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sapphic-book-tournament · 10 months

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Part 1 of Round 1 starts tomorrow. I hope everyone is excited as I am. It's a bit much but I wanted to include all the recommendations that I got to make everyone happy.

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notexactlyrocketscience · 7 months

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These Witches Don't Burn duology by Isabel Sterling

one of my favourite YA reads in recent years!

Elemental witches! The magic is somewhere between Winx Club/W.I.T.C.H (sans the magical girl transformations) and Avatar, and it’s just so familiar and fun.

The narrator authentically sounds like a teenager, but remains engaging to any reader.

Diverse ensemble cast with very detailed characters.

Ballet aesthetic with some of the main characters—this really brought back my childhood. It was so vividly written and beautiful.

City/forest ambience is really well-done.

MURRRDERRR!!! Which came as a complete shock.

Things turn into a very dark and intense mystery/thriller/adventure with angsty betrayals.

And yet it still manages to remain so wholesome and warm.

The second-chance romance and other relationships are very sweet.

The sequel is as good as the first book and the ending is really satisfying!

I recieved a free ARC at an author event a few years ago, and I really wasn't expecting much from the duology. You can imagine my surprise when I finally picked it up. The audiobook is very fun, and the plot includes everything I want in a YA read—fantasy, romance, friendships, aesthetics, even murder and adventure. Truly one of my favourite series ever probably. I've seen some pictures of copies floating around so I just want to throw in my enthusiastic two cents—Highly, highly recommended!

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petite-pearlgirl · 5 months

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☆Some of my books 📚 ☆

#bookblr #light academia #academia #dark academia #books #book lover #girl blogger #girl blog #alice oseman #radio silence #loveless #leah on the offbeat #becky albertalli #these witches don't burn #Orlando #virginia woolf #i am an oc #im not real

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warrioroftruthh · 7 months

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these witches don't burn is such a good book i love it so much

#rereading it #these witches don't burn #isabel sterling

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stardustandrockets · 5 months

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OCTOBER RAINBOW CRATE SPOILERS

I swear I fall more and more in love with these redesigned covers with each box. manicfemme is knocking the typography and junk out of the park along with the cover artists!

This month's @rainbowcrate included:

• The Spells We Cast by Jason June—dust jacket art by @samairu with dark silver foiling and glow effect, signed bookplate, and author letter on the jacket

• In the Roses of Pieria by Anna Burke—dust jacket art by @otuscops, maroon foiling, spot gloss, foiled in-world hardcover, end papers by manicfemme & @jamielynnlano, printed edges by @mrosedesigner, a letter series, author letter, and signed art bookplate

• monthly collectible magnet inspired by The Wicker King by K. Ancrum

• letter opener inspired by These Witches Don't Burn by Isabel Sterling; designed by @kitstercronk

• spoiler card art as always is by @ace-artemis-fanartist

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melanielocke · 1 year

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Book recommendations: witches

Everyone loves witches, right? They're certainly one of my favorites and somehow keep showing up in most of the books I write. So I picked out a couple of witch books that I loved and will tell you a little more about them.

I'm starting with These Witches Don't Burn and This Coven Won't Break by Isabel Sterling

This is a complete duology set in modern day Salem, following Hannah, an elemental witch, with as you guessed, power over the elements. She has to keep her magic a secret from everyone non magical, including her best friend Gemma. When Hannah starts discovering signs of dark magic in her town, she suspects a blood witch, but her coven doesn't believe her, so she's forced to team up with her ex girlfriend Veronica, another elemental, to figure out who's responsible.

This book is really the kind that balances contemporary teen life and romance with magic and action, and you do have to like that, but generally the book is fast paced and easy to get through. There's a romance built up inbetween the action between Hannah and a new girl in town called Morgan, and a lot of tension comes from the old fashioned YA magic girl who has to keep her powers secret from best friends and potential girlfriends.

Other books from this author: The Coldest Touch, which is a sapphic vampire book

Next I'll talk about Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova, which is first in a complete series but the books are more companions than direct sequels. I realize now that I never actually bought or read the third book, so maybe I'll put that on my wishlist.

