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These Witches Don't Burn #2

This Coven Won't Break

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In this gripping, romantic sequel to These Witches Don't Burn, Hannah must work alongside her new girlfriend to take down the Hunters desperate to steal her magic.

Hannah Walsh just wants a normal life. It's her senior year, so she should be focusing on classes, hanging out with her best friend, and flirting with her new girlfriend, Morgan. But it turns out surviving a murderous Witch Hunter doesn't exactly qualify as a summer vacation, and now the rest of the Hunters seem more intent on destroying her magic than ever.

When Hannah learns the Hunters have gone nationwide, armed with a serum capable of taking out entire covens at once, she's desperate to help. Now, with witches across the country losing the most important thing they have--their power--Hannah could be their best shot at finally defeating the Hunters. After all, she's one of the only witches to escape a Hunter with her magic intact.

Or so everyone believes. Because as good as she is at faking it, doing even the smallest bit of magic leaves her in agony. The only person who can bring her comfort, who can make her power flourish, is Morgan. But Morgan's magic is on the line, too, and if Hannah can't figure out how to save her--and the rest of the Witches--she'll lose everything she's ever known. And as the Hunters get dangerously close to their final target, will all the Witches in Salem be enough to stop an enemy determined to destroy magic for good?

330 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 19, 2020

519 people are currently reading
21523 people want to read

About the author

Isabel Sterling

6 books1,700 followers
Isabel Sterling is a master coach and author of sapphic romance for teens and adults. Their novels include These Witches Don’t Burn, This Coven Won’t Break, The Coldest Touch, and the forthcoming With All My Haunted Heart. She lives with her spouse and fur-babies in Central New York, where the winters are frigid, the summers are too hot, and autumn is perfect.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,868 reviews
Profile Image for megs_bookrack.
2,156 reviews14.1k followers
October 18, 2023
**3.5-stars**



As this is the second book in the These Witches Don't Burn duology, this review will contain minor spoilers for the first book.

Proceed with caution, non-hidden spoilers ahead!



Now entering her Senior year of high school, Hannah Walsh, just wants to put the pieces of her mangled life back together. Ideally, she'd like to forget all about the tragedy that happened last year.

Her father is gone and her childhood home destroyed, but she still has her Mom, best friend and girlfriend, Morgan, to count on. Silver linings.



While struggling through her grief, Hannah has matured a lot. Sometimes it was hard for me to remember she is still just a high school student.

I love that she remained connected to her ex-girlfriend, Veronica, and that we got to learn so much more about the infamous NYC Blood Witch incident. That's what I had been hoping for all along.



As Hannah tries to recover, however, the Witch Hunters are actually increasing their activities and apparently, they are now nationwide.

Armed with a biological serum that can strip Witches of their powers, the Hunters are determined to clear the world of Hannah and others like her.



There was quite a bit of action in this installment and moved a bit from place-to-place. For me, it lost a little of its original charm because of that.

Odd, I know, but one of the things I enjoyed so much about the first book was the examination of relationships and I didn't feel that as much in this book.



With this being said, I do think this was a lovely conclusion and I definitely plan to pick up the prequel novella, This Spell Can't Last.

I also will pick up anything else this author chooses to write!
Profile Image for Dill Werner.
95 reviews6 followers
November 4, 2019
I was lucky to have been a sensitivity reader on this book. Wow. Just, wow. It's amazing! Never before has work not felt like "work." I'm thrilled to say Sterling's second book will leave readers in tears, feeling sorrow, happiness, angst, and frustration as they take an arduous journey toward self-realization. It's an emotional book and yet a happy one queer people can get behind. Sterling gets "it."
Profile Image for Alana.
820 reviews1,457 followers
September 18, 2020
“If you don’t let yourself feel all the terrible, scary, awful pieces of grief, your magic may never be yours again.”

The gay witches are back and ready to save the world…do I really even need to say more than that? Even though I didn’t enjoy This Coven Won’t Break as much as I enjoyed the first book I still think it was a pretty good sequel and did a nice job of wrapping up Hannah and her coven’s story. If you haven’t read the first book yet please know that there are some spoilers for events that take place in These Witches Don’t Burn.

