Witches

Title: These Witches Don’t Burn
Author: Isabel Sterling
Published: 2019
Genre: Young Adult/Paranormal
Rating:

Synopsis
Isabel Sterling’s delightful, suspenseful debut is equal parts sweet romance and thrilling mystery. With everything she loves on the line, Hannah must confront this murderous villain before her coven—and any chance she has with the new girl—is destroyed.

I must admit, this book didn’t intrigue me that much. Still, I am glad that I gave it a chance. Once I was a few chapters in, I couldn’t put it down. This book follows Hannah, who is an elemental witch in Salem. It is such a cliche, but I love it when witch stories take place in Salem. Hannah’s family is part of a coven of elemental witches, which her ex-girlfriend, Veronica, happens to be in as well.

I thought that the breakup drama was well written. You could tell that they both still had feelings for one another, but Hannah wasn’t going to just forgive and forget. If you are curious about what Veronica did (like I was), apparently she left Hannah in a deadly situation with a blood witch. However, I wish that we got more context to the breakup, and perhaps even a flashback or two.

Throughout the book we see Hannah trying to sort out her complex feelings for her ex, while starting a relationship with the new girl in town, Morgan. Morgan was a sweet character, and didn’t blame Hannah for running off to, unbeknownst to her, deal with this supernatural crisis. Also, it’s hard when your crush still has a close relationship with her ex, but Morgan was very understanding throughout the story.

“And it’s not like Disney ever showed us how to fall for another girl.”

Hannah’s parents and best friend, Jemma were likeable enough supporting characters. Towards the end, Jemma became one of my favorite characters. She added a much-needed comic relief to the story. Also, she was quick to defend Hannah to other people in her life. Hannah’s parents might not have understood their daughter at times, but you could see that they truly loved her.

The main plot is finding out who is responsible for the dark magic being used in Salem. Yet, there were times when we focused on the romance and family side of the story. I wouldn’t classify this as a contemporary. The magic and mystery plot was the backbone of the book. But I did like the times we stepped-away from the main plot to focus on ‘normal’ teenager things, like dating, heartbreak and parental drama.

For the most part, the book kept me interested, and there were some confessions that threw me for a loop. However, the storyline and ending were easy to predict. I am not suggesting that’s a bad thing, because sometimes it is nice to know what to expect. But I would have liked a few more surprising elements. I didn’t foretell some of the sadder moments, and although they hurt my heart, I do think they were needed to push the story forward.

Seeing as this is a duology, I will most likely be picking up the second book. But it may not be until next fall, since I think witchy books make good October reads. Do let me know in the comments if you have read this one, and what your opinions are on it. And before you leave, why don’t you give the blog a follow? It is completely free, and you get to support me and get updates at the same time

Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny

Title: Undead Girl Gang
Author: Lily Anderson
Published: 2018
Genre: Young Adult/Paranormal
Rating:

Synopsis
Meet teenage Wiccan Mila Flores, who truly could not care less what you think about her Doc Martens, her attitude, or her weight because she knows that, no matter what, her BFF Riley is right by her side. So when Riley and Fairmont Academy mean girls June Phelan-Park and Dayton Nesseth die under suspicious circumstances, Mila refuses to believe everyone’s explanation that her BFF was involved in a suicide pact. Instead, armed with a tube of lip gloss and an ancient grimoire, Mila does the unthinkable to uncover the truth: she brings the girls back to life.
Credit: Google Books

From what I’ve seen and heard, this book isn’t very liked. However, I found it to be a funny and thrilling. Their were some twists and turns that I didn’t see coming, but loved. At first, I thought this would be fun, witchy contemporary, but it surprisingly has a lot of thriller aspects.

To be honest, the writing isn’t the best, so that might turn some readers off. Yet, I found that the writing fit the story perfectly. The entire book felt like an old-school teen movie. It was lighthearted, but had spooky elements too. I noticed that there were a lot of pop-culture references throughout the book.

These days a lot of contemporary seem to be full of pop-culture references. Perhaps authors believe that they’ll relate more to the younger generation if they talk about ‘Instagram’ and ‘HP’ in their stories. I personally don’t care when authors do this, but I know some readers find it annoying. I will say that those references worked well in this case, since the story was very campy.

“You wouldn’t understand. It’s a dead girl thing.”

The best part of the book was the twist at the end. Now, I am not the best at solving mysteries. So I found the reveal at the end to be shocking. However, I can see how some could find it underwhelming. Looking back, there were a lot of red flags when it came to the killer that I seemed to have overlooked.

Personally, my favorite thing about the book was the dialog. For a spooky YA story, I found it to be pretty funny. The author did an amazing job mixing a mystery-thriller with a cheerful contemporary. I probably wouldn’t rereead the book, since I already know the big twist at the end. Still, I will recommend it to others looking for a more tame YA thriller.

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Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny

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These Witches Don’t Burn // Book Review

Undead Girl Gang // Book Review