The series is about a latine family of brujas, which each book focusing on a different sister and the first one follows Alex. Alex is an Encantrix, the most powerful bruja in her generation, but she struggles to control her magic and would much rather be rid of it. On her Deathday celebration she tries a spell to get rid of it, but instead she accidently makes her family disappear. To get them back, she has to travel to Los Lagos, a mysterious alternate world she has to traverse to find them. She has the help of Nova, a brujo she doesn't trust, and her best friend Rishi.

There's somewhat of (bisexual) love triangle, but Alex makes a pretty clear choice pretty soon so it's not dragged out or in the way of the story.

The second book is about the oldest sister Lula, whose boyfriend dies and she tries to use her healing power to bring him back, only to accidently start a zombie apocalypse. It's been a while since I read these books so I don't remember it well but I loved the first one in particular.

Cemetery Boys is the first novel by Aiden Thomas (I have talked about his newest book the Sunbearer Trials before, which is also amazing)

Cemetery Boys is a contemporary fantasy set in California, where a local latine community has magic powers. Their magic is gendered, and while it does mention the potential of non binary witches, this is not further explore. Brujas have the power to heal while brujos have power over the dead. Yadriel is a trans boy, and while his family seems to accept that he's trans, they don't accept him as a brujo and won't let him prove himself. So he decides to do the ritual himself to prove he is a brujo, and he ends up accidently summoning Julian Diaz, a boy from his school who was recently murdered, and Julian wants nothing more than to find out what happened to him. Yadriel decides to help him, but the longer Julian spends around him, the more Yadriel doesn't want him to leave.

This book has a lot of mystery and intrigue, with Yadriel and Julian following clues to figure out what happened to him, but there's also a lot of relationship building. I also really liked the inclusion of Maritza, Yadriel's best friend and another bruja. Her bruja powers require animal blood to work, but she's vegan and therefore doesn't use her powers, which I think was an interesting choice.

Sweet and Bitter Magic is the first book by Adrienne Tooley

Tamsin is the most powerful witch of her generation, but after committing a terrible magical sin she's exiled from the coven and cursed so she can't feel love. The only way to get the ability back temporarily is by taking love from others. She lives in a village in the human lands where she sells her magic abilities in exchange for people's love.

Wren is a source, a much rarer being than a witch. She's made of magic but can't use it herself. Instead, she can see magic and allow a witch to take power from her. Wren has hidden this ability all her life, because she would be taken away to train with the Coven and she has to take care of her sick father.

When a plague ravages the land, caused by a witch using dark magic somewhere, Wren's father becomes one of its victims, and Wren makes a deal with Tamsin to save her father in exchange for her love for her father. Together, they'll set off on a journey to find out what caused the plague and put an end to it.

This is a very character driven book, with a lot of emphasis on Tamsin's past and what caused her to be exiled and cursed. It's also good to remember that in the story Tamsin is still a teenager, meaning she was twelve or so when she was exiled and cursed. Meanwhile, Wren has always put her father before anyone else, including herself, and has to learn to stop letting her life revolve around him. This is a sapphic book, with the main relationship between Tamsin and Wren, and I guess you could classify it as enemies to lovers? Or at the very least, dislike each other to lovers.

The last book on this list is Sofi and the Bone Song, Adrienne Tooley's second book

Like Sweet and Bitter Magic, this is a stand alone, and while there are also witches in here, this book is in the first place about music, and takes on and challenges the idea that suffering creates the best art.

In the land of Aell, winter is eternal and magic is easily available through paper spells made by witches that can be bought. Music is the last artform that has been untouched by this magic, and to ensure it stays this way there are only five Musiks, each playing a different instrument, who are allowed to compose and perform music. Other people can learn to play from these Musiks, but only as amateurs. Sofi is the daughter of one of the Musiks, and she wants nothing more than to become his successor. She's been practicing music all her life and has quite a brutal routine for herself to ensure she is the best, a routine that her father taught her.

