Reviews with content warning for Blood - Gallant

Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Gallant by V.E. Schwab

157 reviews

taffysnail's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Definitely an interesting read to explore deeper but nothing that'll change the way you think or something you'll remember for years to come. I do like the overall concept but I feel like it could've been executed better. Also, if you're like me and you're irked by grammatical errors this might not be the book for you.

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lisa_m's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

2.75

I liked a lot of things about this book but I feel like there isn't a lot of story to it, mostly just vibes and backstory.

I really liked reading about a mute main character and about how she is communicating with other people.
I liked Olivia as a character and her thoughts and storys where really interesting to read about.

But I constantly felt like I was stuck in the build-up phase of the book. The book is quite short and that also means that the main story is underdeveloped. All the characters besides Olivia are not really flushed out that well and even the main story of the wall and the not-Gallant felt under explained.

The ending was the biggest let-down for me.

It is not really an ending but just exactly the same as where we started. The big conflict of the book is not solved. The emotional conflict of her wanting a family does not have a conclusion either because the other characters don't have real personalities. It's just "you choose your family" but it glosses over the fact that she not only looses the last living family she has, the last piece connecting her to her mother (the diary) and does not get many real answers about her father & mother either.

Realistically she just took over Matthews place and is now probably going to die soon. What also bothered me was that the main "adventure" / rescue Mission was completely useless. Honestly the Priors would have been so much better off if Olivia hadn't come. Matthew would still be alive, the Master would be Locked away and nobody would have hope that then gets shattered. They truly do not gain anything from her being there which is sad when you think about it.

It was really beautifully written though. I enjoyed the spooky vibes and what we got from the worldbuilding was interesting too.
I just don't like how the story went and it feels unfinished.

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hal00alex's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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addieisreading's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

I think V. E Schwab has this habit of making slow-paced books that hold really deep thoughts and messages to the reader so many either hate it or love it.
I'm glad to say I'm with the second group.

Gallant, at first, seems to be the type of book about a girl that's “not like the other girls”. She doesn't care about appearances, she doesn't care about getting the boys' attention but, most of all, she can see ghouls—spirits of the dead. However, as the story develops, and we get to see more of Olivia and the (few) characters surrounding her, it gets more interesting and even relate a little.

(For example, when she seemed to criticise thee girls at the beginning for wanting to be wanted—as she said—later on we see her finally crying, letting go of the strong-girl facade she held for so long because she have no hopes of feeling wanted anywhere. That kind of mirrors the despair of the girls at Merilance since none of them had families and Olivia, for once, hoped she would have one. She thought on "love" and "want" in romantic ways but once she noted she herself wanted that—although not romantically, but fraternally—she fell apart)

The title is Gallant but the focus of the book, in my humble opinion, seems to be the family, their loss, their hopes, and the way their love is strong enough to beat Death itself.

I also felt there was a little of talking about parenthood—while Grace's was absent and made Olivia feel outraged for being left alone, it was also understandable since she was putting the safety of her daughter in first place, giving up on her own life to save her baby. Meanwhile, Death (yes, I see him as a father figure too) is a bad representation of parenthood. He didn't like that his First Shadow (in my point of view, his first son) started to want his own life. The parallels between human kids and the Shadows start by Death saying that “the more they live, the more independent they get”, as if it's a bad thing. Not to mention Arthur, Matthew's father, who was barely mentioned, but you can see through his son that was an inspiration to most of the things she did and said. His rebellious self lived through him.

The only reasons I didn't give it 5 starts was:

The fact that it took around 160 pages for it to start getting some pace and the plot starting to move somewhere;
Repeated sentences or phrases (like, "I fall down and I feel a sharp pain running through my veins" or "palm of my hands burning"). It feels like they didn't read the book before publishing and just left a lot of repeated terms again and again.
Characters seem quite... off??? The story seems to know where it is going, but the characters don't (Like Thomas. We waited for Thomas and then what?) But I appreciated the storytelling, so I'll give it that.

If that book ever makes it to Hollywood, I want it to be directed by Guillermo Del Toro, not only for his experience with silent characters (Shape of Water) but he made one of my favourite spooky season movies of all times, Crimson Peak, that also bears the name of a place as a title while, in fact, talks about the family in it. Their loss. Their fears. Their mistakes. The secrets they hide. The things unsaid that scream louder than the ones they actually do.
And the ghosts waiting for us to watch how they died in there.

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doodeedoda's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.5

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books4em's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I’m so excited to read more from V.E. Schwab! I greatly enjoyed Gallant and the quick progression of the story. That being said, I wish it had been longer and there had been more drawing-out-the-story. I’d also love a part 2! Having a physical manifestation of Death itself was quite an interesting topic in the book and I appreciated how it changed throughout the story. The MC’s story was tragic but she was powerful in her history. I greatly wish she had been able to recover the green journal though, that was heartbreaking. Loved it!

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boydgirl's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad fast-paced

4.0

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bookedbymadeline's review against another edition

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dark mysterious slow-paced

4.0

The book was a lot slower for my taste, especially when it comes to fantasy novels. I had a difficult time getting into it, especially in the beginning-I switched to audio every once in awhile. Luckily it picked up more in the second half, and I didn’t want to put it down after that. It’s definitely a slow burn fantasy horror/mystery, that’s more character driven!

Beautiful descriptions and enjoyed Schwab’s writing style. I loved the concept and the creepy/gothic vibes; it’s a perfect fantasy novel for October! 💀

I felt like we didn’t get to know the characters super well, like I really wanted more about Matthew and Olivia’s parents. The climax felt so rushed especially with how quickly it was solved. I wanted more time with the characters and the conflict resolution! Despite its short length though, the world building was amazing. I felt like I was there with Olivia and was especially grabbed in the second half!

The ending was well done. Even though the climax was rushed, it does still wrap things up nicely. But it also left it slightly open in a way to imagine what the future of Gallant could hold!

Overall I’d recommend it if you’re looking for a creepy but not scary autumn read; whether you’re a big fantasy reader or not (like me)!

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leonormsousa's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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caseylovett's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.25

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