The Witch and the Vampire is a queer Rapunzel retelling. Fairytale retellings are some of my favorite types of books so I could not wait to get into this one. I had a hard time getting into this one though. First of all the cover is gorgeous. This is a friends to lovers to enemies. The story had so much promise but the execution was not the greatest. I also feel like this is closer to a Tangled retelling. The narrator for the audiobook was very good though.

3.5

A sapphic Rapunzel retelling with Vampires and Witches? Sounds exciting! While it was overall well written, the book sadly fell short of its premise. Heavy on the worldbuilding, easy on the Romance, this book might just not have been what I was expecting or looking for.
Overall I felt like this YA fantasy novel is best geared towards the younger end of the YA age range.

The audiobook itself was well produced and I much enjoyed the narrator who guided us through the story.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this arc!

3.5/5 stars

I was looking forward to this story for a while, and it was ok. For the most part it was a solid 4 stars, but a few things happened at the end that brought it down for me. The story was intriguing and I love the setting, the forest was so ominous! The love story was sweet and heartwrenching.

One of my main things I disliked about this audiobook was Ava's narrator. Her voice for Ava was a little grating at first but I got used to it. What I didn't get used to was how when she tried to make any adult sound mysterious and bad, she spoke with so many pauses that she just reminded me of William Shatner and I hated every second of listening to those characters 😂😂😂

This book was darker than expected for me and the child abuse aspect spiked my anxiety so I had to put it down. The writing is good though and I imagine other folks would enjoy it

The vampire was kept locked away from her friends and the community was told she was sick, for years. When the girls rediscover each other they think if they can get to the magical city they can save themselves and their community. Once again, the story was so much more focused on the "girl drama".

I wanted to know more about the magic system, and why the forest was eating people! But the drama kept dragging on, and I turned it off.

I would like to start of by saying that Disney's Rapunzel remake is one of my favourite animated movies. So hearing that this was going to be a queer Rapunzel retelling, I had to get my hands on it.

But this book was not for me.

Not only was it extremely young YA, but the writing also felt very young and debut style writing.

The main characters stepfather creeped me out from the get go and his interactions with the 14 year old main character had me ultimately DNF'ing this one.

The narration was lovely and I'll be listening to the narrator again.

Thank you to the publishers for allowing me early access to this audiobook.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Cover. Check ✔️
Title. Check ✔️
Interresting premisies. Check ✔️

What you’ll find in The Witch and the Vampire:
✨ Slow Burn
✨ Forced Proximity
✨ Friends-to-Enemies-to-Lovers
✨ Found Family

A Rapunzel retelling with a sapphic romance, set in a Fantasy world of magic and monsters. This sounded like something amazing!

The audiobook is very well narrated and really got me through.

Unfortunately, the plot didn’t really live up to my expectations. It was a little undercooked and the atmosphere descriptions could be enriched. I think there’s potential just needed a little extra.


I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you NetGalley for this gifted copy.

This was a fun, easy fantasy to get into, and follow.
I had a good time listening to it, and that's all I can remember - sorry!

THE WITCH AND THE VAMPIRE is a sapphic romance, and Rapunzel retelling, set in a Fantasy world of magic and monsters.

I listened to the audiobook format, and loved the narration choice for Kaye and Ava, which swept me away.

*many thanks to Netgalley and publisher for the gifted copy

Audio review: The narrators were fine and did a decent job with the material available



Main review: I'm not sure this deserves some of the negative reviews I've seen in terms of plot cohesion and story. Honestly, after some of the rubbish by S J Maas that apparently is considered high art, why this is reviewing poorly genuinely baffles me. This is far more coherent and less annoying than say A Court of Silver Flames. Anyway.



The story was fine. A Sapphic, loose retelling of Rapunzel featuring a witch and a vampire as MCs. I actually appreciate books that depict maternal abuse because it feels as if that gets skipped over a lot in favour of the sexist father figure. That said, it didn't feel particularly well explored or nuanced here. Perhaps it's that sort of book - a light read, that doesn't demand much featuring f/f romance and paranormal creatures. All of which is fine. I think I fall slightly outside the target audience in terms of how tropes were explored because it didn't really immerse me and the plot was quite linear. However those who appreciate more straight forward reads will probably enjoy it.

I was so excited when I saw this book's cover and synopsis. Unfortunately, this one fell flat for me. The audiobook made this book 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.

I have been dying to read this book for way too long. When I finally got my hands on a digital arc, it sat in my kindle app. Then it was release day and I bought it, where it sat on my shelf. It’s only a couple weeks later and I got my hands (ears) on an audiobook from the library… and I’m kicking myself for not reading it sooner.

