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_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
snapeygan's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
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? It's complicated
4.75
As always, VE Schwab doesn’t disappoint!! I’m a big fan of all her work, and her first novel isn’t different from all her other books!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Torture, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, 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
eviethebookworm's review against another edition
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
Moderate: Violence, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Sexism
chris_reads's review against another edition
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Sexism, Kidnapping, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Xenophobia, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Gun violence and Blood
takarakeireads's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
This one is real hard to review because I didn't like the narrator for the audiobook. They spoke. Very. Stunted. Without. Any. Flow. ...I don't believe that is how the book was written as that is not my experience of Schwab's writing. I do think you can tell this is early on in Schwab's career as her writing really has improved with her subsequent novels. It is a very typical YA kind of romance between characters (a bit insta lovey).
Overall it was hard to get through with the narrator, and if I wasn't reading it for a book club I might've switched to a physical book or DNF'd.
Overall it was hard to get through with the narrator, and if I wasn't reading it for a book club I might've switched to a physical book or DNF'd.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping and Death of parent
Moderate: Death and Grief
Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Blood, and Fire/Fire injury
whatiskatelynreading's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Death of parent
rini's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The story really just didn't grab me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Sexism, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment