The Near Witch

this book fell a little flat for me. i listened to the audiobook and the narrator has a really unusual tone to her voice. she reads... The book... like this... and has odd emphasis on random words and it's not always clear where one sentence ends and one begins. i should've just given up and read the print book but i think the narration definitely negatively affected the story for me. her voice was great for the speaking/character voice parts.

The actual story had an interesting background, not very much seemed to happen, most of what i can remember is mc running about from place to place and her talking about her love at first sight.

i read this because on the cover it said one for fans of Neil Gaiman and i was disappointed. hopefully the rest of the author's books are more up my alley cause a few of them are on my tbr

So this is my first reading of V.E S. I found this book in my local bookstore and though it would be nice to start discovering her with her first book !

I have to say the writing is very good. I like the universe and the story of this suffocating village where fear reigns. I could perfectly see this book be a Hayao Miyazaki movie as its universe is beautiful, weird and intriguing. Sometimes you feel like all this story is a dream.

But god it is slow... I seriously think it could have been a hundred pages shorter and be a masterpiece.
I am really excited to read shades of magic soon and discover how this potential was then mastered in her next saga. Nice book but not a great one.

The Near Witch tells the story of a town on the moors. A town called Near where the inhabitants are superstitious about anything different. And that superstition caused them to make a horrible choice years ago. One that will come back to lure their children away during the night and punish them for their misguided deeds. But instead of believing in the old tales spoken of the Near Witch, they focus instead on a stranger. One who arrived in town the day their children began to disappear.

The town of Near is steeped in tradition and aside from Lexi and her late father, the townsfolk would rather keep things the same than try anything new. When Cole takes up residence with the local witch sisters, it causes quite a stir. The allure of a mysterious new boy entices Lexi to find him before her uncle and the other narrow-minded individuals of Near can.

Cole is a boy with a tragic past, one that forced him to shut himself off from most people. Readers will be drawn in as Lexi slowly breaks down his insecurities and gains his trust. While it may be a bit cliché, watching the evolution of Cole as a character was extremely satisfying. Any time a character has the chance at a better life and is forced to fight for it, I’m hooked. The way he gradually opened up to his abilities, and how they in turn allowed them to grow closer to the end goal of finding the children was wonderful.

However, there was a lot of back and forth in this story. Lexi would consistently revisit the same locations instead of readers having enough time to immerse themselves fully in each scene. Being that this was the first book Victoria Schwab wrote, I can understand the use of travel as a way to stretch the time spent solving the mystery. But where the story may have felt a bit imbalanced with the sense of time passing, the characters more than made up for it.

Despite Lexi’s father passing away prior to the beginning of the story, Victoria Schwab forms a wonderful bond between Lexi and her departed father. Many of Lexi’s actions bring back memories of her father and the townsfolk also provide subtle hints about the similarities between father and daughter. Through her father’s influence, Lexi is able to see beyond the limited view of the town and embrace new possibilities.

The Near Witch is a slower-paced read, but if you enjoy Victoria Schwab’s other novels I would suggest giving this a try. Just bear in mind when you start it, that it does read like a first novel. There will be flaws that her later works do not have, but the story is still very much enjoyable.

3,5 sterretjes

Mooi, atmosferisch verhaal.
Objectief gezien zouden de beschrijvingen van het landschap van de heide, de weersomstandigheden en het claustrofobische dorpsgevoel me echt naar binnen moeten hebben gezogen, maar om één of andere reden bleef ik doorheen gans het boek het gevoel hebben dan ik van buiten naar binnen keek. Dit is een gevoel dat ik nogal vaak heb bij Schwab's schrijfstijl: Ik heb het gevoel dat ik het fantastisch zou moeten vinden, de woorden passen en vloeien zo mooi, maar toch ontbreekt ergens een vonkje.
Toch heb ik genoten van dit heksenverhaal, ook al denk ik niet dat het me lang bij zal blijven.

DNF @ 31%. I was just very bored with the plot. I really tried to get through this one because it's not a long book, but I found myself totally uninterested in the plot, the characters, the mystery. Just all around I didn't care. I was forcing myself to pick this one up just to get further into it and that's no way to read. Thank you to my friend Bryanna for giving me the okay to DNF this one without feeling guilty

The premise was excellent, a stranger comes to near and that same night..... a child goes missing. As more children go missing over the course of the week, the town hunts for the stranger and the only thing standing in their way is Lexi. She knows he isn't to blame but can she find out who or what is taking the kids before it is too late?

It was a solid read.

I didn't really connect with Lexi. She felt a little dry. It didn't take from the story. I would have loved to know more about the Near Witch. I felt that it fell short which is why it didn't get 5 stars.

The predictable love story was tolerable as I felt it didn't consume the whole book so I over looked it. It was worth the read and I read it in one sitting.

The writing was really good, the author knows what they are doing. I will read more of her work.

If you love a solid YA Fantasy read that is easy and flows, this is the one for you.

4 stars!

Challenge: Read a popular author's first book

I can't be that objective because Victory Schwab is my second favourite author... I'll try my best to make a good review but I suggest reading Misty's because she basically says everything I think in a wonderful way.


The Near Witch is very magical and creepy at times. I love that she used the wind so much because that's one of the things that creeps me out the most.

Also, the characters were very interesting. I LOVED Cole. Victoria does it again, she's the best at creating dreamy fictional boys! He was amazing and sweet and mysterious <33
I had a few issues with Lexi, though. I can understand where she was coming from, and she IS a teenager so you can expect her to be mature and reasonable all the time.
I also enjoyed reading about the witches and all the stories surrounding them.

The downside is that I've now run out of Victoria's book to read until March when I will hopefully get A Gathering of Shadows...

I wanted to love this book, as I have loved all of Victoria's other books. But it took me a while to really get into it. It was a relatively slow read for me. Not a bad story, and I know this was her first book but it felt like her writing was still undeveloped. Of course, I'm comparing this one to the Archived and A Darker Shade of Magic. My favorite thing about this story was the imagery.

Ah, I had such high hopes for this one. The writing is incredible, Schwab was born to write. The plot just slubs down in the center and does not go anywhere until I just didn't care anymore. Better pacing and a believable romance would have helped this one.
The BEST part of the story is the village of Near-fully formed and stocked with unique characters, I truly felt I was there. I look forward to more from Schwab, I think she has the talent, I just think this is someone who will be great cutting her teeth.