On the day of the auditions for her father's successor, Sofi meets unexpected competition. Lara has never played the lute before, all her musical experience is with singing, but somehow she plays so well that the judges choose her over Sofi.

When her father dies on the same day, Lara immediately inherits the Musik title and has to go on a tour through the kingdom to play her own music, something she has no experience with whatsoever. Sofi doesn't believe Lara's talent is genuine, after all, who plays the lute perfectly when they've never played before? She offers to help Lara with the intent of finding proof Lara used illegal magic to enhance her performance, so she can win the Musik title back.

But the more time Sofi spends around Lara, the more she starts to question what she knew about her family, her practice routine, and if her father was truly as great as she thought he was.

Sofi can be described as an unlikeable main character, especially at first. She only really cares about becoming Musik at first, and offers to help Lara with the idea of exposing her, but despite that I found her easy to root for and I loved seeing her grow and challenging the ideas she was brought up with. I think this is a very underrated book and I hope more people buy it

Next up by Adrienne Tooley is the Third Daughter, a first book in a duology

@alastaircarstairsdefenselawyer @life-through-the-eyes-of @astriefer @justanormaldemon @ipromiseiwillwrite @a-dream-dirty-and-bruised @amchara @all-for-the-fanfiction @imsoftforthomastair @ddepressedbookworm @queenlilith43 @wagner-fell @cant-think-of-anything @laylax13s @tessherongraystairs @boredfangirl16 @artist-in-soul @bottomdelioncourt @ikissedsmithparker

#book recommendations #witch books #witches #these witches don't burn #this coven won't break #isabel sterling #cemetery boys #aiden thomas #labyrinth lost #zoraida cordova #sweet and bitter magic #sofi and the bone song #adrienne tooley

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jessreadswithpride · 1 year

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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ LESBIAN AND BI WITCHES! <3 🔮☾🕯👭🏼 I loved the idea of following through with the real-life History of Witches. Set in Salem, Massachusetts, where Witches still exist. A great plot line, which kept me glued to the pages to see how it would end. Lesbian MC, Lesbian ex-GF, very supportive best friend, Bi FC love interest. Absolutely one of my favourite Lesbian YA reads yet. Thank you, Isabel Sterling!

Buy it here!

#these witches don't burn #isabel sterling #booklr #sapphic book #wlw book #sapphic book review #lesbian #lesbian characters #bisexual #bisexual characters #diverse reads #queer book #lgbt book #witch book #sapphic witch #book review

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poppletonink · 9 months

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An Inspired Reading Recommendations List: Purple Covers

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

If This Gets Out by Sophie Gonzales & Cale Dietrich

These Witches Don't Burn by Isabel Sterling

Drama by Raina Telgemeier

Across The Universe by Beth Revis

The Edge of Great by Micol Ostow

Vinyl Moon by Mahogany L. Browne

Loveless by Alice Oseman

You Should See Me In A Crown by Leah Johnson

Delilah Green Doesn't Care by Ashley Herring Blake

The 99 Boyfriends of Micah Summers by Adam Sass

One True Loves by Elise Bryant

None of This Is Serious by Catherine Prasifka

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Guts by Raina Telgemeier

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wedontburnbookshere · 7 months

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Tarot cards pictured are from The Herbcrafter's Tarot.

Disclaimer: I read These Witches Don't Burn in I think either 2020 or 2021, so there are details I 100% do not remember. This isn't a review of These Witches Don't Burn; I'm just rambling about The Coldest Touch and wanted to bring up Sterling's growth between these books.

I'm not wild about The Coldest Touch being written in 1st person, present tense. I don't hate this type of POV, I swear (I loved it for The Hunger Games and thought this type of narration fit well for The Cruel Prince). However, the narration felt better to read in The Coldest Touch, compared to These Witches Don't Burn.

