Rep: black lesbian mc, black demisexual mc

What happens after the revolution? How do the heroes fare after it’s all over? This is where the book picks up, five years after San Irie, a Jamaican inspired island, has freed itself from its colonial oppressors, the Langlish empire. Faron is a child soldier, a child saint, chosen by the gods to free San Irie. She’s seen so much war all while still being a child. A child that was granted the power of the gods and the responsibility of a country’s fate. Elara is Faron’s older sister, and she’s tired of being responsible for her sister, and she’s tired of living in her shadow. She wants to do something outside of being the Child Empyrean’s sister. Everything changes when Elara accidentally bonds with a Langlish dragon and its rider.
I really enjoyed this book! I found the beginning to be rather slow, but around the 50% mark it picked up and I couldn’t put it down. Faron and Elara are fantastic characters, and I loved their sisterly bond. Both romances were very sweet and I’m excited to see where they go in future books. Something I wish we’d could’ve seen more of was San Irie, I felt like we learned so much about the Langlish and not enough about San Irie. I also felt like that as magic system didn’t seem to have defined limitations, the characters could just do anything and everything. This made the stakes of the final conflict feel not as high to me. The writing however was good and easy to read, and after that cliff hanger I’m very excited to see what happens next! While I really enjoyed it, it didn’t blow me away. 4/5 stars.

Spoiler alert - I loved, loved, LOVED this. Magic, dragons, and sapphic romance? Please, I was kicking my little feet. I made this book my entire personality after reading it and I have no regrets. Cannot WAIT to read more.

It took less than half a page for me to determine that I was going to love this book, and I was so right. Every time I had to put it down, I was just a little bit resentful that I couldn't keep reading.

Something that I thought was really fun is that while I knew this book follows a chosen one five years after the war is over, Faron is not the only one who fits into a popular fantasy archetype. One dynamic I was particularly fascinated by is the one between chosen one Faron and Queen Aveline, who spent the first seventeen years of her life on a farm with no knowledge of her true identity and now resents Faron a little bit for the fact that when the war ended, Faron got to go home and Aveline didn't.

Literally all of the relationships were wonderful, though. The romantic relationships had me hooked, as did the friendships, but the central relationship between the two sisters just felt so real. I loved them both, and I am terrified for what the next book will bring for them.

I also really enjoyed the narrative voice, which was the first thing to win me over. It made me laugh throughout, though it never detracted from the more serious themes. Since this was third-person, I'm much less inclined to be annoying about how distinct the perspectives felt from each other, but there was at least enough difference that I never forgot which sister's head I was in, even when they were in a scene together, so I'm satisfied there.

I already know I'm going to miss these characters when the series is done, but fortunately I've got some time until then (less fortunately, it also means I have to somehow survive that cliffhanger until then), and even more fortunately, this series is not the only thing I have to look forward to from Kamilah Cole. Not every book that sounds amazing ends up living up to my expectations, but this one definitely exceeded them.

Honestly, I don't think that this book was bad in any way and there were a lot of elements I do love about the book. But ultimately, the reason why I gave this 3 stars instead of 4 was because I couldn't fully get into it. The premise, the characters and the world building were so well done but what really dragged the rating down was the plot. It took quite a while for the plot to pick up and then it really just fell flat around the middle, and nothing was happening for half the book. While the end DID pick up, I just skimmed a lot of it because I wanted the book to be done.

On a more positive note though, I DO really love the way the author wrote her characters. Characters can be especially difficult to nail down, but she did such an incredible job writing Faron and Elara. They were so well fleshed out and my GOD could I relate to them. Especially Elara this poor girl needs a hug. It's the elder sister complex.

Anyway, although I didn't enjoy it as much as I hoped I would I'm happy to give this a 3 star rating! Thank you to the publisher for eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Everything I never knew I wanted in a YA Fantasy. Complex sister dynamics, post-war chosen ones, fantastic worldbuilding, dragons, ace rep--I'm very much looking forward to the sequel!

