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elliott_the_clementine's review
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, War, Violence, Colonisation, Religious bigotry, Confinement, Blood, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Confinement, Slavery, Torture, and Racism
kaynova's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Murder, War, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
cadence99's review against another edition
4.25
The beautiful strong relationships between characters really stood out for me. I felt the connections between them drive their actions in such a way that kept me invested in their success. I can’t wait to see where this journey leads.
Graphic: War, Blood, Grief, Animal death, Colonisation, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
sophiesmallhands's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Colonisation, Violence, Racial slurs, and Racism
Moderate: Grief, Death, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Murder, and War
Minor: Kidnapping, Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death of parent
sup3r_xn0va_maya's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Cole, Kamilah. So Let Them Burn (The Divine Traitors Book 1) (p. 82). Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. Kindle Edition.
📖Genres: fiction, fantasy, young adult, dragons, LGBT, queer, mythology
📚Page Count: 392
🎧Audiobook Length: 11hrs 24mins
👩🏾🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️ - 2.75/5
TW -
So Let Them Burn is a Jamaican inspired fantasy about two sisters who get separated from each other against their will, it's book one in the Divine Traitors series. Elara and her younger sister Faron live in a country that was just at war, although the countries are currently vying for peace, there's still conflict behind the scenes.
The setting and backstory are really fleshed out and I liked the dragons and I enjoyed the fighting and action scenes. The end of the book was really exciting.
The author created a sense of urgency within the premise of the book and then the entire first and second half of the book fell flat because nothing happened. 40% of the way through Faron asks
I really didn't enjoy most of this book, the pacing was too off. Most of the beginning and middle of the book was just exposition, and it was frustration. The author would tell you something, not show you and that's not quite as exciting as it could be. It also felt like the author was writing in mundane scenes (even though she created that sense of urgency) just to fill the space so she can make the end of the story lead up to a sequel.
Here are a few other things I didn't like about the book. The character relationships had little development but
I didn't enjoy this book for the most part, I only enjoyed the ending. Due to that I'm going to give this 2.75 out of 5 stars
⭐️⭐️ - 2.75/5
I listened to this audiobook on [Spotify.com]
Graphic: Violence, Blood, War, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Cursing, Murder, and Death
metaphorsandmisc's review
- 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
4.5
Graphic: War, Colonisation, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Violence, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcohol
jennireadsmaybe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
This is the perfect example for what a queer-normative world should look like. We immediately know that Elara is a lesbian and her romance with Signey (her freaking dragon riding partner y'all!!!) is everything to me!!! When it is later revealed that Faron is demisexual, it was like a warm hug. She knows who she is and it's just wonderful.
Because of the differences in each countries magical abilities, the world building was super interesting too. San Irie's magic is very much based on an ancestral style of magic where they receive it by calling upon their ancestors. Whereas, LangIey is centered around the bond they share with their dragons. It made the idea of their previous battles and current outlook on political relations feel that much more recognizable. I would be remiss if I didn't at least mention the dragons. That's right dragons!!! It was so much fun to see how Kamilah Cole built a world around dragons where each country had a different experience and view point on dragons.
I would definitely recommend this for anyone looking to be in the dragon moment while supporting BIPOC authors and stories.
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Racism
Moderate: Racial slurs
Minor: Slavery and Panic attacks/disorders
cryosphinx's review
- 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
4.0
A few things I was anticipating but didn't get was background if the previous war (touched upon but not in heavy detail of what exactly Faron did), the dragons (I wanted more, MORE dragon dialogue and more than one dragon talking).
It does end on a cliffhanger and it's such a cliff hanger I very much pulled a Zuni "That's it? Where's the rest of it?!" I want the next book yesterday.
Graphic: Violence, Colonisation, Xenophobia, and War
Moderate: Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief
Minor: Cursing and Fire/Fire injury
destynee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Violence, War, and Colonisation
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Blood
Minor: Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, and Racial slurs
chronicacademia's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I finished most of the book in one sitting this morning. While the story’s latter two-thirds are incredibly quick, I did struggle to get through the first ~70 pages. In part because I’ve been in just about the worst YA fantasy slump of my life, and partly because there’s just a lot of world-building to consume in those first several chapters. Everything from the drakes to the dragons to the Empyrean to the magic system is incredibly fleshed out at the expense of the story’s pace. I’m not complaining though, because I think the author did an excellent job of laying things out and building on them without confusing the reader by throwing too much at us all at once. And once I hit part II, I was hooked. I didn’t set the book down again until it was over (and it felt like it was over in the blink of an eye).
The characters were phenomenally written. I usually struggle with multiple POVs in a book because there’s always that one character I just don’t vibe with, but that wasn’t the case here. I adored Elara and Faron equally, though for vastly different reasons. I identified very strongly with Elara, I think because she was the eldest daughter, and I felt so much of her story very deeply. With Faron, I think I related to her undying loyalty to and love for her sister, as well as her determination to protect her. This was the sister story my heart needed.
The side characters were also fleshed out and fun to follow. Reeve was my favorite for a multitude of reasons. He was a much-needed diversion from the toxic alpha male love interests who’ve been dominating YA fantasy lately. I love to see positive masculinity and I think the author nailed it with Reeve’s story and arc.
To me, this book felt like a mashup of all the best fantasy books. It reminded me of Iron Widow but with the romance and sister aspect of Caraval and the dragons and expansive world-building of The Priory of the Orange Tree. I think fans of any one of these books will probably enjoy So Let Them Burn.
Overall, I highly recommend this one.
*Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC! All views reflected are my own.
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Colonisation, Hate crime, Racism, Violence, and War