As Victoria Schwab being one of my favorite authors, and simply not being able to wait for The Unbound, the second book in The Archived series, or Vicious, an adult book that deals with villain protagonists which sounds pretty badass right there, I knew I needed to read another one of her books. I plan on rereading The Archived again soon but I wanted another book of hers on my shelf, thank you very much! I got this in the mail a couple of hours ago and decided to start on it pronto, since it's a short book anyways so why not? The Near Witch is her debut novel, and the synopsis is provided by Goodreads:
The Near Witch is only an old story told to frighten children.
If the wind calls at night, you must not listen. The wind is lonely, and always looking for company.
And there are no strangers in the town of Near.
These are the truths that Lexi has heard all her life.
But when an actual stranger-a boy who seems to fade like smoke-appears outside her home on the moor at night, she knows that at least one of these sayings is no longer true.
The next night, the children of Near start disappearing from their beds, and the mysterious boy falls under suspicion. Still, he insists on helping Lexi search for them. Something tells her she can trust him.
As the hunt for the children intensifies, so does Lexi's need to know-about the witch that just might be more than a bedtime story, about the wind that seems to speak through the walls at night, and about the history of this nameless boy.
Reference:
I read The Archived several months ago and looked up any other books out by her and this was one of them!
Review:
(safe for those who haven't read this book yet)
I don't have much to say, my mind is completely exhausted from so much reading and schoolwork, so sorry this isn't going to be a long review.
While the title gives the reader the thought the book will be focused mainly on a witch, it's true. It does. I just wanted to grab your attention.
While the title gives the reader the thought the book will be focused mainly on a witch, it's true. It does. I just wanted to grab your attention.
After reading, I find myself not disappointed necessarily in the book, but just that I wasn't impressed much by the overall story. It turned out to be really slow and what could I expect when this is a town that has no connection to the real world, though it's time in the world is never cleared up. I assumed it was some fairy tale village but then they mentioned guns and that really threw me off. Especially since the town seems to only be cottages and trees, never mentioning a lake or metal mine-- so I'm not really sure where they get the guns from.
But aside from that I just didn't like the story around the witch. I wasn't so much impressed since we were following a normal girl called Lexi. That's probably why I didn't get much farther with reading the Harry Potter series after the first one (though I'd guess it's because I've seen the movies countless times). I guess of the supernatural creatures and beings, witches never live up to the hype and I haven't found an author to change my mind. Personal preference of course.
However the author's style in describing actions or scenes in this book are so refreshing and magical I enjoyed how it was written far more than the story. And while I probably wouldn't read it again, I'm still excited for Victoria Schwab's upcoming books: Vicious and The Unbound!
I give this book 3.5/5 stars.
Author's Quote:
“Magda looks at me as if I've gone mad. Or I've grown up. It's kind of the same thing.”
― Victoria Schwab, The Near Witch
My Goodreads:
Next To Read:
Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
River Song's Spoilers:
(unsafe for those who haven't read this book yet, so don't read this section)
I wish we learned more about Cole. I mean what more is there to say other than he burned down his village, but we never learn what his real name is (which I thought it'd be revealed by the end) or what his age is (I assumed it was around 16 since that's how old Lexi was).
It never really explained how Cole found Near in the first place, only that the two witches, Magda and Dreska took in a stranger. I'm assuming the reason he was able to enter Near was because he was a witch. ----Yeah so I just saw the novella about his life so I'll get to reading it soon. ^^
Until Next Time,
Nicole Ciel
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