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Verdict: A stronger, more emotionally honest sequel that takes Hannah’s trauma seriously and gives her and Morgan a relationship built on communication, held back by a vague villain and the loss of book one’s small-town intimacy.
Best for: Readers who finished These Witches Don’t Burn wanting more of Hannah and Morgan, who value a realistic grief-and-PTSD arc over a twisty mystery, and who are happy with kissing-only YA romance.
Heat level: ★☆☆☆☆ (1/5 — YA, kissing only)
Rating: ★★★★☆ (3.6/5 — a 3.84 Goodreads average across 13,700 ratings, up on book one but with a real “lost its charm” minority)
Tropes: Witches versus hunters, established couple, found family, secret magical society, trauma recovery, exes-to-friends, queer-normative world, duology finale.
This Coven Won’t Break by Isabel Sterling is the second and concluding novel of the These Witches Don’t Burn duology, a 2020 Razorbill paranormal and fantasy young adult novel set among the hidden witch families of modern-day Salem — and where Hannah Walsh, an Elemental witch still shaking from last year’s violence, has to decide how much of herself the fight against the witch Hunters is allowed to take, while keeping the girlfriend who knows her secret.
It holds a 3.84 average across roughly 13,700 Goodreads ratings, a clear step up from book one’s 3.70, and 4.5 stars on Amazon across 837 ratings. The praise concentrates on things the first book did not do, and the complaints concentrate on things it did better. Both halves of that split are worth understanding before you start. If you haven’t read book one, start with our review of These Witches Don’t Burn — this sequel assumes you have.
What Is This Coven Won’t Break About?
This Coven Won’t Break is contemporary witch fantasy, YA, with a thriller spine: magic exists in secret inside ordinary New England towns, governed by a council of witch families, and hunted by people who want it gone. Contemporary in this genre means the magic is always one step from exposure — school, parents, phones and police all sit alongside the spells — and the book gets a lot of its tension from that friction.
Hannah begins the book without her footing. She survived the events of book one, but she is carrying them — panic, guilt, a body that will not stop bracing for the next attack — and the coven’s leaders assume she will simply carry on as a soldier. Morgan, her girlfriend, is not a witch but is now inside the secret, which makes her both Hannah’s anchor and a liability the magical world is not keen to tolerate. The book stays in Hannah’s first-person POV throughout, which is what lets the trauma arc work: you are inside the panic rather than watching it.
What Makes This YA Sapphic Witch Fantasy Work
- Hannah’s PTSD arc: The most specifically praised element. Several Goodreads reviewers single out how realistically she processes trauma and grief, and one notes how rarely a teenage fantasy hero is allowed to fall apart afterwards.
- A relationship that communicates: Hannah and Morgan draw the most consistent praise in the reviews — readers call the pairing refreshing because the two actually talk, which makes it a gentle, low-drama sapphic fantasy romance rather than a will-they story.
- No love triangle: Veronica, Hannah’s ex, stays in the story, and readers are relieved the book rebuilds that bond as a friendship instead of manufacturing rivalry.
- Queer all the way through: The cast is widely queer, including a gay trans character several reviewers name approvingly. Being queer is never the problem; being a witch is.
- Momentum: A sizeable group of readers describe it as faster and more action-driven than book one, with the second half in particular moving hard toward the finale.
Book Synopsis
The fire is out, but Hannah is still burning. Months after the attacks that tore through Salem’s witch community, she is back at school, back with Morgan, and back under the watch of a council that wants answers. She can call up the elements without thinking. She cannot sleep through the night, walk into a crowded room without scanning for exits, or stop replaying what she saw.
The coven does not have time for her recovery. The Hunters — the organised enemy that has been working against witches for generations — are no longer a rumour, and whatever they are planning now reaches beyond one town. Witches are being targeted in a way that threatens not just their lives but their magic itself, and the council needs its young Elemental in the field. Hannah wants to protect the people she loves. She also knows exactly what the last fight cost her, and that Morgan — clever, loyal and entirely without power — is standing much too close to it.
So Hannah does what she always does: she says yes, and she hides how much it hurts. The investigation drags her out of Salem and deeper into the council’s politics, where the adults in charge have their own secrets and their own reasons for sending teenagers into danger. Veronica is back in her orbit, the old lines between them uncertain. And every step closer to the Hunters raises the question Hannah least wants to answer — how much of herself she can give to a war before there is nothing left for anyone else.
My Review
The best thing about This Coven Won’t Break is that it refuses to pretend book one didn’t happen. Most YA sequels reset their heroine to factory settings; Sterling opens with a girl who is visibly not okay, and she keeps her not okay for most of the book. The panic attacks, the hypervigilance and the guilt are handled with a steadiness that readers keep praising, and it gives the sequel an emotional seriousness the first book, which was mostly a quick mystery, never reached.
