Disclaimer: I received this e-arc and finished copy from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own. 

 

Book: So Let Them Burn 

 

Author: Kamilah Cole 

 

Book Series: Divine Traitors book 1 

 

Rating: 5/5 

 

Diversity: BIPOC Jamaican inspired MCs, Sapphic MC, Sapphic side character, Black characters, Gay/Achillan side characters 

 

Recommended For...: young adult readers, fantasy, dragons, mythology, Jamaican mythology 

 

Publication Date: January 16, 2024 

 

Genre: YA Fantasy 

 

Age Relevance: 14+ (language, violence, war, anxiety and panic attacks, racism, racial slurs, slavery, genocide, colonialism, PTSD) 

 

Explanation of Above: There is some strong language in the book. There are scenes and mentions of violence, war, genocide, colonialism, and PTSD. There are scenes with anxiety and panic attacks. There is some racism and racial slurs said. There are mentions of slavery. 

 

Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers 

 

Pages: 400 

 

Synopsis: Faron Vincent can channel the power of the gods. Five years ago, she used her divine magic to liberate her island from its enemies, the dragon-riding Langley Empire. But now, at seventeen, Faron is all powered up with no wars to fight. She’s a legend to her people and a nuisance to her neighbors. When she’s forced to attend an international peace summit, Faron expects that she will perform tricks like a trained pet and then go home. She doesn’t expect her older sister, Elara, forming an unprecedented bond with an enemy dragon—or the gods claiming the only way to break that bond is to kill her sister. As Faron’s desperation to find another solution takes her down a dark path, and Elara discovers the shocking secrets at the heart of the Langley Empire, both must make difficult choices that will shape each other’s lives, as well as the fate of their world. 

 

Review: This book. THIS BOOK. Oh. My. God. I loved it so so so so so so much!!! This book is an amazing Jamaican inspired mythology with DRAGONS. The story is so well done and I loved how the book starts in the middle of a storyline, with the MCs having already faced a previous war and had all of this past storyline stuff. The story also did well to discuss war, especially how bad colonialism is and the repercussions of it. It also, most importantly, discussed genocide. The worldbuilding was also phenomenal and I can’t wait to read the second book and reread this one. 

 

The only thing I can fault the book for is that it did feel a little rushed, but other than that it was amazing and I’m already excited to read it again. 

 

Verdict: I love it! Highly recommend!