These Witches Don’t Burn by Isabel Sterling
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
**3.5-stars rounded up**
When the scene of a frightening ritual interrupts the end of the school year bonfire party, Hannah suspects a blood witch is to blame.
An elemental witch herself, Hannah has been raised to fear blood witches, and this horrific act seems like something they would do.
The story alludes to the fact that Hannah had a run in with a blood witch on a previous trip to NYC. This altercation truly frightened her and she feels this same witch may have tracked her down to kill her.
It seems she may be right as signs of dark magic begin to pop up all over Salem. Yes, Salem, Massachusetts, one of my favorite places in the world.
Along with her confrontational ex-girlfriend, Veronica, Hannah tries to figure out the identity of the potential blood witch before it’s too late.
Although at its heart a witchy story, this YA Contemporary offers up a lot more by way of teens struggling with relationships and identity.
I appreciated that Sterling went a bit deeper with her characters, examining everyday issues, not just focusing on paranormal action. However, for me, because of this, the pacing sometimes seemed off.
We would have fast-paced action scenes that would build up suspense and then it would be brought way down by a serious life issue.
It’s not a big deal, I still enjoyed the story, it just felt a little uneven. I also would have liked the full story on the blood witch issue Hannah had when she traveled to New York.
This being said, I did love the different types of witches and their powers. I thought that was really fun and I can’t wait for it to be elaborated upon in the next book.
Oh yeah, I am definitely planning to read the next book. In fact, I can’t wait for it!
The final lines of this book were perfect to get the reader pumped to continue on with Hannah’s story. Overall a solid debut!
Original:
Literally me upon reading this synopsis:
My copy has arrived and it is resplendent!
