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The Near Witch cover art

The Near Witch

By: V. E. Schwab
Narrated by: Heather Wilds
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Publisher's Summary

"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. 

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. 

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. 

Part fairy tale, part love story, Victoria Schwab's debut novel is entirely original yet achingly familiar: a song you heard long ago, a whisper carried by the wind, and a dream you won't soon forget. 

This new edition of The Near Witch also included the in-universe short story "The Ash-Born Boy" and a never-before-seen introduction from V. E. Schwab.

©2019 V. E. Schwab (P)2019 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

What listeners say about The Near Witch

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
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Loved this!

So glad the story wasn’t ruined by the narrator.

I enjoyed everything about this and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes this author

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

great story, let down by the narration

as much as I loved the story, and have enjoyed this author's stories so far, the narration was far too stiff and formal for the story. I hope that one day they will redo these wonderful stories with a narrator more sensitive to the style of writing, genre, and mood of the book.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Story ok but narrator not

The narration was really hard to get past. It was like they were reading the news. I had to listen on 2x speed in the end as the story was interesting

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Cool story, bad narration

The story is probably great, but I’m going to get a physical copy of the book as the narration was too distracting. She speaks in a very rhythmic way with no variation, and it made it hard to listen to.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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The story

The story was good, the way it’s read is not smooth a little annoying. Not sure if it’s the way it was written or the way it was read 🤔

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Can't get past the narration style

I've only managed to listen to half an hour but I think the story is good. I can't handle the narration style though, so I've given up. Strongly recommend listening to the sample in full before purchasing!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Problematic Narration

I struggled with the narrator’s monotone delivery and singular pace. It lacked a varied delivery that I’ve come to expect from others. There was no build up or expression to match the events in the book. The exception was when she used good expression and varied her pace and prosody for the witches voices but it wasn’t near enough.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A fairy tale I can't believe I'd never heard before.

I enjoyed the story very much, however the narrator's cadence was difficult to follow and took some time to get used to.

If I hadn't already loved another book by the same author I would have given up after a couple of chapters.

I'm glad I pushed through. This story is like a reworking of a Grimm's Fairytale but completely new. The folk lore deserves a place amongst the greats.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Maybe read the book instead

As others have said, the narration is very difficult to get through. She puts a hard emphasis on every 5th or so word, you feel like you are on a dull relentless march. It’s really distracting. I was stubborn and wanted to finish, so I preserved. Speeding it up helped a little. I liked the story well enough, very atmospheric and brooding. If you like that kind of thing I would recommend buying a physical copy of the book instead.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A secluded village, elemental magic, mayhem

This was an absorbing tale, with clever shades of light and dark. Well written with natural, rather than over-extended, use of suspense. The characters are glimpsed in snatches, leaving the reader to make them whole

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