The Near Witch cover art

The Near Witch

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The Near Witch

By: V. E. Schwab
Narrated by: Heather Wilds
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About this listen

"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. Romance Science Fiction & Fantasy Fantasy Fiction Magic Magic Users Witchcraft

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All stars
Most relevant  
As with every other reviewer, I have to agree that this book is ruined by the narration. I can't even rate the story properly as I was unable to listen far enough into it to gauge it accurately.
I am hugely disappointed as I have enjoyed many of V.E. Schwab's books. I'll have to read this myself.

Can't bare the Narrator's voice

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The intonation of the narrator was so consistent, it was like listening to an AI read. It messed.uo sentences with weird pauses that spoiled the flow of the text so you had to rethink the sentence yourself to make it make sense.

couldn't follow the narration style

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the story was fine nothing memorable but the narrator was not for me i just had it on in the background while doing other things

the narrator was unbearable

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No description on any scene or location. Poor plot with all characters blending together as all flat as each other. Couldn't finish it.

Bad.

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I'm sure the book is good (I wanted to buy it for a while) but unfortunately the narration was so weirdly rhythmic that I could not listen to more than half an hour before giving up.

could not listen through

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V E Schwaab is an amazing author so I was excited to listen to this book but unfortunately I couldn’t make it past the third chapter as the narration was so jarring. Really mad intonation and lack of any variation of emotion, shame.

Excellent author, terrible narration

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Nice story. But I hated the narration. Just awful, robotic, don’t tell the story, just read it, badly. It really lets the story down.

Terrible narration

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I couldn’t get far into this book at all because the narrator frustrated me so much. Every sentence ended in a raised tone like a question or someone very unsure of themselves. It was dreadful. To pick one positive for the narrator, she was good at dialogue, but that alas does not a complete audiobook make!

With regards to the story, it was engaging, and I want to know more but looks like I’ll be reading this one rather than listen.

Why was this narrator chosen?

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Such a shame as I love all of VE Schwab’s books but I had to grit my teeth through the narration!

Loved the story not the narrator!

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First time I’ve bought an audiobook and been literally unable to listen to it as a result of such bad narration. The woman”s voice lilted upwards in the extreme at the end of EVERY sentence! I’m really disappointed as I was so looking forward to the story after hearing The Invisible Life of Addi LaRue and loving it. What a disappointment- and I did try to adjust to the intonations of her voice but ended up getting more annoyed… Total rubbish

Worst narrator ever!

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