Book Reviews

Review: Bad Witch Burning by Jessica Lewis

Bad Witch Burning took me by storm. It is emotional, gripping, and will consume your thoughts. It’s a story about letting others in, about friendship, and about toxic family members. Keep reading this book review for my full thoughts.

Summary

Katrell doesn’t mind talking to the dead; she just wishes it made more money. Clients pay her to talk to their deceased loved ones, but it isn’t enough to support her unemployed mother and Mom’s deadbeat boyfriend-of-the-week. Things get worse, when a ghost warns her to stop the summonings or she’ll “burn everything down.” Katrell is willing to call them on their bluff, though. She has no choice. What do ghosts know about eating peanut butter for dinner?

However, when her next summoning accidentally raises someone from the dead, Katrell realizes that a live body is worth a lot more than a dead apparition. And, warning or not, she has no intention of letting this lucrative new business go.

But magic doesn’t come for free, and soon dark forces are closing in on Katrell. The further she goes, the more she risks the lives of not only herself, but those she loves. Katrell faces a choice: resign herself to poverty, or confront the darkness before it’s too late.

Review

(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)

TW: animal death, child abuse, domestic abuse, parental neglect, gun violence

Bad Witch Burning put my heart through the emotional wringer. From Lewis exploring toxic family members to the fear and doubts of letting people in? Everything is emotionally intense and gripping. Katrell’s story of how she is put into the parental role – when no child should have to be – and the desperation of poverty. We are able to see Katrell on the page in all her mistakes, loves, and doubts. To witness her emotional journey and character arc.

There are moments that break your heart from the small all the way to the large. From the internal narration in our own heads, to the fights with our best friends, to the toxic relationship with her mother. Bad Witch Burning is a book that has us fall so deeply in love with the characters, all their nuances and intricacies, and then watch the action take off. I struggle to figure out whether I love the story line – the supernatural – or the characters more. But they work so seamlessly together to create a narrative you can’t put down.

At the heart of the action and character details, Bad Witch Burning explores the sides of love. The people who support us, even when we lash out at them. And the ones who never have our best interests at heart, no matter how hard we try. To figure out how to take help from others and recognize when people don’t deserve our help. It’s emotional, gripping, and fast paced. Find Bad Witch Burning on Goodreads, Amazon, Indiebound, Bookshop.org & The Book Depository.

Discussion

Do you have a book recommendation that explores toxic relationships?


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