The second real strength is the relationship. Hannah and Morgan are an established couple here, and Sterling writes them the way you’d want a teenage relationship modelled: they argue, they tell each other what they need, and the tension comes from outside the relationship rather than from a manufactured misunderstanding. Keeping Veronica close without turning her into a triangle is a smart choice too. The book lets an ex become family, which is a very queer kind of ending for a secondary thread and one readers clearly noticed.
Where it struggles is the antagonist, and this is the most repeated craft complaint rather than my own gripe. A group of reviewers say the villain’s motives never come into focus, and a few found the central reveal as guessable as book one’s. Around that sit the structural notes: the story leaves Salem more often, which several readers felt cost it the small-town intimacy that made book one cosy; a couple of low-star reviews say the first half is slow before the action arrives and then the climax feels rushed; and a couple more say the rules governing magic being taken from witches don’t hold together. None of these complaints is loud — the Goodreads distribution has only 6% at one and two stars — but they are consistent.
One expectation to reset: the cover and the series title sell a witch mystery, and this is less of one. Book two is a trauma-recovery story with a thriller plot wrapped around it, heavier on action and council politics than on clues. If the whodunit is what drew you to book one, calibrate; if the whodunit is what let you down, this is the better book.
My honest note: A sequel that grows up emotionally while losing a little of the magic that made book one easy to love. If Hannah and Morgan were the reason you finished These Witches Don’t Burn, this is the payoff. If the cosy Salem mystery was the draw, expect something tenser and more scattered.
| Element | In This Coven Won’t Break |
|---|---|
| Central relationship | Hannah Walsh & Morgan Brooks — Elemental witch and non-magical girlfriend, an established couple |
| Core tropes | Witches versus hunters, found family, trauma recovery, secret magical society, exes-to-friends |
| Setting | Modern-day Salem, Massachusetts, and beyond — a hidden world of witch families and their council |
| Heat level | 1/5 — YA, kissing only |
| Series | These Witches Don’t Burn book 2 of 2 — concludes the duology, no cliffhanger; two novellas sit either side |
| Content notes | PTSD and panic attacks, grief and death, gun violence, attempted murder, magic forcibly taken from witches, chronic injury |
How Spicy Is This Coven Won’t Break?
A 1/5. This is a young adult novel, and romance.io, which catalogues adult romance, is not a source for it — so the rating comes from the YA shelving and from what reviewers describe on the page. Readers talk about the romance in terms of warmth, comfort and “feels,” and none of the reviews I read mention a sex scene. Hannah and Morgan kiss, hold each other up and say what they feel. That is the whole of it, and for this book it is enough.
The element worth flagging is not heat but weight: the book lives inside a traumatised teenager’s head, with panic attacks on the page, grief, and violence including guns. No reviewer I found flags anything sexual beyond kissing. If you want a YA sapphic fantasy at a similar low heat, Crier’s War sits just above it at 2/5, and These Witches Don’t Burn is at exactly the same level.
Who Should Read This Book?
You’ll likely love it if: you liked Hannah and Morgan in book one and want them to get a real relationship, you appreciate a hero who is allowed to be traumatised, you want a YA fantasy where being queer is ordinary, and you’d rather have a finished duology than wait on a trilogy.
You may want to skip it if: the cosy Salem mystery was what you loved about book one, you need a villain whose motives are fully built, you find on-page panic attacks and grief hard going, or you want more than kissing from your sapphic romance.
In short: a warmer romance and a heavier heart than book one, traded against a thinner mystery.
What Readers Are Actually Saying (September 2026)
This is a quieter book than the one before it. Book one sits at around 39,100 Goodreads ratings; the sequel has about 13,700, which is the normal sequel drop-off but still means roughly a third of book one’s readers went on. What it has instead of buzz is a better average — 3.84 against 3.70 — with 66% of Goodreads ratings at four or five stars and only 6% at one or two. The conversation I could find lives almost entirely in Goodreads reviews; I could not confirm a trade review of the sequel itself. The other development is recent: in 2025 Sterling added a new novella, These Charms Won’t Fade, numbered 2.5 in the series, which is a small sign the world still has a readership. The audiobook is narrated by Kristen DiMercurio and runs 9 hours and 6 minutes.
Prefer audio? Listen to This Coven Won’t Break on Libro.fm — the audiobook shop that supports independent bookstores.
Why readers love it (according to the discourse): Hannah and Morgan, first and most consistently — “refreshing” is the recurring word, and readers keep pointing to how the two communicate rather than fight. Then Hannah’s PTSD, which a steady group of reviewers praise as the most honest trauma arc they have read in YA fantasy. The found family comes next: Hannah’s friendships, including with her best friend Gemma, get real affection, and readers are relieved that Veronica stays a friend rather than becoming a triangle. Queer representation gets its own praise, including for a gay trans character. And a good number of readers simply prefer the pace — faster and more action-driven than book one.
