Reviews - The Ones We Burn

1.01k reviews for:

The Ones We Burn

Rebecca Mix

3.73 AVERAGE

c_meyers's review

4.0

adventurous dark lighthearted tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

landofkait's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I think a good story is one of growth. And this story is not short on growth. It started with a bang, giving you a good idea of the kind of person Ranka is, only for her to be someone different by the end of the book—and in the best way possible. Her hesitations, fears, hopes, dreams, and heartbreaking truths are all so real and nuanced. Her triumphs and failures were so tangible. A few times I had to stop reading just to catch my breath. With a single, focused perspective, you really get to dive into her head, feel what she feels, and understand her decisions (even when they infuriated me).

I think Mix was ambitious in this venture and she accomplished a lot in this story. Ranka was a heartfelt narrator who felt everything so deeply and who was emphatically human, despite not being quite human at all. I’d read another whole book about her if I could.

a_little_book_nook's review

4.75

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

swamp_hag's review

2.0

emotional medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

hyperioncity's review against another edition

1.0

yeah, that's a no from me

jaelynx's review

4.0

Living among the witch covens in the north, Ranka is a rare breed - a blood-witch with dangerous but hard-to-control powers. When she is named Bloodwinn, the next treaty bride with the humans in the south, she initially tries to hide as humans venture north on the hunt. Eventually, her coven gives her a mission: kill the new king and let the humans fall into civil war.

But the plan starts to fray when the palace seems to have no part in the horrors happening to witches in the north, the prince is kind and the princess is hot. I mean, smart. But hey, a witch has eyes. Throw in a magical plague killing witches and a coup planned from within, and Ranka rapidly has to reassess her loyalties.

Between the queer romances, bigoted mobs/conspiracies and endless stacks of betrayal, what I really appreciated is Ranka’s deep history of abusive relationships controlling her and how she comes to terms with that. I feel deeply for how conflicted she is and her desire to serve others before she eventually needs to learn how to choose herself.