Welcome back! How was the first day of your new year? Nothing special? It always just feels like another day but that isn’t a bad thing. A new day comes with many new possibilities of change and progression. If you don’t like who you are, change it. Don’t like your relationship…end it. Live is hard but remember where you are now is not stagnant or permanent…life is ever-changing, presenting us with chances to change.
I hope you are all doing well. My boys are great, well…my oldest is not happy about going back to school Monday. He does well in school but like most kids he hates it. I think it is because he needs to be challenged more, he is incredibly smart. Maybe I was just strange as a child, I loved school. I’ve always enjoyed learning new things. What about you, did you like learning things in school? The social aspect of school was meh…but that is to be expected unless you are popular.
The one thing I was known for in school was always carrying at least one book with me…look at me now! I am reading with no end in sight…because let’s be honest, books are so much better than the movies! Before you get bored with more of my rambling…let’s get to this review!
The Near Witch (The Near Witch #1) 
Author: Victoria Schwab
Published: March 12th, 2019
Publisher: Titan Books
Book Length: 354 Pages
Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal
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Buy the book: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository (Use my referral ID: TheBibliophagist)
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.
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.
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.
First of all, I actually don’t own this edition of the book. I own the Barnes and Noble exclusive edition.
I’m not sure which edition I prefer. I really like the white background…that might be my favorite edition. I was in Barnes and Noble though and I saw this exclusive edition so… Yep, I own it now. This is Schwab’s debut novel that was out of print for a while. This new edition came out and I knew I had to get my hands on a copy since I’d never read it. I am so happy that I did. I will be honest, I might have picked it up initially because it had to do with a witch…
This actually turned into a very enjoyable read! When I began reading, I did feel it took a while for the story to really build. I was hoping for a fast-paced novel, but it did not fail to pull me into the plot. The voice of the author shines through in her early work, we can really see her creativity. One aspect that really stuck with me was how Lexi always questioned the men who demanded she behave more ‘girly.’ I really connected with this…I was that Tomboy as a young girl. I played in the mud, wrestled the neighbors, wandered the woods, etc. For this reason, Lexi’s character really resonated with me. She was stronger and more outspoken than I was though, she put them in their place and called them out when they tried to force her into a box she did not fit into. She was not meant to be a lady-like but an investigator like her father was.
Cole…that is one character I really enjoyed. He was just as mysterious to me as he was to Lexi. I want to know more about him. I would have loved to see another version of this story from his point of view. The relationship between Lexi and Cole was…I really enjoyed it. Where I wanted to know more about Cole and I think the story would have benefited some, the Near Witch was different. I think her character was so intriguing because readers knew so little about her.
What seems like scattered details, in the beginning, are beautifully woven together in a wonderful ending to the atmospherically engaging tale. This was one of the few stories where I had no idea what was coming in the end. It held my attention the entire time and I did read through it pretty fast despite the slightly slower pace in the beginning.
If you are a fan of Schwab’s work and you have not picked this book up yet…WHY?!?! You are missing out. Go to a library or book store and get a copy to read. Jump into this dark, witchy, fantasy and fall in love with her world-building all over again.
What do you think? Is this book something you’d enjoy to read? Have you read any other books by this author? If so, which ones? Post the links so I can check out your reviews!
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