So Let Them Burn follows two sisters, Faron, the blessed child of the gods, and Elara, her older sister whose only goal in life is to become a part of an elite part of the military. Faron hates being the Empyrean. The only thing useful from her blessing is to use it in foot races against other children now that the revolution/war is over. Elara wishes to do anything but stand in the shadow of her younger sister. Both sisters have close bonds with the queen and are invited to a Peace Summit the queen is hosting. This would be the first time the Langley Empire will enter their homeland in peace rather than war. During the Summit, Elara is spiritually called to a dragon and unintentionally becomes bonded to her. Now named the wing leader, she must go to Langley and be separated from all that she knows. Faron’s only goal is to get her back, but at what cost?

I really enjoyed this story! The magic system is super interesting. From what I understand, there’s multiple ways people have magic but the most common is ancestral magic. The Iryan people can call upon their ancestors to give them power to use in many different ways. Faron being the Childe Empyrean is blessed to pull magic directly from the gods. It’s very “Avatar: the Last Airbender” status. Elara is only able to pull magic from their direct lineage but is very strong in her abilities.

The story was a lot of fun and there is a dash of romance as well. It is not the main driver of the story so don’t expect much from it. I recently read To Shape A Dragon’s Breath and it has very similar vibes for Elara as it does for Anequs. The story lags slightly during parts where the two main characters are basically having a phone call with each other and exchanging information. Other than that, I thought it was good! Overall, I’m giving it 4/5 stars. I’m ready for the next book in the series!

This book is really amazing—great prose, incredible world building. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to read through the whole thing; I have a terrible memory for fantasy vocabulary, and it’s definitely my fault for picking it up knowing I would struggle to know what was going on. But I know that I would have loved it if my brain wasn’t so fried from years of only reading contemporary and historical fiction!

Anytime I hear dragons and sapphics, I’m in, which is why I initially picked up So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole. I really enjoyed my experience with this engaging Jamaican-inspired fantasy kept me turning the page until the end.

There’s a lot So Let Them Burn excels at. First and foremost, the relationship between sisters Faron and Elara. I’m a sucker for stories that explore all the complexities of familial relationships, especially ones that allow realistic flaws to exist, and this novel does exactly that. Both of them feel fully developed and justified in the choices they make, up to and including their worst mistakes.

I also enjoyed the way this novel undertakes complex subjects like colonization, racism, war, trauma, and child abuse and makes them a foundational part of the narrative without sacrificing any one element of storytelling. Make no mistake - this is a dark book, as it should be dealing with the aforementioned subjects. It would be fully justified in being completely heavy given the gravitas. But the moments of solidarity and hope are also present too.

The romantic relationships in this novel also worked well for me while tonally matching the rest of the book. They are both enemies to lovers relationships, but I think using that trope does it a disservice. Both Faron and Elara struggle with challenging but very real aspects of their lived experience, and I wouldn’t have liked the novel as much if those aspects had been brushed aside or painted in a rosy light. Both M/F and F/F relationships are given prominent page time in this novel.

There are a few things that missed the mark for me. It’s a story about dragons and divine entities, so some suspension of disbelief is required, but there are times the novel blows past ‘suspension’ right into ‘there is no way this would be feasible, even in a novel made for young adults’. Most of these challenges for me came around how children seemed to form the backbones of the entire military and diplomatic corps; YA often elides adults because it’s a space for young adults to see their experiences put front and center, but adults are RIGHT THERE putting children as young as 12 in the most grueling positions of violence and decision-making. Other elements of the worldbuilding were also underdeveloped.

Overall, this was a solid debut and an impactful read. I freely recommend it to YA fantasy fans who are looking for an insightful, adventurous exploration with compelling protagonists that demonstrate the bloody costs of colonization and war.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little & Brown Young Readers for an advance copy. All opinions are my own.

Dragons and fantasy are always a great combination for me, so it was super exciting to get the opportunity to read the debut novel of Kamilah Cole, So Let Them Burn. An adventure filled story with Jamaican influences, readers join the action after the major conflict. Sisters Faron and Elara are settling into a normal life on their home island after spending years at war liberating their people. However, after a chance encounter at an international peace summit sets the sisters on separate paths on opposite sides of the war, it sets events into motion that will determine the fate of their world forever.

The worldbuilding in this novel was amazing. With the story being set after the major conflict, the characters are dealing with the aftermath of war and the lingering effects of colonialism and imperialism. Faron in particular reminded me a bit of the Avatar in the Avatar the Last Airbender universe. A child blessed by the spirits (or the gods in this case), and expected to save her people. An interesting spin on this, however, was the fact that Faron wasn’t a ‘chosen one’ from birth. When she prayed to her gods, they answered and gave her the power to enact their will. So, it was more of a ‘in the right place at the right time’ situation than anything else. Her magic (and the magic of the Iryian people) does contrast with the magic of the Langlish empire. One is more culture based (coming from ancestors and gods), whereas the other originates from the use of dragons. The way the author crafted this in the book was amazing, and had me hooked with the desire to learn more.

While this is undoubtedly a fantasy novel, the relationship at the heart of the story is one of siblings. Elara has spent most of her life in her sister’s shadow, and while not an ideal situation her bond with a dragon has given her the chance to step out of that and make her own path. Faron is one of the most powerful people in history as the Childe Empyrean, but becomes increasingly frustrated over the course of the book as all the power she’s been given isn’t enough to save the one person she cares about most. There are some minor elements of romance in the book (Elara is gay and Faron is demisexual), but those don’t drive the story to the same degree.

Overall, this was an amazing read. There’s so much drama and things happening with the story. A major twist and a very painful cliffhanger, but I’m super excited for the chance to get to read the next installment in the series as soon as it comes out. Narrators Keylor Leigh and Kamali Minter did a great job in bringing Faron and Elara’s perspectives to life with their performances in the audiobook. If you like queer, diverse fantasy reads with dragons, this would be a great choice.

Thank you to the author, the publisher Little Brown Books for Young Readers, the team at TBR and Beyond Tours, and NetGalley for providing me with a complimentary review copy of the book as part of my participation in the tour. I appreciate the opportunity to read and review So Let Them Burn immensely! Please note - I voluntarily read and reviewed the book. All opinions expressed in the review are my own and not influenced in any way.

So Let Them Burn was an excellent tale of a complex sibling relationship, the realities of colonialism and how deep the trauma can run, and a gorgeous, heartfelt and detailed fantasy world inspired by the author's own culture. This novel is perfect for its marketed audience of young adults, and balances a compelling plot of espionage, gods and dragons, with twin, gently-slowburn romances that spark and blaze to life by the end.
At points, I felt the plot was a little confusing or convenient, characters having knowledge that they shouldn't have yet or choices being made that then felt uninformed after the knowledge the characters *did* have. I think it all could have benefited from another developmental pass to tighten up plot points. The third act is by far the strongest and most compelling, and did leave me eager for the upcoming sequel even if the journey to get there was a bit frustrating to read.

This book was stunning. The writing was INCREDIBLE and it was so easy to get lost in it. The world building is unique and intricate, the characters are so well written. I absolutely cannot wait for book two. When people ask me for an intro to fantasy book this will now be my recommendation! Love LOVE LOVE.

I absolutely ADORED this book. So much fun, and with dragons that you can really want to be around.
Plus an element of mecha as well?? Yes please.
My only complaint would be that I actually wanted MORE. I would have loved about another 100 pages of world building, but it was still a fantastic time and I am very excited to see where it all goes in the next book.

4.5 but omg for a debut especially this was so good

Faron and Elera are sisters. Elara is the oldest, but Faron is like, literally blessed and chosen by the gods, so like, the dynamic can be a little weird. I actually didn't think about it until now but I feel like QUITE often it's the older sister who is also the star so I'm glad that the little trope was subverted!!

Yeah, Faron has the ability to summon 3 gods, and she is what's known as the Childe Empyrean. She's the only one who can do it, and so she's like, pretty famous in her... I don't really understand the scale, but she's famous. She and her sister live in Deadegg, which is like, a village, and then they're also a part of a small country, I think, called San Irie, but then there's a bigger country I think called Langley that they previously were a part of but got their independence from. But everyone knows Faron is the Childe Empyrean but since she fought with San Irie in the war against Langley she's really mostly famous there.

5 years before the start of this book, when Faron and Elara were 12 and 13, they were pretty key players in that war, along with their queen, who was a teen at the time. I wish I could know more about them during the war, but I also think it's cool that it's just part of their lore and we don't know much other than the facts.

