Reviews – What Vicky Read

Books, Fantasy, Reviews

Review: Gumiho: Wicked Fox by Kat Cho

June 24, 2019June 25, 2019by whatvickyread2 Comments

Title: Gumiho: Wicked Fox

Author: Kat Cho

Pages: 420

Publisher: Penguin RandomHouse

Published: 2019

Source: ARC (Thanks, Penguin RandomHouse!)

Rating: ★★★★

Eighteen-year-old Gu Miyoung has a secret–she’s a gumiho, a nine-tailed fox who must devour the energy of men in order to survive. Because so few believe in the old tales anymore, and with so many evil men no one will miss, the modern city of Seoul is the perfect place to hide and hunt.

But after feeding one full moon, Miyoung crosses paths with Jihoon, a human boy, being attacked by a goblin deep in the forest. Against her better judgment, she violates the rules of survival to rescue the boy, losing her fox bead–her gumiho soul–in the process.

Jihoon knows Miyoung is more than just a beautiful girl–he saw her nine tails the night she saved his life. His grandmother used to tell him stories of the gumiho, of their power and the danger they pose to humans. He’s drawn to her anyway.

With murderous forces lurking in the background, Miyoung and Jihoon develop a tenuous friendship that blossoms into something more. But when a young shaman tries to reunite Miyoung with her bead, the consequences are disastrous . . . forcing Miyoung to choose between her immortal life and Jihoon’s.

Gumiho: Wicked Fox is about a girl who is also a fox with nine tails and is based on Korean mythology. When I read this, I thought it sounded so intriguing and I immediately wanted to read it. Not to mention that the cover is stunning.

I picked this one up because of my interest in it, but I became more eager to read it when I started reading the positive reviews of others and after seeing how much people were loving it. I didn’t really know what to expect when reading it other than hoping that I’d love it and I definitely did. I really enjoyed reading this one and would absolutely recommend it.

Thoughts

Gumiho: Wicked Fox is a quite a fun book but it’s also quite serious at times. As the blurb above says, Miyoung is a Gumiho who loses her bead and must find a way to get it back otherwise it could have drastic consequences. The plot was so fast paced and I definitely felt like I was left wanting to know what happens next whenever I put the book down.

I enjoyed the writing of this book. As mentioned, I thought it was fast paced and that the chapters were a perfect length. One of the things I really liked (and it’s something that I mention often with other books) is that the chapters weren’t too long. The longest chapter was probably Chapter 2 and then that was it for the remaining 400ish pages. The shorter chapters really contributed to the pace of this book. I also thought that the writing was descriptive but in a way that wasn’t too overdone. I felt that I could imagine most things quite well whilst reading this book.

Miyoung and Jihoon are our main characters that we follow throughout this book. Miyoung is afraid to get close to anybody and of disappointing her mother. She is quite naive at times but she is also smart. She is a character that just wants approval from her mother and to know what it’s like to be loved and have friendship. Jihoon is a positive character the majority of the time and is seen to be quite popular with everyone but really only has a few close friends. He is still dealing with the aftermath of being left to live with his Halmeoni, who he adores, when he was a child and that still affects him. What I liked about both of these characters is that while they do have flaws, but they are fiercely loyal. In this book, there’s a theme of family and friendship throughout which I really enjoyed. I loved the closeness of the Jihoon’s friends that they had almost formed a family unit themselves.

The world building didn’t need that much because of course, it’s based on the city of Seoul. I really liked the urban fantasy feel of the world that I thought this book really gave the vibes of and I just loved the inclusion of the Gumiho mythology throughout this book and how it linked it to the characters.

I really enjoyed reading Gumiho: Wicked Fox because it was unlike anything I’d read before and I loved that about it. I also enjoyed reading it because of the setting and the interesting mythology. There was a lot of food mentioned that I did google because 1. I wanted to make sure I was pronouncing things correctly and 2. I wanted to see the delicious food that was mentioned and oh my, I wasn’t disappointed. I feel like I immediately need to go and try everything. I found it so interesting to learn and read about a culture different to my own and it has definitely encouraged me to read even more books about cultures that are different to my own.

Final Thoughts

Gumiho: Wicked Fox is an intriguing book that I am really glad that I read because I did enjoy it so much. I would absolutely recommend it to anybody who is looking for a fast paced read that really draws you in. The characters are just like you and I with both their positives and negatives.

