While I really enjoyed this book it didn’t grab me as much as some of the authors other work but it was still a hugely fascinating read. The creepy atmospheric setting is really brought to life in Schwab’s elegant writing and I could almost feel the icy wind of on the moor.

The story unfolds beautifully and the plot is well written with an air of Neil Gaiman around it. She’s determined to do what she thinks is right (regardless of what her uncle thinks), she stands up for herself and she’ll do anything to protect her sister. It kept me reading long after I’d planned to put the book down and I completely fell in love with Lexi and her sister Wren. The Near Witch is a story full of magic, mystery and danger. Though it has been reprinted it has not been edited or changed since the original publication and it was fascinating to see how her writing has grown from this book to Vengeful and City of Ghosts. Schwab and I was so looking forward to reading her debut novel. This was such a gripping read! I have fast become a fan of V. Lexi believes the stranger is innocent, but will she be able to prove it? Soon after children begin disappearing from their beds and the mysterious stranger is instantly blamed for it. The town is extremely isolated so when a stranger comes to visit the villagers become very unsettled. The story is a dark and atmospheric tale that follows Lexi a young girl living in the small town of Near. This is the rerelease of Victoria Schwab’s debut novel featuring an all new short story titled The Ash Born Boy. The next night, the children of Near start disappearing from their beds, and the mysterious boy falls under suspicion.Īs 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. These are the truths that Lexi has heard all her life.īut 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. There are no strangers in the town of Near. The wind is lonely, and always looking for company. If the wind calls at night, you must not listen. The Near Witch is only an old story told to frighten children.

Source: The publisher kindly sent me a copy of this book to review.

The near witch ve schwab