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oxfordcommas91's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book was such a creative take on the trope of "young woman chosen by Gods gets powers and saves her kingdom." I loved how this picked up years after the big fight with our two female main characters who are grappling with their identity, future, and place in the kingdom after everything that's happened. This unique plot had lots of action and was a unique twist on many of the typical fantasy plots that get a bit stale after so many books. It kept me on my toes the whole time and even though it's a YA, it's complex and satisfying enough for an adult audience. I appreciated the genuine/authentic representation for young women of color and queer folks and think the author did a beautiful job creating a unique world that was also steeped in Jamaican history and culture. Absolutely obsessed with this book (and the characters). The only downside was that I realized too close to the end that this was a series and not just a one-off ... I am definitely counting down the days until the sequel is released in early 2025!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Racism, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Racial slurs, Death of parent, and Abandonment
blacksphinx's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-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
Overall I had a fun time with this book but when I sat down to review it, all I could think of was that if someone asked me for an anti-colonialist fantasy novel with dragons, I would give them To Shape A Dragon's Breath instead. This was both a more action-y and a more romance-heavy book than I was expecting; depending on the ending of the duology I'd be comfortable handing it to any fantasy romance fan. What really kept me going was some interesting and unique aspects of how magic works in this world and what a "dragon" actually is. I think Kamilah Cole has a bright future as a writer and I will be checking out her next books.
When it comes to aspec representation, I think it's really important to say upfront that Faron is a demisexual character being written by a demisexual author. I think if I had just heard "aspec protag" without that context, the book would have deeply hurt me because without it, it's very easy to see Faron's character arc as "a young woman thought she was aro ace but just needed to meet the right man to fix her." This is #ownvoices so it's not the case, and as an asexual (not demi) person I can't criticize it. I wish being demi and experiencing attraction for the first time, and what that means to her/how she feels about it, was given more attention in the novel. Especially because the dual romances took up so much page count, so it's not like the romance was a small side plot.
When it comes to aspec representation, I think it's really important to say upfront that Faron is a demisexual character being written by a demisexual author. I think if I had just heard "aspec protag" without that context, the book would have deeply hurt me because without it, it's very easy to see Faron's character arc as "a young woman thought she was aro ace but just needed to meet the right man to fix her." This is #ownvoices so it's not the case, and as an asexual (not demi) person I can't criticize it. I wish being demi and experiencing attraction for the first time, and what that means to her/how she feels about it, was given more attention in the novel. Especially because the dual romances took up so much page count, so it's not like the romance was a small side plot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Racism, Violence, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Death, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, and Vomit
themdash's review against another edition
adventurous
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Genocide, Racism, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
bree_h_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I was a bit nervous given my recent track record with debut novels BUT this one was amazing.
I wasn’t expecting the book to follow characters POST a “chosen one child” story, but it was a pleasant surprise. I thought the way the book explored how the girls were impacted by that was really well done. Not just how war and colonisation changed them, but the impacts of being figureheads and symbols of hope. They’re also used to really effectively show the impacts of colonisation. Not just the trauma but the disconnect from their culture and the small resistances to keep it.
I think the characters in general were really well done. Each felt distinct and like real thought was put into WHY they are the way they are. No group felt homogeneous. Even the Langlish had variety in their views and thoughts on the war and wanting to do better. It’s not something I often see and I really enjoyed it. The characters also allowed for a solid look into how both characters suffer in conflict, but didn’t turn the oppressors into victims.
I also really liked the world building. It all felt really unique and like a lot of thought was put into it. The world felt very real.
However, there were some flaws.
The middle and end felt a little rushed. This led to what felt like some leaps of logic and not being able to connect to the supporting cast. This was especially prevent in Elara’s story where her connections to her supporting characters were so vital for emotional payoff. We just never saw enough for a proper bond.
Overall, though, it was a great book. I highly recommend and can’t wait for book two.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Kidnapping, and Alcohol
Minor: Slavery
goldendreams's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Xenophobia and Injury/Injury detail
clockworkstars's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
"Faron Vincent avait été une menteuse bien avant d'être une sainte"
3☆|5
Tout d'abord, je tiens à remercier Netgalley france et hachette romans pour l'envoi du service presse numérique du premier tome de cette duologie :)
Avant de commencer le roman, il m'attirait beaucoup. En effet, vous me dites dragons, relation entre deux sœurs, fantasy d'inspiration jamaïcaine et un roman qui se passe 5 ans après la guerre ? Vous m'avez dans la poche, je suis intriguée et je veux en savoir plus (bon okay, j'étais surtout convaincue après avoir entendu le mot dragon). Je me suis donc lancée dans ce roman avec des attentes, pas forcément élevées, mais des attentes malgré tout. Et malheureusement, là où ma lecture n'a pas été trop désagréable, elle n'a pas été formidable non plus.
