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elliott_the_clementine's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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
4.5
WOW. A truly exceptional novel. I am thoroughly devastated that I cannot simply will the next book into existence. In So Let Them Burn, Kamilah Cole takes everything that can be amazing about young adult fantasy and elevates it with beautiful storytelling and entrancing world-building. I cannot wait to read more from her.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, War, Violence, Colonisation, Religious bigotry, Confinement, Blood, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Confinement, Slavery, Torture, and Racism
hannahmichele5's review
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- 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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Colonisation, and Death
Moderate: Violence and Blood
hungrybruno's review
I usually like a YA where the teenagers are allowed to act like teenagers, but in this one they are all recovering from a war they fought "five years ago" when they were twelve, and I just cannot.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, War, and Colonisation
bucketsjen's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
It was alright, but not as good as I'd been hoping. It's YA and feels like it.
There's some cool mythology, an interesting story, and it does some things in a way I haven't seen before (picking up the story of a child Chosen One as they're moving into an adult, dealing with PTSD and being a former savior who now uses her powers to cheat at footraces against other teenagers). There's themes of anticolonialism and the importance of connection. All of that was good.
Some other things are predictable (the romance setups most particularly, but I didn't mind that).
There's multiple instances where the writer had things happen off page for reasons I didn't get. One chapter, a character is keeping a major secret from the others and stressing about their bad reactions if they found out. Next chapter, the other POV character is reflecting on being told the secret and how they'd been slightly concerned but otherwise didn't react. Why the build up if there wasn't going to be any explosion or fallout, and why have it happen off-page instead of being an actual scene?
There's also a lot of "how does that work?" moments - that dragon is way too powerful for anyone to have a hope of defeating but also now a character is basically solo-ing it and winning, there's a massive battle going on but two characters have the chance to completely catch each up on what's going on, stuff like that.
The ending isn't an ending, which was exasperating. It's a complete cliffhanger and none of the plotlines or character development got resolved - this very much was a "part one", but the second book isn't out yet. And really, a book should be able to stand on its own and have its own story even if it exists within a larger tale. This didn't - it felt like I only read half a book.
There's some cool mythology, an interesting story, and it does some things in a way I haven't seen before (picking up the story of a child Chosen One as they're moving into an adult, dealing with PTSD and being a former savior who now uses her powers to cheat at footraces against other teenagers). There's themes of anticolonialism and the importance of connection. All of that was good.
Some other things are predictable (the romance setups most particularly, but I didn't mind that).
There's multiple instances where the writer had things happen off page for reasons I didn't get. One chapter, a character is keeping a major secret from the others and stressing about their bad reactions if they found out. Next chapter, the other POV character is reflecting on being told the secret and how they'd been slightly concerned but otherwise didn't react. Why the build up if there wasn't going to be any explosion or fallout, and why have it happen off-page instead of being an actual scene?
There's also a lot of "how does that work?" moments - that dragon is way too powerful for anyone to have a hope of defeating but also now a character is basically solo-ing it and winning, there's a massive battle going on but two characters have the chance to completely catch each up on what's going on, stuff like that.
The ending isn't an ending, which was exasperating. It's a complete cliffhanger and none of the plotlines or character development got resolved - this very much was a "part one", but the second book isn't out yet. And really, a book should be able to stand on its own and have its own story even if it exists within a larger tale. This didn't - it felt like I only read half a book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: War, Racism, Colonisation, Grief, and Violence
explicit language, depictions of PTSD (nightmares, unwanted memories/flashbacks, dissociation, anxiety, mistrust, hypervigilance, self-destructive behavior), explicit descriptions of war, blood, and corpses, grief (expressed in healthy and unhealthy ways), racism (challenged), minor character deaths, a near-fatal beating, and stolen body/mind autonomynerp's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
fast-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
5.0
The best YA fantasy I’ve read since Blood Debts/Blood Justice, The Scapegracers, and The Buried and The Bound. Why isn’t this the dragon book people are imprinting on?? Sibling love is the center of this book, and while I have some small/inconsequential worldbuilding questions, it’s phenomenal.
