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outoftheforesticome's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
rachslut4books25894's review against another edition
Got to chapter 20. I heard the word "blood witch" so many times but I cannot tell you wtf that is or what this book is about. None of this made an impression in my brain.
lilianapisarka's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
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
5.0
Came for the sapphic romance and was not disappointed! Now, the book is definitely fantasy first with romance as a side, and the action/plot/drama take the spotlight, but I really enjoyed seeing Ranka's relationship develop throughout the course of the story. (And a big bonus for the side MxM romance too - I would absolutely read their story in a sequel/off-shoot!).
Also, bonus points for the ATLA cabbage merchant reference in the first part of the book. There were all kinds of little goodies and funnies hidden throughout the pages. And as much as I loved Ranka and Aramis, the character who really stole my heart was witty, snarky, lovable Percy (seriously, where is his story? I want to read more about him and Galen!).
All in all: great slow-burn sapphic romance, lovable characters, some sneaky plot twists to keep things interesting, lots of action, anda happy ending for the main four . I got what I came for and will hang on to my copy for a future re-read!
Also, bonus points for the ATLA cabbage merchant reference in the first part of the book. There were all kinds of little goodies and funnies hidden throughout the pages. And as much as I loved Ranka and Aramis, the character who really stole my heart was witty, snarky, lovable Percy (seriously, where is his story? I want to read more about him and Galen!).
All in all: great slow-burn sapphic romance, lovable characters, some sneaky plot twists to keep things interesting, lots of action, and
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Emotional abuse
tweidgenand's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
riptidemigod's review against another edition
2.0
this one is hard to review....it's a 2.5 stars for me.
The topics were so HEAVY and 400 hundred and something pages is absolutely not enough to handle them all property. The magic system was not explained enough to my taste. The whole thing felt underwhelming.
Kudos on the lesbians rep but yet again, not enough time to dig into the relationship.This could have been a duology because it was promising.
The topics were so HEAVY and 400 hundred and something pages is absolutely not enough to handle them all property. The magic system was not explained enough to my taste. The whole thing felt underwhelming.
Kudos on the lesbians rep but yet again, not enough time to dig into the relationship.This could have been a duology because it was promising.
vespix's review against another edition
4.5
Some books you love at first glance. Others sneak up on you. The Ones We Burn took a while to really get going, but by the end, I loved it wholeheartedly.
"This land, this people, this girl, they were all so different from what she’d always known—but the pain was familiar. Ranka didn’t know why that was a comfort—that she could cross the continent, could leave behind everything she knew, and their hearts still broke the same."
Ranka's character arc was one of the best I've encountered in a while. Beneath all her scars and just anger, she's a lost girl with too much blood on her hands who desperately wants to be loved. She's proud to be a weapon in the hands of her coven — and now they want to wield her to kill a king.
"She’d been born no one, to nothing, but now when they sang the stories of history, her name would be the chorus."
Rebecca Mix's writing style flows well: she knows when to keep it clear and simple and how to punch you with a sentence like the one above. I'm glad my first read was in ebook, it made highlighting all the gems much easier.
And then there's the romance.
"“You love her,” said Percy. It wasn’t a question. Was a handful of months even long enough to go from hating a girl to loving her? Was she even old enough—healed enough—to know what love was?"
The romance. The axe lesbian x science lesbian enemies to lovers I was promised? It did not disappoint. The Ones We Burn has one of the best enemies to lovers storylines I've read. The girls start out as genuine enemies. They find a common cause, slowly build trust and understanding... and only then does the possibility of romance occur to them. No insta-love or insta-lust. At no point does Rebecca Mix forget their character traits and motivations to make them fit better as a couple. But she makes it work.
"“You useless lesbian. Oh, don’t glare at me like that—I’m just stating the obvious."
In conclusion? I loved it. I can't bring myself to give it full five stars because the setting felt a bit flat at times, the twins' royal roles especially having nonexistent impact on the plot.
Still, a great read. I think I'll get a hardcover for rereads, because the cover is gorgeous and I definitely will be reading it again.
Ah, and whoever made the reverse racism accusation clearly hasn't read the book. The only conflict is along the humans/witches line, and neither of those groups is racially uniform. The twins are from a human/witch marriage, and are clearly stated to take after their mother the witch... and they aren't witch oppressors. The author pretty much rolled a die for any character's appearance but trust Twitter not to check their facts before crying wolf.
"This land, this people, this girl, they were all so different from what she’d always known—but the pain was familiar. Ranka didn’t know why that was a comfort—that she could cross the continent, could leave behind everything she knew, and their hearts still broke the same."
Ranka's character arc was one of the best I've encountered in a while. Beneath all her scars and just anger, she's a lost girl with too much blood on her hands who desperately wants to be loved. She's proud to be a weapon in the hands of her coven — and now they want to wield her to kill a king.
"She’d been born no one, to nothing, but now when they sang the stories of history, her name would be the chorus."
Rebecca Mix's writing style flows well: she knows when to keep it clear and simple and how to punch you with a sentence like the one above. I'm glad my first read was in ebook, it made highlighting all the gems much easier.
And then there's the romance.
"“You love her,” said Percy. It wasn’t a question. Was a handful of months even long enough to go from hating a girl to loving her? Was she even old enough—healed enough—to know what love was?"
The romance. The axe lesbian x science lesbian enemies to lovers I was promised? It did not disappoint. The Ones We Burn has one of the best enemies to lovers storylines I've read. The girls start out as genuine enemies. They find a common cause, slowly build trust and understanding... and only then does the possibility of romance occur to them. No insta-love or insta-lust. At no point does Rebecca Mix forget their character traits and motivations to make them fit better as a couple. But she makes it work.
"“You useless lesbian. Oh, don’t glare at me like that—I’m just stating the obvious."
In conclusion? I loved it. I can't bring myself to give it full five stars because the setting felt a bit flat at times, the twins' royal roles especially having nonexistent impact on the plot.
Still, a great read. I think I'll get a hardcover for rereads, because the cover is gorgeous and I definitely will be reading it again.
Ah, and whoever made the reverse racism accusation clearly hasn't read the book. The only conflict is along the humans/witches line, and neither of those groups is racially uniform. The twins are from a human/witch marriage, and are clearly stated to take after their mother the witch... and they aren't witch oppressors. The author pretty much rolled a die for any character's appearance but trust Twitter not to check their facts before crying wolf.
bookstorm_'s review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
It was a book that I didn't like at all. I found the world building chaotic and with too many details. The main characters go from a 14 year old mentality to a 45 year old adult mentality from one sentence to the next. The main character, Ranka, didn't convince me at all, she doesn't have a clear idea, and it seems that she doesn't improve or advance during the whole story, until the end.
The motivations are too forced and in general everything has too juvenile a tone for the amount of gore in it.
The motivations are too forced and in general everything has too juvenile a tone for the amount of gore in it.
karla_132's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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
4.5
briekaryna's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
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
4.5