Blog Post goes up Oct 27th

TL;DR - Nah.

This was a huge miss for me from almost the first page. Ava and Kaye are two friends separated for years after Ava is turned (unwillingly) into a vampire and Kaye's mother is murdered. Ava knows nothing of the murder of Kaye's mother, instead she has been locked in her parents home abused and tortured by her family. Kaye has decided, after glimpsing Ava with blood on her face in a window, that Ava murdered her mother and has spent two years planning her revenge.

The plot is fairly simple, I'd venture so far as to say basic. The writing verges more into the simplistic style of middle grade novels with the amount of telling instead of showing, and the… stupidity of the characters. Kaye is for me the most frustrating, she makes assumptions and from there forward they are her facts. She has no room for critical thinking, and is incredibly frustrating to read about. Ava is unfortunately just as weak with very little personality.

Additionally there were a lot of topics and themes in this that were just handled poorly. From parental abuse to the racism and into the humans vs vampires feud. All of this could have been examined and broken apart, looked at and studied but it felt clumsily shoved in for some depth to the world.

This one was not a winner for me, I was left mostly annoyed while reading it so I unfortunately can't say I recommend it.

This was a good idea. Lots of story that kept me in gaged the whole time. I did feel like everything ended abruptly. Also Kaye’s reaction to her situation at the end was uncharacteristic of her. Ended like there could be more books, but this kinda fell a little flat for me at the end.

Vampires but not really a Halloween feeling read.

Older ya. Sapphic. Tension/ confusing feeling. Descriptions on how they felt with each other.

Check content warnings.

Special thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the digital ARC.

I enjoyed the beginning of this book the buildup for the story was good but a bit of a heavy info-dump that ultimately felt rushed in the end. I was super hyped for this novel having heard about it from several people and advertised on social media. Though I enjoyed most of the book, it felt over hyped. The book is unique from other vampire and witch novels however, I found myself putting it down repeatedly in favor of other reads. I found the magic system interesting and would have loved to have see this explored even more. There was quite a bit of back story that was hinted to but never got fleshed out. Ultimately, I think that if the book had a bit more editing, it would have been a pretty solid YA fantasy novel. It was good though I don’t find myself looking to do a reread a solid 3 star read.

This was a really intriguing read! I loved the characters and the world building. Everything felt so real and I could see myself stepping right into this world. My only complaint was that the pacing was a little slow in the beginning, but I still had a great time reading this book!

I tried to like this book. I wanted to love it. The beautiful cover, the intriguing storyline... but it fell flat for me. It felt very, Juvenile? The story went on and one but the characters didn't seem to grow or develop beyond the surface.

Read is your enjoy:
• witches
• vampires
• retellings
• forbidden love

While the cover drew me in this was unfortunately not for me. The lack of world building — something absolutely essential to a fantasy novel — made it hard to get into.

So so good I can’t wait to pick up a physical copy!

I will definitely be reading more of Francesca’s work

A queer Rapunzel retelling with vampires and witches? Count me in! I really enjoyed this book, though I thought the storytelling was a little choppy in some parts. The world building was fun and the characters were great. I wish Tristan and Casiopea had been developed more, but I loved Ava and Kaye.

I would like to start by saying this cover is absolutely gorgeous.

As for the novel and writing itself, I was honestly let down. It startled out putting us directly into the action which caused confusion. The world building and characters were a let down. I wasn’t really intrigued or interested. It read very cringy, fast, and childish.

Was super excited based on the cover and author but it just wasn’t for me. Their other book Diamond City was a better fit for me in general. The kindle addition of this arc had a lot of missing parts, weird lettering, split sentences, etc. Editing is clearly needed and this helped ruin the reading experience for me. When you’re already that frustrated the rest doesn’t help even in a good book. The world building was lacking. I did appreciate how Ava’s abuse and being turned against her will was written. That’s an unimaginable experience and it was written in an appropriately dark way. I however did have an issue distinguishing between our two FMCs Ava and Kaye. They were basically interchangeable except for Ava’s abuse.

3.5 stars

Witches, vampires, dark rapunzel retelling, and sapphic romance? Count me in!

Ava and Kaye used to be best of friends…until one night two years ago. Now, Kaye’s mother is dead, and Ava is a vampire. Bent on revenge for her mother’s death, Kaye is determined to prove her worth as a flame witch. She’s ready to rid the earth of any vampires, including her old friend.

Ava has been locked in a tower since she was turned two years ago. Her mother has been keeping a secret from the town, and she needs Ava to remain locked up in order to keep it. Ava never wanted to become a vampire. She longs for the day that she can escape. Her mother is planning something terrible, and she needs to stop it before it’s too late.
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The concept of the world was extremely interesting! I was pulled in right away. This book was a lot creepier than I was expecting it. And it touched upon some darker thoughts. But I ultimately really enjoyed this book! It was unique and imaginative.

Towards the end, I felt it was a bit rushed. However, I really enjoyed this book! I would definitely recommend this to someone looking for a new witchy read!