On suit ici Faron et Elara Vincent, cinq ans après la guerre gagné par leur pays. La plus jeune est une héroïne de guerre et peut entrer en contact direct avec les divinités de son peuple, pendant que la seconde veut se démarquer de l'ombre de sa sœur et planifie de s'engager dans l'armée du Ciel, pour piloter un "drake" une machine volante et continuer à servir sa reine. Seulement, la maigre paix est bousculée lorsqu'une nouvelle guerre menace. En effet, Elara se retrouve liée à un dragon du peuple ennemi. Nous suivons alors en alternance les deux sœurs, alors qu'elles tentent de rompre le lien et d'empêcher une autre guerre.
Les idées de ce roman étaient honnêtement bien, l'autrice avait ici de bons concepts, et a réussi à en exploiter correctement certains. En effet, le world building m'a semblé intéressant et j'ai apprécié le système de magie et d'invocation utilisée par les sœurs Vincent et le peuple de Saint-Irie de manière plus générale. De plus, j'ai particulièrement apprécié les dragons, et les informations fournies par le roman quant à leur existence au sein du peuple Langlois.
Cependant, lorsque l'on passe à la pratique… et bien cela se complique. En effet, j'ai tout d'abord mis un très long moment à rentrer dans le roman. Cela est sans doute partiellement dû à des raisons personnelles et non purement au roman, mais il m'a fallu un bon 40 % avant d'être réellement investie dans l'histoire. Je n'ai pas particulièrement accroché à la plume, cela ne m'a donc pas aidé à me raccrocher au fil de l'histoire. Cependant, je me dois de reconnaître que cela était dynamique, et que l'alternance de point de vue a son charme.
Ensuite, une fois dedans, j'ai pu apprécier l'écriture des deux sœurs. Je n'ai pas grand-chose à redire dessus, elles étaient bien développées et leur relation était intéressante. Également, j'ai apprécié leur différence ! De plus, si Faron a pu m'agacer par moment, son personnage fait tout à fait sens. Mon problème vient du fait qu'en-dehors des deux sœurs, et bien, je ne me suis pas vraiment attachée. En effet, les autres personnages m'ont semblé léviter autour d'elles, mais nous en apprenant fort peu sur eux, j'aurais aimé les voir être un peu plus développés. Quant aux deux relations amoureuses, je n'ai pas accroché. Elles sont certes à l'arrière-plan, mais m'ont semblées un peu rapides ? Cela manquait de profondeur à mon goût.
Mon dernier problème avec ce roman provient de la fin. En effet, j'ai évoqué plus tôt que l'exécution des idées laissait légèrement à désirer, et bien cela se ressent dans cette fin. En effet, cela était brouillon, un peu précipité ? C'est le premier roman de l'autrice et malheureusement cela s'est beaucoup ressenti. Cela semblait un peu comme si l'autrice ne savait pas comment conclure son premier tome, par conséquent tout est allé très vite avec une exécution qui m'a semblée brouillonne. Les idées étaient là, mais ne sont pas bien ressorties.
Quant à l'inspiration jamaïcaine du roman, je ne peux personnellement pas m'exprimer. Cependant bookishrealm sur Goodread a pu souligner que les inspirations jamaïcaines du roman restaient fortement à la surface et que l'autrice aurait pu aller plus en profondeur. Si vous comprenez l'anglais, je vous invite à aller lire son avis sur Goodreads (il est parmi les premiers.) ou regarder la partie de vidéo où elle en parle sur sa chaîne YouTube (Worst & Best Books of 2024 | Quarter #1 par Bookish Realm, à partir de 7 minutes). D'autres avis que j'ai pu lire ont également souligné que l'inspiration restait à la surface.
En somme, une lecture qui reste agréable, mais qui n'est pas transcendante, on m'avait promis des dragons et je repars satisfaite de mes dragons. C'est un roman de fantasy qui peut par conséquent tout à fait plaire, si l'on ne place pas la barre trop haut ou que l'on découvre la fantasy. Si l'on arrive à rentrer dedans, il se lit assez bien et la fin est suffisante que pour donner envie de découvrir le second tome.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism and Grief
Minor: Death and War
likeagilmoregirl's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
So Let Them Burn is everything I look for in a fantasy novel; complex characters, stunning world building, slow-burn romance, and dragons. Lots and lots of dragons.
