Gallant

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The audiobook narration was also pretty good, and this would be a great starting point if you are new to audiobooks. Gallant left me feeling unsatisfied and indifferent. This book somehow managed to affect me in absolutely no noticeable way. I’m surprised by how detached I felt while reading this. In a time of typewriters and steam engines, Iris Winnow awaits word from her older brother, who has enlisted on the side of Enva the Skyward goddess. Alcohol abuse led to her mother’s losing her job, and Iris has dropped out of school and found work utilizing her writing skills at the Oath Gazette. Hiding the stress of her home issues behind a brave face, Iris competes for valuable assignments that may one day earn her the coveted columnist position. Her rival for the job is handsome and wealthy Roman Kitt, whose prose entrances her so much she avoids reading his articles. At home, she writes cathartic letters to her brother, never posting them but instead placing them in her wardrobe, where they vanish overnight. One day Iris receives a reply, which, along with other events, pushes her to make dramatic life decisions. Magic plays a quiet role in this story, and readers may for a time forget there is anything supernatural going on. This is more of a wartime tale of broken families, inspired youths, and higher powers using people as pawns. It flirts with clichéd tropes but also takes some startling turns. Main characters are assumed White; same-sex marriages and gender equality at the warfront appear to be the norm in this world.

Everything seems so arbitrary and disconnected. There are rules about the Priors, rules about the wall (which is a strangely short wall, by the way—I’m still not sure what the purpose of a door is if you can just walk around the wall)... I don’t know why it has to be this way. I don’t know how the Prior ancestors fought what’s beyond the wall. It seems cheap never to give explicit reasons for why things are the way they are. There's nothing wrong with characters like that! I love reading about them! But if they are the only characters that appear in Schwab's work, its a bit disheartening, especially because the 'traditionally feminine' characters are always painted in a bad light, either as the 'bullies' or the 'annoying girls obsessed with make-up and dresses'.

I really don't know what the point was of the plot. The story itself was not special or something I will remember. Not a lot happens in this book. Overall, Gallant was an enchanting fantasy read that would appeal to adults as well as YA readers. The elegant writing is enough to capture your senses. I wanted to feel connected to the characters, be immersed in their storylines, but I just felt a whole load of nothing towards them. I was so unaffected. At one point, I almost feel asleep while reading the book.

The only thing Olivia is interested in is that she can see the dead who linger after life, half-formed ghouls of vague description. But not even her ability to see the long gone is enough to provide meaning. That comes in the form of a letter from a long-lost uncle, inviting Olivia to come to their family home known as Gallant. It is here that the novel shifts into gear, as Olivia is whisked away to an old, sprawling estate with a surly, older cousin, a legacy she barely understands, and a suspicious stone wall hiding an iron gate, the other side of which cannot be seen. Be honest, how many Victoria Schwab books do those last few lines remind you of? A lot of great authors have a distinct style, something that makes their books identifiable without having to name them, and clearly she falls into that category. Schwab has been a favorite of mine over the past year and after relentless begging I got a chance to read a friend’s advance copy. If there’s one thing I can expect from one of her books, it’s to be swept away to a world just as magical as it is vicious.

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This novel progressed swiftly enough to retain my attention, albeit a bit slow. It was conveyed in a suspenseful manner, and the delicate tension wouldn't deter you from continuing as that's what made Gallant so captivating. The plot was straightforward, but it can be seen that Schwab took a long span and diligence to develop the world.

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. Gallant doesn't have a rich plot, but it does have well-developed characters. Oliva Prior, a non-verbal teen is trapped and abandoned in an orphanage after the death of her mother. She has no one, or that is what she has been told. When she receives a peculiar letter from a long lost relative telling her to come to live with them, Olivia is perplexed but also relieved. Finally, she gets to have a family, someone who will love her.I also have a bias against books where the main female characters have no meaningful relationship with other girls her age. And in fact, they are shown to be jealous, petty, and mean towards her even if she’d done ‘nothing wrong’. Like, can we put a stop to this girls-hating-girls trend in YA? Thank you. Nothing hurts more than having one of your most anticipated reads by your favourite author be a disappointment. This is probably a just me thing, so to anyone reading this don't let my review deter you from reading this! i have many super unpopular opinions sooo Even the ghouls didn’t have much of a purpose. They just… drifted around and occasionally acted protective of Olivia. I kept waiting for a twist that would tie everything together, but there was nothing. What you see in the synopsis is it. Gallant doesn’t feel complete. My original opinions of each character never changed because nothing happened that would make them change. It was so unsatisfying. All of Schwab's plots are similar, centered around death, and all of them have the exact same kind of female protagonist; one who is 'unique', 'special', and 'not like other girls'. Its annoying how the character archetypes are so similar; Lila Bard, Kate Harker, Sydney, Serena and Addie, to name a few. I already talked about the characters, but apart from the kind of cliché MC Olivia, we have 3 other characters- all of whose names I have forgotten and all of whom had no personality.