The Near Witch

By: V. E. Schwab

Narrated by: Heather Wilds

"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.

VE Schwab is an expert story teller

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!!

Victoria Always Had It!

Beautiful. Definitely a story worth reading if you aren't too interested in the overly intense.

Terrible narrator, okay story

The text itself is a fine story. I’ve read several of Schwab’s books that are more recent than this, and I can tell how much she’s grown and improved since this story. But it’s still worth a read—but it’s not worth a listen. The narrator for this book is absolutely awful. She narrates the way others parody William Shatner. I couldn’t wait to get to the end so I didn’t have to listen to her. In fact, I didn’t even listen to the included bonus story because I couldn’t stand to listen to this narrator any further.

my son loved the story. sadly, narrator ruined it.

I couldn't listen because narrator followed same cadence the whole book unless characters were speaking. it was sooo grating. wow, I hope other Swhab books have different narrator.

The voice actor is awful

The narrator for this book is just awful. Her voice and the monotone manner with which she speaks is almost painful to listen to. Her inflection is all wrong and it really detracts from the story. If it weren’t for the narrator, I’d be hooked. I’m going to finish the book, but I wish I had bought it in hardback to avoid listening to the Narrator.