Books, Fantasy, Reviews

Review: The Wicked King by Holly Black

June 21, 2019June 21, 2019by whatvickyread2 Comments

Title: The Wicked King

Author: Holly Black

Pages: 322

Publisher: Hot Key Books

Published: 2019

Source: Bought

Rating: ★★★★.5

You must be strong enough to strike and strike and strike again without tiring.

The first lesson is to make yourself strong.

After the jaw-dropping revelation that Oak is the heir to Faerie, Jude must keep her younger brother safe. To do so, she has bound the wicked king, Cardan, to her, and made herself the power behind the throne. Navigating the constantly shifting political alliances of Faerie would be difficult enough if Cardan were easy to control. But he does everything in his power to humiliate and undermine her even as his fascination with her remains undiminished.

When it becomes all too clear that someone close to Jude means to betray her, threatening her own life and the lives of everyone she loves, Jude must uncover the traitor and fight her own complicated feelings for Cardan to maintain control as a mortal in a Faerie world.

This review is a little bit late as I read The Wicked King almost immediately after it came out in January. If I’m honest, I’ve struggled to write this review because I really enjoyed it and I couldn’t really say much else other than ‘I LOVED IT’ for a good while.

I really enjoyed The Cruel Prince, which I reviewed here, and so I just had to read The Wicked King straight away because I really couldn’t wait. The Wicked King is full of more scheming, more angst and of course, more faeries.

When I read, I’m usually quite aware of how long I have left in a book as getting closer to the end of a book gives me an extra kick to get a book finished but with The Wicked King, I came to the last page without even realising. I enjoyed it so much and my only real issue was that it wasn’t longer.

Thoughts

Just like in The Cruel Prince, The Wicked King follows our main character Jude after the events of the first book. I was interested to see where the plot of this book and the characters would go too seeing as The Cruel Prince ended on a cliffhanger and it definitely did not disappoint.

The characters are much of the same we saw in The Cruel Prince so in this book, it was more a case of how the individual characters would deal with the events that transpired in the first book and how that would enable their characters to develop.

The two main characters in this book are Jude, with the book being told from her POV just like in The Cruel Prince, and Cardan. I enjoyed following Jude in this book more than the first one which I think is because we had already got to know her character before so I knew what to expect from her. I enjoyed getting to know Cardan more in this book as things were touched on in The Cruel Prince but I feel like we really got to know him more in The Wicked King. I would say that Cardan is a difficult character to judge and whilst he is cruel, he is also using that as a barrier to almost protect himself.

The pace of this book is so fast that I barely even realised how quickly I was actually reading it. As I mentioned above, I ended up getting to the last page without even realising how close I was too it. The Wicked King really did suck me into it’s pages and basically spat me back out in shock. I thought the writing was great and that the length of the chapters was perfect and that they contributed to making this book such a fast read.

The ending of this book….THE ENDING OF THIS BOOK. I’m not going to say anything about it except it ended on such a cliffhanger and I won’t even lie, I was flicking through the acknowledgement pages almost manically and internally saying to myself ‘there has to be more??’. I was mostly just in a moment of shock when I finished it following the events in the last few pages and just didn’t really know what to do. I am fully invested in this series now and must know what happens next immediately!

It might be worth noting that between reading The Cruel Prince and The Wicked King, I actually read the novella titled The Lost Sister that is from Taryn’s POV. I don’t think this necessarily contributed to my overall reading experience of the second book but it did give me a little more insight into Taryn’s character. It’s not essential to the reading of this series but if you’re as obsessed with this series as I am, then it’s worth a read plus it’s short!

Final Thoughts

After reading The Wicked King, I absolutely need the third book, The Queen of Nothing SO. BADLY. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and liked getting to know the characters better. Holly has done such a great job with the books in this series so far and both times, I have been left wanting more but The Wicked King really has me feeling that way after that ending. I actually went back and read the last 3/4 pages about 6 times because I just needed to process the end of it.

Just in case you missed the news – The Queen of Nothing will now be publishing in November 2019 instead of January 2020!

Books, Reviews

The Devouring Gray by Christine Lynn Herman

May 10, 2019May 10, 2019by whatvickyread2 Comments

Title: The Devouring Gray

Author: Christine Lynn Herman

Pages: 389

Publisher: Titan Books

Published: 2019

Source: Received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review – Thanks, Titan Books!

Rating: ★★★.5

Branches and stones, daggers and bones,
They locked the Beast away.

After the death of her sister, seventeen-year-old Violet Saunders finds herself dragged to Four Paths, New York. Violet may be a newcomer, but she soon learns her mother isn’t: They belong to one of the revered founding families of the town, where stone bells hang above every doorway and danger lurks in the depths of the woods.

Justin Hawthorne’s bloodline has protected Four Paths for generations from the Gray—a lifeless dimension that imprisons a brutal monster. After Justin fails to inherit his family’s powers, his mother is determined to keep this humiliation a secret. But Justin can’t let go of the future he was promised and the town he swore to protect.

Ever since Harper Carlisle lost her hand to an accident that left her stranded in the Gray for days, she has vowed revenge on the person who abandoned her: Justin Hawthorne. There are ripples of dissent in Four Paths, and Harper seizes an opportunity to take down the Hawthornes and change her destiny-to what extent, even she doesn’t yet know.

The Gray is growing stronger every day, and its victims are piling up. When Violet accidentally unleashes the monster, all three must band together with the other Founders to unearth the dark truths behind their families’ abilities—before the Gray devours them all.

The Devouring Gray is a paranormal novel that follows four teens in a small town called Four Paths. The Beast is a dark legend in Four Paths and is starting to gain power, and fast. Mysterious things are happening in Four Paths and Violet, Harper, Isaac and Justin must figure out what is causing it.

I’ve been trying to write this review for a little while now and I’ve found that I’ve struggled with it. Why? I hear you ask. Well, it’s because I thought this book was just an ok read for me. I wasn’t blown away with it but I also didn’t not like it. I almost feel a little bit indifferent to it.

Thoughts

The Devouring Gray is a book that I was expecting to devour but that didn’t quite happen. As mentioned above, I felt that it was just an ok book. I did like reading it but that was it. The concept reminded me a little of The Raven Boys and Stranger Things, which I’m fairly sure it was compared to. Usually when books say ‘for fans of’, I don’t know how much to believe them but I can confirm that this one is definitely for fans of both of those things.

This book mainly follows the character of Violet who moves to Four Paths following the death of her older sister. Upon moving, she discovers the mysteries of Four Paths and that she comes from one of the four founding families.

The plot was quite easy to follow and whilst I wasn’t immediately gripped by it, I definitely did want to continue reading. I was intrigued by the monster in the Gray and the paranormal aspect of it. The Gray definitely reminded of the Upside Down in Stranger Things. It was definitely full of paranormal elements as well as superstition.

I think out of the four main characters, my favourite was probably Harper, closely followed by Isaac and Violet who I’d put at joint second. All of the characters are fighting their own battles within, as well as trying to protect Four Paths. These characters had flaws which is something I really liked about them because in this book, there is no ‘this person is our hero’. The characters are vulnerable but they’re also strong. I liked that Christine made her characters in that way so that they were more relatable.

I wasn’t a fan of any of the parents in this story. I found them frustrating and that they didn’t listen or value any of their children. Of course, that leads to scheming which was fairly vital to this story, but I thought it was worth mentioning that the parents in this book are fairly annoying. Other than the parents of the main characters and the main characters themselves, I didn’t really feel like there was much interaction with any other characters in this book. That’s not necessarily a bad thing but then the characters felt very contained within themselves and their group.

I liked Christine’s writing and felt that it suited the book quite well although I did think that the pacing of it was a little bit on the slow side. Although, it started to really pick up in the last 110 pages as things started to fall into place. I definitely think that those last 110 pages saved this book and made it more of a 3.5 star read for me rather than just a 3 star read.

Final Thoughts

I liked The Devouring Gray but after a month, I just feel a little indifferent to it. It was in no way bad as I did like it and the last 100 pages were a lot more fast paced but I just liked it. I didn’t love it and I definitely didn’t hate it, I just feel pretty ok about it. I feel guilty for writing such a short review, but I felt like there wasn’t that much for me to actually say about this book.

Books, Features

5 Reasons to Read the Caraval series

May 9, 2019May 9, 2019by whatvickyread6 Comments

It’s absolutely no secret that the Caraval series by Stephanie Garber is one of my favourites to exist. I had been eagerly anticipating Caraval ever since I saw it being handed out at BEA 2016 (via twitter, of course I didn’t go). I waited patiently but when it arrived in the January 2017 Fairyloot, I basically devoured it and LOVED it, just as predicted. I was extremely lucky to receive an ARC of Legendary thanks to the team at Hodder and basically gulped it down. It was lovely to dive back into the series and be with all of the characters again. That’s just one of the many reasons I’m looking forward to reading Finale, despite it being the end.