What readers argue about and complain about: The lost charm, above everything. The most repeated complaint in the mid- and low-star reviews is that the sequel trades book one’s small-town, character-close feel for travel and action, and that it reads like a different kind of book. The villain is the second theme — motives that never quite come clear, and a reveal that a few readers saw coming. Third: structure. A couple of reviewers say the first half is slow, the climax rushed, and the mechanics of stripping witches’ magic underexplained. Beyond that, scattered notes that characters shift personality from book one, and that the sequel does not add enough new to the world. Opinions genuinely divide on the action itself: the readers who missed the cosy mystery and the readers who preferred the momentum are often describing the same chapters.
The series question everyone should ask first: this is the ending. This Coven Won’t Break closes the duology, it does not end on a cliffhanger, and reviewers describe the finale as a satisfying conclusion that leaves room for healing rather than a setup for more. There are two novellas: This Spell Can’t Last (a 2020 prequel, 3.74 across about 1,700 ratings) and These Charms Won’t Fade (2025, only 78 ratings so far). Neither is required. You do need book one first — this sequel does not re-explain its world or its losses.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to read These Witches Don’t Burn first?
Yes. This Coven Won’t Break picks up directly from the aftermath of book one and does not recap its events. Read These Witches Don’t Burn first, then come back.
Does This Coven Won’t Break end on a cliffhanger?
No. It concludes the duology, and readers describe the finale as a satisfying ending. Later novellas exist, but the main story is finished.
How spicy is This Coven Won’t Break?
A 1/5. It is young adult fiction, the romance is kissing only, and no reviewer mentions a sex scene. The relationship is about emotional intimacy rather than heat.
Is This Coven Won’t Break better than the first book?
On the numbers, slightly. It averages 3.84 on Goodreads against book one’s 3.70, with readers praising the romance and the trauma arc, but a minority say it lost book one’s small-town charm.
Is there an audiobook?
Yes. It is narrated by Kristen DiMercurio and runs 9 hours 6 minutes, and it is available on Libro.fm.
If You Loved This Coven Won’t Break, Read These Next
If you haven’t gone back to the start, These Witches Don’t Burn is the lighter Salem mystery this sequel builds on. For another YA sapphic fantasy where the stakes are political and the romance is kept to longing, Crier’s War is the closest match on the site. And if witches and a New England-ish world are what you want next in an adult register, The Honey Witch trades teenage peril for a cottagecore curse and more heat.
For more in this register, browse our YA sapphic fantasy books list or the full Book Reviews collection.
The Bottom Line
This Coven Won’t Break is a sequel that chooses feeling over puzzle. Hannah’s trauma is written with rare honesty, her relationship with Morgan is one of the healthier ones in YA fantasy, and the duology gets a real, uncliffhung ending. It is also less cosy than book one, built around a villain whose reasons stay blurry, and paced unevenly between a slow start and a hurried climax. Whether that trade works depends on what kept you reading the first time — but for anyone who stayed for Hannah and Morgan, this is the better book and the right place to finish. Check This Coven Won’t Break on Amazon →
The Eikna Overall Ranking
On the Eikna scale, This Coven Won’t Break ranks as a solid YA sapphic witch-fantasy finale — emotionally honest and warmly romantic, held back by a thin villain and a scattered plot, and best approached for Hannah and Morgan rather than the mystery.
The Evidence Scorecard
Overall ★★★★☆ 3.6/5
- ✓ 3.84 average across 13,700 Goodreads ratings
- ✓ Up on book one’s 3.70
- ✓ Only 6% one- and two-star ratings
- ✓ “Lost its charm” is a real minority
Romance ★★★★☆ 3.9/5
- ✓ Hannah and Morgan called refreshing
- ✓ A couple that actually communicates
- ✓ No love triangle with Veronica
- ✓ Secondary to the thriller plot
Characters ★★★★☆ 3.8/5
- ✓ Hannah’s trauma gives her real depth
- ✓ Veronica rebuilt as a friend
- ✓ Widely queer cast, trans character included
- ✓ Villain’s motives stay blurry
Writing ★★★★☆ 3.6/5
- ✓ Clean, readable YA first person
- ✓ Panic attacks written from inside
- ✓ Action scenes praised for momentum
- ✓ Magic mechanics called underexplained
Emotional Impact ★★★★☆ 4/5
- ✓ PTSD arc is the most-praised element
- ✓ Grief carries over from book one
- ✓ Found family gives it warmth
- ✓ Rushed climax blunts the last act
Heat Level ★☆☆☆☆ 1/5
- ✓ Young adult, kissing only
- ✓ No reviewer mentions a sex scene
- ✓ Intimacy is emotional, not physical
- ✓ Heavy themes stand in for heat
Ending ★★★★☆ 3.9/5
- ✓ Concludes the duology, no cliffhanger
- ✓ Readers call the finale satisfying
- ✓ Leaves room for Hannah to heal
- ✓ Some found the reveal predictable
Re-read Value ★★★☆☆ 3.4/5
- ✓ Nine-hour audiobook is an easy return
- ✓ 2025 novella pulls readers back
- ✓ Hannah and Morgan reward revisiting
- ✓ Thin mystery has little to rediscover
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