The cover of this book is absolutely gorgeous. I wish the story would have been just as amazing because I thought the plot was very interesting. I really struggled to get into this book. I don't know why but it just wasn't grabbing me from the onset. I've picked this up, put it down, and picked it up again on several occasions to try to read it.

This is a book with a lot of interesting ideas that weren't explored enough. The worldbuilding isn't enough to feel like the setting, which plays a major role in the plot, is lived-in. I had a hard time gauging the distances between locations or what the scope of this world was supposed to be. Most named countries and cities just feel like places for a character to be from, with little to them beyond that.

I did enjoy the magic system and spin on vampire mythology, but the exposition is heavy-handed. Every time a chapter opens with some new detail about vampirism or flame magic, it grows predictable that this will be what saves our protagonists' skins this time around. It would have been nice to see this woven organically into the narrative rather than as epistolaries being handed to the reader - which in turn would make the growth of both main characters' powers feel less consistently convenient in timing.

Speaking of the main characters, their relationship is the strongest part of this book. Anyone looking for some YA friends to enemies to lovers (with sapphic bonus points) will have a good time with these two. With maybe 50 more pages to dig into the crucial worldbuilding, I can see what the vision for this book was.

This took me forever to get through.. I REALLY really wanted to love it, but it fell flat for me. The cover is gorgeous, and the synopsis pulled me in. This read very juvenile, and had weird pacing. I also cannot do animal death at all.. so I wish I was warned about that.

I loved the premise of this book, a Rapunzel-esque, sapphic, vampire/witch romance?? It sounded so good!! And the cover is absolutely gorgeous! Unfortunately, the story just didn’t work for me. I liked the characters and the world and magic system the author created was interesting but it really struggled to hold my attention. I found myself reading a few chapters, putting the book down for a few days, and when I picked it up again, I didn’t remember a single thing that I’d previously read! There was just something lacking that made me kind of forget about it anytime I put it down.

Maybe I was just not in a good place to read a fantasy, but with a fantasy book, I expect to be pulled in and fully immersed in the world, and that didn’t happen here. It was an okay read, and like I said, the world and magic system were really interesting, so I’m curious to see what the author does next. I just wish I’d liked this one a bit more.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the complimentary e-arc. All opinions are my own.

I am usually not a fan of vampire romance because they end up being chronically heterosexual with a power dynamic that makes me uncomfortable, but needless to say, this book was wonderful. with none of that. There were two powerful female main characters that had a well-written romance. The setting was interesting, and the worldbuilding was unique

However, the plot left me feeling lost and some parts of the book were tough to get through. I didn't explicitly understand the implications of Casopeia's powers, and many of the antagonist's motivations were lacking in depth and clarity.

Overall, I did really enjoy this book and I look forward to reading more from this author and this publisher. Many thanks for this advanced copy, both to the publisher and to Netgalley.

I am so thankful for netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book. I am an avid reader of both vampire and witch stories so a book that combines these both is the book for me! Sleep is my favorite thing in the world, so giving up sleep is a big deal for me, which I absolutely did with this book.

Unfortunately, I was wildly dissapoinmtinetd in this book. It was bland, boring, and underwhelming.

This book was a bit of a let down. It was set in a world that required quite a bit of world building that just wasn't there. It seems like the author relied upon traditional vampire tropes which is perfectly fine but I also didn't REALIZE she was relying on traditional vampire tropes until 3/4 of the way through the book. The two girls felt a little flat to me, I was getting them confused throughout most of the book. I tried to start the eBook multiple times but ultimately had to rely on the audiobook to get through it. There were some good one liners and quotes throughout the book that stood out against the rest of the writing which goes to show it could have used a bit more cohesiveness in the writing style. It wasn't painful to get through by any means but I was rarely on the edge of my seat, and was mindlessly trying to get through it.

this book sent me into the biggest reading slump.... god. the pacing was off, the romance was rushed and there was no world building. also the characters were just completely insufferable. would not recommend to anyone, unfortunately.

<i>Thanks to Wednesday Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. </i>

I really enjoyed this ex-friends to enemies to lovers tale! We follow a witch turned vampire and a vampire hunter witch as they band together to make it through a dangerous forest. I came into this with no expectations and I had a lot of fun with this book! It swept me along on a fun and fast paced adventure. I'd definitely read this again!

Title: The Witch and the Vampire
Author: Francesca Flores
Release Date: March 21st, 2023
Page Count: 355
Format: Audiobook and Netgalley
Start Date: March 25th, 2023
Finish Date: March 26th, 2023

Rating: 5 Stars

Review:

This book is a queer Rapunzel retelling. I wasn't aware of this until I was about halfway through the book. It made sense to me though. It just reminded me so much of something. I couldn't place my finger on it until I read the description. This book is so dark, but it's so beautiful as well. I would even say it's one of my favorite sapphic stories. I want to read the book again. I want to know what happens after this book ends! I want to read other books by this author as well. I'd love to see this book turned into a movie as well.

