These Witches Don’t Burn by Isabel Sterling
(Affiliate Links)
Hannah’s a witch, but not the kind you’re thinking of. She’s the real deal, an Elemental with the power to control fire, earth, water, and air. But even though she lives in Salem, Massachusetts, her magic is a secret she has to keep to herself. If she’s ever caught using it in front of a Reg (read: non-witch), she could lose it. For good. So, Hannah spends most of her time avoiding her ex-girlfriend (and fellow Elemental Witch) Veronica, hanging out with her best friend, and working at the Fly by Night Cauldron selling candles and crystals to tourists, goths, and local Wiccans.
But dealing with her ex is the least of Hannah’s concerns when a terrifying blood ritual interrupts the end-of-school-year bonfire. Evidence of dark magic begins to appear all over Salem, and Hannah’s sure it’s the work of a deadly Blood Witch. The issue is, her coven is less than convinced, forcing Hannah to team up with the last person she wants to see: Veronica.
While the pair attempt to smoke out the Blood Witch at a house party, Hannah meets Morgan, a cute new ballerina in town. But trying to date amid a supernatural crisis is easier said than done, and Hannah will have to test the limits of her power if she’s going to save her coven and get the girl, especially when the attacks on Salem’s witches become deadlier by the day.
These Witches Don’t Burn is a contemporary fantasy which focuses on a small coven of witches in Salem. As a whole, the book reads as more of a contemporary in the writing style and some plot points with fantasy elements dotted in as part of the mystery. This was fine for me when reading it, but I think someone looking for a pure fantasy or a pure contemporary may not like it as much.
Everything within the plot takes place over about a couple of weeks, during the summer holidays so the pace of the book is quite fast. However, with a lot of the contemporary everyday elements, the pacing does slow a lot and it suffers again when we have any scene explaining magic and witches. Because of this, there were some times where I just couldn’t put the book down, and others where I was getting a bit bored – although it does improve towards the end.
The representation is good, with our main character being a lesbian and the love interest being bi. The ex is also a lesbian as far as we know, and there’s a couple of side characters who are LGBT+ too. Overall the storyline for these characters were handled well, and whilst it touched on issues they may face (like Hannah being treated differently by her best friend’s parents) their representation wasn’t what drove the book forward, and these characters had their own stories.
Something I didn’t like was that the book falls back on the adults being useless trope. In some cases I just didn’t find it realistic that Hannah’s loving parents (they’re shown to have a good relationship) wouldn’t be there for her. For example, and without spoilers, something bad happened and Hannah stayed at her friend’s house instead of her family when she would have been much safer with family.
Another issue was that a lot of the backstory is based on Hannah and Veronica’s break up and a situation in New York. The snippets of what we know make it seem much more interesting, and like something you would want to read about more than a small town mystery. The New York story also ends up not being directly linked to our story, except for a justification for Hannah to act the way she does… except she probably would have acted like that anyway due to her upbringing. Overall I found the Veronica aspect to not be necessary to the book.
The overall plot felt predictable as it borrows from many YA Paranormal books and we’re instantly introduced to multiple new people in town, so you can figure out how each one is involved. The concept from the plot borrowed heavily from early YA Fantasy, but the contemporary writing style didn’t distinguish it enough.
All in all, I enjoyed reading These Witches Don’t Burn but I just wasn’t wowed by it and probably won’t pick up the second book by Sterling.
Positives of These Witches Don’t Burn
- LGBT+ rep is written well
- Quick read
Negatives of These Witches Don’t Burn
- Predictable plot
- Adults being useless trope
If you enjoy content on Uptown Oracle consider supporting us:
Ko-fi | PayPal
These Witches Don't Burn
These Witches Don’t Burn is a contemporary fantasy which focuses on a small coven of witches in Salem. As a whole, the book reads as more of a contemporary in the writing style and some plot points with fantasy elements dotted in as part of the mystery.
URL: https://www.uptownoracle.com/these-witches-dont-burn
Author: Isabel Sterling
3
