I really enjoyed this book. Fantasy novels with LGBTQ+ representation to this scale, are few and far between. This novel brought together all the aspects I love in books namely witches, vampires and queer representation. The Witch and the Vampire was well written and captivating and I highly recommend it!

Flores’s The City of Diamond and Steel is one of my favorite series so I was super excited to start The Witch and the Vampire. I wasn’t disappointed!

With same depth of storytelling, Flores delivers a detailed and complex magic system set within a multi-layered world filled with everything I could ask for in a vampire fantasy! The characters are the chef’s kiss to this queer love story that has me hoping for more!

My thanks to St. Martins Press for this gifted DRC!

This re-imagining of the classic Rapunzel tale is filled with magic and romance. Being squashed between a witch and a vampire was a delightful adventure for me! It brought me back to the peak of Twilight craze. However, this story is entirely unique and worth a read.
Plus, the cover as absolutely GORGEOUS! That alone is reason enough to get a copy.

Yikes! This book was my first DNF of the year.

I think it could have done with another round of editing. Do not give me shoddy world building in a fantasy book. I loath it! Also, so many implausible conveniences.... I saw her as a vampire so therefore she is. Well how convenient for you MC.

Thank you Netgalley and St.Martin's Press for allowing the chance to review this arc.

2.5 Stars

What if Repunzel was a witch and her mother turned her into a vampire? Repunzel's best friend is also a witch and lives in the town that Repunzel looks down at from her tower. Her best friend has seen Repunzel in the window of the tower and knows shes a vampire, she also believes that Repunzel killed her mother.

The first half of this was great, I was really enjoying it and I think it is written perfectly for a YA audience (14-16). I was interested in the story line and wanted to keep reading. Once I hit the 60% mark though and explinations/reveals started happening the book lost my attention. The explinations/reveals weren't explained well so it got a bit confusing and felt like there was a shift in the book. Like two different people had written each half and had different ideas on how the story should go. I would be interested in reading more by this author in the future because I think they have some really good ideas and concepts for stories.

I really liked this book. It was a nice soft fantasy, with a sapphic romance as the subplot. It was really refreshing that the queerness was just there, in this universe there wasn’t homophobia or anything like that. Instead, the issues between the two girls were because of misunderstandings and secrets…and the fact that one of them became a vampire, an enemy of witches. I really liked the worldbuilding too, it was a fresh take on a fantasy world without being too complicated. Additionally the anti-hero themes were great; one of the girls, Kaye, felt morally superior to vampires, but as the book went on she began to question her assumptions and realized that things are not as black and white as they seem. All in all, a wonderful read and I would highly recommend this book! I hope this author writes another one soon!

I really wanted to like this book, but unfortunately it was just... boring. The plot felt overdone, and the characters two-dimensional. I look forward to more publications of the author, as they grow and compound on their strengths.

Stopped reading at 21% into the book.

I was unable to finish reading because, in my opinion, the book still needs heavy editing. The author's writing felt extremely repetitive, and the story seemed to drag and go around in circles with no forward movement. The characters did not feel fully fleshed out, and the plot seemed to rely on some antisemitic tropes, such as blood libel. I highly suggest the author and editors review and edit the book again, because the story does have potential but it is strongly lacking in its current form.

When I first heard of this book, I was so excited. A queer retelling of Rapunzel? Count me in. That sounds right up my alley. And while I didn't hate this book, I definitely didn't love it as much as I would have thought.

Where to start… It felt a little younger in terms of audience for a lot of it. It felt like there were so many aspects that were not as deeply explored as I wish it had been. I wanted her to dive deeper on so many things, like the characters, the abusive relationship Ava has with her mother, the world, the magic, and the lore of the world.

In the end, I think the premise had a lot of potential, but it just fell flat. It just left me wishing I had been given more, because it left me feeling like the best thing about the book was the premise. Everything else waa just a little underwhelming, and I think it could have been so much more.

