Books

About Books #44: The Witch Doesn’t Burn In This One

So earlier this year I finally read The Princess Saves Herself in This One. The sequel was almost out and I had heard so much positive feedback on Amanda Lovelace’s poetry, that I just felt I had to read it. A good month and a bit later, the sequel is out. So of course, just to make sure I wouldn’t get ages behind again? I bought it in Luxemburg this weekend and basically finished it the same day. Oh, and reread it two days later. Oops? My review on the witch doesn’t burn in this one!

The book

“2016 Goodreads Choice Award-winning poet Amanda Lovelace returns in the witch doesn’t burn in this one — the bold second book in her “women are some kind of magic” series.

The witch: supernaturally powerful, inscrutably independent, and now—indestructible. These moving, relatable poems encourage resilience and embolden women to take control of their own stories. Enemies try to judge, oppress, and marginalize her, but the witch doesn’t burn in this one.”

There’s feminism. There’s phrases that make you go “oh”. And there’s a whole lot of “I need more of this”.

The opinion

When reviewing the princess saves herself in this one, I stated at some point: “when writing about something incredibly personal, it can be really easy to venture into the unrelatable. However, Amanda Lovelace tells stories that are completely her own. And somehow, it could be any of our stories.”

If nothing else, that holds even more true for the witch doesn’t burn in this one. I’m not usually one to highlight or dog-ear my books, but with this one? I just couldn’t help myself. Where princess created more of a conscientisation for women, witch is a call to action. For men at least as much as for women.

It’s looking to be a right gloomy morning, so some pancakes and my second read of @ladybookmad “the witch doesn’t burn in this one” were in order. I might have to go back and reread “the princess saves herself in thus one” as well, at this rate! . . . I’m usually not the kind of person to highlight my books (unless they’re for studying, of course) but Amanda Lovelace’s writing doesn’t seem to leave me a choice? There’s just so many things that make me go “Yes. This!” And I need to mark them somehow! Do you take notes in your books? . . . #walkingthroughthepages #read #reading #reader #instagood #bookstagram  #bookblogger #bookblog #booklovers #bibliophile #bookaddict #blogger #blog #instalove #instabooks #instapic #literature #goodreads #amreading #bookphotography #greatreads #whattoread #bookworld #belgianblogger #thewitchdoesntburninthisone #amandalovelace #poetry

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I have to admit that the first part spoke to me slightly less than the following parts. That being said: I still absolutely loved the tone and the choice of words. Maybe one of the most powerful poems was the duology on “how to prevent rape”. Oh, and the coven rules. You should basically get the book just for those.

The rating: 5/5

Look, I read this collection two times in three days. I’d say it’s pretty clear I liked it. There’s a storyline, there’s a variation of poetry styles, there’s a clear message and there’s a lot of female power. If my opinion’s not enough though, this book has (at the time of writing) over 2000 ratings on Goodreads and it gets an average 4.03 stars. And that’s after the book being out for just a month. Oh, and you can get some tastes of Amanda Lovelace’s writing on her Instagram – check it out, fall in love, and get the book! (like on Amazon, for example! (affiliate link)

-Saar