This was a very cute book with likable characters and a fun storyline. I’m always a sucker for a fairy tale retelling! I thought that although it was angsty, that tone made sense for the characters given their ages and backstories.

I was really looking forward to this, but it wasn't my favorite. I felt it fell through and didn't really live up to what it was supposed to be. Wasn't really bad or anything, just personally don't feel it lived up to the hype.

This novel took me two months to read, which is the first indication that this was not a good book for me. This story seemed to drag on and on, and although I really enjoyed the first few chapters from Ava's POV, I couldn't stand Kaye and did not get romance vibes. Kaye hated vampires for about 70% of the book, and I thought her turnaround was a little too quick to be believable. She was nasty to Ava and never apologized. I just found this novel boring and way too long. None of the characters felt very "real" to me.

The book is beautiful and the story idea and potential was there. It is a YA sapphic fantasy. I did read an ARC so i can't be sure the editing issues are in the pub copy. I hope not. It feels a little obvious but i really do think there is a great start of something here

This book really made me fall in love with reading all over again! I would love to see more books like this in the future!

This is one of those reviews that hurts to write, because I was so excited for this book, but it really let me down. The Witch and the Vampire follows Ava, a former witch turned vampire, and Kaye, a witch whose sole purpose is killing vampires. Kaye’s mother was killed by a vampire, and on that same night, Ava mysteriously disappeared. Turns out, she’s been locked away in a tower by her abusive mother and her stepfather who does experiments on her. She escapes, meets Kaye in the woods, and things kick off from there.

There are two main issues I have with this. First, there are so many little plot holes that don’t add up. For example, Ava’s mother is trying to hid her vampirism from the world, so she locks her in this tower. However, this tower has a window and Ava is always looking out the window with BLOOD ALL OVER HER FACE. Kaye sees this once and immediately clocks the situation. Like, it’s not adding up. Also, Kaye just assumes she killed her mom with no explanation or evidence. It’s little things like this that seem minor, but add up to something deeply frustrating.

The second issue is that this touches on heavy things, like abuse and oppression that mirrors real world problems. The thing is, these are not given the care they deserve on page. Ava’s abuse is used as a tool for her angst. And we never really discuss the oppression and near genocide. It just feels lazy.

Still, this wasn’t all bad. The writing is really lovely and fairy tale-esque. The romance is sweet. There’s a great friendship storyline that deserved more page time. But I can’t recommend this to kids knowing that all those things are given so much time instead of the issues this touches on.

This was a sweet fantasy romance that subverted some classic tropes and made for a fun read I will recommend to teens in the library.

This is marketed as a queer Rapunzel retelling, and I am typically a huge fan of retellings, but honestly there are far better Rapunzel retellings than this. The “frenemies” just doesn’t work well in this. The pacing feels off, and there is nothing exceptional in my opinion. Not one I would recommend for others to pick up.

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy to review

I loved how this one started. It had a lot of tension and drama in the begin, and I really wanted to follow up and see how it all ended.
I'm thinking maybe I should read the finished copy, I know things change sometimes before publishing and I hope it is so for this one.
This one had some really dark themes and the family dynamics really set my teeth on edge.
I couldn't fully connect with the story, maybe because the editing needed work.

Did you see that gorgeous cover art?
The cover definitely grabbed me. There’s an implied darkness behind the loving embrace of two hands. I felt like this was going to be another intricate fantasy world with a steamy romance. I didn’t exactly receive what I’d hoped for in The Witch and The Vampire.

More character development was needed at the early stages of the book.
We met Ava, a vampire, in her Rapunzel-esque tower that she’s been trapped in by her own mother. Her mother is using Ava for the magic she still has from before she was turned to a vampire. Also keeping her prisoner is a vile human male living with her mother. This had a very interesting start. We sympathize greatly with Ava, and we’re rooting for her. When she does inevitably get out of the tower I expected the “great adventure”, but it fell flat for me after her escape.


Ava has a few close calls with her life before she crosses paths with her old friend, Kaye. Kaye is still a witch and hates Ava. She’s waited two years to finally come face to face with Ava. There’s a strong hatred there, and it’s clear on Kaye’s face when they see each other. Yet, the almost immediately make a pact to travel together. How does that work? I felt like I blinked, and then Ava trusted Kaye with her safety. Witches in this world are trained to kill vampires on sight. Ava knew this, and Kaye never really hid her hatred of the new Ava.