This was a fun, quick read! And I mean witches, vampires and Rapunzel vibes plus it’s sapphic…yes please! I think the story and the writing were pretty on par for a standalone YA fantasy. More world building and character development would have been nice and taken the story to the next level, but there’s just not really enough time in a single book to get much deeper. And that was fine, it’s still an entertaining story and I enjoyed reading it.

There was a lot of back and forth with Ava and Kaye’s friends to enemies to lovers arc but I thought they were sweet and I liked them together. I appreciated that there was no spice and that it actually felt like a YA romance - unlike a lot of YA books lately that feel more mature/adult and probably shouldn’t be marketed to younger teens. Sometimes it would jump around a bit from a lot of explanation/telling to some things happening really suddenly without much explanation. And the ending felt a little bit rushed and slightly unexpected…but I did actually really like how everything was wrapped up. Overall an enjoyable read that probably won’t absolutely suck you in and make you obsessed but will be a fun little break from reality.

I'm not quite sure how to review this. The concept itself was interesting, and I liked reading Ava's chapters. But overall, the book felt too repetitive to me; we kept getting the same thoughts and emotions and lines repeated back to us over and over again. The ending itself was interesting, and I'd definitely read more by Francesca Flores again. Overall, this wasn't the book for me.

Overall: Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/Wednesday Books for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.


Content warnings: blood, physical violence

Rep: sapphic relationship, old friends to lovers/enemies to lovers

Thoughts
Neutral thoughts:

This was really dense. While I thought that the overall plot was interesting and what was going on the world, I just felt kind of overwhelmed? The sharing of information was not paced very well and it would be too much at once. And because I felt overwhelmed reading this, I feel like I missed some things that were happening and I honestly feel like I need to reread this book in order to give this a proper rating.

The Witch and the Vampire was my first read by Francesca Flores and I was extremely impressed. I love to read retellings and Tangled has been one of my favorite Disney movies. I loved the Rapunzel parallels this book had. This cover is absolutely gorgeous. The story was captivating and I really enjoyed the twist and the main characters. I found Ava compelling. She's our rapunzel and our vampire. I also enjoyed Kaye’s character. Kaye hates vampires for killing her mother. Kaye is a talented fighter and is always willing to protect her hometown. Thank you so much NetGalley for giving me this amazing opportunity. I can’t wait to have a physical copy for my personal library. I will definitely recommend this book to my students.

The Witch and the Vampire is a sapphic retelling of Rapunzel. It follows the story of two young women, Ava and Kaye, who work together to overcome their differences and break down prejudices while traveling through an enchanted forest.

One of the aspects that I really enjoyed reading in this story was the lore and history of the vampires. The author did a great job weaving an immersive world that felt magical to the reader. In addition, the way the forest played such a massive part in the story was fascinating; I liked being able to see how the decisions of the vampires were affecting nature and how the forest had a mind of its own in fighting back.

The magic system with the witches was also fascinating. I wish it had been fleshed out a bit more, but I liked seeing how root witches could control the earth and were in charge of growing food while fire witches used their magic to guard and protect the people.

I also enjoyed Ava's character. She had a lot of beautiful growth by accepting herself and fighting for her freedom. It was great to see the ending and how her power was used to be able to impact the world she lived in for the better. While I wished we could have seen more of that growth with Kaye, I did appreciate Ava and watching her go from the "Rapunzel" aspect of the story to a strong independent person.

However, while the story had great strength in its plot and lore, the relationship between Ava and Kaye fell flat. I didn't quite get the impactful punch of friends to enemies to lovers the author aimed for. It felt like the relationship didn't have many opportunities to grow and relied too heavily on "they were friends in the past" to build a connection.

We were told that Ava and Kaye used to be close, but we weren't allowed to see them rebuild and repair their relationship. We didn't get those small moments to see that love blossom between them despite their frustration and hatred for one another. Because of this, it made the eventual romance between Ava and Kaye feel out of place.

Another aspect of the book that made it difficult to read was the head-hopping. Like many books, each chapter is told from a different perspective, but most chapters would end on a cliffhanger. So when it came time to move on to the next chapter, it felt like whiplash because you were jumping from one massive moment to a typical beginning of a new chapter. It made the overall story feel choppy, like there wasn't any continuity or flow. It especially felt this way when the new chapter would revert back in time to tell the same scenario, just from someone else's perspective.

