Burn the Dark: Malus Domestica #1 (Malus Domestica, #1)

by S. A. Hunt

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina meets Stranger Things in award-winning author S. A. Hunt’s Burn the Dark, first in the Malus Domestica horror action-adventure series about a punk YouTuber on a mission to bring down witches, one vid at a time.

Robin is a YouTube celebrity gone-viral with her intensely-realistic witch hunter series. But even her millions of followers don't know the truth: her series isn’t fiction.

Her ultimate goal is to seek revenge against the coven of witches who wronged her mother long ago. Returning home to the rural town of Blackfield, Robin meets friends new and old on her quest for justice. But then, a mysterious threat known as the Red Lord interferes with her plans….

• ISBN10: 1250306434
• ISBN13: 9781250306432
• Publish Date: 1 February 2020 (first published 14 January 2020)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 21 December 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: St Martin's Press
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 384
• Language: English

Reviews

[Quirky Cat]

I received a copy of Burn the Dark through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Burn the Dark is the first novel in S.A. Hunt’s Malus Domestica series. Technically speaking, this isn’t a new series. It’s just that this is the first time we’ll be getting a chance to read it in English. Which is great for me!
The series is an action-adventure horror series, much in the same tone as Stranger Things. Basically, picture a bunch of kids/teenagers off on a witch hunt, and you’ve got an understanding of the core of the theme.
Robin is your average teenager. Well, if by average you mean that she lives in her van, runs a YouTube channel, and hunts witches. Yeah, okay, so not exactly normal. She’s been filming her witch hunting escapades for months, and pawning it off as some sort of Blair Witch Project for the sake of income.
The real question is; why did Robin start hunting witches? And how far can she go, when working solo? As it turns out, she won’t be by herself for very long. As for the reason she hunts witches? That’s personal.

“They die from the inside out. The deadness slowly makes its way to the outside.”

Warnings: Most of the heavier subjects covered within Burn the Dark are actually pretty commonsense, and thus the sort of thing you can easily expect. There are hints towards animal death (incidental and implied), abuse, burning, and other things along those lines.

Burn the Dark was a fun and interesting read. Whoever came up with the idea to compare it to Stranger Things was pretty spot on. Though it did feel like the leading characters were slightly older – but that kind of works, given their backstories.
Robin’s whole backstory and character arc was actually pretty fascinating. And I’m not ashamed to admit that hers was by far my favorite of the perspectives, though I enjoyed reading about everybody else, of course. Hers felt the most human, as well as being the epicenter of the plot.
This was a fast-paced read, with something happening at almost any point. It helps that the characters kept splitting off and getting themselves into more danger. Well, it helps the reader. The characters not so much.
I feel like this series is a darker twist on the urban fantasy trend, and I’ve got to say, I’m all for it. I loved the tone and feel of this novel, and would love nothing more than to see a whole lot more like it. Well, not exactly like it – you get what I’m trying to say here. The blend of horror and fantasy was very well done.
This is the first novel I’ve read by S.A. Hunt, but I enjoyed it. I think I’ll probably try to set aside some time to follow the rest of this series (as it gets translated – I have to look into that). I’m curious to see how far they push this.

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