A review by brewingespresso
The Witch and the Vampire by Francesca Flores

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

3.75

Okay here we go. 
I wanted to love this book, but I’d say I only enjoyed it. It definitely drew me in at the end and got me to the “well I gotta finish it now.” point, however the overall plot is kinda rocky. I feel like there wasn’t a whole lot of time dedicated to planning out the whole book and instead it was made up along the way. I’m gonna be honest, I didn’t realize it was a Rapunzel adaptation until I read the description. The only similarities are that Ava is trapped in a tower and forced to grow out her hair. The rest is so wildly different that I had kinda just chalked the similarities up to coincidence. For a book with such “strong” main characters, their resolve flip-flops around and they lose so many fights. Then there was Tristan. Tristan was written in a way that makes me assume he was meant to be even just a little important. Nah. He’s just there. Sometimes.
When he died I wasn’t in the slightest bit upset or shocked and the characters even seem to glide over it.
I also found that the plot twist was not only, not very twisty, but it made no sense??? Like you’re telling me everyone is just cool with that arrangement? Not a chance! Now I know I’ve ragged on this book quite a bit, but here are the things I liked. I thought the romance was quite sweet and beautiful. I’m already a sucker for enemies -> lovers but friends-> enemies -> lovers??? Yes please. I thought that, while not morally very strong, Ava and Kaye were still lovable characters when not being obtuse. Overall, I’d say it’s maybe worth the read. Maybe.  
Expand filter menu Content Warnings