In Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil, V.E. Schwab sinks fangs into our centuries-long hunger for belonging, desire, and damnation – delivering a story as unapologetically queer as it is gorgeously gothic.
From the immortal grief of Addie LaRue to the twisted magic of Shades of Magic, Schwab has built a reputation for character-rich fantasy that cuts deep. Here, she pushes boundaries again, weaving a lesbian vampire epic across three eras – three women – three lives – each hungry in her own way. This novel is a haunting blend of lust, lineage, and legacy: a sapphic vampire mystery that asks what we inherit, why we take, and how far we’ll go for freedom – and blood.
📖 Quick Overview
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil – V.E. Schwab
This is a story about hunger.
1532. Santo Domingo de la Calzada.
A young girl grows up wild and wily—her beauty is only outmatched by her dreams of escape. But María knows she can only ever be a prize, or a pawn, in the games played by men. When an alluring stranger offers an alternate path, María makes a desperate choice. She vows to have no regrets.
This is a story about love.
1827. London.
A young woman lives an idyllic but cloistered life on her family’s estate, until a moment of forbidden intimacy sees her shipped off to London. Charlotte’s tender heart and seemingly impossible wishes are swept away by an invitation from a beautiful widow—but the price of freedom is higher than she could have imagined.
This is a story about rage.
2019. Boston.
College was supposed to be her chance to be someone new. That’s why Alice moved halfway across the world, leaving her old life behind. But after an out-of-character one-night stand leaves her questioning her past, her present, and her future, Alice throws herself into the hunt for answers . . . and revenge.
This is a story about life—
how it ends, and how it starts.
📌 TL;DR
An immersive, multi-timeline sapphic vampire saga. Atmospheric, character-driven, unapologetically queer – and impossible to put down.
💥 Hook
“Some stories don’t end. They echo through centuries.”
💬 The Big Idea
What scars bind us across time – and what lengths will we go to rewrite our stories? Schwab blurs appetite and ancestry, asking whether immortality is liberation – or the cruellest curse of all.
🧠 What’s it About?
Three women, one endless legacy: their choices, their consequences, a hunger that never dies. They live, love, and fight in defiance – across time and bloodlines.
🔍 Why It’s More Than Just the Blurb
This isn’t just vampire fiction. It’s a feminist reckoning. Schwab crafts a tapestry of queer defiance. Each woman stands as both predator and prey- thirsting not just for blood, but for autonomy, identity, visibility.
🩸 Explicitly lesbian vampire: A long-overdue reclamation of queer bloodlines and power.
🧬 Multi-era storytelling: Each timeline feels vivid, distinct – and hauntingly connected.
🌕 Morally complex femmes: They’re fierce, flawed, toxic, triumphant – and absolutely alive.
🕰️ Historical depth: Rich settings from 16th-century Spain to modern Boston, brimming with period detail.
🔮 Gothic and lush: Schwab’s prose is intoxicating – moody, poetic, and deeply atmospheric.
🔍 Deep Dive
Schwab moves between eras like a medium channeling ghosts. Each section builds its own tension – María’s survivalist cunning, Charlotte’s sheltered fragility colliding with seeping dread, Alice’s urgency edged with youthful hubris. But the real magic lies in how these threads entwine. The soil – the midnight soil – is a character of its own, anchoring them. The emotional arcs feel earned: grief becomes rage, rage becomes reckoning, and reckoning becomes something dangerously beautiful.
📚 What’s Inside? (Spoiler-Free Breakdown)
María: A breakout survivor whose choices echo – her transformation as raw as her hunger.
Charlotte: A gentler echo of power, heartbreak, and manipulation in a world built to tame women.
Alice: A contemporary pulse of fury – an unstoppable force that bridges past and future.
Full Review By Jasmine
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil is a remarkable literary feat that delicately weaves together multiple narrative threads into a haunting, cohesive whole. Much like a finely stitched tapestry, each story interlocks with the others to create a vivid, immersive world where every character feels intensely real and distinct. The voices ring out with such individuality and authenticity that it’s impossible not to be drawn into their lives, their desires, and their struggles.
At the heart of this novel are the fiercely powerful women who defy easy categorisation. They are complex, layered, and unapologetically themselves – sometimes tender, sometimes ruthless, always compelling. Their stories of love, loss, ambition, and survival unfold with a raw honesty that is both heartbreaking and inspiring. The sapphic relationships that thread through the book are handled with a delicate balance of vulnerability and strength, moving beyond clichés to show queer love in its messy, beautiful entirety.
