The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab

Title: The Near Witch

Author: Victoria Schwab

Publisher: Hyperion Books

Published: August 2, 2022

Hardcover, 282 pages

This is the story of Lexi, a girl living on the seam between the town of Near and the moor. One night, a stranger appears on the moor and the next morning, one of the town's children have disappeared. Everyone blames the stranger, but Lexi comes to know him and is convinced the kidnapper is someone else. In the ensuing search, Lexi comes to know more about witches, the moor and the Near witch.

What I liked: I loved the premise. It has everything I love in a story; witches and fairy tales. I loved the idea of the witches and the wind calling and the strange disappearances. As for characters, I loved the father, even though he wasn't physically present in the story. I liked how his stories were told.

I loved the language and thought it was beautifully crafted. It read like a fairy tale.

What I didn't like: The romance between Lexi and Cole. He didn't have much personality and he veered too much to the bad boy with a bad mysterious past for me. I didn't enjoy the romance between the two. They had just met and all of a sudden, they are kissing and in love. I think the story would have been better without the romance.
I also wanted some of the minor characters to have bigger roles in the story. Specifically, Helena, Lexi's friend, and one of the villagers, Mrs. Thatcher. I feel like they were both thrown in haphazardly and could have added to the plot if they were given bigger roles.

Overall, I did like the premise of the book, and it was beautifully written but the romance fell a little flat for me. I give it a 3, I liked it.