What I Liked

😇 Dealing with grief. Given the events of the last book and everything Hannah lost I was really glad to see the author tackle Hannah’s grief and how she was coping with the loss of her father. It was something that felt relatable in a sense that sometimes when we’re going through harder times we do what works best for us to deal with our emotions during that specific time whether it be healthy for us or not. And the way the author showed how Hannah stifling her grief also stifled her powers followed by her growth throughout the book was something that added a lot more depth to the story.

👭 Hannah and Morgan. I wasn’t a big fan of Hannah and Veronica together in the first book, so Hannah and Morgan’s relationship in this book was refreshing. I love that we got all the feels of a new relationship and at the same time were able to watch it evolve and grow into something so much more.

🔄 A good wrap up. This was a really great conclusion to Hannah’s story. I think the author did a great job of wrapping up all the big pieces while still leaving enough open for healing, growth, and the ability for the witches to build a better world where they all can work together.

What I Didn’t Like

🤷🏻‍♀️ Lost a bit of it’s charm. This Coven Won’t Break was super action packed and because of that it felt like a lot of that “small town” Salem charm was gone in this book. In the first book it added a lot to love and you could tell the author put in a great deal of work to make it feel that way, however, this time since Hannah was on the move so much it definitely lost a little bit of it’s luster.

❓Felt like something was missing. Overall, I think my biggest issue with this book was that it really just felt like something was missing compared to the first one and I can’t exactly put my finger on what it was. Maybe it was how different the characters felt, or the lack of charm from the setting, perhaps even less magic than the first one? I just can’t quite figure out why this book felt off compared to the first one and it’s something that still bothers me weeks after I’ve finished it. That’s not to say it was a bad book the first one was just definitely more enjoyable.

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Profile Image for giulia ✿.
390 reviews359 followers
May 11, 2020
If you liked these witches don't burn, you will enjoy this one even more. I liked the first book but it lacked for me and everything that didn't work in that book definitely worked in this one so I'm really happy I liked this great conclusion to a funny, witchy and really gay duology.

I adored the development between Morgan and Hannah, it was really organic and real, and seeing them actually communicating, being honest and admit when they needed each other was so heartwarming and adorable.

I admit the plot twist was really predictable, but I didn't mind it that much, it still made sense and it was done in a really good way.

I also appreciated that the author didn't villanize Veronica or made an unnecessary love triangle, but instead we saw them trying to find their friendship again and being supportive of each other.

Gemma is the best side character, she made me laugh out loud many times.

Definitely a solid duology.
Profile Image for not my high.
353 reviews1,553 followers
December 20, 2022
Wow.

Duża zmiana w porównaniu do pierwszego tomu-wiecej fantastyki, mroku i akcji, a ja to kocham.
Profile Image for liwia.
337 reviews22 followers
April 14, 2021
Matko,to było takie złe.
Ja słyszałam,że ten tom jest gorszy,ale nie myślałam,że będzie tak źle. Bardzo nierówna książka,bo na początku element magiczny był bardzo odczuwalny i cieszyłam się z tego powodu,ale później wróciła nasza kochana autorka z natłokiem wątków lgbt. Nie mam nic do takich osób,ale ciągle nakreślenie tego wątku jest bardzo męczące. Rzadko kiedy zasypiam przy książkach,a tutaj się tak wyspałam! No naprawdę było słabo.
Teraz to,co lubimy najbardziej,czyli spojlery:
-Benton(cokolwiek)na początku jest przedstawiony jako ten najgorszy,po czym jedna „bójka” zmienia go i przechodzi na dobrą stronę mocy i nagle jest przedstawiony jako najlepszy bohater książki. Gdyby nie to,mógłby być moim książkowym crushem,ale zbyt to popsuł w ciągu tej książki.
-Zabranie Hannah magii-w sensie nie dokonać odebranie,ale tłumienie jej magii-było totalnie bez sensu. Za połową,nagle,przypadkiem w jeden akcji i momencie magia do niej wraca i panuje nad nią w stopniu idealnym.
-Wymazanie pamięci Gemmie też bezsensowne. Biedna,bo lubię ją za podejście do jedzenia. Później ją odzyskuje i zapętlamy się.
-Starszyzna współpracuje z łowcami? To było już ponad moje siły. To było takie bardzo z czapy. Tak mnie to zdenerwowało,że chciałam rzucić książką. Bez sensu i z niczego to się wzięło.
-Powyższa sytuacja wiąże się nierozłącznie z Morgan. Czytający wiedzą,że starszyzna w tym samym rozdziale zostaje dźgnięta nożem. To było dla mnie takie „meh” i wymuszenie współczucia. Nie ruszyło mnie takie coś,a tylko rozjuszyło.
Podsumowując-jestem na nie. Absurdalny odmóżdżacz. Tylko 1/5,bo na więcej nie zasługuje,bynajmniej według mnie.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Lauren Stoolfire.
4,771 reviews296 followers
August 15, 2020
This Coven Won't Break (These Witches Won't Burn #2) by Isabel Sterling is a great sequel and finale to the YA LGBT+ paranormal fantasy These Witches Won't Burn. It was so good to see these characters again and learn more of their world. The characters are my favorite element of this fantasy and I really appreciated that they've grown and communicate pretty well all things considered. Yes, the reveal isn't all that much of a surprise, but I liked seeing the characters get there and the journey they undertake in this novel. I know the series is a duology, but I wouldn't mind getting to see more of Hannah and company in the future. The two novels of this duology are real gems and definitely deserve all the love they can get.
Profile Image for Ashley.
851 reviews634 followers
August 23, 2020
Star Rating: —> 3.5 Stars


