Top positive review
4.0 out of 5 starsSchwab just had IT from the beginning! 4.5 Stars!
Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2019
Her first book, here now in re-reprint, is like getting to read a long-lost little gem. Yeah, it’s very “YA” and a few times I felt the main protagonists’ relationship was a bit rushed, as is sometimes a staple in the older “YA” books, but all this is easily looked passed and forgiven for such an interesting and new story. I love Schwab’s take on witches in this book, it’s refreshing and even a little brave, considering all the HP knock-offs out there. The only thing that really ever bothered me, was (and this may have been on purpose?) I could never really get a feel for what time period we were supposed to be in. I just made my best guess and went along.
The version of the book I just finished also had “The Ash-Born Boy” included at the end, which was a nice treat to get a backstory on one particular character that I will not name here for fear of spoilers, but it was a great addition to the main story of The Near Witch.
Just a quick note to add—any of you Audible members who might think about purchasing the Audible version of this book - DON’T!! I’ve been a member w/Audible for over 3 years now and THIS was the only book I’ve ever returned! I HATED to do that too, because I like to support my fav authors, but the Narrator is absolutely ridiculous! She sounds like my British-voiced Siri trying to read me a book. It’s truly unlistenable—the worse I’ve heard. But by all means—go buy yourself the actual physical book, or download the Kindle version. You will not be disappointed!
