The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab

In the town of Near, there are three abiding philosophies: the Near Witch is a legend that has shaped the culture of the town, the lonely wind is to be ignored when it calls to you, and strangers are not to be tolerated. These are the thoughts that go through Lexi's mind when she looks out her window one night and sees a young man standing near the moor. He is almost translucent and yet more real than anything she's ever encountered. But what seems a gentle curiosity turns into an overwhelming need to understand not just the stranger but also the moor itself as the children of Near begin to disappear and the wind begins to whisper, "Witch."

I really enjoyed this book. It was so fantastically done! Let me start off with saying that this story reminded me a lot of Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales. The fact that there's a quest, the romance involved, and the history and fairy tales within the fairytale. (I know this isn't an academic study on Andersen's fairy tales, but it seems to be a theme that some of them have.)

Loved the lore of the Near Witch and how that affected the community and their interactions with each other and outsiders. I also really found the characters to be quite delightful. They're all so different, none are stereotypes or one-dimensional.

I'm going to end it there. This was a wonderful story, nothing was contrived or shallow. There were more twists than I expected and it was overall an absolute delight.