In Witches, the narration style felt like it was working against Hannah's story. However, after listening to an episode of the podcast Of the Publishing Persuasion, I started thinking that the weird pacing and flat emotional beats in Witches was at least partially due to Sterling's frame of mind at the time of writing it. She said she was struggling writing the book and that an earlier draft had turned out much darker.

Regardless, I already hadn't wanted to judge it too harshly, since I think it was her debut novel, though I could be wrong. So while her writing wasn't very strong, I felt like it showed enough promise that I wanted to read a future book by Sterling, unrelated to the characters in Witches (I've yet to read its sequel and don't plan to). So when I heard about The Coldest Touch and that one of the main characters is a vampire, I gave it a look.

Compared to Witches, the story in Coldest Touch flows much better and doesn't suffer the overall tonal or pacing issues I thought Witches had. Claire and Elise feel more natural in their interactions, and the grief hanging over Elise through much of the book feels much more real than the grief felt by Hannah in Witches. I was glad to have given Sterling another chance and will likely be keeping an eye out for her next book, if she decides to stick with modern fantasy.

When originally reading it, I believe I gave These Witches Don't Burn 2 or 21/2 stars. The Coldest Touch is probably a 31/2 for me. There were still a few choices that made me go "?", one standing out was that whenever we meet a new character, their ethnicity is the first thing we hear about. If it was only in Elise's chapters or only in Claire's chapters, I could see it as a quirk of one of their characters. I believed it more for Elise, a white cis girl whose family is wealthy. I can see her being overly aware of her privilege and her narration reflecting it in ways, but this wasn't what that was. It felt more like an easy way to show diversity while also highlighting that white isn't the default, mentioning that a teacher was white and blond, instead of only mentioning the teacher's blond hair.

Honestly, it's not a big issue; it just felt weird seeing it again and again when more characters got introduced. It's not bad, but it felt forced, like Sterling was trying too hard to be sensitive and not writing descriptions as Claire or Elise would see them. (As a southeast Asian who has dealt with a lifetime of people constantly trying to guess "where [I'm] from," I snorted a bit when Claire guessed correctly at first glance that Maggie's Korean American.)

I enjoyed the world-building. It's simple, which I thought was good for the story being told. It was easy to understand the council and its goals (at least the goals told to Claire) and how it worked. I loved Wyn, who is Claire's mentor and is described as being like a cool, older cousin, trying to get Claire to relax more and have fun.

I enjoyed Elise's powers as a Death Oracle, though the way she eventually masters them felt rather abrupt. It doesn't come without consequences, but they aren't consequences that are seen in this book, which makes me wonder if Sterling is planning a sequel.

Overall, The Coldest Touch is a really good book if you want a straightforward, quick read. There are a couple twists, and with one, the rushed aftermath again makes me wonder if Sterling is planning a sequel or at least a book set in the same universe. Sterling's writing has gotten much stronger between books, though, so as she keeps learning, I'd definitely be interested in seeing what she puts out next.

#book review tag #from the book hoard #these witches don't burn #the coldest touch #isabel sterling #ya lit #ya literature #ya books

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nerds-in-wonderland · 2 years

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✨🔮BOOKS ABOUT WITCHES🔮✨

These Witches Don't Burn

By: Isabel Sterling

"Hannah's a witch, but not the kind you're thinking of. She's the real deal, an Elemental with the power to control fire, earth, water, and air. But even though she lives in Salem, Massachusetts, her magic is a secret she has to keep to herself. If she's ever caught using it in front of a Reg (read: non-witch), she could lose it. For good. So, Hannah spends most of her time avoiding her ex-girlfriend (and fellow Elemental Witch) Veronica, hanging out with her best friend, and working at the Fly by Night Cauldron selling candles and crystals to tourists, goths, and local Wiccans.

But dealing with her ex is the least of Hannah's concerns when a terrifying blood ritual interrupts the end-of-school-year bonfire. Evidence of dark magic begins to appear all over Salem, and Hannah's sure it's the work of a deadly Blood Witch. The issue is, her coven is less than convinced, forcing Hannah to team up with the last person she wants to see: Veronica.