Anywho, the book starts off fairly quick with the girls, along with Elara's best friend, Reeve (Reeve is a whole other story, he's from Langley, like the son of the commander, and chooses to live in San Irie since he don't fw his parents after the whole war thing, but lots of people in San Irie think he's Langlish trash and hate him...), heading off to a big meeting between a bunch of countries, I think. Can you tell politics in books aren't for me? Like I know where they were and that's about it

Elara ends up bonded with a dragon, and then next thing you know the gods are telling Faron that all the dragons have to be killed to like, have peace, but oops, killing the dragon kills the folks the dragon is bonded to!!! So basically they're like Faron kill your sister plz and thank you

So Faron's back at the queen's place with Reeve, trying to research and figure out how to free Elara from the bond, meanwhile Elara is in an enemy country learning dragon riding with her pouty dragon partner, Signey.

There is a part where Reeve eats Faron's ass UP which is so iconic lmao they really tussle a little and I am obsessed with them. And Signey and Elara are also grumpy with each other so we just get two forced proximity ~I don't wanna be with you~ pairs and it is chef's kiss

The writing is really really good. I legit wanna reread and annotate lowkey and I NEVER do that. It did take me like a week to read but that's mainly just because I have pea brain when it comes to fantasy and that first 100 pages did it to me, once I was in it I was OBSESSED and couldn't wait to get home and read!!!

Faron and Elara both grapple with the expectations that they are held to; Faron is like basically worshipped, as close to a god as a human can get, and she's really just a kid, and then Elara has this innate need to be important and relevant because her sister is, and it's not even anything conscious, it's just there in her. The way it wraps up really does not alleviate these expectations at all, but it definitely subverts them AF, and it also is just good to see them both kind of put it into words

The supporting cast is great, the fight scenes and the suspense are so cool, Elara and Faron are both baddies, the romances are fire, Faron is demisexual and Elara is sapphic and the representation is so welcomed, and basically yeah I just cannot WAIT to read the sequel.... which is a shame because book 1 technically isn't even out yet lol help

1000% recommend as worth a read, it's giving me similar vibes to This Vicious Grace just like maybe I don't get it all but why understand fantasy aspects when character aspects r right there

*thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review*

Oh my GOD?! I was not prepared for that ending, like at ALL. I loved every second of this book, but that ending was…WOOF SO GOOD AHHH.

This book was so good. Originally I was going to give it 4 stars because I felt the first 80 pages had a slower pace, but oh my god it was so good overall.

I’m not alone when I say I want book 2 now!

So Let Them Burn is a really gorgeous debut novel. I love the relationship between Faron and Elara. All the stories surrounding the Gods and the dragons are so rich and lush. It was such a beautiful book.

Thank you to LBYR and Netgalley for the eArc! SO LET THEM BURN is maybe my favourite recent YA fantasy that I've read. The worldbuilding was so intriguing, and the plot had me completely sucked in. The characters were definitely the highlight, though. I adored the sisters' relationship with each other as well as their friends. So so so fantastic and I can't wait to recommend this to any customer looking for a thrilling YA fantasy with a hefty spoonful of decolonial themes and a cliffhanger ending that will have you screaming.

This book was great! I loved that it engaged in real world issues through fantasy while at times using language that directly parallels our world rather than couching it in a specific fantasy plot device. It directly confronts the aftermath of colonization, imperialism and war. When the oppressed overcome the oppressors, how do they move forward as well? How do they engage with their former oppressors without becoming them?

This book offers a unique take on the "Chosen One" trope, the associated difficulties of a young personality forced into power and the personal and societal consequences of that. The relationship between the sisters and their connection over all was beautifully done. The supporting relationships and dynamics are interesting as well.

This book has EVERYTHING to love! I wanted to be swept away by something magical and Kamilah Cole did just that.

This book was a good book. I enjoyed the dragons and the magic. I did feel like there was a lot of info dumping.

I started to read this and it was interesting but then it started to get really info-dumpy and I ended up putting it down because of it. I have not finished it and I would like to give it another go in the near future. I feel this has a promising story inside. So until then!