The Near Witch Audiobook By V. E. Schwab cover art

The Near Witch

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The Near Witch

By: V. E. Schwab
Narrated by: Heather Wilds
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"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. Fantasy Historical Magic Romance Science Fiction & Fantasy Fiction Magic Users Witchcraft
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This is technically VE's debut book that was removed from shelves after publication years ago. They re-released it and I enjoyed every minute of it. Especially the ending!!

VE Schwab is an expert story teller

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I just can’t get past chapter 6, the narrator is awful, sorry dear but it sounds like a strange robot

Narration is robot like and very distracting

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A intriguing story like " The Giver" by Lois Lowry.
If you are looking for a novel all about romance you will be disappointed but
if you would enjoy a witchy story, then I recommend it.

Wonderful story.

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I’m not actually sure how good the story is because I couldn’t get past the halting, oddly rhythmic, narration. Schwab is an excellent storyteller. This story deserved better.

Halting narration makes the story hard to listen to.

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I couldn’t get past the narration. Had to DNF. :( every sentence ends in an upward lilt, almost like each line is a question. Unlistenable.

Dnf

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This narrator was really bad. I almost stopped listening to the story because of how bad the reading was.

Great Story. Really bad narrator. ☹️

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I had to borrow it from my library in ebook form because the narrator is so bad I couldn't enjoy this at all. The story is worth reading but I couldn't do it this way.

worst possible narrator

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I wish I would have read the reviews first. The story could be could. I won’t know because I couldn’t handle the narrators cadence. It just flows in mind numbing waves and I’m too distracted and annoyed to keep listening. Sad. Really ruined what is probably a good book.

Worst performance ever

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Unable to finish the story due to the narrator. She’s very robotic and Carrie’s the same tone throughout.

DNF

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Imagine Emily Blunt doing a William Shatner impression for any entire book. V.E. Schwab is great but this was a struggle to finish, because of the narrator. I will have to read this one when I want to revisit it. It was a good story.

Terrible narration ruins good story.

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