Honestly all I knew going into this book was "sapphic witches," but that was enough to get my hopes up. (I should've known better.)

The main strength of this book is LGBTQIA+ rep; I thought the worldbuilding was fine but not particularly memorable, and I really didn't like the main characters much. It felt like there was too much drama just for the sake of drama — a lot of it romance-adjacent, though there were also some nObOdY uNdErStAnDs My AnGsT mini-monologues (believable teenager thoughts but exasperating to read over and over). And I felt like we never got enough information to make our own judgment about Hannah and Veronica's breakup:

Spoiler

bits and pieces are gradually rehashed in arguments, but never in a cohesive enough picture that I felt Hannah was totally justified in blaming Veronica for everything that happened

.

I guessed one of the two major plot twists because it was incredibly predictable and

Spoiler

of course the main suspect never turns out to be the culprit; it's like they've never seen a TV show

; I think it would've been less frustrating if

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Hannah had ever seriously considered anyone besides Nolan could be the Witch Hunter, or that Nolan could've done some but not all of it, or any of a million other possibilities

. The other reveal

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ie, Morgan and her parents being Blood Witches but not evil

had more potential, but considering all the buildup I felt like the other characters accepted it too easily.

So all in all, for me this was another case of intriguing premise, mediocre execution. I noticed all the sequel hooks, but frankly I have no real interest in continuing the series.

content warnings:

Spoiler

blood, animal sacrifice, arson, major character death, on-page car accident, bi erasure (immediately challenged in-text)

rep:

Spoiler

lesbian MC, bisexual love interest, major & minor & past F/F relationships, WLW major character, MLM trans (FTM) major character, WLW minor character

-----------
CONVERSION: 7.73 / 15 = 3 stars

Prose: 5 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 4 / 10
Emotional Impact: 4 / 10
Development / Flow: 6 / 10
Setting: 8 / 10

Diversity & Social Themes: 3 / 5
Intellectual Engagement: N/A
Originality / Trope Execution: 2 / 5
Rereadability: N/A
Memorability: 2 / 5