Reviews with content warning for Violence - The Near Witch

I wish she would've mentioned how long it actually took for them to get from the village to the grove of trees out on the moor. Once it was a half-day trek, then she ran all the way there and back.

It was also frustrating that they kept making it all the way out there, only to turn and return to the village before finding anything.

While children are being kidnapped it seems as if there would be a bit more of a rush than trying to fix the problem on three separate days.

Why not just hide from the men that followed them and then continue their search instead of trekking all the way back to Near to just start completely over the next day?

Also, as a tracker who should be fairly adept at listening, she sure did get followed a lot. And the men left to watch her and keep her from sneaking out of the house really just did not learn.

•

The first half of the book detailed only a day or two of Lexi digging into the mystery, while the second half of the book covers multiple days of action, seeming to flit from day to day a lot faster.

It felt like it should've gone in the opposite direction.

In the final scene, Lexi runs all the way from the clearing to Near with the basket of bones, only to not get there in time and for the Near Witch to come alive as she does at night.

Cole and Otto then run out from the stone wall (which is in the opposite direction of where she left them), seemingly having beat her there or caught up to her, despite the fact that they supposedly had a whole hashing-out of their issues (which couldn't have been quick), and the fact that Lexi ran the whole way back.

Then after beating Lexi up for a minute, the Near Witch sees her old garden and just kind of floats into the grave the sisters had conjured there and went back to being dead.

It felt a little lacking to me, like after all the build-up, the ending should have been a little more drawn out.

•

Character-wise I loved Lexi, her parents, the sisters, Cole, and Wren.

Mrs. Thatcher had some good moments and provided good insight into the mindset of the village.

Master Matthew seemed to be alright but then told the other council members where Lexi and Cole were going and what they were doing, despite saying that he believed Lexi was correct and the Near Witch was to blame.

Otto seemed like deep down he was a decent person, but he was a pushover and should never have been granted the title of Protector, because he honestly sucked at it. He was very well-written, though.

Bo was a truly awful human.

I'm curious to know what happened to him, as it's never mentioned.

The character that is still stuck in my mind though? Tyler.

Sexist, misogynistic, piece-of-dirt pig.

He was not worth any redemption and deserved the same as Bo.

He thought he deserved Lexi and completely ignored her protests and requests.

•

Besides the abrupt ending to the story, I thoroughly enjoyed The Near Witch, and was very enthralled by the story while reading it.

Content Warnings

gardens_and_dragons's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I really loved the characters in the new year which, I only really gave it a three though, because it is strange and subtle, more of an atmospheric read than a complete story for me. Still worth a read if you like fairytale like stories.

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tales_of_1001_books's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Content Warnings

eviethebookworm's review against another edition

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dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I don’t think Victoria could write something that I won’t enjoy! The Near Witch is eerie and whimsical, and has the essence of folktale. The characters are rich with history. The ending is harrowing and once the dust settles you’ll be flooded with relief for all the characters you’ve come to love.

Content Warnings

whenjessreads's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

The Near Witch is Schwab’s debut novel, and because of this I went into it with lower expectations, and a little bit of curiosity about where she came from and how her writing has grown. While I didn’t think it was as immersive and polished as her later books (which was completely expected - genius doesn’t spring from nowhere 😂), this book was still beautiful, whimsical and poetic. The focus on atmosphere over characters or plot made it feel like folklore; a creepy fairytale told to children in front of a fire.

Schwab herself describes this book as ‘strange and quiet’, which is so fitting in a way that I can’t really describe. There’s this common feeling of isolation and inherent creepiness in books set on the moors - think The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, or Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle.

Typical of Schwab, The Near Witch has a dash of horror, but in the way that fairytales often do: more creepy and suspenseful rather than grotesque. There isn’t a lot of world-building, but in a way this worked - the isolation and emptiness of the setting played a large part in the overall feeling of uneasiness and suited the haunting writing style.

In terms of the main character, Lexi… It was nice to read a female heroine without the sarcasm and the sword, strength in a way that seems more accessible to children and younger adults. But although she was the narrator of the story, I didn’t get the greatest idea of her drives - her feelings weren’t really dipped into, and instead it was more a play-by-play of what she saw and did. There was also a little bit of insta-love, but after all, this is a fairytale (and what is more representative of a fairytale than love at first sight?).

Overall, this was a haunting but beautiful story about acceptance, understanding and friendship, but also prejudice and loss. And VE Schwab is obviously some kind of word-witch.

Content Warnings

joisaddler's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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aroseb's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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