The Witch and the Vampire

Francesca Flores

2023 • 272 pages

Ratings7

Average rating3.4

Francesca Flores's The Witch and the Vampire is a queer Rapunzel retelling where a witch and a vampire who trust no one but themselves must journey together through a cursed forest with danger at every turn. Ava and Kaye used to be best friends. Until one night two years ago, vampires broke through the magical barrier protecting their town, and in the ensuing attack, Kaye’s mother was killed, and Ava was turned into a vampire. Since then, Ava has been trapped in her house. Her mother Eugenia needs her: Ava still has her witch powers, and Eugenia must take them in order to hide that she's a vampire as well. Desperate to escape her confinement and stop her mother's plans to destroy the town, Ava must break out, flee to the forest, and seek help from the vampires who live there. When there is another attack, she sees her opportunity and escapes. Kaye, now at the end of her training as a Flame witch, is ready to fulfill her duty of killing any vampires that threaten the town, including Ava. On the night that Ava escapes, Kaye follows her and convinces her to travel together into the forest, while secretly planning to turn her in. Ava agrees, hoping to rekindle their old friendship, and the romantic feelings she'd started to have for Kaye before that terrible night. But with monstrous trees that devour humans whole, vampires who attack from above, and Ava’s stepfather tracking her, the woods are full of danger. As they travel deeper into the forest, Kaye questions everything she thought she knew. The two are each other's greatest threat—and also their only hope, if they want to make it through the forest unscathed.

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Popular Reviews

Reviews with the most likes.

Ywa

It's the biggest offense it's how boring it was. Love the cover though.

June 28, 2023

Renata Sancken

This feels like it was created to spawn fanfiction. Like yes go off, old best friends who feel betrayed by each other and who each are deeply tormented and have powerful magicks! Now kiss!

I liked the core idea of the different kinds of witchcraft but the larger worldbuilding was kinda...shruggy. It definitely felt like the author wanted to give just enough detail in order to fuel the tortured magical lovers but not enough for the world to feel lived in?

Also like I had a sense that it was like kinda generic Old Fantasy Times but then there's like a one-off mention of a “freezer” like did you mean an icebox or do these bitches have electricity???

Also all the combat was clunky and boring. Also having this be a “Rapunzel retelling” on top of also being about witches, vampires, and vampire-witches is kind of like putting a hat on a hat. A wig on a wig. On a witch hat.

IDK check it out if ya horny for vampire witches I guess, and no shade if you are. There's definitely a market for this book, I'm just not it. But my guess is that you could be better served by reading Vampire Diaries fanfiction.

February 1, 2023

Avril

This review is just to help me remember key points about the book. If you find it helpful or relatable that's cool too.
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“We can't both fall apart, or we're dead.Well, she'll be dead. I'll just be deader.”

Five Stars ⭐️

This was such a nice cosy read with short chapters it's easily a single day read. I didn't feel strongly towards the characters but they weren't badly written, they just didn't particularly resonate with me. The magic system is kept pretty simple but able to be built upon further if there are more books. The vampires are much like all other vampires in pop culture so no comment there. I love how the forest is described as being alive and as having its own vengeful intelligence. I love sentient plant trope, keep throwing them at me!