Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab follows the lives of three women over the span of centuries. Our story starts in Spain 1532 with Maria. Maria is a wild, free spirit who is forced into an arranged marriage with an older Viscount. She is miserable. Trapped in a house, often alone, and used by her husband. She finds an escape with a mysterious woman who offers her a new life.
Next we have Charlotte in England 1827. After being caught kissing her female best friend in the gardens, she is sent to London to live with her aunt and be prepared to be presented at the Season (where young women are presented and selected by men for marriage). She is miserable. One night she meets a beautiful young widow and they quickly become friends…and then some. The widow offers Charlotte an escape and new lease on life.
Finally, we have Alice in 2019. Having grown up in Scotland, she is attending Harvard for a fresh start in the States. She’s a bit of a loner, quiet and shy. When her suite mates force her to go to a party, she meets a beautiful young woman and has an uncharacteristic one night stand. When she awakens the next morning, the woman is gone, and Alice is left changed forever. She goes on the hunt to find the woman and get answers.
Clocking in at over 500 pages, this book has some heft to it, but it reads quickly as you won’t want to put it down. Sections alternate between each woman’s point of view, so you find yourself traveling through time and countries. It’s no spoiler to say that this is a story about vampires, and there are definitely some interesting takes on vampiric lore. I also enjoyed that parts were set in Cambridge/Boston. It was fun to recognize locations.
