4.5/5 — half teen drama, half magic-based mystery, all nail-biting twists

What an exciting book! Fantasy with a contemporary vibe, These Witches Don't Burn has everything from awkward teen crushes and strong female friendships to magical accidents and a witch hunter on the loose in Salem, Massachusetts. The story had serious moments to balance the lighthearted ones, but the result was an upbeat story about LGBTQ teenagers with powers.

The basic premise of witches (even modern ones) in Salem isn't the most original, but the execution makes Isabel Sterling's take on the idea special. Not only are there LGBTQ characters, but the narrative also explores an unhealthy past relationship the lesbian main character had and also confronts the existence of biphobia in the queer community. In stories about witches (and not incidentally, about queer kids), parents tend to be unhelpful at best. That was also the case for large portions of this story, but not for the reasons you'd expect. Main character Hannah's parents are supportive of their daughter's sexuality plus they're witches themselves, and it's refreshing to read about a family that isn't built around tension and secrets.

Even the mechanics of witchcraft are unique. There are three kinds of witches: casters, elementals, and blood witches.

In keeping with the theme of inclusivity in this book, the common 'evil blood witch' trope is turned on its head: the family of blood witches in town turns out to be Hannah's love interest and her parents.

It's odd to talk about worldbuilding in a book that almost felt like contemporary drama at times, but witch covens are shown as having their own culture, complete with traditions and prejudices, and the magic works according to consistent methods.

Although These Witches Don't Burn was, for the most part, a relatively lighthearted novel, there was an unexpected amount of heavy content. As I mentioned, I loved the portrayal of wlw relationships in this book, including the fact that awful exes are still a thing and abusive/unhealthy relationships still happen. Later in the book,

Hannah's dad dies. While he's in the hospital in a coma, Hannah's new girlfriend does magic in an attempt to save him but only makes things worse, at which point he passes away.

I'm not complaining about that plot point, but it was certainly a darker turn than I expected given the earlier portion of the story.

And to top off the "wow, that's dark" section of this review, the climactic action involves someone Hannah considered a friend trying to literally burn her and her ex, a fellow witch, at the stake.

In short, this is a roller coaster of highs, lows, and hair-raising twists. I recommend it to fans of Jennifer Dugan's Hot Dog Girl, Claire Legrand's Sawkill Girls, and Christine Lynn Herman's The Devouring Gray.

content warnings: brief fetishization of queer women (from an unsympathetic character), mention of a toxic/possibly abusive relationship, animal sacrifice, car accident, parental death