This was pretty enjoyable, but something felt just a little off for me; I had to push my way through a bunch of it. I think I just wasn’t in the mood for it?

Anyway, more decisive RTC !
Profile Image for james ☆.
299 reviews27 followers
July 29, 2020
this was such a strong finale! i can finally breathe a sigh of relief for these characters.

the most special thing about this book to me is hannah's battle with PTSD throughout the book. that hit pretty heckin' close to home and it put this story on a whole other level - i mean, name one other contemporary fantasy series where the young hero realistically grapples with the trauma of these fantastical events and still manages to kick ass?? i'll wait.

as much as the ending was satisfying, i really hope isabel sterling pulls a cassie clare and writes a dozen more books in this world. because i am no where near being ready to let go of this beautiful world of magic shops and coven dynamics and adorable witchy girlfriends.

UPDATE from a few days after finishing: this book has been imprinted upon me so deeply in even just the short time since i've read it. i can't stop thinking about it. can't stop gushing about the characters or feeling like my heart has been ripped from my chest from how much i relate to hannah's battle and arc in this installment. this is one of those books (series, even) that just means the world to you before you've even turned the last page. i literally can't process this being the last book. unacceptable. i need more.
Profile Image for rachel, x.
1,795 reviews938 followers
April 13, 2024
#1) These Witches Dont' Burn ★★★★☆


Trigger warnings for .

Representation: Hannah (mc) is a lesbian with PTSD; Morgan (li) is bi; Jemma (sc) uses a cane; Cal (sc) is a gay trans man; sapphic & queer scs.

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Profile Image for John Gilbert.
1,375 reviews217 followers
June 16, 2023
This was a good follow up to the first book in this series. Hannah is recovering from her father's death and temporary loss of her magic brought on by her fake friend Benton, who is a murderous Witch Hunter. With her new friend and would be lover Morgan, who is a Blood Witch to her Elemental Witch, they work together with other witches to save all witches from the dreaded hunters.

Good return. 4 solid stars.
Profile Image for Martini_tnt.
592 reviews33 followers
October 30, 2021
2.5
Bardzo średnie. Wynudziłam się, takie książki chyba już nie są dla mnie. Typowa średnia młodzieżówka.
Profile Image for Danni (bookswithdanni).
253 reviews6 followers
November 13, 2021
⭐ 4 Stars ⭐

I enjoyed this as much as the first book; however, this may be slightly better as it didn’t focus mainly on relationship drama as the first one did. It contained a lot more action, and I really liked the use of the different magics in this world.

Okay, so speaking of the magic, it went into much more depth and detail as it explained the different magic systems and what each was capable of. When magic was used in combat, it worked quite well, and I loved this aspect of the book.

The characters were pretty much the same with some new additions; however, Veronica was not as present, but I didn’t really mind that much. Gemma is still by far my favourite as she’s such a badass and is also very supportive towards Hannah, which shows how much she cares. Although Gemma was also kinda in the background, so I missed her a little.

Hannah has grown so much through the series (duology). She has become more mature while also learning to accept and deal with not only her pain and grief but also PTSD. Her relationship with Morgan was super cute and showed how much they deeply cared for one another by being so supportive of each other. It was a refreshing relationship, and I loved to see it evolve through the books.