Overall, this book is a decent read with an interesting plot. And if you're looking for a sapphic YA fantasy book that puts little emphasis on romance or relationship building and you don't mind head hopping, this book could be an interesting read.

Upon hearing of it, I was very interested in The Witch and the Vampire, as it seemed to have everything I look for in a book. Unfortunately, as I got my hands on a copy, I found the writing to fall quite short. For me, the main appeal of this book was the Rapunzel retelling premise and enemies-to-lovers plot line. Unfortunately, I found that the non-romantic plot was not given much page time, and that the enemies-to-lovers relationship did not work, as it was only one sided. Ava was simply too good and forgiving of a character to feel real, and Kaye's assumptions and reason to hate her felt dumb. It was hard to root for them as a couple when I didn't sense any tension. Overall, this story had a ton of potential, but I found the writing to feel very simple. Still, I'm sure for some this will be a worth while read based off some of the stronger elements, such as the atmosphere and sapphic representation.

I enjoyed reading the dynamic between the characters. I liked the book cover and the over all theme of the book. However, I don't think it would be an addition to our collection. I have mentioned the book to other departments to see if they themselves would enjoy the book.

Well... this was a book. It wasn't particularly bad, but it also didn't do anything (at all) that stood out. The characters were pretty one note, Kaye's motivations and beliefs seem to sway at the drop of a hat, which was irrating. Ava was an okay character. Tristian was absolutely one of the most useless characters I've seen in literature in a while. I don't really get why it's being called a 'Rapunzel Retelling', that just feels like an annoying marketing ploy. Again, there's nothing egregiously wrong with this book, but there's nothing great about it either, which is really disappointing as I was looking forward to this book for awhile now and is one of the few ARCs I went out of my way to request.

Special thanks to Wednesday Books and Macmillan for a physical ARC in exchange for an honest review

Thank you so much to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book early! I love fairy tale retellings, especially when they’re queer and I was so excited for this book. The premise is intriguing, as a young witch turned vampire is held hostage by her mother to steal her power and her childhood best friend believes she killed her mother. Kaye was a well-rounded character, who was flawed in her hubris and her skepticism of Ava, but Ava, especially at the beginning, read too much like a damsel in distress despite her power. It becomes clear that Ava has been abused into submission by her mother and stepfather but I sometimes found her blind faith in the journal and naïveté frustrating because she has lived in the real world for the first 16 years of her life. In contrast, Kaye read like the kind of fantasy heroine that you root for.
Despite the intriguing premise of this book, I was disappointed by the clunky info dump in the early chapters. Ava explaining the world and the magic system does its job by introducing the reader to the world, but some of it could certainly have been shown rather than told as the story unfolded.
Nevertheless, I’m glad I stuck with this story and read Ava and Kaye’s story through to the end, because their relationship trajectory from their history as best friends to one-sided enemies to lovers was one I found myself rooting for.
Once the world building was established the story became more seamless and fluid. This bloody romance rife with betrayal and plot twists is one many fans of young adult fantasy romance will enjoy.

DNF @ 15%. This is a sapphic Rapunzel retelling that just isn’t for me. The writing is too middle grade and I am not the right audience for this book. There was too much telling in the little bit that I did read and not enough showing.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Wednesday Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Touted as a queer Rapunzel retelling of a vampire imprisoned by her family and a witch trained to kill vampires.

Ava and Kaye were best friends until the night Kaye’s mother was murdered and Ava was turned into a vampire by her controlling mother. Ava is unique in that she’s also a witch. There is a Bone Wall that contains the vampires in the forest, outside of the populated villages.

The plot centers around preventing the wall from coming down and escaping from Ava’s cruel stepfather and mother.

The idea of the book was good. Though the plot didn’t always hold my attention. The last third was a tad underwhelming. I had trouble envisioning what was going on.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy.