Rating:3.05

Damn. This was promising. I started liking the writing until I realized the POV of the main characters are monotonous. The plot is also predictable but I don't care about that because it is all about the feelings it gave me while reading. There are parts that made me feel the angsty stuff and, yes, I like those things.

P.S. I hate all the adults here and the author made sure the readers will which is why I applauded the author.

Ava is a root witch, and her (former) best friend Kaye is a flame witch. They have been taught that vampires are evil, the enemy, and that the integrity of the bone wall keeping the vampires confined in the forest must be maintained. If vampires escape, the flame witches are among those tasked with hunting them down and killing them.

However, a lot has happened in the two years since they last saw each other. Kaye's mother was killed by a vampire, and Kaye is determined to become the best flame witch possible and avenge her death. Ava disappeared the same night that Kaye's mother died. Ava's mother said she was sent to another province to study, but Kaye knows that is not true. Rather, Ava has become a vampire, and Kaye suspects that Ava may have killed her mother. However, Ava's mother, Eugenia, is a powerful counselor, and so Kaye needs sufficient proof before she acts. Unbeknownst to Kaye, or practically anyone else, Ava was turned into a vampire by her own mother, who is able to draw some of Ava's root witch powers from her and use those powers to maintain her facade. Eugenia has kept Ava locked up in a tower in their home, giving her just enough blood to survive, and overlooking the experimentation that Zenos, Eugenia's husband and Ava's stepfather, performs on Ava when Eugenia is off on council business.

Ava will escape and head into the woods to try to find the vampire queen, Casiopea, and warn her about her mother's plans, which will endanger the vampires. Kaye will also venture into the woods to capture Ava, and any other vampires she can find. Their paths will cross, and they will find themselves having to work together to survive, as they discover the secrets that Eugenia and Liander, the leader of the flame witches, have been hiding, and the threat their plans hold for the humans, witches, and vampires. They will also discover that the forest is sick, and the danger that poses to everyone. Ava will also discover that she is much more powerful than she believes.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I'm conflicted on how I feel about this book. The premise had my attention from the word "go", the cover art is *gorgeous*, and the idea of two people having to untangle a lifetime of lies, deception, and manipulation from all corners to get their happy (for now, at least) ending is my jam.

But the pacing is weird for me. The contradictions threw me. And the...not "lack of insight", but insight into the characters' thoughts and emotions being lackluster made me go "...huh?" more than once. The opening was pretty great: a strong parallel to the classic Rapunzel story, a good setup for friends-to-enemies-to-lovers, and two characters trapped in their own worlds (one physically, the other emotionally and mentally). Great start!

It stayed relatively strong throughout (but dropped the Rapunzel parallel rather quickly), until around the last third of the story where everything seemed to suddenly shift in both tone and pace. While I'm fine with an open ending like this one, I'm not a fan of how fast we got there, how both characters went through some pretty major changes with little to no "omg how do I handle/deal with this?", and how much one's personality changed without much buildup.

Other places throughout were also kind of all over the place in terms of characterization and setting. I really don't have any idea what these characters look like (hair and eye color are mentioned a few times, but really nothing else), what the city looks like, what the Heart Tree looked liked since it was meant to be a home for vampires, but they're only mentioned as hanging out in the limbs and branches. I had no idea if it was day or night most times.

For such heavy subjects being addressed, the writing itself seemed geared more for middle grade readers instead of teens. Ava seemed pretty okay with no lingering trauma from her childhood of abuse, neglect, and manipulation; no, I didn't need her breaking down every other page because something terrified her and sent her mentally back to her locked room, but a little more exploration and acknowledgement of that trauma and its effects would have been appreciated.

The bones of satisfying story are there, and I enjoyed it regardless of my criticisms, but it ultimately fell flat by the end.

I really wanted to love this story, and the premise was exceptional. I felt like it fell slightly short in execution. Enjoyable read.

1.5 Stars (the extra 0.5 for an intriguing concept)
Pros: LOVE the cover, and the title definitely had my attention. The concept was great, so much potential there.
Cons: The execution was awful in pretty well every arena.

I struggled to get through this one and if it weren't an ARC I doubt I would have finished it. I’m just going to bullet-point my gripes here move on:
-Inconsistent and bland characters (MCs included)
-Really dull and shallow world-building with so many under-explained concepts (poorly defined magic systems in books really annoy me!)
-Illogical and contradictory decisions/actions/dialogue
-Soooooooo much tell, so little show! I hate this juvenile style of writing where everything is explained rather than the reader being shown through events and actions.

Overall, I really did want to enjoy this one. The concept had so much potential and a lot of the ideas the author had in there held a lot of potential for complex characters with complex relationships, a deep and interesting world, a lot of moral questions and gray morality, etc. So much there, but it just wasn’t handled properly. I’m sure some people will enjoy this one – I know I can be a harsh critic, especially when grammar/writing style issues come into play – but I can’t recommend it.

**Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.**

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to love this book so much. The premise was so intriguing to me (sapphic Rapunzel retelling with witches and vampires? Yes please! And that cover... so pretty!) However, something was lost in the execution. I didn't ever come to actually care about the characters, because they came off a bit flat. Their leaps of logic boggled my mind and at one point, I mentally compared it to the last season of Game of Thrones, because people were doing things, but their motivations were unclear.

My ARC was also missing a page or two at one point about 40% in. I tried downloading it on the NetGalley Shelf app to see if it was just an error in my Kindle download, but it had the same issues there.