I loved every page of this book. Following alternating points of view between sisters Elara and Faron, the story dives into the aftermath of a war they both fought in at very young ages. Faron, playing to the Chosen One trope as the Childe Empyrean, continues her life post-war with the ability to channel the gods. Meanwhile, Elara desires to step out of her sister’s shadow to help people in her own way. But when a summons from their queen leads to Elara being bound to a dragon and rider from their war enemy, chaos ensues.
This story, in many ways, was a true coming of age for Elara. She has my whole heart. Seeing her change and grow throughout the book had me cheering and crying. She was a truly refreshing character, while Faron was frustratingly arrogant (and maybe a little too relatable lol).
And the dragons!? I had so much fun reading the chapters where the riders and dragons interacted with each other. It was so cool to see the bonds between the dragons and riders.
I cannot say enough good things about the magic system and world building inspired by Jamaican culture either. It’s so good. The author’s talent really shines in the details of the pages in between major plot points. Every paragraph felt carefully crafted, progressing the story, but also planting seeds to grow the understanding of identity and motives of the people within the pages.
I cannot wait to read more by this author. Meanwhile, I’ll be recommending this book to everyone I know.
*Huge thanks to Kamilah Cole, Little, Brown Books, and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of the ebook So Let Them Burn for review.*
I loved every page of this book. Following alternating points of view between sisters Elara and Faron, the story dives into the aftermath of a war they both fought in at very young ages. Faron, playing to the Chosen One trope as the Childe Empyrean, continues her life post-war with the ability to channel the gods. Meanwhile, Elara desires to step out of her sister’s shadow to help people in her own way. But when a summons from their queen leads to Elara being bound to a dragon and rider from their war enemy, chaos ensues.
This story, in many ways, was a true coming of age for Elara. She has my whole heart. Seeing her change and grow throughout the book had me cheering and crying. She was a truly refreshing character, while Faron was frustratingly arrogant (and maybe a little too relatable lol).
And the dragons!? I had so much fun reading the chapters where the riders and dragons interacted with each other. It was so cool to see the bonds between the dragons and riders.
I cannot say enough good things about the magic system and world building inspired by Jamaican culture either. It’s so good. The author’s talent really shines in the details of the pages in between major plot points. Every paragraph felt carefully crafted, progressing the story, but also planting seeds to grow the understanding of identity and motives of the people within the pages.
I cannot wait to read more by this author. Meanwhile, I’ll be recommending this book to everyone I know.
*Huge thanks to Kamilah Cole, Little, Brown Books, and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of the ebook So Let Them Burn for review.*
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Death and Panic attacks/disorders
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: Racism, Violence, Grief, Colonisation, and War
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 autonomyzombiezami's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
4.0
It took a little effort to get into this, but the story started to flow about 25 percent of the way in. I liked the characters quite a bit, especially Ilora. I think the book could have started stronger if it hadn't yada yada-ed the whole war that took place before the book. There was a lot of exposition that could have been more engaging in a show, not tell model.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and War
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Cursing, and Alcohol
britreads's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This was an okay start to this YA series. I don't have any strong feelings now that I've finished it, hence the 3 star rating.
Things I liked:
Things I liked:
- I liked the dragons in here. I wished we got more with the dragons actually. There are several different types of dragons and they have their own traits based on their type. I hope in the future book (or books since I'm unsure how long this series will be), I hope we learn more about the dragons and the history of dragons in this world.
- I liked the characters individually, but I didn't have strong feelings about the different romantic pairing. I related most to Elara and Aveline. Like with the dragons, I hope we get more of Aveline in future books.
- I want more depth from the magic systems, but I like the introduction we got here. Astral summoning is really cool and I think there are opportunities for complexity that were missed. (Like how do the summoned spirits feel since they can't rest and serve as a tool even after death?)
Things I didn't care for:
- I wanted more of the dragon-riding school. So much of what we learn about Heartstone is shared after the fact. We never see Elara in her classes or interacting with her peers outside of her den. We also get so much of San Irie and so little of life in the Langley Empire.
- This novel deals with war, imperialism and colonialism, yet I felt like it was a surface level approach. There are child soldiers in here and no one seems phased by that. What does it say that a country fighting for independence relied on and continues to rely on children and just turned 18 adults to fill out their military? The faces of the Langley Empire are the Warwicks and it feels like if they're removed, Langley won't be so bad. But that's not how empire works. There is no deeper wrestling with the many different systems and organizations that prop up a violent, colonial power.
- As much as I liked Aveline...she has GOT to get some advisors in between this book and the next one. Some of her decisions were TERRIBLE. In fact, a lot of characters make poor decisions.
- For some reason, the characters felt so young. Elara and Faron are 18 and 17 respectively, but they felt like they were closer to 14 and 13.
I will probably read the second book when it is released. And I hope the sequel dives deeper into its overall themes.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Grief, Colonisation, and War