To celebrate the release of the final book in the series, Finale, I decided that I would present to you 5 reasons to read the series in the hopes it’ll either give you the nudge to start these books or push you to read the next book in the series.

1. The Characters – The characters are one of the biggest draws for me to this series. I think every character is unique in this story and because of that, I find it difficult to pick a favourite character because I have different reasons for why I like them! I think the main characters, Scarlett and Tella are fairly realistic. They’re vulnerable and they do make mistakes but I like that about them.

2. The Magic – Of course, these books would have to feature magic because Caraval is magical! One of the first things I fell in love with when I read this series was the magic. It’s quite significant to these books as it’s always there. Caraval is surrounded by magic and I just love seeing it come to life in these books.

3. The Settings – I love the magical settings in these books as I think they really make the book come to life. All three books include a map which is so helpful as you can follow the characters and because it helps to imagine the settings more vividly. Caraval and Legendary are both set somewhere different but the game element of Caraval is key in both. I think the settings are part of what makes these books so magical.

4. The Mystery and Intrigue – The whole game of Caraval is a mystery up until the end. That’s what’s so intriguing about these books because you want to find out how the game will end. The magic and illusions of Caraval help to make this book so mysterious but you shouldn’t get too caught up in it, otherwise you may lose your head!

5. The Series is Over – While it does pain me to say that the series is over, it does mean that you now have the perfect reason to read them because all of the books are released. You know what that calls for? A READING MARATHONNNN!

Bonus reason: Not only is Stephanie a wonderful author but she’s also such a lovely person and she really deserves the support of the book community!

I hope you guys enjoyed this post. If you think of any extra reasons for why people should read this wonderful series, please leave them in the comments to encourage others to embark on the journey of Caraval!

Remember…it’s only a game.

Books, Contemporary, Reviews

The Princess and the Fangirl by Ashley Poston

April 12, 2019April 12, 2019by whatvickyreadLeave a Comment

Title: The Princess and the Fangirl

Author: Ashley Poston

Pages: 370

Publisher: Quirk Books

Published: 2019

Source: Received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review – Thanks, Quirk Books!

Rating: ★★★★

Imogen Lovelace is an ordinary fangirl on an impossible mission: save her favorite character, Princess Amara, from being killed off from her favorite franchise, Starfield. The problem is, Jessica Stone—the actress who plays Princess Amara—wants nothing more than to leave the intense scrutiny of the fandom behind. If this year’s ExcelsiCon isn’t her last, she’ll consider her career derailed.

When a case of mistaken identity throws look-a-likes Imogen and Jess together, they quickly become enemies. But when the script for the Starfield sequel leaks, and all signs point to Jess, she and Imogen must trade places to find the person responsible. That’s easier said than done when the girls step into each other’s shoes and discover new romantic possibilities, as well as the other side of intense fandom. As these “princesses” race to find the script-leaker, they must rescue themselves from their own expectations, and redefine what it means to live happily ever after.

‘The horizon’s wide and I have a kingdom to rule.’

The Princess and the Fangirl is the sequel to Geekerella, a book that I read back in 2017 and loved. I was a little worried that perhaps The Princess and the Fangirl wouldn’t quite meet up to the standard set by Geekerella, but it was just as good and it was so sweet.

One of the things that I loved about Geekerella when I read it was that it was such a quick and fun story that you can easily just slip into because it doesn’t require a lot of thought when reading it. The Princess and the Fangirl was exactly the same. It was a different story, but quite fun and I enjoyed it. It just made me happy and I love books that give me that feeling.

Thoughts

The Princess and the Fangirl is set over a 4 day period at ExcelsiCon, a convention based on the famous Starfield series/movie. ExcelsiCon is the same convention we attended in Geekerella so it was very nice to return to it but in this book, we see it from a different perspective. In The Princess and the Fangirl, we see it from the perspective of a fan/vendor and from the perspective of an actress. I thought this was quite a nice take because, as a fan, I obviously never get to see conventions in the eyes of an actor/actress, so this was interesting to read about.

This book follows two main characters, Imogen and Jessica. Imogen is the fan and Jessica is the actress, but they easily get mixed up as they look very similar. The Princess and the Fangirl really bounces off their likeness, especially when the new Starfield script gets leaked, and it goes on from there. As the synopsis above mentions, they switch places to find the person responsible for the leaks which exposes them to the sides of fandom that they both don’t get to normally experience.