So good I couldn’t put it down. I definitely recommend this book. The two girls in this book have much to overcome but the love and friendship they had as children made giving up on each other nearly impossible. They have to learn the world is not black and white but learn to live in the gray area and it’s hard for them to give up all they thought they new and that the leadership they were fallowing was trying to lead them down a dark and horrible path.

Very beautiful well written book. I enjoy book so much I’m happy I received the arc. Can’t wait to buy a physical copy add it to my bookshelf.

I really wanted to love this book but struggled to even finish it. The writing felt like something I would have read in middle school. Certain parts were overexplained (when they could have been shown/implied) and very important details had not explanation at all. The character development was also really spotty and the complete 180 at the end made no sense. I feel like there was SO much potential, but it should have been broken out into two books so that the characters and world could have been developed a bit more.

I've read a lot of fantasy books and fairy tale retellings, and I love when I can be surprised by a new take on old ideas. The relationship between the humans, witches, and vampires in this book was unlike others I've read, and the style of writing pulled me in and had me finishing the story in one day. It doesn't read like the first of a series in most ways but I find myself wanting to know, what happens next?

absolutely obsessed with this sapphic retelling of Rapunzel. Ava is locked away in an attic for being a vampire in a town of witches that hunt vampires. Kaye is her former best friend turned enemy turned crush. can these two rekindle their friendship (and love) to take down the evil forces TOGETHER??

The Witch and the Vampire took me by surprise. Unlike my typical reads, the synopsis sounded interesting, so I gave it a chance. I was blown away by how instantly intrigued and invested I was in the story. There were some twists throughout the story, and I was excited to see how it all would play out. Ultimately, I wondered what happened afterward and if we would get to read the rest of the story.

Voluntarily reviewed after receiving a free copy courtesy of NetGalley, the Publisher and the author, Francesca Flores.

First off, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this early in exchange for an honest review!

I wanted to love this more than I did, the cover is STUNNIG, and a sapphic Rapunzel retelling was right up my alley. Unfortunately, this read like a middle grade book, and I had a hard time connecting to the story because of it. I’m just not the audience for it, and that’s on me.

I feel like the book could have also used another round of editing- some things felt off and I’d have to re read lines a few times to make sense of it. It was overall an okay story, though.

Thank you Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the ARC of The Witch & the Vampire!
When I heard that there was going to be a sapphic Rapunzel retelling with witches and vampires I knew I had to get my hands on it.
Ava is a vampire and her mom keeps her locked in her room for her safety, but Ava longs to break free of her prison and seek out the vampire queen. Kaye is a fire witch training to kill vampires so that she can avenge her mom’s murder.
They were childhood friends and now they’re mortal enemies. Well. Ava is Kaye’s mortal enemy. Ava just wants her friend back.
This was everything I wanted in a retelling—it followed the spirit of the story while transforming it enough to make it fresh and unique. I gave it 4.5 stars!

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

This was such an interesting take on Rapunzel! Truthfully, I'm not fully immersed into the whole history and story of Rapunzel, but this was still a fun read! I loved seeing a queer take on it. I enjoyed the friends to lovers vibes and the magic within. It is unique and fun. I loved it!

I really enjoyed this book. I loved this book in a way i did not expect. I sometimes struggle with vampire stories but this story was really fun. I loved both the fairytale like story and also the saphic elements. I also really enjoyed the pace and the both main charactes. This book was fun quick read and i loved both the plot ad the characters!!

I loved The Witch and The Vampire. It held my attention immediately, was easy to follow, and kept me thinking up different possibilities throughout the adventures of teens Ava the Root Witch-Vampire, and Kaye the Flame Witch.
Their struggles with their respective absent parents, peer relations, and developing romantic feelings are felt in this YA fantasy storyline. The author is descriptive with her characters as a whole, as well as with the environment in which the story takes place. Each of the girls are struggling with their powers coming in, the control of them, their relationships with their family and friends, and their idea of what their futures hold. Young adults will certainly feel a connection with these characters. LGBTQ YA will appreciate this book, however, I wouldn’t personally consider it a romance novel.

3.25 ✨️
Genre:
•Young Adult
•Romance
•Fantasy

Trigger Warning:
•Abuse (manipulation, physically imprisoned, death)

The title, cover and blurb intruged me but...
I liked the plot but the excution of it was lacking, kinda dry. Magic system was underdeveloped. There was a lot of telling and not enough showing. The ending had me honestly confused.

This wasn't my cup of tea but I'm pretty sure it is someone else's.

Unfortunately this book was... not at all what I wanted.

I think this is both a case of 'this book is for someone, but that someone isn't me' and 'this needed to spend more time at the drawing board'. I was also deeply frustrated with the editing and the way Flores chose to build this world. I feel that this book needed some more drafting to be ready for review. Characters are bland to fine. Plot is fine. It's a lot of 'fine' or 'okay' and as a result it's just not holding me the way I want it to. I think Flores had good ideas but they were never explored in full. - I was told more than I was shown and the complexities of the world were never expanded on.

It reads young but not in a YA way. It tries to be dark but presents the world is such radical black and white that you're being led by the hand towards the ending... and I'm just not interested or engaged with the text.

It's a shame because this premise should be for me, and I adore seeing more and more sapphic representation! As a sapphic reader it means the world to me to see more stories for us... but unfortunately this one didn't land for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC.

I think the synopsis and the cover is beautiful. I really did like the plot and storyline, I just think it got a bit messy towards the end.