The cover got me with this one but the story within did not work for me. It just felt very rough rather than the polished work it should have been. Interesting idea and it will appeal to teens but I am unsure if they would stick with it.

I got about 25% through this and had to DNF. I was a little confused the whole time and it just didn't grip me like I had hoped

late review but anyways this book was so fun. i really enjoyed the characters and seeing their relationships play out.

I was so excited when I saw this book's cover and synopsis. Unfortunately, this one fell flat for me. The audiobook did it better, but I struggled to understand the storyline. I wanted to love it. Who wouldn't love a sapphic Rapunzel spin/retelling... but sadly, the romance and world-building didn't live up to the cover. I couldn't picture the world that these two characters were a part of, and I felt like they didn't interact much. I wanted the love story to be more of a central part of the story. I'm hoping that the author writes more and the work continues to get better. This is definitely suited for a YA audience and will do well with younger readers.

Ava and Kaye were best friends. When vampires broke through the magical barrier protecting the town, Kaye’s mother disappeared and Ava was turned into a vampire. Since then, Ava has been trapped in her house. When Ava sees a chance to finally escape, she takes it.

That’s the time that Kaye also sees her chance to fulfill her duty as a flame witch and kill vampires, including Ava. As they travel together, Kaye plans to turn her in the whole time.

But through their journey, they both discover more things about the world that turned everything upside down, their plans start to change.

This is a hard one to review. I don’t feel like there was anything wrong with this book necessarily, but it didn’t work for me.

The reader gets Ava and Kaye’s POV which I struggled with. They both had the same tone to the point where I often forgot whose POV I was in. I’d have to look to be reminded or wait until I got some identifying part to remember.

There was also a struggle of pacing for me. Too often it felt like it was dragging and not moving forward. It felt stuck. I do think part of this was due to the constant state of angst. The tension felt so high most of the time, for one reason or another, that when it did pick up I felt so burnt out that I couldn’t properly enjoy it.

I would have loved more world-building. A lot felt like it was glossed over or quickly told without anything beyond that. It felt like there was so much potential for this world, but it was just continually glossed over or ignored.

This simply wasn’t the book for me. I wanted to love it. Witches, vampires and a Rapunzel retelling, but it just missed the mark for me.

I started reading this book, but I lost interest in the story and did not end up finishing it before it expired.

This story follows two girls who are current enemies but used to be friends. Ava is a witch and Kaye is a vampire. Ava has been trapped in her home for two years thanks to her controlling mother, but she escapes one night. Kaye follows her and convinces her to travel together into the forest, while secretly planning to turn her in. Ava agrees, hoping to rekindle their old friendship, and the romantic feelings she'd started to have for Kaye before that terrible night. The rest of the plot can be found in the synopsis, but I personally think it gives too much away.

I really wanted to love this more. It's a decent sapphic retelling of Rapunzel and had the elements for a compelling story, but the execution left me a little disappointed.

I read a lot of fantasy, but this world was a little tricky to understand and could have used a little more tightening up. The romantic progression and character development were more show than tell, which impacted how invested I felt in the two girls' story. I was hoping for well-rounded, complex, and morally grey characters, but they felt one-dimensional to me at times. There was also so much angst, which is fun for me sometimes, but I needed some calmer moments and maybe some humour to match the overall pacing and tone of the story.

That being said, I did like Ava and Kaye. I do think this book had a lot of potential and is worth a read if you want an enemies to lovers fantasy romance that is entertaining but isn't too complex or layered. I didn't connect with this story as much as I'd hoped to, but I think other readers might, and I am interested in picking up another book by this author.

The Witch and the Vampire was a 3 star read for me. While there were some parts that I enjoyed and would have really liked to know more about, nothing really grasped at me and made me want to reread this again.

Ava is a witch turned vampire who we are introduced to while she is being held by all intents against her will by her mother... who is also the vampire that turned her. Vampires are held prisoner in the woods by a bone wall, but on occasion, they break free, and that's when the flame witches come in to protect the city.

Kaye is a flame witch who used to be best friends with Ava. Until Ava disappeared on the night Kaye's mother was murdered. Fate finds their paths crossing once again and what ensues is a race against time to protect the city.

I found the magic system intriguing and would have loved to have seen this explored even more. There was quite a bit of back story that was hinted to but never got fleshed out. Ultimately, I think that had this had a bit more editing, it would have been a pretty solid YA fantasy novel.

I received a free copy of The Witch and the Vampire from Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press (Wednesday Books) in exchange for an honest review.

Queer Rapunzel retelling, cursed forest, vampires, magic. Tell me that’s not a beautiful mixture of adventure-romance possibilities. And! It delivered.

The Witch and the Vampire is fast-paced, exciting, and steamy (though not too steamy). The vampires were unique, which is a feat in and of itself, and the enemies-to-lovers trope was executed exceptionally well. I desperately hope we return to this world in future writings from Francesca Flores, because this was an amazing introduction.