The trust building between them was rushed and relied heavily on what they used to be together. Kaye and Ava go into their heads for a few paragraphs remembering braiding each other’s hair, or just spending time together. Those short memories weren’t enough to make me care about either character, nor their friendship. It was just a little too rushed and not engaging.

This book has a great plot overall, it just needed a little more deep diving into character relationships before their big encounter and ultimate adventure together.

Ava and kaye use to be best friends.
Until ava believes kaye killed her mother.
A world full of magic- but not explained that much.
Story was kind of rushed
I feel like this could've been a good series
LGBTQ, vampires , witches

I am a lover of all fantasy novels so of course I picked this one up. It is a story we have all seen before but that made me love it all the more. I definitely would read this again.

This book was just fine, I really REALLY wish it had hit harder, but it missed the mark for me. So much potential but alas, not for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Wednesday Books for providing me with an eARC of this book. This is my honest review.

I’m not sure what I was expecting but this fell a bit flat for me. The cover, premise, and title were all exciting to me and this I had to get my grabby hands on this book. I was left wanting. It was fine but nothing I’d rave about.

I don’t know how to feel right now. This was fine? I think I just had too high of expectations bc it was pitched at a sapphic rapunzel retelling and I got more of an adventure story. Not saying that’s a bad thing just not what I was wanting.

I do think that the writing was good and easy to follow. I think the plot and the characters were very flushed out. Where it lost me was I just didn’t like where to story was going? Is that bad to say? I wanted a cute romance with a vampire and a witch but it turned into this big kidnapping trapped in a cage story. I just found it to be kind of boring. The middle dragged and dragged. I did like dark fairytale vibes. The world was interesting, I just think the book lost the plot 🤷🏻‍♀️

The title alone should appeal to masses of paranormal fans. And what a stunning cover.

Ava and Kaye were best friends and witches in training until Ava disappeared. She was supposedly sent to another school. In reality, her horribly abusive mother imprisoned her, gave her just enough blood to survive, and stole her power. All this after she turned her own daughter into a vampire. Added to these horrors is every time her mother goes out of town, Ava’s stepfather experiments on/tortures her, testing her limits as a vampire. Seriously, you just want this poor girl to experience some happiness in her life.

After Kaye’s mother passes away and Ava disappears without saying goodbye, Kaye understandably has abandonment issues. She throws all her hurt and anger into her training and discovering which vampire killed her mother. She suspects it might have been Ava. That’s some serious conflict right there.

Romance isn’t my favorite focus in books, but for a friends to enemies to lovers angle, I wasn’t feeling strong vibes between these two characters. Plenty of other reviewers saw it differently, so maybe it’s just me. Pacing was a little uneven, but it picked up toward the end. With the battle between witches and vampires, I like the story’s message – the world(and people) isn’t black or white, but made up of shades of gray.

The ending leaves the possibility for a sequel, but I’m not sure if one is in the works. Although I didn’t enjoy this novel as much as another duology by this author, it wouldn’t prevent me from reading her future releases.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Wednesday Books for providing me with an eARC of this book. This is my honest review.
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I desperately want a beautiful sapphic fairytale retelling, y’all. I need it like I need air and I had such high hopes that The Witch and The Vampire would be that for me. It has a lot of elements that I really love: an enemies to lovers romance, a paranormal aspect, interesting world dynamics. It sounds perfect on paper! But it sadly got lost in the sauce somewhere along the way 😭
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I wish I could pinpoint what felt off for me, but I find it hard to put into words. While Ava and Kaye were both interesting in their own right, I never really connected with either of them. By the time I knew it, the book was almost over and we were barely reaching its climax. The ending almost felt tacked on and very out of sync with what we do learn about the characters throughout the story.
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The Witch and The Vampire simply wasn’t for me, but it might be for you. It is available for purchase in ebook, hardcover, and audiobook format.

This book was just good. This was a subtle retelling of Rapunzel. It’s sapphic (which I love).

I found the relationship between Ava and Kaye charming. The growth felt natural.The book surprised me a couple of times at the end.

The writing is a little repetitive. I found Ava’s stepdad very cringey and her mother deplorable.

I probably would have found the book just okay if I read it instead of listening to it. The audiobook was good. The voice actor wasn’t for me.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher. I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Interesting story, like the developments, the characters and they writing, definitely a book that will be recommending.

A sapphic retelling of Rapunzel. Who doesn’t love an old tale re told? I did enjoy this. A slow burn queer story of ex (?) best friends find their way.

I did find the info loading for the world building to be too overwhelming and sometimes the plot didn’t quite add up but overall I still had fun reading this.