The writing itself is an absolute joy – lyrical, evocative, and perfectly paced. It never sacrifices emotional depth for style but instead marries the two effortlessly. There’s a rhythm to the prose that makes the reading experience feel like a slow, intoxicating descent into a dark yet strangely hopeful world. Moments of eerie gothic atmosphere blend with flashes of sharp wit and warmth, creating a tonal richness that stays with you long after you close the book.
And then, of course, there are the toxic lesbian vampires – a wildly inventive and refreshingly bold element that adds edge, tension, and a subversive twist to the story. It’s a clever metaphorical playground for exploring themes of power, desire, identity, and the sometimes dangerous allure of passion. These characters aren’t mere monsters; they’re vividly human in their flaws, their contradictions, and their hunger.
In short, Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil is an extraordinary read – a deeply enjoyable, richly layered, and beautifully crafted novel that redefines what a vampire story can be. It’s dark, it’s spicy, it’s full of heart, and frankly, with toxic lesbian vampires at its core, what’s not to love?
🎭 Mood & Matchmaker
Think Interview with the Vampire meets The Gilda Stories – but with a distinctly toxic, sapphic twist.
🌈 Vibes Check
What kind of vibe are you in for? Let’s break it down:
✍️ Writing Style: Lush, character-driven, gothic-poetic
😨 Tension Level: Smoldering, layered, emotionally fierce
🏳️🌈 Queer Rep: Central, nuanced, unapologetic lesbian narratives
🧛 Horror Elements: Atmospheric, subtle, morally haunting
🌈 Emotional Range: Rage, grief, desire, liberation
🔄 Mood Matches
If you liked…
- 📘 The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue – for poetic exploration of immortality
- 📘 The Gilda Stories – for multi-era queer vampire lineage
- 📘 Interview with the Vampire – for morally messy, seductive femme vampires
…then this one’s for you.
For more queer stories, check out our LGBTQ+ Books collection!
🧃 Emotional Map
😨 Atmospheric dread – 7/10
💔 Emotional impact – 9/10
🌈 Queer intensity – 10/10
🩸 Slaying power – 10/10
🎯 For the Right Reader
If you crave:
- Prose that drips atmosphere and emotion
- Queer vampire fiction with teeth
- Female-driven, morally complex gothic fantasy
- Richly layered timeline storytelling
📦 Who Will Love This?
- Lovers of gothic horror & queer fantasy
- Fans of unapologetically flawed, powerful women
- Readers seeking sapphic narratives
- Anyone ready to be haunted
🧭 Where I Found It
When I saw a TikTok recommending a book that features toxic lesbian vampires with an Interview with the Vampire vibe, I knew this absolutely had to be my next read!
💡 Extra Curiosities
Got some quick questions about Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil? Here are a few things readers often wonder about the book:
Is Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil about vampires?
Yes. The novel centres on three generations of lesbian vampires across different time periods. It’s a vampire story at its core – exploring immortality, transformation, hunger, and legacy – with a fresh, emotionally rich take on the mythology.
What is the book Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil about?
It’s a multi-generational, gothic horror novel following three queer women – María in 1532 Spain, Charlotte in 1827 London, and Alice in 2019 Boston – whose lives are bound together by blood, desire, and the dark legacy of vampirism. It’s about survival, transformation, grief, and reclaiming power across centuries. Think: a literary, sapphic vampire saga with teeth.
Is Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil sapphic?
Yes. Very much so. All three main characters are lesbians, and their queerness is central to the plot – not just a side note. The story is deeply rooted in queer identity, history, desire, and resistance. It’s unapologetically sapphic.
Is Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil spicy?
Mildly. There are sensual and intimate scenes, but they’re more emotionally intense and atmospheric than explicit. The book leans toward gothic sensuality and emotional intimacy rather than graphic detail. So: simmering, not smutty.
👋 Final Thoughts
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil isn’t just a gothic vampire tale – it’s Schwab’s reckoning. It’s a howl across centuries, a love letter to queer rage, grief, and survival. It’s literary horror that demands your attention and rewards it with something deeper – something that claws its way into your heart. This is queer vampire fiction with bite – and bite that lingers.