This has everything I love. It’s queer (sapphic to be exact), it’s a retelling (Rapunzel), it has vampires (Alice from Twilight, anyone?), witches (Bonnie from Vampire Diaries???) and it’s (Friends to) Enemies to Lovers!!! I devoured the story, to the point that I wanted to slow myself down to really get everything. I’m sure I’ll be rereading it at some point, I loved it THAT much!

So Ava & Kaye used to be friends, but they had a bit of a falling out after Ava disappeared on the night that vampires broke into their town’s wards and killed Kaye’s mother. Ava has been kept in a tower by her VAMPIRE MOTHER and evil step father. You see, Ava was turned on the night of that attack, and every time she tells her step father a name of one of her friends from school, they turn up drained of blood the next day. She’s been keeping one name from leaving her mouth though.

The most special part about her is that even though she was turned, she’s still retained her connection to root magic. Which is the reason her mother is keeping her locked away. So that she can steal it for herself.

Kaye on the other hand is gifted with flame magic and she vows to use it kill the vampire who took her mother’s life. After Ava finally escapes and they reconnect, Kaye finds something among her old friend’s belongings which may be the answer to all of her questions from the past 2 years.

This was full of mystery, albeit I felt like I knew who was good and who was bad early on. I did love that you really never know which side is right, because there are heroes and villains from each. I mean, what is a hero or villain anyway. We are all just chaotic neutral when you get down to it.

I received an audio ARC from Netgalley for an honest review

I really enjoyed this book, once I started I could stop. I loved the magic system and the world building. I can’t wait to see what’s next from this author.

DNF at 4%

I was excited to read this but the way the vampires are written to the writing style to the mc were just not for me. I got about 25 minutes in before I decided this was very much so not for me

The Witch and the Vampire by Francesca Flores is a young adult novel following a pair of estranged best friends as they begrudgingly work together to uncover the secrets of their parents and guardians. This book is action packed with both heartwarming and heartbreaking moments. Although The Witch and the Vampire reads as a younger young adult book, it still has the potential for a good read for all ages.

I don't know what I was expecting it to be but it certainly wasn't this. Which turned out to be...mildly great?
I'm not much into vampires anymore but this story was still enjoyable even though a bit predictable. I enjoyed the relationship dynamic between K (Kay? idk) and Ava a lot as well as the friendship between them and Tristan.
I recommend reading if you like sapphic vampires and witches with lots of toxic familial dynamics.
Actual rating: 3.5 stars

Ava and Kaye were best friends until an attack on their town kills Kaye's mother and leaves Ava a vampire. Now, two years later Kaye is about to graduate to become a full Flame witch, dedicating her life to hunting vampires. For the last two years, Ava has been held captive by her mother in a tall tower, but on the night of another vampire attack, she escapes and runs into Kaye in the forest. Kaye blames Ava for her mother's death and will now stop at nothing to get her revenge.

I am very sad about this low rating because I am a sucker for fairytale retelling, and I have yet to read a Rapunzel retelling, which is one of my favourites, let alone a sapphic Rapunzel retelling. Unfortunately, this book was just so "meh" for me, and it felt so slow while reading. I didn't care about either of the main characters or their one-kiss romance. At times, I confusd them for one another. I also just didn't really understand WHY Kaye believed that Ava killed her mother... the "evidence" was FLIMSY at best and really turned me off Kaye as a character.

The cover is gorgeous though.

I’m a little conflicted with how to rate this book. It was good, well written, but I feel like certain things could have been explained better such as the magic system within the book. I also feel as though some parts of the plot were just a little too convenient it seemed. I also think the end was left quite open. Is there a possibility of a series?

Overall, I would read more from this author and would recommend it to others.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the audiobook ARC.

DNF.

I really enjoyed the narration here. The narrators are super talented at bringing the story to life, and I would argue they are the best part about the story.

The story itself, however, I wasn't a huge fan of. I found the writing to be simplistic to the point where I was greatly uninterested in the plot, and found the characters to be lacking in depth and a feeling of "realness." Ultimately I did not finish the book because I felt these aspects made the book unworthy of my time.

This audio book was read by two amazing narrators who were able to capture this Sapphic retelling of Rapunzel. Set in a fantasy world where magic and monsters clash two girls must work together to uncover the secrets each side is hiding.
As the story progresses there is an unraveling of what truly makes someone a monster. Our two main characters Kaye and Ava are forced to reconcile within themselves what they have learned to be true and what they know to be true as they seek to survive the dangers that wait for them as they run into, like every good fairytale starts, into the woods.
The forest is home to many different kinds of monsters, some even, wearing the faces of friends, and I was on the edge of my seat to see how the story would end, happily ever after? Or something more dark and grim?