While the pair attempt to smoke out the Blood Witch at a house party, Hannah meets Morgan, a cute new ballerina in town. But trying to date amid a supernatural crisis is easier said than done, and Hannah will have to test the limits of her power if she's going to save her coven and get the girl, especially when the attacks on Salem's witches become deadlier by the day."

~Alice 🌌

#nerd humor #nerdy memes #nerd #book reccs #bookblr #these witches don't burn

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sapphic-book-tournament · 10 months

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I think I'm gonna give it like a week so people have time to let me know what they want to see in the tournament before we start. Comment here or on my previous post to let me know anything you want to see. I'm so excited! Make sure to comment books even if they're tagged to make sure they make it.

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incorrect-slaytheprincess · 28 days

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the shifting mound: where is everyone?

the witch: the burned set the couch on fire again, the adversary is trying to intimidate the prisoner, the wild is trying to rip the seams of the construct, and i'm in charge so-

the shifting mound: YOU'RE IN CHARGE???

the witch: why is THAT the thing you're panicking about??

#slay the princess #the shifting mound #the burned grey #the adversary #the witch #the prisoner #the wild #i need more quotes with the princesses :/#it's kinda hard to come up with any tho bc they don't interact with each other canonically the way the voices do

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stardustandrockets · 5 months

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Do you have a pen pal, or have you ever had a pen pal?

During college I had several pen pals. I was paired with some through a service, facebook groups, and even tumblr. Some of them were friends I asked if they wanted to exchange letters. At one point I participated in a postcard exchange where you'd send one to someone and people would send them to you. I've gotten postcards from Japan, Germany, Belgium (I think), and a few others. This particular letter is from a friend I met on tumblr who lives in New Zealand. We're still in contact, via snapchat mostly. Some of my old snail mail (especially the postcards) is archived on @musical-mailbox

This letter opener is inspired by These Witches Don't Burn by Isabel Sterling. Again, not one that I've read, but it sounds really good. It was designed by @kitstercronk

#RCOct23 #RainbowCrate #rainbow crate book box #stronger together #these witches don't burn #isabel sterling #ya dark fantasy #lgbtq reads #lgbtqia #queer book recs #read queer all year #read with pride #read more sapphic books #stardustandrockets

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cieric-of-chaos · 5 months

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God....i forgot Wanda is going to be on...."what if?" Show...

I am not even excited I am so scared what storyline there going to do to her....god please don't ruin Wanda's character more.... people are already mischaractering her..

Wanda Had so much potential as a character....but seeing what that stupid man had been doing with her for years it's hopeless

#they couldn't even show her powers properly....#my poor girl stuck in a shitty verse where the writers don't know shit....#wanda maximoff #wandavision #scarlet witch #what if #fuck marvel #fuck kevin Feige #wanda maximoff x reader #i hope the mcu burns until nobody wanna watch their shit #mcu #marvel #fuck this shit #Let's talk about the Scarlet Witch #wanda ramblings

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k-i-l-l-e-r-b-e-e-6-9 · 9 months

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Venom - Don't Burn the Witch

#Venom #Black Metal #Don't Burn the Witch #metal #speed metal #Cronos #my gif #gifs #my edit #80's #80s

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stop-breaking-my-heart-dragonage · 4 months

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This. This. This entire conversation with Morrigan actually makes me want to sob. She and my Tabris always becomes close friends over the course of DAO; that, paired with the fact that my Tabris always romances Alistair, makes everything about this hurt so much more when you take DAO's ending into account.

Her confusion over why my Tabris didn't send her away. Why she didn't abandon her after they learned of Flemeth's plans. Why Tabris went out of her way to slay Flemeth and bring her the true grimoire. She asks Tabris why, and is baffled when the answer is, "I did it because I'm your friend," as if it's that simple.

The way Morrigan looks at the warden, the way her voice cracks when she says, "I want you to know that while I may not always prove... worthy... of your friendship, I will always value it."

