After being enchanted by The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue (my review), I couldn’t wait to discover more of V.E. Schwab’s work. And what better place to start than het newest book that has taken the book community by storm? Gallant is an unusual dark YA fantasy in typical Schwab style!

Gallant

Gallant tells the story of Olivia, a young girl living in an orphanage. One day, she gets a message from a mysterious uncle, saying he wants her to come and live with him. When arriving at his manor, Gallant, things seem a bit off as from the get-go. Not only did her late mother warn her via her journal never to return to her family estate, the house seems all but welcoming too. Not in the least due to her cousin’s attitude, who clearly doesn’t want anything to do with her. But when she discovers a mysterious wall in the garden, Olivia is immediately drawn to it and sets in motion a dark chain of events.

A dark fantasy

When I started reading Gallant, the first note I made in my reading journal was about the Dickensian atmosphere of the first chapters. The gloomy orphanage calls to mind scenes from Oliver Twist and I was afraid that this modern interpretation of the abandoned-child theme would be too depressing for me. I’m happy to report that was not at all the case. The book is clearly dark and mysterious, but even though a lot of bad things happen, it didn’t depress me at all.

Olivia is mute. At first, I was a bit puzzled about it, as I couldn’t immediately figure out whether it was merely for representation purposes (which would have been valuable as such, as there isn’t enough representation of muteness in fiction) or whether it would serve the plot as well. In the end, it turned out to be a plot device too, but it mainly contributed to the somewhat claustrophobic atmosphere of the setting. Olivia’s voice is trapped inside of her body in a similar way like the Prior family is trapped inside the world of Gallant. I quite appreciated this aspect, but it also logically led to a clear decrease in dialogues compared to other novels. I’m quite fond of dialogue-driven stories, so that was an element I struggled a bit with throughout the book.

“When people see tears, they stop listening to your hands or your words or anything else you have to say. And it doesn’t matter if the tears are angry or sad, frightened or frustrated. All they see is a girl crying.”

I think Olivia was a fascinating character. Originally, I wasn’t sure what I thought about starting a book with such a young main character. Usually, main characters’ ages reflect – to a certain extend – the age of the intended audience. However, this was not the case in this book. At no point did I feel like I was reading a book for young teenagers. Strangely enough, I also have to admit I was quite taken in with Matthew, her not-so-welcoming cousin. There was something about him that really interested me, I wouldn’t mind to get a spin-off about his experiences at Gallant.

As was the case with Addie LaRue, I adored the innovative way in which V.E. Schwab tells her stories. She combines art, journal excerpts, flashes into another part of the story, letters with an almost poetic narrative (without it becoming confusing or too philosophical). Her work is so very clever and creative, I’m always impressed by it. Once again, it leaves me hungry for more.

Nevertheless, I have to admit that while I loved the dark fantasy atmosphere and superb writing, something withheld me from truly loosing myself in the story. I cannot put my finger on it though. Maybe the lack of dialogues after all? I doubt it was the lack of romance. I’m usually a romance reader, but I didn’t miss that aspect at all in this case. I found myself skimming a bit towards the end, which is never a great sign.

Taking everything in account, I give this stand-alone novel three gemstones out of five:

Age Category: Young adult, but also suitable for an older audience

Representation:  Mute main character. Strong mental health theme.

Trigger Warnings (click here, may contain spoilers)

Warnings for (parental) death, bullying, suicidal thoughts, depression.

Do you want to discover more?

If my review inspired you to pick up the book, don’t hesitate to check it out at Goodreads or at the below online stores.

Amazon.nl: Hardcover edition

If you are into special editions, Gallant presents a nice collection opportunity. Next to the two different normal editions for the UK and the USA, there are several special editions out there. My personal favourite one is the Illumicrate edition that was included in their March 2022 box (my unboxing). It has lovely, multi-coloured stenciled edges representing the different faces of Gallant, foiling on the hardcover, and additional illustrations in the endpapers. This edition can easily be found on the secondhand market for a budget of € 30 – € 60.

Next to this, there’s the Owlcrate edition with its sprayed edges, foiling, and illustrated endpapers. It came with a signed bookplate, two art prints and a bookmark. This edition can be found for similar prices as the one above.

If you are looking for a signed edition, I would recommend the Waterstones one. The edges are also stenciled with a similar pattern as the Illumicrate edition, but they are only in red. The foiling on the hardcover is the same, but the endpaper art is different. I do prefer this dust jacket over the other one though. It seems like this edition is still available in the store for about € 21.

And, last but certainly not least, there’s another stunning edition available: the Dutch limited edition by Boekerij. It has lovely blue stenciled edges with a variation of the flower pattern of the other two books, STUNNING endpaper art, and a very nice red hardback cover. These characteristics are limited to the first print, but if you’re lucky you can still find it in some shops for € 20.

Similar to this

If you enjoyed V.E. Schwab‘s magical command of language in Gallant, I would recommend you to read her adult fantasy The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. This story about a girl who sells her soul to the devil in exchange for her freedom is dark, mysterious, and will grip you from start to finish. My review can be found here.

I will continue my discovery of her work with Vicious, part one of her Villains Series, which is described as “a masterful tale of ambition, jealousy, desire, and superpowers”. Superpowers tend not to be “my thing” but I heard one of the main characters is similar to Kaz Brekker from Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, so I HAVE to get to know him 😉

And finally, if you are into dark fantasies, I would definitely recommend Small Favors by Erin A. Craig. This mysterious tale will keep you on the edge of your seat the entire time. It’s about a girl in a small village where strange, inexplicable things start happening, seemingly fulfilling the villager’s every desire…My review of this gem can be found here!