This was an excellent final book, and it wrapped the duology up nicely, which in my opinion, makes a great book. If you love sapphic romance and witches, then this could be a good duology to read; I’d say to start with book one though. 
Profile Image for Diana.
1,975 reviews310 followers
Read
June 3, 2020
DNF'ed @ page 172

Damn. I LOVED the first one, and I was anxious to get to the 2nd one, but... dnf'ed. The story didn't caught me. They are going after the Witch Hunters, who want to use their drug to cure the witched, although killing them also work.

We have Hannah kinda traumatised by what happened on the 1st book, but she wants to pretend everything's fine. She is together with Morgan, a Blood Witch, and still best friends with Gemma, who knows they are witches. But all the spark and power the characters had on the first book seems to have vaporised. It seems like they are going thru the motions, but they can't convey feeling, or at least not to me.

There was also missing from the story too. It seemed very black and white: witch hunters being evil just because, and they have to be stopped. And there are some Elders who decide how to, and make plans which doesn't seem much to me and I.don't know... maybe it's me as this is the 2nd book in a row which I dnf.
Profile Image for Laura ☾.
1,024 reviews321 followers
November 24, 2020
2.5 stars

Honestly, this was a bit of a let-down compared to the first book in the series.

The appeal of the first book was that it was light-hearted and fun, while tackling a few more serious issues. This book I feel tried to be more serious, but didn't have enough gravitas to quite pull it off, while losing the light-hearted appeal of the first book.
Profile Image for farith.
366 reviews500 followers
June 6, 2020
i had forgotten that this, one of my most anticipated releases of the year, is coming out this week.

Profile Image for Anja H..
943 reviews577 followers
October 22, 2023
*3.5 WITCHY STARS*

“You can't fight a hurricane with half an umbrella.”

This was a fine read, but nothing very special. I was also saving this one for spooky season, but frankly, there was pretty much nothing very spooky about this so I'm a little disappointed. The previous book had more of a thrill in my opinion.

This was still an enjoyable read though, I breezed through this. Though I find it hard to believe that an entire witch coven would listen to a teenager with very ordinary powers (or no powers at all for the biggest part of this book actually).

Some characters also had total personality transplants compared to the previous book, and it threw me off a bit. I liked the ending though!
Profile Image for Taschima.
943 reviews444 followers
June 1, 2020
I AM SO IN AND GIDDY I AM JUMPING UP AND DOWN WITH JOY! That cover is GORGEOUS!

Love this cover, and the excerpt released has me SO EXCITED!
Profile Image for Read by Coco ✨.
411 reviews28 followers
February 27, 2021
3 ⭐ This sequel delivered the same good pacing, interesting themes, and diverse representation as the first book. In many ways they were very much the same. However it's always harder for a sequel to live up to the first books hype, because it has to feel different and add new information. I personally didn't find this book to be different ENOUGH from the first book to make me be wowed by it. It wasn't a bad read through, just not gripping enough for a high star rating.
Profile Image for wysokowrazliwie .
34 reviews1 follower
February 5, 2023
Bardzo przyjemna książka, z dobrą reprezentacją. Idealnie wyważony wątek romantyczny z fantastycznym. Minus za to, że akcja porządnie rozwinela sie dopiero w polowie książki.
Profile Image for bvrtek.
87 reviews110 followers
November 20, 2022
4⭐
ale sie przy tym świetnie bawiłem, chyba ten tom jest troszkę lepszy od pierwszego. plot twisty - wow.
Profile Image for Amy Marsden.
Author 5 books87 followers
May 13, 2022
I really enjoyed the first book, These Witches Don't Burn, but idk about this one. It just seemed to lack something.

While it was nice jumping back in with Hannah and the others (particularly Morgan and the Blood Witches) I found myself not all that interested in them and the plot? I honestly can't put my finger on why.

Overall it was all right, but I definitely preferred the first book.
Profile Image for Kasia (kasikowykurz).
2,421 reviews62 followers
March 1, 2022
Kawał naprawdę dobrej kontynuacji, choć z niesmakiem przyznaję, że po czasie trochę mi się rozmywają moje wrażenie na jej temat i choć mija już sporo czasu, odkąd ją skończyłam, wciąż właściwie nie wiem, jak ja podsumować. Mam wrażenie, że nieważne co napiszę, powtórzę to, co mówiłam przy okazji pierwszej książki.

