Recent Reads: Gallant by Victoria Schwab

Gallant by Victoria Schwab 
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Publication Date:  March 1, 2022

 

Format: Audiobook
Source: Pre-Ordered on Audible.

Rating:


Goodreads Synopsis: 

Everything casts a shadow. Even the world we live in. And as with every shadow, there is a place where it must touch. A seam, where the shadow meets its source.

Olivia Prior has grown up in Merilance School for girls, and all she has of her past is her mother’s journal—which seems to unravel into madness. Then, a letter invites Olivia to come home—to Gallant. Yet when Olivia arrives, no one is expecting her. But Olivia is not about to leave the first place that feels like home, it doesn’t matter if her cousin Matthew is hostile or if she sees half-formed ghouls haunting the hallways.

Olivia knows that Gallant is hiding secrets, and she is determined to uncover them. When she crosses a ruined wall at just the right moment, Olivia finds herself in a place that is Gallant—but not. The manor is crumbling, the ghouls are solid, and a mysterious figure rules over all. Now Olivia sees what has unraveled generations of her family, and where her father may have come from.

Olivia has always wanted to belong somewhere, but will she take her place as a Prior, protecting our world against the Master of the House? Or will she take her place beside him? 

Review: 

I don't pre-order a lot of books, I am a bad book person in that way. Most of the time I forget when things are coming out and it wasn't until very recently that I had the income to buy so many books. BUT, when I saw this book in an anticipated reads list, I jumped at the chance to use one of my yearly Audible credits to pre-order it. I started listening to it very soon after it came out and while I know that the hard-copy has illustrations, the reader was wonderful and the audiobook experience was great! 

This book follows an orphan named Olivia, she is mute, and she can see ghouls. The only information about her family comes from her mother's journal that seems to spiral into maddness as it progresses and now she has been given the opportunity to leave the orphanage and meet what is left of her extended family. This outcome isn't all sunshine and rainbows though, when she arrives, her cousin doesn't want her there, there are still ghouls, and there is a mysterious door in a garden wall. 

As she comes to learn more about her mother and her family, she is thrown into a world of good versus evil, and life and death and a creepy parallel plane of existance.

I really liked Olivia, she is stubborn, young, but curious and determined. She is so strong-willed that I really loved her style and how she held herself. She doesn't take anyones crap and she is already strong and can fend for herself given her background. The other characters weren't as well fleshed out but her cousin acts the way he does for good reason, but I wanted to learn more about the overall family and their time at Gallant. 

The story is creepy and a little horror focused, but in a whimsical middle-grade/ YA cross-over kinda way. I really enjoyed this book so much it was entertaining, I was on the edge of my seat and couldn't put it down after the half way point. Before that there was very much a slow-build. I would love to see this setting appear again and learn more about the characters; however, this was a wonderful way to showcase them and I really enjoyed it.