The Near Witch

The Near Witch
Written by V. E. Schwab
Fantasy, Witches, Romance, Paranormal
320 Pages
Published January 2020
Thank you to New South Books
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★★★★
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.
In the quaint town of Near, the Near Witch sings the hills to slumber each night from her resting place on the moors, the children sing as they play throughout the village. Sixteen year old Lexi Harris remembers the stories her father told her as a child, of the Near Witch and village children who we welcomed to play in her garden, a centuries old fable told by generations of Near, until a boy was found in her garden and the witch was banished to the moor.

Since her father passed away, Lexi lives with her younger sister Wren and her mother on the fringe of Near, the witch whispering on the winds that swept through the moor each night as a stranger arrives in town and Near is awash with speculation. Whispers on the wind are waking children from their slumber, lured into the forest in their nightgowns and disappearing and the town suspects the stranger is stealing their children.

Centuries past, the Near Witch lived on the Near fringe, her cottage garden captivating the village children on the moor. The children of Near sing the fable of the fated witch who sings the hills to sleep at night. If you listen carefully, you can hear her calling on the winds that swept through the moors.

Near is a grudging, prejudice community, thriving on restlessness and governed with a firm hand by three archaic council members, while a vigilante group gathers to restore order. Lexi and sister Wren lost their father three years prior, their father a wonderful man who believed in the folklore of Near and taught his children consideration, independence and to appreciate the Near folklore, including Magda and Dreska Thorn.

Fear is a strange thing, he used to say. It has the power to make people close their eyes, turn away. Nothing good grows out of fear.
Magda and Dreska are the eldest residents of Near, living on the fringe of town on the moors, as the Near Witch once lived. As a young girl, Lexi and her father would visit the sisters who have been ostracised by the village community. The witch siblings are providing the stranger with refuge as the children begin to disappear during the night. Lexi suspects the Near Witch, the villagers accusing the stranger of abducting their children. Lexi is intrigued by the newcomer, his secrets and his story, the young man with the dark fathomless eyes and ashen skin. He is nameless, homeless and Lexi is determined to prove his innocence.

The villagers are positively dreadful, dishonest and vengeful, incredibly chauvinistic. At sixteen, the girls within the village and allowed to legally marry and often betrothed. Women are bakers, seamstresses or homemakers, Lexi consistently reprimanded for wearing the workboots and knife of her father who taught his daughter independence. The men of the village refusing to listen to the resolute young woman who begins skulking around the village at night in the hope to discover where the children have gone.

The trees all whisper, leaves gossiping. The stones are heavy thinkers, the sullen silent types. He used to make up stories for everything in nature, giving it all voices, lives. If the moor wind ever sings, you mustn’t listen, not with all of your ears. Use only the edges. Listen the way you’d look out the corners of your eyes. The wind is lonely, love, and always looking for company.

The Near Witch is enigmatic and enchanting, immersed in mesmerising folklore of a small village community. The lyrical prose is unequivocally captivating.

14 comments

  1. I'm glad that you enjoyed this one!! I really want to check this book out. I'm slowly but surely making my way through the author's backlist, and of course, she keeps releasing new books too! LOL

    -Lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.net

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    1. This was her first novel and although it was probably more suited to a mature middle grade reader, it was lovely and lyrical. Can't wait to read more from her!

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  2. This was my first V.E. Scwab book! I don't remember much about it. I do remember loving the writing but wanting a bit more from the story.

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    1. Mine too Amber! I thought I should start at the beginning of her career and work my way through her previous releases. I loved it, it was more suited to a mature middle grade audience but so beautifully written. I can certainly see why she's an incredibly well loved author.

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  3. I read this a while back and I loved it. It was different to the other releases I’d read from V E Schwab but I loved the fairytale vibes I was getting when reading. I was so excited this was rereleased and I’m glad I own a copy.

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    1. It was lovely wasn't it, I really enjoyed it and so lyrical! I don't know which series of hers to pick up next, if you have any recommendations?

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  4. This was my first V.E. Schwab book, and I devoured it ages ago! I've been meaning to do a re-read, and think the new covers are stunning. :)

    Lindsi @ Do You Dog-ear? 💬

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    1. Mine too and I loved it! She's such a well loved author that it was a little overwhelming and I wondered whether I'd like it but ended up falling in love with her writing. It has that fairytale, dreamlike quality doesn't it!

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  5. I loved the prose of this one too!! I kind of want to reread because I forget so much. I'm glad you loved it 😍😍

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    1. You've been throwing her books at everyone for years! I finally picked one up and now I can see why she's so universally well loved. Her writing is absolutely beautiful!

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  6. I've heard great things about this series. I've only read Vicious by her so far but loved it.

    Karen @ For What It's Worth

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    1. I'm thinking of continuing with Vicious next actually and so glad you enjoyed it. I was a little overwhelmed seeing she's such a well loved author but this was a great one to begin with, it's lyrical and gentle, really lovely.

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  7. This is very different from what I would expect from Schwab. Very intriguing premise, I must say.

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    1. I'm not sure what I'd expected but was so pleasantly surprised Verushka. If you've never read anything by Victoria Schwab before, this is a great one to begin with and ease into her worlds. It's lovely.

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