Book Review: The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab

The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab
Publisher: Hyperion Book CH
Publication date: August 2011
ISBN: 9781423137870
Source: e-book provided by NetGalley

Lexi has lived in Near all her life, growing up hearing the stories of the Near Witch.  But, when a stranger arrives in Near, she might just learn that the stories aren't just stories.  Children start to disappear from their beds at night and the villagers are terrified and willing to blame anyone, especially a stranger to the village.  Lexi is sure the stranger has nothing to do with it and she's determined to find out who is behind the kidnappings, even at the risk of her own life. 

Things I Liked:
I loved the atmosphere of this fairy-tale story.  From the first page, I was sucked into the gorgeous writing that creates each scene.  Schwab has a real talent when it comes to setting.  I loved the creepy village of Near, its placement right by the windy, mysterious moor playing such a big part in their heritage.  Not only was the setting amazingly done, but the story was intense as well.  I didn't have everything figured out right away, so I was interested in knowing who was behind it all and what would happen next.  A really good debut from an author I'm dying to read more from.  Favorite passages:

A girl a year older than Wren named Cecilia, all edges and elbows in a skirt the color of heather, takes my sister's hand. Cecilia has a scatter of freckles like muddy flecks across her face, vanishing along her cheekbones and into auburn curls. p 15 of ARC

Long, long ago, the Near Witch lived in a small house on the farthest edge of the village. She was very old and very young, depending on which way she turned her head, for no one knows the age of witches. The moor streams were her blood and the moor grass was her skin, and her smile was kind and sharp at once like the moon on the moors in the black, black night. p 90 of ARC

I know my father's story. I know it as well as the ones he told me, but I cannot tell it in the same practiced way. It's written in my blood and bones and memory instead of on pieces of paper. I wish I could tell it as a tale and not his life and my loss. But I don't know how yet. A small broken piece of me hopes I never know how, because my father wasn't just a bedtime story. p 195 of ARC

Things I Didn't Like:
I had a hard time mostly with the romance and the ending.  She and Cole fell in love very quickly, much too fast for me to believe it was real.  The ending was pretty good, but what I didn't like was after all the build-up and the excellent story telling, it just kind of fell flat for me.  Things happened too quickly and then it was over.  Maybe I was expecting too much of it, but I felt just a tiny bit disappointed.

Read-alikes:
Entwined by Heather Dixon
Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George

BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: !
a few mild ones

mrg-factor: X
some kissing

v-factor: ->->
mostly the creepy stuff, but a bit of violence

Overall rating: ****

I kept trying to think of another moor village story and couldn't (you know, aside from Wuthering Heights). Any ideas?

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