Book Review: The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab

5/5***** An eerily haunting tale full of secrets and whispers

Advance Reading Copy

Title:
The Near Witch
Author:
Victoria Schwab
Publication History:
US Hardcover August 2nd 2011 by Hyperion Books
Genre:
YA, Paranormal









Review:
I was more than lucky to get an eARC of this - a thousand thanks to Disney-Hyperion via netGalley for giving me access to this, I may have a new favourite book.

The setting of this beautifully spun tale is eerie and haunting and full of secrets and whispers. Schwab has created a heavily atmospheric story that has you shuddering with chills and goosebumps from the first page on and leaves you breathless until the very last one.

(My apartment is being renovated at the moment and my little study is tucked in between the master bedroom, the living room and the hall and all three are re-done. Yet I swear to you I have been standing in that moor with the characters and I heard the leafs whisper and Wren dancing on the floor boards...)

Lexie Harris, the main character, is an easily likable heroine, strong and independent, not bending to the will of her male dominated society but finding her own way through the tangle of secrets, lies and forgotten histories that surround the little village of Near. Luckily Schwab gave her a set of skills to stand her own ground and not be entirely dependent on her male counterpart, Cole. Lexie's father was a hunter and he took pride in teaching his eldest daughter the arts of tracking and hunting and thinking for herself where others are blinded by stubbornness, superstition and fear.
Cole, a stranger appearing out of nowhere one night, is quite a mystery in the beginning and as intangible as a breeze. Even when he starts opening up to Lexie, helping her to find and destroy the Near Witch, a part of him stays elusive and other. It takes Lexie a long while to figure out what it is that makes him different and even longer to gain enough of his trust for him to tell her his story.

Their love story is a quieter, softer one which neither feels forced nor over-screams the rest of the tale but which entwines with it in a way that complements and completes it.

My favourite secondary character is probably Mrs Harris who is strong and rebellious in her very own, quiet way. She gives Lexie the freedom to be who she wants to be.

This book is a must-read for all paranormal fans and even if you aren't, read it. You won't regret it. 

And once you are finished you go and tell Victoria Schwab how much you loved it and that you, pretty please, want to read The Archived, her next novel.