She knows how this will end; Flemeth sent her with the wardens with the end goal of stopping the blight and obtaining the old god soul through the dark ritual. Morrigan knows that Alistair and Tabris are the only Grey Wardens here, and assuming they don't find more, one of them will have to die defeating the archdemon unless they agree to do the dark ritual.

With that context, her asking Alistair, "And what if a Grey Warden has forced to choose between the Warden he loved and ending the Blight? What should his choice be?" suddenly has so much subtext weaved through the words that I'm gonna start foaming at the mouth. She's practically telling Alistair that a warden has to die. She's scrutinizing his reaction to find any hint that suggests he would agree to the dark ritual in order to save himself and the woman he loves. And when he doesn't choose, she has her answer.

Morrigan made comments to Tabris about him, almost hopeful that their relationship was just a physical thing between them and not actually riddled with feelings... and then gives disapproval when Tabris says she loves him.

She doesn't want the warden to die; hell, she doesn't want Alistair to die, either; whether because she does actually care about him or because she knows it'll break her friend's heart if she loses him, or both!

Things would be so much easier if the only two Grey Wardens left to defeat the blight didn't fall in love, wouldn't they, Morrigan?

She knows that in the end, no matter the outcome, she will lose the woman she called sister and it's devastating.

Morrigan, who has never known true friendship. Who grew up isolated in the woods with an abusive mother and terrible implications for her future. Who discovered said mother planned to take over her body just as she did with her other daughters. Who doesn't understand kindness as it was rarely given to her without a catch. Who isolates herself from the others in camp. Who finally has a companion she cares about... and in the end, if her plan works and the dark ritual is completed, she'll end up pregnant and alone and wearing Tabris' resentment like a tender wound on her heart.

Or Tabris will reject the ritual, and will die to the archdemon.

Or her lover will.

I just- the dynamic between the warden, romanced Alistair, and Morrigan is so good and painful and rich that I'm gnawing on furniture as we speak.

#dragon age origins #dao #alistair theirin #dao alistair #dao morrigan #dao tabris #warden tabris #i'm replaying dao right now in case my recent written posts haven't made that obvious #the relationship dynamics the warden has with each of the companions is so so soooo good like there isn't a companion i dislike #i play into the slow burn with alistair's romance but it's not even just the romance aspect it's also their friendship too #playing dao and not romancing alistair would feel wrong at this point for me it's so crucial to the entire story and its development #and i love morrigan's friendship with the warden and how gutted tabris is when she comes clean about everything and offers the ritual #and then bails once everything is over and tabris is torn between hating her and feeling hurt and not wanting morrigan to be alone again #i talked more in depth about morrigan and the ritual in a previous post but it's a lot... especially when it comes to the witch hunt dlc #oh and then there's the friendship between tabris and zevran like don't even get me started on that sksksks i won't be able to stop #even a character like oghren who is the last person you'd think tabris would ever become friends with since he's y'know *oghren*#but i'll go on the record and say there's more to oghren that gets overlooked and overshadowed by his glaring flaws #and i don't wanna talk about leliana... she makes me too sad like ever since my last playthrough where i accidentally triggered her romance #while i was deep in alistair's romance i have a really hard time not reading into the things she says to tabris #in my last playthrough i dunno what i did but she confessed to tabris even though she was fully aware that tabris and alistair were togethe #and it was a *mess* okay like it really felt like we killed marjolaine and leliana was in a vulnerable position yet was hardened enough #to be like 'i know she and alistair are together but i'll take my shot anyway and attempt to break them up' like.... noooooo leliana D:#and the rest of the game it felt like she was bitter and still in love with tabris and i felt *horrible*#i just said i don't wanna talk about it but hhhnnngggg i'm taking extra precautions to not have a repeat of that this time #excuse my tag ramblings i'm just very passionate about dao and the companions okay #also want to note that this is my interpretation of morrigan's motivations based on how i play the game and my warden #so others might view this reaction and the warden/romanced alistair/morrigan dynamic differently and in that case #i would be interested to hear that different interpretations because those are always fun to read

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