Reviews with content warning for Gun violence - These Witches Don't Burn

very cute, with just the right mixture of fantasy and realism, and plenty of plot twists

the only thing is that it is definitely ya and that bothered me just a bit a few times lol

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evavstheworld's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

4.0

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madmadmaddymad's review

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

It was alright.

I liked the sapphic elements, and the magic. I liked that there was a love triangle with an ex girlfriend and the new girl in town. I liked the themes of being a witch and not being able to tell anyone, juxtaposed against being a lesbian and being out about it.

The story itself had incredible pacing problems - I felt like I barely had a chance to get to know the characters and the world before all hell was breaking loose and they were being attacked by vengeful blood witches, hunters, arsonists, and some mysterious stalker set on vehicular manslaughter. It was like watching one of those teen shows on the CW. We were just trying to decide what to do about our high school crush, the loss of a first love, being in the “closet” (magically, at least) with your best friend…. I just wish this book had given me more CHARACTER moments? Because there was so much potential. The plot was too in-your-face, and it didn’t even feel that high stakes, when your main character is surviving a house fire only to be in a major car crash less than a hundred pages later.

It gets an extra star for what it COULD have been, if the author knew how to take her time.

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annorabrady's review

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

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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agnela's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

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