I liked both Imogen and Jessica’s characters, but I did find Jessica to be a little bit annoying at times with how determined she was to hate conventions and fandom. I preferred Imogen’s character, but I do wonder if it’s because as a character, she’s a fan so I related to her a little bit more.

This book did include m/m and f/f romances which was really great to see. It’s nice to read a book and see diverse characters. Imogen and her brother also have two mums who are vendors, which I really loved.

The Princess and the Fangirl also featured the characters from Geekerella which was a lovely touch to this book. It actually made me feel quite happy as the characters were familiar and it was nice to see where they were a year on from the events of the first book.

The plot of this is fairly fast paced and the writing helps to keep it that way. The book is split into 4 parts based on each day at the convention. What I liked about this is that whilst the story was going on, what was happening in the background wasn’t sacrificed. When it was Saturday at the convention, there was definitely a lot of buzz whereas on the Sunday, you could actually imagine the convention winding down which made me feel quite sad knowing that it was coming to a close. I think Ashley did a really good job of conveying what people feel at conventions through this book.

This book is perfect for anyone who is part of a fandom or anyone who wants to or has attended a convention before. I’ve attended YALC/LFCC for the past two years and will be going again this year. This book brought back so many great memories for me as I thought back to my own convention experiences whilst reading about the convention in this book. I think Ashley really manages to capture the magical element of conventions and it translates onto the page so well.

Final Thoughts

I’d fully recommend reading The Princess and the Fangirl if you like fairly fast paced books, romance and a book that is just fun. Like I said at the beginning, I really enjoyed being able to fall into this book without having to really think about the story or anything because it is easy to follow. I would argue that it is predictable, but it’s a happy kind of predictable. If I’m totally honest, reading this book made me think of my own convention experiences and has me really looking forward to my next YALC. I love books that make you happy and this is definitely one of those books that does that!

Books, Fantasy, Reviews

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

March 22, 2019March 22, 2019by whatvickyread2 Comments

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Title: The Cruel Prince

Author: Holly Black

Pages: 370

Publisher: Hot Key Books

Published: 2018

Source: Bought

Rating: ★★★★.5

Jude was seven when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King.

To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences.

As Jude becomes more deeply embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, she discovers her own capacity for trickery and bloodshed. But as betrayal threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.

The Cruel Prince was a last minute favourite read for 2018. It was one of the books I read for the readathon I hosted at the end of 2018, End of Yearathon.

I haven’t read anything by Holly Black before so I wasn’t too sure what to expect but I’d heard quite a lot of positive things about this book throughout 2018 since its release so I wanted to make sure I read it during the year it was released. Especially since the sequel, The Wicked King, was released in January so I knew I had to get to The Cruel Prince before that.

Oh boy, I really was not prepared for how much I’d enjoy this book. Don’t get me wrong, this book did have some aspects that I wasn’t too keen on, but by the end of the book I found that I had really enjoyed it and I really needed the next book that second. Luckily for me, I didn’t have to wait too long.

Thoughts

The Cruel Prince follows Jude, a human girl, who navigates through faerie whilst being seen as below everyone else. We follow her as she goes to school and balls and has to deal with the disapproval of faeries the majority of the time. During her time in faerie, Jude comes across some interesting information as Elfhame becomes increasingly closer to having a new ruler.

I liked Jude despite the fact that, at times, she was a little annoying. I thought that she was quite brave and that she was trying to do what was right. She has been through a lot in her life, such as witnessing her parents being murdered and then being taken away and raised by their killer, which is cruel in itself. Despite her experiences, I felt that she was a fairly strong and resilient character, as well as being fairly clever and using things to her advantage.

I disliked Taryn, Jude’s twin sister as I thought that she was pretty bad to Jude at times. Vivi, on the other hand, was pretty cool and I loved that she was fairly rebellious. Cardan and his group are friends are huge bullies. I wasn’t keen on a lot of ways they treated humans like they were so below the faeries. Some of the things they did really didn’t sit well with me and I found myself getting quite frustrated at them at times.

The Cruel Prince is set in Elfhame. I felt like I could imagine things fairly vividly, including Madoc’s estate as that’s where a lot of Jude’s time was spent. The map at the front of the book also really helped me when trying to imagine where places mentioned throughout the book were. Everything was described fairly well so that really added to my reading experience.