This was so well written. The author description of the character and the world was so colorful and made me feel like I was there. I love how she wrote the characters personalities. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a detail world building fantasy

I gave this a four out of five stars I really enjoyed. I liked the character growth, the feeling of liking your best friend. The story line gave me some vibes of The Originals. I loved the ending so much.

DNF
I was super intrigued by the premise of this novel, however it fell short. The pacing was a little off and slow I found the protagonists likeable but a little shallow. I for some reason was unable to just push through and finish this book. I had mixed feelings about the written passages at the beginnings of each chapter, I love mixed media, but I just didn't love how disconnected they felt from the rest of the story, for the most part. Interesting premise, but not my favorite execution.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC of THE WITCH AND THE VAMPIRE!

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Brief synopsis: Two years ago, flame witch Kaye’s mother was killed by a vampire, and root witch Ava was turned into one. Since then, Kaye trains to be the best flame witch she can be in order to get revenge on the vampire who killed her mother, and Ava has been locked away in her family’s home, being used as a power well for her vampire mother Eugenia. One day, Ava escapes, and the two former friends must join forces in order to take on the corruption that’s infiltrated their once peaceful world.

I had high hopes for this one. A queer Rapunzel retelling? Count me the hell in! But honestly, it felt a little flat. Starting with the world-building, I felt like it had some solid foundations like establishing the history of witches and the feud between vampires and witches, but some of the other stuff felt less explained, like if there are other kinds of witches and how widespread are these two groups. I enjoyed learning about the world and how different powers worked, but it wasn’t super interesting enough to write home about.

Same with the plot; I definitely see the ties to Rapunzel and love that we have a queer take on the Rapunzel story, but the plot didn’t really appeal to me after some time. I wanted to see how it ended and was relatively satisfied with the end.

I’m not usually a vampire fan but this take on vampires was interesting. It had some of the normal qualities — blood to survive and strengthened abilities — but no aversion to sunlight or anything else like that. I also love the magic system (or what we got to see of it) but would’ve loved for that to be expanded on.

As for the romance, it didn’t feel necessary! A lot of these fantasy or horror or thriller books I’ve been reading ARCs of have had some seemingly unnecessary romance in them. I would’ve totally been fine with Kaye and Ava just rekindling their friendship rather than a full blown romance, or even have them just take it slow after the whole plot went down. It felt forced but honestly, it made reading to the end a bit more interesting.

If you wanna try a sapphic Rapunzel retelling, definitely give this one a try!

This was a good story. It’s a Rapunzel retelling. Ava has been locked away since a horrible night the ended in her being turned into a Vampire and her best mother was killed. She has not seen Kaye since that night two years prior. Ava must escape her mother and seek help from the Vampires. Her former best friend follows her with the intention of turning her in for being a vampire. Events change things and they learn the most rely on each other even though they pose threats to each other.

It was an okay story. I had a hard time getting into it. It was enjoyable. If you like Rapunzel retellings, witches and vamps, and LGBTQ 🏳️‍🌈 rep definitely check this one out.




Thank you NetGalley for an Arc for an honest review of this book.

A Supernatural Rapunzel Retelling. The story is captivating from the beginning, it is well written and the characters are great. Ava, a root witch turned vampire, and Kaye, a flame vampire hunter. Their friends to enemies to lovers relationship was what had me hooked. I loved how it builds slowly and the plot of the story is action packed. I really enjoyed reading this book, I was so immersed in the story that I despised Zeno's as much as Ava did and his ending was well deserved. The ending of the story was great, I simply loved this book.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book!
Ava has been trapped in her home since she was turned into a vampire. When she finally gets the chance to escape, she runs into her former best friend, Kaye, a witch who's mother was killed by vampires. Together they set out for a nearby town, each with their own motivations for teaming up.
While I enjoyed this story, and loved the relationship dynamic between the two girls, the pacing of the novel felt off at times. Also while I could see that the characters each had their own motivations, they seemed a bit simplistic at times for what was going o. This was however a fun read and the cover is absolutely stunning.

A queer Rapunzel retelling featuring a witch and a vampire should have been a surefire home! Unfortunately, it just wasn't for me. There wasn't anything that stood out as bad, it's more that *nothing* stood out. I read the book a week ago, immediately forgot everything that happened, and continued to forget about it until I suddenly remembered just now that I hadn't submitted a review yet.

I'm sure THE WITCH AND THE VAMPIRE will find its audience, but sadly that didn't include me.

I got this as a NetGalley and had a hard time getting into it. At the time, I did not finish it. I gave it another go with the audiobook and I enjoyed it! My true rating would probably be 3.5 if they could give half’s. The first half was honestly more strong than the second half for me. I felt like the last half was rushed. The magic in the world was awesome but I do wish it was explained a little more, or we were given more history. Overall, it was a really fun read!

I love the cover of this book - I think it’s very pretty. Unfortunately, I did not finish this read because the writing style was not something I enjoyed.