bury my bones in the midnight soil,
plant them shallow, but water them deep,
and in my place will grow a feral rose,
Soft, red pedals, hiding sharp white teeth


This book snatched my soul, chewed it up, and spat it out in the most deliciously gothic way possible. Five stars? More like five million stars, because this sapphic vampire fever dream is everything I didn’t know I needed until it sank its fangs into me. 

It’s like if Interview with the Vampire had a lovechild with a haunted Southern graveyard and a Pinterest board titled “Toxic Lesbian Yearning.” It’s dark, it’s lush, it’s dripping with lust and rot, and I am absolutely here for it. The story follows three women—Sabine, Lottie, and Alice—whose lives (and undeaths) are tangled across centuries like roots in cursed soil. Schwab weaves their stories with this lyrical, almost hypnotic prose that makes you feel like you’re walking at midnight, heart pounding, half-expecting a ghostly hand to grab your ankle. It’s that immersive.

The toxic sapphic vibes? I didn’t know this was a trope I needed until Schwab served it up on a silver platter with a carafe of blood. It’s messy, obsessive, and gloriously unhinged, like watching two hurricanes fall in love and destroy everything in their path. It’s not just romance; it’s a full-on gothic obsession, and I was giggling and kicking my feet like a teenager reading fanfiction at 2 a.m. 

Schwab’s characters are so achingly human, even undead, that I wanted to wrap them in a blanket and also maybe run away from them. I have no favorite because I’m too busy hurting for all of them, like a mom watching her kids make terrible life choices.

The plot? It’s a masterclass in tension. Schwab doesn’t just tell a story; she builds a world that feels alive and rotting at the same time. The pacing is like a slow poison—deliberate, creeping, until you’re so hooked you can’t put it down. I stayed up until 3 a.m. reading, ignoring the fact that I had work in five hours. Worth it. The way the timelines braid together across centuries is so seamless, it’s like Schwab’s out here playing 4D chess while I’m still struggling with checkers. Sabine burns with ambition, Charlotte’s heart is soft and open, and Alice fights with unyielding grit. Their lives weave together, diving into what it means to crave—life, freedom, love—and the messy reality of living forever.

And can we talk about the atmosphere? This book is a love letter to gothic horror, with a side of snarky, sapphic chaos. It’s creepy without being jump-scare cheap, and the imagery sticks with you like mud on your boots. I caught myself daydreaming about it during a boring meeting, which is how you know it’s a great read.

My only complaint? It ended. I wanted to live in this dark, twisted world forever, sipping metaphorical wine with these toxic vampire queens. If you’re into stories that are equal parts haunting and hot, that make you feel like you’re falling in love and falling apart, this is your book. Schwab has outdone herself, and I’m already planning my rereads like a lovesick fool and placed a pre-order. Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil is a bloody, beautiful masterpiece, and I’m obsessed. Go read it, and prepare to lose your mind in the best way.