Content Warnings
Moderate: War, Colonisation, Racism, and Death
alfarmer's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
3.75
I loved the story and I can’t wait for the next book! It does a great job exploring different cultures and religions interacting and all the challenges that come with it. Especially in the back drop of colonization and citizens not agreeing with the choices of their government. My only issue was that the characters were too young for me to truly believe the story. I do think that the young was of the characters is a central part of the story but I wish they would have been aged up a little more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Violence, and Colonisation
shannahtan's review against another edition
hopeful
sad
fast-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? No
4.25
I listened to this book on audio. I wish there was a glossary where I could see the names and places written out. It’s considered YA, but I think it’s still well suited for adults.
Things I liked:
Things I liked:
- Rooted in Jamaican history
- Sapphic slow burn romance
- Elements of demisexuality
- Focused heavily on familial love and friendship
- Characters reside in a gray area that challenges your sense of morality
Criticisms
- Plot was a bit predictable
- Characters didn’t have a ton of depth. Faron as the Childe Empyrean continuously made rash decisions. Elara was trying to find herself and escape her sister’s shadow.
Would recommend for fantasy readers who like to be dropped into the story and figure it out as you go. There’s not a ton of world building, and the story takes place in a post-war world where you get details of the last war slowly throughout the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Death
Minor: Racial slurs and Slavery
hellodebbies's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- 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
5.0
Loved it !
It is fast-paced, the plot is fluid and the characters are really great (well I admit sometimes they make us roll our eyes)
I really liked the contrast of the two sisters, on one hand we have Faron who is quite selfish and behaves like a kid (which can be understandable since she went to war at twelve 💀). On the other hand, we have Elara who is the very definition of the older sister, very serious and altruistic.
The romance (which are not the main point of the book) were good 😌 Kamilah knows how to write romance.
The idea of following the story after the "main" eventsthe first strategy, to conquer and to wake the dragon+Gael, failed but the commander found another way to reach his goal even if it took more time was a refreshing idea and was well executed. Not once, I felt lost.
Super interesting villain, especially with the gods and the parallels of the children Empyrean is interesting as well
We have to admit that if the gods had told the truth, BUT REALLY ALL THE TRUTH, Faron would have made better choices
It is fast-paced, the plot is fluid and the characters are really great (well I admit sometimes they make us roll our eyes)
I really liked the contrast of the two sisters, on one hand we have Faron who is quite selfish and behaves like a kid (which can be understandable since she went to war at twelve 💀). On the other hand, we have Elara who is the very definition of the older sister, very serious and altruistic.
The romance (which are not the main point of the book) were good 😌 Kamilah knows how to write romance.
The idea of following the story after the "main" events
Super interesting villain, especially with the gods and the parallels of the children Empyrean is interesting as well
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, War, Colonisation, Racial slurs, and Violence
ashylibrarian's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
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
4.0
When her sister becomes unexpectedly bonded to an enemy dragon and the only solution proposed is to kill her, Faron must make difficult choices that will shape not only her and her sister's lives, but the fate of the world, too.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Colonisation, and Violence
Moderate: Racism and Death
peggyluwho's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I didn’t realize that this was a series going into it. There’s no indication of that on the cover.
The author wove a good story with engaging characters. I was curious to find out where the story was going, though I had predicted some of the twists of early on. I feel like too much was put into the description of people’s outfits and some of the immaturity of the characters was off putting. However, it’s YA and I’m not the target audience.
The author wove a good story with engaging characters. I was curious to find out where the story was going, though I had predicted some of the twists of early on. I feel like too much was put into the description of people’s outfits and some of the immaturity of the characters was off putting. However, it’s YA and I’m not the target audience.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Violence, and Xenophobia