Reviews with content warning for Medical content - 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.

Content Warnings

foxwish's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.5

The characters weren't very compelling, the magic was interesting and story was okay but Veronica is abusive, manipulative and hypocritical and I hated reading about her, and because Hannah isn't over her ex, she spends a lot of time thinking about Veronica.

Many of the characters are stupid, including Hannah herself and every single responsible adult character that just let Hannah and Veronica wander about and do whatever they want despite the danger to their lives. Gemma's dialogue in particular got worse as the book went on, becoming extremely generic, Morgan was fine but it felt like she was just there to make the point of not all insert group of people only portrayed as being terrible up to this point are bad.

I will happily praise how this book deals with a teenager grieving though, it felt realistic, you can tell how raw Hannah is at that point and her actions are driven by those feelings.

Content Warnings

shockyreads's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-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

4.5

Content Warnings

lailaspacekate's review

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emotional inspiring mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.75

Content Warnings

aleclikesbooks's review

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

Although at first I wasn't sure if this book was for me I loved it in the end. The story was intresting and the characters lovable.

Content Warnings

patienceholmes's review against another edition

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emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Content Warnings

lindseyhall44's review

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adventurous fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

These Witches Don’t Burn follows Hannah, an elemental witch living in Salem, who must uncover the truth behind mysterious events affecting her her and her coven. Of course, amateur sleuthing is not a one woman job, and she must team up with a band of unlikely allies: her (recently) ex girlfriend, non-witch best friend, and new crush. Easy right?
I read this book as one of my fall reads, and would absolutely recommend (especially the audiobook). The characters are fleshed out and complex, the plot is engaging, and the relationships are heartwarming to read. However, the writing may not be for everyone, but I did not have too much of a problem with it.
This is a thriller, which I did not necessarily realize when picking it up, so please check trigger warnings before reading.

Content Warnings

jadehusdanhicks's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Loved this reading. Magic and covens with sapphic riddled through out - including not only the MC’s first ex gf but also another budding potential love interest.

Unexpected villians and betrayals left me shocked and I’m so glad I own the second as ill be reading it asap.

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