Po jej zakończeniu zaczęłam szukać informacji, czy może będzie trzeci tom, bo naprawdę polubiłam się z ta historią i chętnie jeszcze wróciłabym do tego świata, ale gdy teraz o tym myślę, to może jednak lepiej, że to dylogia, bo jakiekolwiek przedłużanie byłoby bez sensu. Bo co by tu jeszcze opowiedzieć?
Profile Image for jut.
594 reviews220 followers
October 3, 2020
if i must be honest, i liked the first book a lot more but that doesn't mean it was bad or not as good as the other, both are very different and i think that's what played the role in making me not like this one as much as i liked the other. things are different now in the story but yet hannah still doing the same mistakes and everybody around her too, so it feels like she didn't grow up or anything. i think most problems were solved in these witches don't burn, which didn't happen in this one. it lacked emotion and solutions for the problems.

maybe i'm the wrong here but i couldn't understand why the villian was the villian, their reasons and motivations and etc, which was strange and i think stayed as a black space, not answered. and if it's a duology than it's not good enough, we have to get a answer for all the questions or for the most of them, and this one was a big one.

“If you don’t let yourself feel all the terrible, scary, awful pieces of grief, your magic may never be yours again.”

and while those things weren't good enough for me, i still liked this book! i really liked the way hannah dealt with grief while managing a new relationship with morgan, who are totally different from veronica and she was also dealing with her mom and learning how to feel that losing her father was a big thing and hurt her, but it didn't make her weaker, yes it changed her but for the best!

at first, in the first book, i really enjoyed hannah and veronica but then i started picking some details in their relationship and i turned to not be a big fan of them together, so hannah and morgan’s relationship was refreshing and good to watch as it evolved and grow into something so much more.

brenton......i'm so sorry for you.

anyway i wish all the best for hannah and morgan, and everybody in the coven! this was a long and joyful ride, hope everyone that reads this duology enjoy as much as i did.
Profile Image for Mackenzie - PhDiva Books.
771 reviews14.6k followers
November 16, 2020
This book is the sequel to These Witches Won't Burn and I read them both this October with the Saturday Booksta Club. I have to say that I thought this second book was actually better than the first. The characters were more formed, the action started from the very beginning, and it felt fast-paced, fresh, and fun!

Hannah and her coven realize that all witches are being targeted by a group of hunters determined to deploy a "cure" that will permanently separate them from their magic. Having experienced a form of the cure herself, Hannah has never fully regained access to her magic. This makes her the perfect person to help recruit a few key witches to help them fight the group of hunters.

I'm hesitant to say more because I don't want to spoil all of the fun and twists in this book! Expect to see Hannah working together with other witches of different types to help stop the hunters. Expect some emotional moments, some heart-pounding scenes, and some sweet love story moments between Hannah and Morgan.

I was sad to see that this appears to be the last of the witch series from Isabel Sterling, but so glad that I read them!
Profile Image for annikasplatzindieserwelt.
141 reviews75 followers
January 10, 2021
This was a cute read! 🥰
What made me enjoy the book (and also part one) so much definitely were the characters. I love Hannah with all my heart, but also Morgan and especially Gemma! These girls!

I liked how the different storylines from the previous book got picked up and involved into the story of part 2 so perfectly, not leaving any plot holes. But I kinda thought, as thrilling as it was, that the „big ending“ and battle at the end were a bit rushed, as exciting as it was to read!

Those books aren’t perfect but still such a good and funny read, a nice story (I mean queer witches??? Helloooo!!!!) and definitely character driven, the characters Isabel Sterling created in her novels are awesome! I‘d recommend.

Ps.: Did I mention that I love Hannah, Gemma and morgan?
Profile Image for wera.
173 reviews48 followers
July 16, 2022
4,10⭐
ooo tak, ta część lepsza od poprzedniej, zdecydowanie więcej magii, czarów i samych wiedźm🖤🖤

osobiście bardzo podobała mi się ta dylogia! była tak przyjemna i wciągająca, dostarczała fajna rozrywke, mega miło spędzony czas;

tak jak napisałam przy pierwszej części-nie jest to nic perfekcyjnego, natomiast przez to jak fajnie się przy tym bawiłam, nie będę się niczego czepiac✨✨

A NO I POWTÓRZĘ ŻE KOCHAM WIEDŹMY WIĘC I'M SORRY
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