I really enjoyed reading this book! I read this book in one sitting because I could not put the book down, I highly recommend reading this book!

3.5 stars
*I received a copy in exchange for an honest review via NetGalley*
This book was excentric to say the least, but hey, I'm all over that, and in this case it was very nicely done.
I couldn't connect a lot because of the difference in age and all that, but all in al the main character seemed relatable, especially when she was petty.
It was a fun and interesting read!

DNF - 20%

I don't find myself in the right to actually rate this book because i did not finish it but imma review it anyways. (guess here on netgalley imma give it 1 star)

SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!

so the thing is, I requested this book at netgalley because it sounded amazing! witches, gay, polyamorous relationships, etc etc.... i just couldn't.

the characters are interesting, I'll give it that (well from what i read at least bc I couldn't get past the 20% mark, it was just so goddamn painful).

the plot follows a witch called Evangeline, everyone in the village hates her and her mother because not only they're witches but her mum is queer (and so is she apparently, tho i really think it's not well done at all)

at some point Evangeline meets this guy (Alexander) and they have the briefest interaction in history. later on, Alexander saves her from getting raped. now don't get me wrong here, it was absolutely right that he did it, it was obviously what you would expect anyone with decency to do. and he cared to help her and check if she was okay which is logically the way to go. but there's a line, and this really makes no sense to me at all, where he tells her he just wants her to be safe and okay. problem being, this leaves you wondering BASED ON WHAT?! he shows so much care and concern, offers to drive her home and acts like her life is his absolute priority and most precious possess and yet again you question BASED.ON.WHAT.?! there's no build up to this moment whatsoever, there's only (like i said before) a short scene where the two characters meet, said scene doesn't give us more than them introducing to eachother so, when he shows all this concern it comes across as forced and lowkey fake.

now, you'd think that this is my only problem with this scene right? no, I'm only getting started.

let's recap: Evangeline was just assaulted in the street, nearly raped and also beat up and it was not the first time something like this happened to her. so, you'd think after having such a traumatic experience MORE THAN ONCE she would not be comfortable with being touched, especially by yet, another man or at least that's the normal reaction we always get told about whenever rape is mentioned right? no. apparently not.
immediately after this incident, and I mean minutes after, this Alexander dude caresses her face she, and I quote, "reaches out and lays her face on his hand". now, i know different people react different to traumatic situations, but this is by far the worst thing I have ever read, and I've read a lot.

following this we get interactions like: "I guess you're my hero" followed by "i am no hero, Evangeline. but i must ensure your safety" which besides being really poor writing wise, makes no sense whatsoever at this point in the narrative because like i said before and will repeat as many times as given the chance THEY DON'T KNOW EACH OTHER. now, have i read enough to know that this isn't "prophetic" and that the reason he wants to protect her is because he has to? no, i have not. but this is played off in a way that the reader is just supposed to go with the flow and nod and consider it given. Evangeline does not wonder about this man's intentions or motivations at any point (at least from what i read).

boy, i have so many things to say about this book (or what i read of it).

ah, before I forget. this girl gets home, tells her family about almost getting raped, goes to the bathroom, casts a healing spell or something and just like that *poof* all's good. no. just no. it's so offensive, I get that she's a witch. i get that she has all this powers but i found this so offensive? there are bazillions of people dealing with PTSD and trauma after going through situations like this, they go to therapy - all kinds of therapy, they get depression and anxiety, they go through actual hell while trying to recover. and this "spell" thing fixing it is, in my opinion so goddamn diminishing of that?

also, and to wrap this up because I'm getting tired. Evangeline keeps saying that she's strong and capable of taking care of herself, but just in the bit i read she gets her ass saved so goddamn often that it's almost sad. and the way she reacts everytime just makes it worse, because instead of being humble and admitting she could use a hand, she always says something among the lines "i was about to...." which is frankly annoying. i am 100% for women power and for women not needing to be saved but, the way it's written here does not portrait Evangeline as powerful or selfreliable, it makes her come across as arrogant and annoying.

now for the pros: the first two chapters are actually really entertaining, we get introduced to this world and to Evangeline's past + how she interacts with a great part of the village she lives in. we get to know this characters and animals she lives with and it's sweet and even funny. i loved what i read from Adelaide and one day, if I am feeling really really inspired, I might even give this one a second shot just so I can get more of her but, for now I just don't have the strength.

all in, it's a great concept but poorly executed, I do not remember if this was already the definitive version that's gonna be published but i honestly hope not. I hope it still has some reviewing to go, i hope some of this issues are fixed and, if they are, I will be more than willingly to give it another shot.

One of my favorite books of the year! Intriguing, compelling & fascinating! Can't wait for more from this author!

this book would’ve been great............ if only it had a plot

there’s character driven stories (70-80% characters, 30-20% plot) and then there’s stories with 99.99% characters and .01% plot, with the characters desperately trying to carry this .01% plot and to make you care about the .01% plot, but i’m afraid it didn’t really work. i’m not ashamed to say that i skimmed most of the last few chapters because i just didn’t care about the way this was gonna end.

