The story is more on the simplistic side which at times seemed to border more towards MG fantasy. I like fantasy in all its forms so this didn’t deter me in any way. The story it’s self was interesting and unique enough to keep me pulled in, and I think the dual pov was done nicely. As far as it being a Rapunzel retelling, I didn’t get that vibe at all but I had forgotten it was part of the blurb so I didn’t feel let down by it in any way. I think the characters were likable, and given the nature of their journey felt their actions and thoughts were consistent with the story. There were some really dark aspects to this story that were touched on and eluded to with any real dives into them. This honestly didn’t bother me at all as I didn’t think they were meant to be bigger in the story than they were. Overall I found this to be a great little fantasy novel!

I really really wanted The Witch and the Vampire to fill the hole left in my heart from Netflix stupidly canceling First Kill after one season. Vampire/Hunter enemies-to-lovers is one of my all-time favorite tropes. Unfortunately, it didn't really do that. I felt no chemistry between any of the characters. I don't understand the timeline or the world-building. And I was bored by the 20 percent mark enough to set the book down and not really wanting to pick it back up.

The two narrators for the audiobook are fantastic. They did the best with what they were given. It was still hard to tell who was who at times. And I just have too many other books I need and/or want to read.

As I always mention, I am a mood reader. So I may pick it up at another time and complete love it. I have found some of my favorite books that way. I definitely still recommend checking it out for yourself. I will consider purchasing it for my library.

Thank you so much to Wednesday Books for providing me with a review copy.

Ava and Kaye, once best friends, now enemies. One a witch, one a vampire. The two come together to make it through a treacherous forest.

Oh my, I had such high hopes for this sapphic retelling of Rapunzel with vampires! And that cover! That gorgeous cover! Unfortunately, this book just wasn't for me. I found the writing to be juvenile (more so than what's typically expected in YA and I read A LOT of YA), Beyond that, Ava and Kaye were just so flat. They sounded exactly the same (despite having two completely different narrators). More than that I just felt zero chemistry between the two.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ALC. Bailey Carr and Mary Helen Gallucci were fine narrators, but sadly, this book just wasn't for me.

2.5 stars rounded up to 3
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Marten's press for this audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.
First, wow. This cover is absolutely gorgeous! I was very excited to read a sapphic retelling of Rapunzel featuring a young witch and vampire. What a cool premise!
I think that this book may have been written for middle schoolers rather than the older YA readers which is totally okay, but I needed MORE in order to get into it. More explanations, more world building, more romance, more character building. And definitely less saying the same thing over and over. I found it really hard to get through. It wasn't the narrator's fault in any way, she was pretty good!
I feel bad giving it a low rating because there should definitely be more YA sapphic fantasy books out there, but it just wasn't one that I personally enjoyed.

The Witch and the vampire by Francesca Flores is a fantasy gem sure to delight readers .

I already knew I loved the plot of this book from having read a standard e galley but could not have anticipated just how much an audio rendition would add to my enjoyment .

I will definitely be recommending a listen to my audio book loving friends once this is available .

1.5 stars rounded up

Well this was a disappointment. I was excited for a queer Rapunzel retelling...but calling it a Rapunzel retelling is a real stretch. Ava and Kaye were best friends until vampires killed Kaye's mom and Ava disappeared. Ava has been trapped in her house by her mother who turned her into a vampire and her step-father experiments on her. But pretty quickly she escapes on her own and the story is about whether Kaye (who blames Ava for her mother's death, without a particularly good reason) will turn her in to be killed or not.

The marketing misrepresents what this is, but also I kind of get why they tried to find an angle to pitch it that sounded interesting because the actual story is dull and info-dumpy with characters who feel very one-note and SO MUCH telling rather than showing. Plus a lot of character choices don't make much sense. The villains are just villainous rather than nuanced and without a good reason. We're told there is meaningful history between our two heroines, but we never really see it. For instance there is a scarf that shows up 2/3 of the way through the book in Ava's bag that we're told has meaning for their relationship. But it hadn't been mentioned once before that, it's just thrown in. There was a lot of that kind of thing.

One other thing that is hard to unsee now that I've been educated about it, is the connection between vampire stories and antisemitic blood libel propaganda. This (perhaps unintentionally) is set up in such a way as to play into those tropes. It also introduces the existence of bigotry against different groups (past and present) but then never does anything substantive with it. And while Ava endures traumatic abuse, that's also treated kind of lightly and doesn't seem to affect her in a long term way.

While this isn't the worst thing I've read, it just feels poorly crafted and really did not live up to the hype. I received an advance copy of this book via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

This was a highly entertaining, dual POV, YA fantasy, sapphic forbidden romance between a witch and a vampire. Great on audio narrated by one of my faves, Bailey Carr and new to me narrator, Mary Helen Gallucci. If you like dystopian worlds, subtle nods to Rapunzel and books full of magic, adventure and romance, this one has it all.

I really enjoyed the friends to enemies to lovers journey between former best friends Ava and Kaye. A misunderstanding between them causes a huge rift but eventually they discover who is really responsible for the death of Kaye's mother. Recommended for fans of The bone spindle series. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

This was a great enemies to lovers fantasy with a rich magic world and fantastic characters.

Not only is this enemies to lovers, but there is an edge of forbidden love to it, considering Ava and Kaye are supposed to be sworn enemies.

This is a case of best friends who become enemies when Ava becomes a vampire and Kaye knows she is the one responsible for killing her mother. When Kaye captures her, the two quickly realize they need to work together. There is a lot of tenderness in this book. I loved the characters and the depths they grew through their journey.

This was fun and fantastical and I loved it. The narrators in this were perfect and voiced the story so well.