Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - These Witches Don't Burn

This book went in many different directions. I almost DNF'd at the beginning then the story started to pick up. And I got into it until I got blindsided by

the parental death. As someone who unexpectedly lost their mom in the last year, that definitely threw me back into the trauma

.

Overall, I'm not sure how I feel about the story. I gave it a 3 because it was entertaining enough. But this isn't one I am going to revisit.

If you have emotional triggers, be aware and proceed with caution. This hits on a lot of things that could get people. I've done my best to list the ones I can remember.

As an aside, this book is not diverse. Beyond the romance and the ex, there's one closeted character who gets little page time and one gay character who gets an even smaller part. Then there's nothing. Everyone is white. If there aren't white characters, they're not described. In real life, Salem has close to 18% of their population identifying as latine and nearly 4% as black. Surely there could have been a friend, family member, or other recurring character who wasn't white.

After giving myself time to think about it, I genuinely don't understand the purpose of killing off her father beyond shock value. It didn't add anything to the story. She learned nothing new – he died while trying to give her a clue but didn't actually say anything – and her actions didn't change.

It also would have made more sense narratively if he hasn't died, especially in terms of Victoria being left alone after getting her magic back.

Hannah would have saved Victoria regardless of her father's death. She was just as invested in the identity of the witch hunter before and after his death. And his death didn't add to any of her struggles or character development. He just died. And then he had a funeral. And she said she was upset about it.

Losing a parent changes you. Especially if it's a parent you have a good relationship with. It fundamentally changes so much of your life, your beliefs, and your priorities. And I saw none of that reflected in what Hannah did at the end of the book. Hannah was still the same character, she was just down a parent.

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unicorn3's review

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adventurous emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This book is written in an amazing way. The queer representation we get is great, how light it's handled, just love it. Even the use of "they" for people of unknown gender, something that's not often seen but so refreshing. The story is well thought out and easy to read. Why only four stars? It is an amazing story and I'll definitely read the sequel, it's just not really my type of story, but it doesn't mean I did not enjoy it, the spark for me was just not as bright.

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unicornofthesea's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

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koraisreadingnow's review

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

If not for Veronica's character bugging the complete shit out of me, i would have given this book a 5 out of 5. I normally don't cry at books (especially when my suspicions were confirmed) so this one really surprised me. I already got the second book, beside me so i'm excited to read more!

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