I knew October could not end without me reading a witchy book and I did it! I know this review is coming so much later than October, but I’ve been very behind on writing reviews and also trying to put less pressure on myself. So apologies! Keep reading this book review of This Coven Won’t Break if you want to read my latest witch review!
Summary
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?
Review
TW: torture
This Coven Won’t Break is a story about feeling powerless and processing trauma. It’s a book that asks us who we are without our magic. When we’ve felt like our agency has been robbed from us, we want to fight, to make a stand to take it back. While that may feel good, it’s important for us to heal, to process the trauma. So that we don’t let it fester inside of us, so we don’t focus only on our reactions, but on ourselves.
Beginning right where These Witches Don’t Burn left off, Sterling illustrates that the past will always come back to haunt us. In the witch community, they are a tight knit bunch, but it means that our past mistakes and enemies will find us again. At the same time, This Coven Won’t Break looks at hate and the necessity of change. Why are there witch hunters? How does one fight against fear, hated, and intolerance? In a war where they resort to reckless cruelty, how do we defeat them without slipping into the same tactics?
This Coven Won’t Break is full of action, but what drew me to the sequel were the themes Sterling explores. How can we fight against hatred? Do people really ever change and fix their mistakes? What will we do for our beliefs, to force change? How do we heal and process our trauma? And, if we had a second chance, what would we do with it? It’s a great sequel that doesn’t shy away from the consequences of the first book, while also delivering a satisfying resolution (with plenty of thematic exploration!).
Find This Coven Won’t Break on Goodreads, Amazon, Indiebound, Bookshop.org & The Book Depository.