There was plenty of scheming throughout this book which I quite enjoyed. It involved different plots by different people and it was interesting to see how the different schemes were carried out throughout the book. It’s especially intriguing to see Holly’s faeries scheme as they are unable to lie so I think that does make the scheming seem even more clever at times.

I quite enjoyed the writing of The Cruel Prince and felt that it flowed really nicely. The chapters were fairly short which enabled me to read this book at a faster pace. Of course, this was aided by the story being so good. I thought that Holly’s writing worked so well with the plot and that she really kept the pace up throughout. Holly’s experience in writing about faeries really shows. 3B5E7238-93A1-45ED-A945-0BC75D9ECF6E

Final Thoughts

As I said before, there were some aspects of this book that I wasn’t keen on, which is why I gave this book 4.5 stars, but I did end up really enjoying it. I don’t read that many faerie themed books (apart from Sarah J Maas’ books) and this was the first book by Holly Black that I have read. I found myself liking both her interpretation of faeries and her writing so that has definitely pushed me to check out more of her work in the future.

Reviews

The Near Witch by V. E. Schwab

March 17, 2019March 17, 2019by whatvickyread2 Comments

Title: The Near Witch

Author: V. E. Schwab

Pages: 293

Publisher: Titan Books

Published: Re-release 2019 (Original release, 2011)

Source: Finished copy, gifted by the publisher (Thank you!)

Rating: ★★★★

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.

And 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. Still, he insists on helping Lexi search for them. Something tells her she can trust him.

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.

‘It starts with a crack, a sputter, and a spark.’

I went into The Near Witch not really knowing too much about it except for the fact that it was a re-release and that it involved a witch but you know, it’s by V. E. Schwab so I was immediately interested.

There are some books that you just know you’re going to love or hate within the first few pages and with this one, I knew almost immediately that I was hooked within it’s grasp. It ended up taking me about four hours to The Near Witch as I read just under half of it on the way to Victoria’s Forbidden Planet signing in London and then the remainder of it on my train back home.

Thoughts

The Near Witch follows Lexi in the small village of Near, where everybody knows everyone. Lexi lives with her mother and sister after her father passed away. She carries her father close to her and he is a big influence on her throughout this book. I liked the character of Lexi. She is interested in gathering the facts but also is open minded and almost fearless. As children go missing in Near, she makes a decision to try and find them in her own way whilst trying to also avoid her Uncle, the protector of Near. Before the children go missing though, a stranger turns up in Near. There are never strangers in Near and this one comes at a time before all hell breaks loose.

The time that The Near Witch is set in is a strange one. It felt as if it was set in the 1600/1700s with the talk of witches, but then it also felt almost like it didn’t exist at any specific time at all. When writing this review, I also realised that the village of Near is just a place, it’s not specified that it’s any country which is interesting as you’re then just focused on the place itself. Near just exists.

The plot is fairly fast paced with plenty of mystery and intrigue that draws you in and doesn’t really let you back out until the end. I can vouch for this considering I read it in four hours. I though that the writing really contributed to the pace of the plot. The writing is different to but I feel it is still distinctively V’s. It’s descriptive meaning that you can really imagine the people and places quite vividly.

I think it’s difficult to compare it to V. E. Schwab’s more recent works as she has really developed as a writer in the past 8 years since The Near Witch was originally released. I was a bit wary going into this book that perhaps there was a reason The Near Witch didn’t do so well when it was originally released – was it because it wasn’t that great or was it simply because it wasn’t the right time for it to be released? However, upon reading it, I do think that it was just that timing wasn’t right. It is a quirky little book that might not work for everybody, but I liked it and thought that it was a fairly quick read.

Final Thoughts

Whilst I enjoyed this book and read it so quickly, I’m still hovering between 3.5 and 4 stars with this book. I should clarify that for me, a 3 star rating doesn’t mean it’s bad. It means that I liked the book. I enjoyed it and got through it quickly, but I didn’t love it and I probably won’t re-read it. I think it is a great book for September/October when Halloween is approaching and Autumn is starting to really set in.

One of the questions I have asked myself, when thinking about the rating, is if I’d have read this back in 2011 as a 15/16 year old, would I enjoy it? It’s hard to tell because my tastes are obviously a bit different to how they were 7/8 years ago but I do think I would have enjoyed this book back then too.