The Burning of Arbor follows evangeline clarion, who is a witch. she lives with her family, who are also all witches, and she falls in love once—maybe twice, but that’s debatable. she lives in arbor, and the rest of the town other than her family are christian fanatics and every single one of them wants to kill evangeline and her family. despite all of this, every man in town wants to rape evangeline, because she’s super hot. sounds really fun, right? wrong.

i’m gonna be totally honest, i chose to request this book because the tags & notes by the publisher marked it as ‘polyamory’. it’s SUCH a rare thing in books (and young adult books, at that) to see polyamory and to see it portrayed in a healthy and positive way. HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT. The Burning of Arbor dragged on to 88% of the way through WITHOUT even introducing 1/3 of the ship (she was introduced earlier, but not nearly as part of the ship or even as a love interest to evangeline) and the actual polyamory aspect of the relationship lasted for one whole page. yes, you read that right, one. entire. page. so needless to say, that sucked.

i’m only giving this book two stars because of the lovely main characters (except for alexander). you can totally see that this book has been on J.L. Brown’s mind for ages because of how well-fleshed all these characters are (except for alexander). maggie, adelaide, the boys (except for alexander)— they’re all well written and, dare i say it, i really liked them. i LOVED the familiars, those animals absolutely stole my heart. but that’s about it, unfortunately!

alexander, as you can probably tell, i didn’t like at all. reading alexander was like going back to 2010 when writers thought possessive bad boys were hot and that they had to be absolute dicks to everyone except for the love interest, whom they had to treat like a princess. because, you know, that’s the bad boy trope. and i don’t know, i might be wrong, but my personal opinion is that your main relationship’s foundation shouldn’t be the fact that alexander is constantly saving evangeline from getting raped, but maybe that’s just me. alexander was evangeline’s only love interest until 88% of the way through the book which, considering that this book is long as hell, is a lot. and celeste, the new love interest and supposed addition to their relationship, is but a fleeting fetishization of wlw. i don’t know about everybody else, but that’s not really how i like my gay or poly relationships portrayed

all in all, i have to say this book was a bit of a disappointment. the setting was original, sure, and the whole witch thing was fun. some characters i really loved, buuuuuuuuuuuut everything else sucked. i really do wish this book the best, but personally, i wouldn’t recommend it at all.

I really like books with witches in them, so I was really looking forward to reading this one. I thought it had promise; a small town in America, and witches facing a witch hunt by modern day evangelical nutjobs.

Eva is an artist and an elemental witch. Her guidance in all things magical and in life comes from her Goddess-Mother Maggie. Part of a large coven, the witches help clients heal, and create beautiful paintings, crafts and produce to sell.

Eva has stirred the hatred of the local evangelical minister and the mayor. Determined to see Eva and the other witches run out of town, they become more violent in their methods. Confronting the violence directly, while trying to remain peaceful, is a lot to ask a woman finding love for the first time. With spells aplenty, the witches stand their ground, and face murderous threats.

This book had all the elements of a ripping yarn. However, the writing was often overly descriptive. I found that the detailed descriptions and explanations of the incantations and spells to be fairly tedious after a while, and I did skip over most of them. So what drew me to the book in the first place wound up getting in the way of the plot, and slowed down the action for me.

The bisexual lead character Eva, is strong and active in her own life. She’s a fun creation, although she seems to have a few too many moments of poor impulse control considering she is supposed to be developing into a high priestess of sorts. The other characters are less well developed, but Maggie and some of the other witches are fun. Some of the best bits are Eva’s relationship with her familiars, a bear and a bird, who offer physical protection and impart wisdom to the younger-seeming Eva.

Less interesting are the two love interests, Alexander and Celeste. Alexander is too good to be human for most of the book. Celeste doesn’t have much space in the book, and has been written as slightly dodgy right from the start. As a result, she never seems to form a solid connection with Eva, the person she is supposed to love.

This definitely feels like a book written by a straight person, despite the lesbian and bisexual characters. One of the reasons I say this is that the author keeps telling us that Eva is strong and can look after herself, but at every dark turn, she is saved by the bloke. It just strikes me as a more typical heterosexual romance trope that doesn’t work well for a woman who is supposed to be so strong and so magically powerful.

There are also many nasty adversaries who, despite their caricature, are believable considering the behaviour of the religious right of various persuasions in America in recent times. I thought this was appropriate, and these characters added a good level of tension to the plot.

I think this had some lovely elements, and some refreshing bite to some of the scenes. I don’t want to give away the plot or the ending, but it was unexpected which I really liked.

If you like a romance with a smart witch, this will intrigue.

Advanced reading copy provided by NetGalley for an honest review.