Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

These Witches Don't Burn by Isabel Sterling

10 reviews

annorabrady's review

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.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Grief, Medical content, Murder, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Medical trauma, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Torture, and Toxic friendship

agnela's review against another edition

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

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Car accident, Death, Death of parent, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Biphobia, Emotional abuse, and Gun violence

forrestalexander's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Death, and Car accident

Moderate: Death, Blood, and Animal death

Minor: Homophobia, Biphobia, and Emotional abuse

solarel's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.0

I’ll give this one a flat 3 out of five enjoyment from me. Honestly the first half felt gimmicky and flat. It was a lot, and I mean a lot, of telling not showing. Often times repeatedly. 

But! The second half really picked up and once the pieces all fell into place the story actually took hold. The stakes increased with every mistake and Hannah’s reactions felt very real. I don’t cry for books often and twice I was tearing up. 

For a YA some of the silly teen-isms are to be expected. I’m glad I pushed through to read the second half. It was fun. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Torture, Car accident, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Kidnapping, and Murder

Moderate: Alcohol, Biphobia, Genocide, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Stalking, Toxic relationship, and Xenophobia

ka_ke's review

emotional fast-paced

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

3.0

These Witches Don’t Burn is a fun read. It has excellent LGBTQIA+ representation and quite the diverse cast of characters. It’s an excellent pallet cleanser between heavier books and the speed makes it easy to get through. That being said, it is very simple and borderline predictable. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Murder, Toxic relationship, Blood, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Cursing, Gaslighting, and Grief

Moderate: Death of parent, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Outing, and Homophobia

aseel_reads's review

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

i really enjoyed this novel, it was super easy to read, very entertaining, i loved the characters, and the premise (witchhunters in modern day salem)

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Alcohol, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Violence, Toxic relationship, Lesbophobia, Murder, and Medical content

moonstruck_next_friday's review

adventurous dark emotional lighthearted mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

A good mix of spooky themes and lesbian fluff. It’s so much fun to hate Veronica and root for Morgan. There’s a couple good twists at the end too. Even though “These Witches Don’t Burn” came out before the prequel “This Spell Can’t Last”, I highly recommend reading the prequel first it’ll give great context for the characters actions and decision making. Can’t wait to read the sequel!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Death of parent, Grief, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Medical content, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Lesbophobia, Murder, Sexual violence, and Torture

sarah_onyxartemis's review

emotional funny mysterious fast-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Car accident, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Alcohol, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Violence

Minor: Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Sexism, Stalking, and Torture

mcomp's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Death

Moderate: Emotional abuse

Minor: Kidnapping

bookishandlegal's review

adventurous emotional lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.0

I really enjoyed this on! Solid YA set in Salem, MA with queer main characters and witchy vibes. I mean honestly, what else can we want out of our YA's than that? This book had mystery, intrigue, romance, and so much more. It was a super quick read and I just kept going until I finished it. 

There is a looooottt of toxic relationship, emotional abuse, and manipulation going on with the main character from her ex-girlfriend (who also happens to be the only other teenage witch in her coven in town, which ends up throwing them together a lot more often than they would like). Victoria is honestly one of the most manipulative and abusive characters I've read about in a long time. I wanted to reach into the book and yell at her so many times! But I found that Hannah did a really great job of standing her ground, expressing her disapproval of how Victoria was treating her, attempting to set boundaries, and not letting herself be treated badly anymore/recognizing she deserved better. There were downfalls and she forgave to quickly sometimes, but she's 17 and no one's perfect.

This really was such a fun book and trying to work out what was happening in the town and who was after Hannah and her coven was entertaining.  The story/plot kept up nicely and was engaging and interesting throughout.  The characters were well developed and were likable and you were rooting for them.  I didn't see the ending coming or who was behind the targeting of the coven.  I definitely will be picking up the second one in this series to see how the story continues. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Biphobia and Death

Minor: Animal death