Gallant

[alaterdate]

Gallant is V.E. Schwab's latest novel. I don't remember which moniker is supposed to be for her YA vs. Adult works and at this point does it even matter? *looks forlornly out the window*

Wasn't Addie LaRue supposed to be "adult"? *laughs* Anyway.

Gallant was a fun read! I read it in a single sitting and it's been a while since I've chomped a 300 page book in one bite. It's immediately apparent that she was inspired for this by Crimson Peak, but eh the plot point she steals is minor.

Olivia Prior was left on the doorstep of a girl's home at the age of two, with only her mother's journal in her possession. She pored over the entries since she learned to read and memorized every word of her mother's apparent descent into madness. Nothing in there shed any light on where she came from (but perhaps does explain why she can see ghosts). Even her mother's parting words to her via a letter in the back of the journal, "You'll be safe, as long as you stay away from Gallant" are cryptic. But we the audience who have watched Crimson Peak know what this means.

I'm a fan of Schwab's writing because I love her descriptions and this book piles up a heaping helping that I enjoyed. (Why do I keep describing books in terms of food, this isn't the first or even second time.) Olivia is an artist and it gives Schwab room to describe and note things that might otherwise bore us. I liked Olivia, she gave me some Delilah (Shades of Magic) vibes and she's competent and aggressive without apology. One has to like her to enjoy this book because it's character driven. The plot is simple and a mite silly, but it still held dire moments for Olivia, so it's good.
The ending, ohoho, I loved it. On some level I didn't expect what happened to happen, but thinking back I should have known (because I watched Crimson Peak).

NOW. This book released in February and I heard no controversy around it, but hey maybe I missed it I avoid "book twitter" but I do watch a little of "booktube". Oh, I hoped Schwab was doing what I thought she was doing, I would have rooted for her so hard. Alas, no, "she's a coward" I thought bitterly. Champagne bottle, never popped.

Not gonna allude anymore. I WANTED OLIVIA TO END UP WITH HER COUSIN MATTHEW. Bruh. There was sibling incest in Crimson Peak and the way Olivia described Matthew felt SO "YA love interest". A lot of moments with him reminded me of other YA books I read recently. But Schwab didn't commit. I really thought smh. I don't really blame her though, she already got dumped on for Addie LaRue when it came out. But that just makes me think that this ship was supposed to be, but she backed out. I'll never know *squints*.

Transition word.

Romance isn't Scwhab's strong suit. Addie LaRue was awfulllll. I didn't care for the couples in Shades of Magic either (Deliliah is way too cool for Kell and I didn't like Rhy & Alucard at all). So I find it pretty funny that I was rooting for this relationship to happen. It's partly because I wanted to see if she would give a big "fuck you" to the weird-ass performative puritan dreck that mobs around online. The state of publishing and book marketing is laughable at this point with all these authors fighting with teenagers on twitter.
At the same time though, it was refreshing to read a YA (it's YA, and I hate using that term, but you know what I mean when I use it as shorthand) story without the broody, ridiculous romance.

But Gallant was surprisingly fun and I made more notes than I thought I would. Definitely a step up from whatever the hell Addie LaRue was (can u tell that I did not like that book at all?). I have hope again for whatever Schwab decides to write next :^)