Rating: 3.5 / 5
The #SaturdayBookstaClub buddy read that I help to host on Bookstagram read THESE WITCHES DON’T BURN by Isabel Sterling last month and we decided to use the extra Saturday in October to make an impromptu buddy read for the sequel, THIS COVEN WON’T BREAK. I enjoyed the first book, so was glad to be able to pick up the sequel easily at the library.
THIS COVEN WON’T BREAK picks up shortly after the conclusion of the first book. We’re again following teenager Hannah, an Elemental witch in Salem, Massachusetts. She’s dealing with the aftermath of all that happened to her in book one with new and changed relationships and questions about the world of magic she thought she knew.
It is hard to say a lot about the plot of this one without giving spoilers for the first book as there are some pretty significant twists that lead into the plot for book two. What I can say is that I really wound up enjoying this book a lot more than the first. The first book left me with some unanswered questions, and obviously not just me since the author did write a prequel novella, THIS SPELL CAN’T LAST, earlier this year to flesh out some of the backstory. This book felt much more complete than the first book.
Book one focuses a lot on the YA relationship angst of Hannah dealing with her breakup with her first real girlfriend and the potential for new love. By book two a lot of this is much more settled and the action is much more at the forefront of the story which I liked. We also get a lot more of the magic systems in book two, including the other types of magic and how they all interact. As someone who enjoys magic systems and mythologies, this was definitely more to my taste.
This was a great way to cap off our October witchy reading for the buddy read and a fun read to wrap up October!
DG Reads 