BOOK NOOK; The Near Witch by V E Schwab

 "The wind on the moors will always be a tricky thing. It bends its voice and casts it into any shape, long and thin enough to slide beneath the door, stout enough to seem a thing of weight and breath and bone."

This is the first Easter holiday in nine years where I haven't had to write essays and assignments, so I wanted to make the most of a lazy long bank holiday weekend, by reading in the garden.  I have been enjoying the brighter, warmer spring days, sitting in my new garden rocking-chair, wrapped in a green-witch velvet cloak as evening falls, reading The Near Witch, which is a tale of superstition and witchcraft.

It tells the story of Lexi and her encounter with a strange boy who fades into smoke and air one evening.  The locals are very distrustful of strangers and when children begin to be stolen from their beds at night, Lexi has to protect her new friend.  In a small village on the edge of the moors, superstition is rife and talk soon runs to the Near Witch, a woman who was tried by a mob for her witchery and who died hundreds of years earlier.  Now she is a mere bedtime story, her name cloaked in folklore and superstition, a threat to naughty children.  

But Lexi knows there is more to this story than meets the eye. She has befriended two other witches, a pair of elderly sisters who live on the edge of the moorland, so she knows that witches are often good people, if a little misunderstood.   As more and more children disappear in the dead of night, Lexi has to try and track them down, or lose her magical friends to a fresh witch hunt.

This is a lovely book, where the moorland is like an additional character in its own right.  Here the wind sings a song of enticement, as crows caw warnings from up above and the bark, moss and stone take on a life of their own.  It is a very cottage-core novel, with  magical green-witch vibes throughout, so it is the perfect kind of book to read in the garden on a warm, sunny day. 

I didn't enjoy it quite as much as Gallant, as at times The Near Witch can feel quite slow and plodding, but as this was the author's first novel, that is only to be expected.  I did enjoy reading it, though the pacing wasn't always great and after some plodding along, the ending seemed rather rushed.  However, it is still an interesting story and a book I am happy to add to my witchy collection of novels. It is certainly worth a read if you like witchy tales and it is the ideal companion book to read in a forest or woodland setting. Happy Reading!

BB Marie x