Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil – A Haunting Saga of Hunger, Identity, and Immortality

Written by: V.E. Schwab
Published: June 10, 2025 by Tor Books 
Genre: Gothic Fantasy, Horror, Queer Historical Fiction
Pages: Approx. 544
Best for: Fans of gothic atmospheres, vampire lore, era-spanning narratives, and complex queer characters

Why this book stands out

V.E. Schwab combines lush prose with moral depth in this genre-bending novel that fuses historical fiction, horror, and feminist themes. Praised for its evocative atmosphere and daring portrayal of queer vampirism, the book has been described as “a beautiful meditation on queer identity against a supernatural backdrop”  Its sweeping timeline and emotional richness make it a standout among Schwab’s oeuvre.

Plot summary

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil follows three queer women across nearly five centuries, each turned into vampires and bound together by fate and blood.

  • 1532, Spain: Young María, full of fierce spirit and desire, is trapped in a loveless marriage until an enigmatic widow offers her freedom—at a steep cost 

  • 1827, London: Highborn Charlotte is exiled from her life of privilege after a scandal and enters a world of independence with the help—and hidden motives—of another mysterious widow

  • 2019, Boston: Alice, newly arrived at Harvard and searching for herself, awakens one morning a vampire—fangs, hunger, and trauma included. Determined to understand her transformation, she hunts both blood and answers 

Schwab weaves their timelines together—earthbound roots growing wild, connecting lives, choices, and legacies through shared soil and ancient hunger

Key summary

This novel is a rich exploration of hunger—literal and metaphorical—for freedom, power, belonging, and identity. It challenges characters to ask: What are you willing to do to escape your cage? What will you sacrifice to survive? and Can you control what you’ve become?

At its core, Bury Our Bones is a story about queer women claiming agency in eras—and a world—that would silence them. Schwab uses vampirism as a dark mirror to examine power, accountability, and the costs of immortality. There’s a brutal honesty in how even monstrous transformation doesn’t excuse betrayal or moral decay—but it also leaves space for defiant hope and self-authorship

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