthew doesn't want her anywhere near the house. Of course, things never quite work out the way we planned and since Olivia is quite a headstrong girl, she decides to try and find out what the big mystery is about the house and the garden wall that Matthew meticulously maintains.

Sometimes though, ignorance is bliss.

This was an interesting novel. It wasn't my favorite of Schwab's but it was entertaining, for what it was. I'd give it a solid 3 stars because I do enjoy the way Schwab writes but at the same time, the shadow world, the Master, all of it was a little obscure but Schwab did her best and managed to end the novel well.

Comments

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick

“Rick Deckard is a Bounty Hunter who's on the trail of six "Andys" (Androids) who have come to Earth illegally. His job is to track them down and "retire" them. Something he found easy to do until he met her, Rachael Rosen. The Android that does the impossible, passes the "Voight-Kampff" test. The story quickly devolves into a slow, drawn out and frankly boring mystery that was putting me to sleep by the end." ⭐⭐ Pros: I was more interested in comparing it to the film, "Bladerunner."/At first I kind of liked the drab, dreary atmostphere but it soon became soporific. Cons: I had no real idea what was going on with Mercerism/The end there had me blinking in bewilderment, like with Herbert's 29th Dune Book/There was a lot of idle chit-chat while they were in murderous/intense situations, it just seemed odd. Full Review: Rick Deckard, a Bounty Hunter, contracted with the San Francisco Police Department hunts down and retires rogue ...

Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury

"Obviously targeted to writers but honestly, anyone could benefit from Bradbury's practical yet poetic advice, this was a collection of esasys by Bradbury about his writing process and reflections on some of his greatest works." ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Pros: Bradbury, duh, though I'm biased, to me, the man's prose is pure poetry, every word beautiful/Since writing is not my career, it was an interesting way to view Bradbury's life. Writing was his job and he was the only income. If he did not produce material, he would not get paid. It help put things into perspective. Cons: The man can go on for a bit 😂/Bradbury's insane work ethic and endless endurance to just produce story after story seems insane and overwhelming but then again, this was his livelihood, so I'm sure it was insane and overwhelming. If he didn't write and get paid, they'd starve, so, it was a life or death situation. Full Review: This was essentially a collection of essays written by Bra...

The Glutton by A. K. Blakemore

"Though dark, disturbing and at times, truly disgusting, Blakemore has created an unforgettable character in Tarare and his sad, sordid tale. This is a book that will stay with me for a long time for many different reasons and to me, that's a sign of a great read." ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐ Pros: Tarare wasn't a monster, it just seemed that the world was against him/I liked Lozeau and his strange band of misfits/Dr. Dupuis seemed like a genuinely good person, or at least, he had his moments. Cons: Some of the timeline/people of the French Revolution were just white noise to me/Courville was a despicable man. Full Review: The Bottomless man, the Glutton of Lyon, Tarare the Terrible. The man who has many titles but who's name is simply, Tarare, is dying in a hospital in Versailles. Citizen Doctor Tissier has written to his friend, Dupuis, in hopes that he'll be able to cure this mysterious illness that plagues Tarare. For now though, he lays, chained to his bed and waits for...

All the Books.

Search This Blog