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catpun's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Inconsistent pacing but fantastic lore. Wanted more horror elements, but that could just be me.
Solid YA book, just not my taste anymore.
Solid YA book, just not my taste anymore.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping
Moderate: Death of parent, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child death
sn8man's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
carina_dreamer's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I wanted to start my dive into V. E. Schwab's works with her first book so the experience keeps being positive as her writing improves.
This edition has both "The Near Witch" main work and the short story prequel to it, "The Ash-Born Boy".
The main story reminds me of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, since the children of Near disappear at night from their beds, lured by an entity that didn't leave a clue behind.
The feeling of this book being both a classic and a contemporary work kept following me through the pages. I didn't dislike it.
The story was good and had a strong showcase of mass hysteria from the villagers against what's different.
The romance is a sub-plot and feels insta-love. They kiss a lot too 😂
I liked the short story best, the characters left a bigger impression and showcased stronger personalities that the main story didn't as it felt repetitive and shallow.
I give it ⭐⭐⭐.5 overall, without the short story I would say it's a basic 3⭐.
This edition has both "The Near Witch" main work and the short story prequel to it, "The Ash-Born Boy".
The main story reminds me of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, since the children of Near disappear at night from their beds, lured by an entity that didn't leave a clue behind.
The feeling of this book being both a classic and a contemporary work kept following me through the pages. I didn't dislike it.
The story was good and had a strong showcase of mass hysteria from the villagers against what's different.
The romance is a sub-plot and feels insta-love. They kiss a lot too 😂
I liked the short story best, the characters left a bigger impression and showcased stronger personalities that the main story didn't as it felt repetitive and shallow.
I give it ⭐⭐⭐.5 overall, without the short story I would say it's a basic 3⭐.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Bullying and Murder
_marycappiello3's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child death, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
kathrynleereads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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
3.75
While I really enjoyed The Near Witch, I thought the ending was a bit abrupt.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The character that is still stuck in my mind though? Tyler.
Sexist, misogynistic, piece-of-dirt pig.
•
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
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, and Murder
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Death, and Death of parent
Minor: Grief, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
tales_of_1001_books's review against another edition
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
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
tkatt20's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I loved this book. Its a really quick read if you're looking for something with a relatively simple magic system and high tension. I thought the pacing was wonderful for it being a standalone (accompanied by a short story) partially because it had such an interesting writing style and I felt like I could really connect emotionally to the characters which kept me reading. It also didn't feel like too much of an info dump which I run into sometimes with standalones and all the characters had depth and personality outside of the main character. My only complaint was the romance seemed to be very insta love which I'm not a huge fan of but considering that isn't the main plot, this book was great. Gave me major salem witch trial vibes too which I loved!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Self harm, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
Moderate: Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death and Blood
claudiamacpherson's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping
Minor: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail