So Let Them Burn

Divine Traitors #1

by Kamilah Cole

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 neighbours.

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.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Dragons, Lesbian, Queer, LGBT, Fiction

386 pages, Paperback

First published January 16, 2024

About the author

Kamilah Cole is a USA Today & national indie bestselling Jamaican-American author, who has been nominated for a Dragon Award, a Lambda Award, a Lodestar Award, and an Astounding Award. She worked as a writer and entertainment editor at Bustle for four years, and her nonfiction has appeared in Marie Claire and Seventeen. A graduate of New York University, Kamilah lives in the Pacific Northwest, where she’s usually playing Kingdom Hearts for the hundredth time, quoting early SpongeBob SquarePants episodes, or crying her way through Zuko’s redemption arc in Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Reviews

[Kamilah Cole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hi, I'm the author, and I think my book is pretty cool actually! I worked very hard on it, and I'm so excited to share it with you all.

This story is about sisterhood, chosen ones, dragons, anti-imperialism, anti-colonialism, and the aftermath of war. It's about how far one would, and should, go to protect the people that one loves. It's inspired by my background as a Jamaican-American, and it features some of my favorite things: sapphics, evil gods, Black women being badass, and bad decisions.

I hope it resonates with you, but I also want you to read responsibly and make the healthiest choices for yourself and your mental state. So please be aware that the book features the following content warnings:

-explicit language
-depictions of PTSD (nightmares, unwanted memories/flashbacks, dissociation, anxiety, mistrust, hypervigilance, self-destructive behavior)
-depictions/descriptions/mentions of war, blood, and corpses
-grief (expressed in healthy and unhealthy ways)
-racism (challenged)
-minor character deaths
-a near-fatal beating
-stolen body/mind autonomy

Thank you again for your interest, and I hope you enjoy. <3

[Heather Mclarry · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐️ honestly great world building. So easy to understand what’s going on. First half was a bit slow, but really picked up halfway!

[Charlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where do I begin? Well, So Let Them Burn is absolutely phenomenal. When this book arrived on my doorstep, I had an overwhelming desire to pick it up and start reading. I haven’t felt that way in a long time. For some reason I was drawn to this book. My soul knew it needed a gorgeously written queer fantasy and recognised that So Let Them Burn would serve up the goods.

The atmosphere and world-building were so rich. This Jamaican-inspired fantasy tackles the aftermath of war, anti-colonialism, and anti-imperialism. I loved how this book starts at the end of a war instead of the beginning. The fact that I’m itching to read a prequel is a testament to Cole’s world-building. The characterisation and storylines were so engaging. So Let Them Burn contains one of the best depictions of PTSD I’ve ever read. I loved the exploration of how war impacts children, and the lifelong implications of fighting in one.

So Let Them Burn is such a perfect title. It brilliantly describes the personality attributed to my favourite character – Faron. Ferocious and utterly brilliant, Faron wields her God-given power for the sake of her country, becoming their saviour and a symbol of hope. While she didn’t always make the best decisions, I loved her personality and how much she didn’t care what other people thought of her. Faron was motivated by the love she felt for her sister and a desire to keep her people from the clutches of the Langley Empire. Faron was forced to question the lengths she would go to protect the people she loves, even if it meant potentially undoing the freedom she had won for her country. Faron really had to remind people several times why she was the baddest Childe Empyrean, and I approve of her actions! I really appreciated Faron’s demisexual identity, which felt fully developed. Another element I adored was the backstory behind Faron’s rise as the Chosen One. Cole managed to carve a unique interpretation of the popular trope. I loved that Faron wasn’t necessarily destined to be the Chosen One. Faron asked for it, claimed it, and was perhaps in the right – or wrong – place at the right time.

The magic system was so intriguing. One of Faron’s powers reminded me of Katara from Avatar the Last Airbender, which is one of my favourite TV shows of all time. I was constantly reminded of my favourite elements of fantasy whilst reading. This book fully pulled me by the throat out of my reading slump. It was so wonderful to read a book set in a gorgeously built world with such a marvellous plot. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to go back to reading books set in fantasy worlds that do not normalise queerness. Elara’s sexuality was seamlessly woven into her identity – allowed to flourish whilst not being the defining element of her characterisation. The key to excellent queer representation is building characters that are well-rounded, complex individuals, whose queerness thrives alongside their unique personality, which Cole achieves in So Let Them Burn. The romances were wonderful, and I loved how they developed differently. The mysterious Gael came to ruin Faron’s life, damn.

The ending was wild and chaotic. I’m completely ready for the drama that’s bound to go down in book two. I loved how the ending positioned the sisters on opposite sides of an emerging war. I’m excited to read more books set in this gorgeous world, and I’m certainly reading any other books published by Kamilah Cole in the future. I cannot recommend this book enough, especially to readers who adore brilliantly written queer fantasy. If I inspire you to read one book in 2024, I hope it’s this one! So Let Them Burn publishes on the 16th of January 2024, so make sure you add it to your TBRs!

Thank you to the lovely team at Atom Books for sending me an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I post about queer books on: Instagram Twitter TikTok

[Bookishrealm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh my friends, I wanted to love this book more than I did. I've been looking for a Jamaican inspired fantasy that really does it for me, but unfortunately this wasn't it.

So Let Them Burn is the first in the Divine Traitors series, a Jamaican inspired fantasy world with dragons. This first book follows the dual perspectives of sisters Faron and Elara after the impacts of a war that affected their entire community. The stakes are raised at an international peace summit after Elara forms a bond with an enemy dragon. Desperate to save her sister, Faron turns to the gods for assistance who then make it clear that the only way to save her sister is to kill her. What follows is a story of revelations, betrayal, heartbreak, and the unbreakable bond between two sisters.

What Worked: The relationship between Faron and Elara was BEAUTIFUL. Cole did a wonderful job capturing the dedication, love, and bond shared between the two characters. They defend each other in ways that are beautiful and gut-wrenching. It's a bond that is even recognized by the gods at every twist and turn of the story. If I decide to continue with the series, I must say that I'm looking forward to the further development of their relationship based on that whirlwind of an ending. Cole also does some interesting things with the social commentary regarding colonialism as it impacts this world. I could tell that it was a nod to the British occupation of Jamaica and how it's occupation still impacts the island to this day. It reminded of my own experiences spending time with relatives that lived in Jamaica during that time. I also appreciated the emphasis on these godly beings as being imperfect. This is especially true towards the end of the book. They expect Faron and Elara to betray their sisterhood for the greater good of the world with little to no regard on how that would ultimately impact them. Cole also does an excellent job incorporating queer representation through both main characters.

What Didn't Work: Let me start by saying this is a solid debut; however, it is very clear that this is a debut. I may have come into this with higher expectations as someone who has a Jamaican parent. This inspiration of "Jamaica" for this fantasy world felt very surface level. There were moments when food references and descriptions of characters speaking Patois reminded me that this world was Jamaican inspired, but I wanted Cole to dive deeper. Sometimes I feel like authors of color are forced to write and/or edit their books in a way that appease to readers who may not be familiar with the culture. This felt that way. I also don't think that the world was fleshed out enough. It was confusing trying to decipher whether this was a modern world, a futuristics world, or a world that was based in the past due to the culmination of descriptions that felt all over the place. Cole also doesn't give us enough of the war that occurs prior to this book. It plays such a big role in the how Faron and Elara develop as characters and how the plot moves; however, it feels like readers don't get to know much about it. Sure, there are some pretty big revelations in regard to how the gods have treated their chosen ones, but I think that it would have been easier to understand Elara and Faron as individuals as well as the way that they interact with each other and their community. Also, I wanted more dragons! We got some pretty cool dragon lore and representation throughout the novel, but I selfishly wanted more.

Overall, this was a solid book. I was slightly disappointed because this was one of my anticipated releases for the year. I'm not sure whether I'll continue with the series; however, I think that some readers will really enjoy the elements of this book as well as the relationship between Elara and Faron.

[Siavahda · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is an absolutely amazing premise…let down by writing I couldn’t stand, and a flavour of stupid that is just EXHAUSTING.

It was an odd, but I don’t think bad or wrong, choice to set Let Them Burn after the big Mockingjay-esque war wherein San Irie – the Jamaica-inspired setting – fought off its colonisers, the Langley Empire. It would have been a difficult story to write, and it probably wouldn’t have stood out nearly as much from all the other rebellions we’ve seen in YA. But the downside is that Cole has to continuously info-dump us with past events, and it’s not done very skilfully.

I could probably have lived with that, though – there were decent odds it would only be an issue in the beginning and things would smooth out as the book went on. And I really liked that the two POV characters – Faron, a sort of Chosen One, and Elara – are sisters, who are very close and supportive of each other. We don’t get to see loving sibling relationships often enough, imo.

But the actual writing is just not great. It’s plain, it’s blunt, the phrasing often grates my internal sense of writing rhythm (I don’t know how to put it better than that, this is a problem I run into all the time). The dialogue is clunky and comes across as very false, very forced – aside from Faron and Elara, the dynamics between the characters were just so unconvincing, particularly the (very different) relationships both sisters have with Reeve, the son of the leader of the Langley Empire who switched sides during the war. Faron doesn’t trust him, and their meant-to-be-snarky banter is cringe-inducing; whereas Elara considers Reeve her best friend, which would be fine if not for lines like this.

His nightmares, his guilt, his trauma were different, but she had connected with the sorrow in his eyes that matched her own.

That is just so clunky.

More examples for you;

Port Sol was a powder keg. It would only take an ember for it to erupt.

There’s a reason that situations described as powder kegs are said to need a spark to erupt; a spark jumps into being when the right materials bang together, or from malfunctioning electrics, etc. A spark is easy to make and can come into being suddenly, without warning, is my point. An ember is what you get when the fire has already been burning for a while already – so it doesn’t make sense with this particular metaphor.

broad as a building

What -what the hell does this mean??? Buildings come in all shapes and sizes; this is completely unhelpful description. I might have let it slide if it were describing a human – you kind of vaguely understand what is meant if you describe a big person as being built like a building. But this is describing a dragon. And it’s kind of vitally important that I can picture your dragons the way you want me to – and size is a big part of that! Dragons of Deepwood Fen described the length of dragons in terms of horses; this one was six horses long, this one ten, etc. Even though horses are not all exactly the same length, they’re close enough that you can understand what the writer is going for. But broad as a building? I don’t know what that means!

Then we have passages like this

Aveline opens the airfield to the public.” It was a stupid idea, but Faron understood the politics of it. Aveline had taken the throne as a teenager, after all, and people wouldn’t allow for her to rule from the shadows. If her every action would be scrutinized, why not allow that scrutiny on her own terms?

For context, this is referring to the fact that the queen apparently allows the public to wander onto the military airfield as they please, so long as her guards are present. Which already strikes me as incredibly stupid. But I genuinely don’t understand what Cole is trying to say about the ruling from the shadows thing, or how it’s relevant to opening up the airfield. It reads like nonsense. People are always going to be watching what the queen is up to, so she…opens up the airfield? And this is somehow a kind of defiant thing, her exerting control on the situation? What???

But that was nothing compared to the sheer unbelievable idiocy of the riot control. See, there are trade talks going on, right? And the queen is worried about a possible riot, because a lot of her people aren’t happy about the talks. So she asks the military to step in.

Who do the military send in??? To help prevent, or manage if they can’t prevent, a fucking riot?

THE CADETS WHO SIGNED UP LITERALLY THIS MORNING.

THIS.

MORNING.

Apparently, security detail was a job for green cadets, not experienced soldiers

Hi, what the actual fuck??? What kind of reasoning is this?! No one with half a brain cell would EVER sign off on something like that! These kids – and they ARE kids – have had no training yet! They haven’t even been cadets for a full day at this point! AND you stuck them on horseback, despite the fact that at least some of them haven’t ridden horses very often! I can’t even count how many kinds of stupid and dangerous this is!

And it’s so obviously just to get Elara – who signed up that morning – into the capital. When I can think of half a dozen other, better ways to get her there without even trying.

Blatant and handwavey idiocy contrived because you couldn’t come up with a reasonable way of getting your characters where you need them is not something I can put up with.

I’m not even going to get into how forced and awkward the dragon-bonding scene was. Nope, nope, nope.

TL;DR: great premise written like a first draft, at best. I wish the editor or someone had asked for a few more rewrites, because damn, this could have been incredible – and instead, it’s just an incredible letdown.

[Cait Jacobs (Caitsbooks) · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is the loml and i need everyone to read it

[♥Milica♥ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This started off so good and I was ready to love it, but as it went on it got more and more disjointed and I found myself not enjoying it as much as I did at the beginning.

I think the concept was really good, and the execution wasn't bad (especially for a debut book), but I was expecting a bit more development.

I liked the worldbuilding, the dragons (of course), the academy, the magic system/summoning Gods etc, all of that was very interesting. The characters were where this book lost me.

From what I've seen, most people prefer Elara to Faron, but for me it's the other way around. I liked her despite how immature she acted when compared to her sister, because as a character she felt more real to me and like a proper teenager. Elara was just...meh? But I did like her better than either love interest.

Speaking of, the relationships are my least favourite part of the book. Faron & Reeve's one in particular. There were so many lines that I could tell were supposed to be romantic and swoony, but they ended up sounding awkward, almost to the level where I wanted to close the book...hopefully this will get better as the author gains more experience.

The rest of the characters really didn't sway me one way or the other, one villain was kind of okay, but that's about it.

The ending was great though, and a cliffhanger. If I was the author and choosing where to end the story for now, I'd also end it there. I only wish that the book picked up the pace earlier than that. It wasn't slow paced exactly, more like medium-ish with a few bursts of exciting scenes here and there.

Anyway, please don't let my option prevent you from reading this book, there's a very high chance you'll enjoy it and Kamilah Cole deserves your support!!!

*Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review*

[Jan Agaton · Rating 2 out of 5]

so let this book burn...
it was repetitive and i didn't really care for any of the characters nor the politics, but I enjoyed learning about the drakes lol I get that it's a first book in a series but it felt like every single thing about the story was incomplete, and it was hard to pay close attention the entire time, which is unfortunate because this was my book club pick lol.

[Zana]

Buddy read with Dinali!

DNF @ 48%.

Honestly I would've DNF'ed earlier if I wasn't buddy reading.

This is a pretty generic YA fantasy. I was really bored. The mecha drakes were cool, but nothing else really stood out to me. Also, the Priory of the Orange Tree comp is really weird. There's a woman in charge, there's dragons, and that's about it. Stylistically and tone-wise, it's not even close.

I'd probably recommend this for someone who's new to YA fantasy and wants to dip their toes in it.

[Genoveva Dimova · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intricately built and cleverly plotted, So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole is a fast-paced adventure set in a Jamaican-inspired world where god-chosen warriors collide with dragon riders. The story follows the points of view of two sisters, woven together tightly, which only contributed to how readable and--please forgive me the cliché--unputdownable it felt.

Both of our protagonists were complex characters with believable motivations. Faron is a Joan of Arc like figure--she was chosen by the gods when she was a child to fight in a war she was too young to fully understand; now, at 17, she chaffs against her responsibilities and rebels in such a fun, authentic way, which made her a joy to read about. At the same time, behind all the bravado, she is sensitive and capable, and loves her family fiercely.

Our second POV, Elara, is Faron's sister - which was already an angle I loved, as I feel like we can really do with more close sibling relationships in fantasy. Elara was my favourite character, probably because as an eldest sister, I identified with her conflict between having to be the sensible one and following her own path. Without giving too many spoilers, I loved her whole plotline, including her fish-out-of-water situation, her found family, and the dragons!

So Let Them Burn deals with some heavy themes: the aftermath of colonisation and war, the pains of having to grow up too quickly, accepting responsibilities for difficult decisions. However, despite this, it is not a dark or gloomy story: on the contrary, it was hopeful, with plenty of heart-warming moments and characters you can't help but love. Plus, both romantic subplots were absolutely adorable. This is exactly the kind of YA I like: clever and complex, but vibrant and fun.

[Maddie Martinez · Rating 5 out of 5]

The last 100 pages of this book gave me SUCH an adrenaline rush. Kamilah has written something so special here: a story of sisters who each deal with their own struggles and expectations, but push through because of their love for each other. Ugh. I love them so much. Also… DRAGONS! Can’t recommend enough!

[Natasha Leighton · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gorgeously immersive, fantasy debut that captured my heart just as much as it did my imagination! The writing was phenomenally lush and the complicated but heartfelt bond between sisters (and Dual POV characters) Faron and Elara had me emotionally invested from the very start. Did I also mention, it has DRAGONS?!!!

Set within a post-war, Jamaican inspired world, where the newly independent island (San Erie) is still recovering from the war with their former oppressors—and the colonial legacy left in their wake.

I LOVED every second of this and was blown away by the level of emotion that Kamilah Cole manages to imbue. Both through her detailed and emotionally nuanced characters but also the in-depth world-building and vivid, sensory descriptions that I literally couldn’t get enough of.

Like the descriptions of Deadegg, and its fossilised dragon egg, serving as a constant reminder to Faron of the cruelty and suffering inflicted by Langley (via Faron’s incredibly evocative and emotional flashbacks.) Or The Victory Garden and its lush, verdant greenery serving as a sign of a brighter future; in a Palace that had once been a barren, death shrouded ruin.

Given how intrinsically linked the themes of anti-colonialism, genocide, war and trauma are to the narrative —it’s hard not to find similarities in current real-world events. Making for a deeply emotional and highly relevant read, so do be sure to check trigger warnings.

However, unlike most fantasy novels (which end after the big battle), I loved that Cole starts hers at the end of one. Giving us a front row seat to the resilience and hard-work that goes into not only rebuilding a country destroyed by war, but also in working through the trauma that comes from experiencing such violence and destruction.

It still boggles my mind that our protagonists were only just hitting their teens when they first headed into battle—Faron being just thirteen when she took on the mantle of The Childe Empyrean, (and her sister Elara not much older.) It’s a very real aspect of war (especially in terms of the psychological impact for survivors) and one that was explored in such a nuanced and sensitive manner—I was soo emotionally invested in both of their journeys.

Though, I do admit that Elara’s arc did resonate with me the most (especially as someone with two older sisters.) And I loved that, despite feeling like she’s living in the shadow of Faron’s (already vast) legacy, she doesn’t let it affect the love she has for her. Honestly it’s one of the most realistic (and relatable) sibling relationships I think I’ve ever read!

Overall, an emotionally powerful and action packed debut that anyone who loves epic fantasy, dragons, or books exploring complex sisterly bonds should definitely consider picking up, it’s AMAZING!

Also, a huge thank you to Katya over at Little, Brown UK for the proof

[Roxanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange of an honest review.


I’m a little heartbroken at having to write this review. I really wanted to love this book but I have to DNF at 50%.

My main gripe was on the awkward and sometime forced dialogues, the too black and white story and characters, the world building is lacking and the side characters feels like NPC.

I don’t know if it’s a matter of right book wrong time, but I really struggled to connect with the characters, their relationship and the story in general.

The characters lacked nuances. Although the more nuanced approach could be seen further in the book, it looked like it could be going in that direction.

Also too many thing are just spelled out, including in dialogues, which makes them sometime awkward or forced. This contributed in pulling me out of the story. hopefully this will be fixed in the final edition.

I think the main reason I couldn’t get into this book is because of the portrayal of the older characters.
For a little context, the story happen 5 years after a terrible war against Langlish, the nation that colonize the island of our main characters: two sisters. The youngest was chosen by the gods at 12 or 11 and forced to participate in said war. Her sister (12 or 13 at the time) chose to follow her. Their parents, both alive, healthy and loving (which was refreshing), instead of going with them to try and protect them just stayed home and worried while their daughter went off to war, war which we are told seemed like a lost cause. We are given absolutely no reason why the parents did not followed them or do literally anything other then sitting on their ass. I just couldn’t get past it, it kept bothering me and made the whole story feel very two dimensional.

Overall, the author had a good idea; showing the aftermath of the fight against colonizer instead of the fight itself like we are usually shown in this genre. But she forgot to build the world around it. We don’t know how they dress, or what their architecture and landscape looks like, they have incredible technology and yet electricity is still a rarity, etc. In the end I just couldn’t picture the setting.

On the plus note:
* Black representation, from what I gathered it’s based on Jamaica. As such most of the cast is Black.
* It looks like there will be two main romance on F/F and the other F/M, but neither was really started prior to my DNF.
* Dragons!!
* The premise is interesting and refreshing.

I prefer book with nuanced and complexe characters and with extensive worldbuilding. For anyone for whom those elements are less important, I would say to give this a shot if the synopsis interest you. This book could also work well for a teenager/young adult audience who might not mind the adults portrayal as much as I did.

[Maja · Rating 1 out of 5]

I feel so bad giving this one star but I must, I simply must. I hated reading this so much, any normal person in my place would’ve just DNFed this but I’m clearly just too masochistic for that. Where do I even begin reviewing this??

There are so many things that don’t make sense in this book, the characters are really flat and the world-building and magic system feel so underdeveloped. I can see some concepts and ideas in this stories that aren’t terrible but it truly all ends at that because the execution left so much to be desired. What really brought this from 2 stars to 1 though was the romance. OH I CANNOT DEAL the romantic storylines felt so forced, the characters didn’t really have any chemistry whatsoever, but it was also painfully obvious who will be forced into a relationship. There really wasn’t any place for romance in this book in my opinion but it had to be there just because YA fantasy that sells is YA fantasy that has romance I guess 😐

Why are children fighting wars in this fucking world LITERALLY WHERE ARE THE ADULTS I can’t I just can’t take it seriously. Where is any semblance of a government, they won a revolutionary war so where the hell is their army, why does it feel like their whole military is like a group of 20 teenagers 💀😭

[Shadow Singer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for ARC. I received my copy in exchange of an honest review.

When I requested this book as ARC, I didn't know anything about it except its interesting title. Look at that! So Let Them Burn... It's attractive and badass🔥
The story follows two sisters. 17 years old Faron who is chosen by the Gods. And Elara, who is chosen by the enemies of their Island; The Dragons!
I really enjoy reading Dragon books, especially if they could talk! So we have Zephyra in this book, A cool dragon who reminds me of Safira from Eragon series.
There was some factors in the story that gave me Furyborn and Three Dark Crowns vibes, like the Island and the Gods and Goddesses, Divine Powers, Women in charge, And Gael/Corin's fellings for Faron/Rielle. Don't get me wrong, There isn't any huge similarities between these books. Just vibes, that's all. But you can finde the shadow of Priory of The Orange Tree in this book, Especially about the restructured villains!
I would have liked if we can get more chapters about Hearthstone Academy and Dragon Riding. It was a bit unbelievable that Elara got through all of that Dragon Riding Studies without any mention of them in the story.
And about the plot twist, Well... It was really predictable and I was seeing it coming, So it didn't shocked me.
At the end I want to say that I enjoyed reading this book and I liked that the story started from the middle of events, not from the very beginning.
I'm going to read the sequel as well!
❤

[Ruwen · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

⭐️3.50⭐️

In a sea of revolutionary YA books, the plot of this is refreshing and intriguing. For fans of books like The Priory of The Orange Tree or Fourth Wing 🍊🐉

Liked:
- The history of the different countries and how the different characters from each side dealt with their countries culture and past.
- The powers are magic system were unique.
- Strong female characters.

Disliked:
- All the romances felt “convenient”. Not necessarily made too fast, but simply not genuine. As in these two characters live together or train together, so they may as well be together.
- The two sisters Faron and Elara were so similar we didn’t need two POV’s. Even though they were in separate places, relaying different events they sounded like the same person, indistinct.
- It’s a debut, so it’s not a huge deal, but the writing was a little juvenile for me personally. Even with the swearing putting this in the YA category, there wasn’t much sophistication or nuance. The main body of the writing was quite “on the nose”. However, that’s not to say the writing was bad. It did feel edited and structured.

[mads · Rating 3 out of 5]

"You don't stop being the chosen one just because the war is over."

➳ 3.5

TW: blood, colonization, confinement, death, death of a loved one, fire/fire injury, forced institutionalization, genocide, grief, injury/injury detail, medical content, mental illness, panic attacks/disorders, racial slurs, racism, slavery, violence, war, xenophobia.

Absolutely overjoyed that dragons are having a bit of a comeback right now. Dragons are my fae, in the way that I will read almost anything that even mentions dragons.

Admittedly... the fact it had dragons was the only thing I knew about this book going in but if I had known that it had the burnt-out chosen one trope and siblings on opposite sides of a war, I would have picked this up the second it was released. Either way, I'm glad I picked it up now.

This was such a good debut and a really good dragon book! It had its flaws, namely falling into some unfortunate YA ruts (such as incoherent military planning and over-dramatized chapter endings throughout the book) but those were minor compared to all of the things this story did right.

We follow Faron and Elara, sisters that were dragged into a war as children and even though we begin the story in a time of peace, we can see that neither of the sisters have truly left the war. Not really. And that creates such an interesting dynamic, as we see Faron constantly pushing back against the worship given to the chosen one and Elara constantly trying to keep up with her younger sister's renown. Both sisters were distinct and interesting to follow, though I did struggle more with Faron due to her absolute stupidity.

Which leads me to both a plus and a negative: this book read very young. It's a YA, so that isn't a bad thing. However, it also had a tendency to pull me out of the story when characters that had almost singlehandedly won a war at age 12 (?) were so... incapable of thinking things through or even a modicum of self control. That paired with the overdramatized moments I mentioned earlier could make this a more difficult read for people growing out of YA, so while I don't think this is necessarily a negative, I do think it's worth noting.


Other than the few things I didn't care for, I really did enjoy so much of this story. I loved the worldbuilding and I'm a sucker for magical academy settings (even if we barely spent any time there). I loved the discussions of generational trauma and the lasting effects of war. I loved the sisterly bond and I freaking loved the dragons.

If you're someone that already loves YA fantasy and are looking for one that breathes new life into familiar elements, while also creating something beautifully unique, I wholeheartedly recommend this.

[Ally · Rating 5 out of 5]

Got an arc from work

Okay I need everyone who enjoyed the jingling-keys-at-babies storytelling of That Book to pick this one up and see how entertaining a good dragon book can be.

This was a hoot and I’m still yelling, I cannot wait for book two. Merry Christmas to me

[Sam Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not to count my chickens before they hatch, but I think this debut has the potential to be my favorite debut of 2024.

•What happens after the chosen one fulfills their duty?
•Bonds broken, forged, and reforged
•Exceptional commentary on the neverendingness of war
•Demi & Sapphic Representation
•One of the best depictions of PTSD I've ever read
•Romances that will make you want to combust with feelings
•Soul Magic & Dragons
•Hades (video game)-like Gods
•You WILL feel ALL the emotions

This book just had SO MANY aspects I loved, from a writing style that was easy to process (my ADHD says thank you), to amazing, well-fleshed-out characters that kept me engaged all the way through. Seriously, the characters are so incredible, from stubborn, f-you-I-do-what-I-want, Faron who struggles with the burden of being the chosen one to loving, out-of-her-depth, and loyal-to-a-fault Elara, who just wants to keep Faron and her country safe. And that's just talking about our two leads; the secondary cast was also a blast, with Reeve being my favorite, with his immense sense of justice and his genuine love for Faron and Elara.

There are so, SO many lines I just wanna quote, but alas, I cannot. But trust me, this book is worth picking up. I hope everyone else enjoys this book even half as much as I did. I mean, I made a playlist for this book -- that's how you KNOW I liked it. I can't wait to see how this story gets resolved in the next book.

Thank you to the publisher, Little Brown Young Readers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Jenn [everythingshereads] · Rating 4 out of 5]

As far as young adult fantasy novels go, this was a pretty decent introduction to a new series. What I loved most about So Let Them Burn (and what piqued my interest in this book) was the incorporation of Caribbean culture into the setting and world building. In this debut novel, we follow two sisters; one is a warrior and the other desperately wants to no longer live in her sister’s shadows. This story is set in a Jamaican-inspired fantastical world, where racism and war ravage the countries. There is a fair amount of politicking taking place, as the backbone of everything that happens throughout the book stems from the after effects of a war that took place five years ago because of said racism. Without being spoilery, the magic system is founded in ancestral magic, where individuals are able to ‘call’ on the spirits of their ancestors to aid them in carrying out tasks (and to aid in fighting). There are also dragons and a dragon riding school! This story is told from the dual perspective of both sisters, one of which I enjoyed significantly more than the other. There were slight issues with the world building and some plot holes in the story, but I don’t think that they are unredeemable considering that this is the first book in the series. I do want to continue on with the rest of the books and I look forward to seeing where the author goes with these characters and this world!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an e-arc of this title!

[Zoë · Rating 4 out of 5]

the audacity of some white men is appalling and they must be stopped

[Ania · Rating 4 out of 5]

fantastyka ya, smoki, wlw, to nie mogło być słabe 😌💅🏻✨

[literaryelise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Second book i need you NOWWWWWWWW (RTC!)

[Zoe Hana Mikuta · Rating 5 out of 5]

where is the next one !!!

[Rouge the Bat · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having just finished So Let Them Burn, I rate it 2/5 stars. I appreciated the easy, natural way the book had Black & LGBTQ lead characters, as well as the foundation of culture and mythology inspired by the Jamaican people. However, aside from that…I was really disappointed with this book.

The book overview/description says:

“this…fantasy follows a gods-blessed heroine who’s forced to choose between saving her sister or protecting her homeland.”

She does neither.

“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.”

And yet she couldn’t even defend her friend from a random drunk at the bar. He was beaten within an inch of his life and she basically stood there crying and scared. I swear to god.

It’s an apt example of how I felt about this entire book: I was sold a gods-blessed and powerful heroine who had liberated her people and was now basically being tasked with doing it again, but I was given a petulant, brash child who disappointed at every turn and felt like a side character— and who shouldn’t have been a character at all. No seriously.

So Let Them Burn would have been exponentially better with Elara as the main character. Imagine: Elara is a soldier, a veteran and survivor of the revolutionary war that freed her people from colonization just five short years ago. Due to her bravery and efforts, she was promoted to captain of the Queen’s royal guard. In this time of relative peace, she allows herself to imagine— her and the queen, in love. Leaving behind the tediousness of rebuilding after all the destruction. Starting a new life together. But that will never happen. Elara will never confess her feelings for the Queen— her duty as captain of the royal guard is too great.

Imagine her surprise when, during a peace summit with the very dragon-wielding nation that had once oppressed them, Elara inadvertently forms an undeniable, magical bond with one of the enemy’s dragons. Elara’s life is turned upside down as she is forced to explore this new bond in the foreign land of her enemies. But things are not what they seem.

As Elara discovers what it means to be a dragon rider, she learns more than she might have wished for. She wants to hate her riding partner Signey, beautiful and strong, but she can’t fight the attraction that’s building. But, feelings aside, there’s a more pressing issue: the evil Empire is planning to overtake her country once more…

Anyway, as it stands, So Let Them Burn was anticlimactic, slow paced, and a major letdown. But that’s my opinion. Consider picking up a copy and seeing if you feel differently. If you loved The Priory of the Orange Tree (I had strongly mixed feelings about it), you’ll probably like this.

Rouge the Bat

[Terry J. Benton-Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Kamilah Cole’s So Let Them Burn set my soul on fire in the best way possible! Cole weaves an enthralling tale by way of an authentic and complex sibling relationship that swallowed me whole from the first page. So Let Them Burn is a blazing debut from an impeccable storyteller.” —Terry J. Benton-Walker, bestselling author of Blood Debts

[Amanda at Bookish Brews]

i was told to add this book "if you like sapphics, sisterhood, dragons, corruption arcs, evil gods, and memes" so here i am, adding this book

[⋆˚°✩*˖ Gohnar23 (•˕ •マ.ᐟ ˚⟡˖ ࣪(inactive) · Rating 2 out of 5]

#️⃣4️⃣1️⃣6️⃣ Read & Reviewed in 2025 ☁️🪨
Date : 🌬️ Saturday, August 23, 2025 🌪️🌫️☕
Word Count📃: 108k Words 🐑🪾⛰️

⋆𖦹⋆ˎˊ˗ 〰️〰️〰️ ──── .✦

₍^. .^₎⟆ My 38th read in "But I can see us lost in the memory. August slipped away into a moment in time. 'Cause it was never mine" August 🤍

2️⃣🌟, and then the beginning was so confusing
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Thank you @Prisha for the buddy read! (I agree, the start was so bad 😭😭😭)

So this is a book that in which the best part of it is the world building. It's not unique in any ways, i could say that it is almost the exact same as any YA fantasy books that exist but this one presents it as a fun kingdom warfare! I don't know how war can be a little bit fun but somehow it is in this book. The adventures of Faron & Elara a quite fascinating as both of them are separated from each other and the two of them meeting each other once again on the ending. The two of them learn more about world and each have their own set of interesting characters to discover the many things that this world could offer.

But i can say that this book is EXHAUSSSSTINGGGGG, like it's very CONFUSINGGGGGGGGG. All to the point where this shouldn't be considered a YA fantasy book because of the intense complexity that it features that is a struggle to understand understand especially when the target audience of this is teens. This should be adult fantasy tbh, it would be a better fit for that category of fantasy. The main culprit of that is the start. We dive deep into this random world and then characters are introduced left and right without any explanations and skips to more random info dumps and more characters that wouldn't make sense unless you force yourself to read until the middle part where everything still kind of doesn't make any sense but slowly it does.

It is very odd with its plot as everyone just wanted the war to end. And when i mean everyone i meant LITERALLY EVERYONE. So to the point where you can kind of already guests and predict what's going to happen in the ending, which oops, i kinda predicted.

The relationship dynamic between these two sisters are loving and healthy. There are so many times in fantasy novels where siblings are portrayed in ways where they don't necessarily agree with everything that each says but even has many arguments and a deep sense of hatred towards each other. This one takes a breather and tries to do a healthy one for once. That's the only good relationship that happens in here because her and Reeve. They are supposed to be in an enemies to lovers trope relationship which is odd in this setting because HONESTLY NO ONE ASK FOR THIS RIGHT????? and Reeve as a whole is an irritating character to deal with as his character mainly focuses on his daddy issues and his supposed "hatred" that absolutely doesn't turn into romantic attraction to Faron.

[Gina Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 but omg for a debut especially this was so good

Faron and Elera are sisters. Elara is the oldest, but Faron is like, literally blessed and chosen by the gods, so like, the dynamic can be a little weird. I actually didn't think about it until now but I feel like QUITE often it's the older sister who is also the star so I'm glad that the little trope was subverted!!

Yeah, Faron has the ability to summon 3 gods, and she is what's known as the Childe Empyrean. She's the only one who can do it, and so she's like, pretty famous in her... I don't really understand the scale, but she's famous. She and her sister live in Deadegg, which is like, a village, and then they're also a part of a small country, I think, called San Irie, but then there's a bigger country I think called Langley that they previously were a part of but got their independence from. But everyone knows Faron is the Childe Empyrean but since she fought with San Irie in the war against Langley she's really mostly famous there.

5 years before the start of this book, when Faron and Elara were 12 and 13, they were pretty key players in that war, along with their queen, who was a teen at the time. I wish I could know more about them during the war, but I also think it's cool that it's just part of their lore and we don't know much other than the facts.

Anywho, the book starts off fairly quick with the girls, along with Elara's best friend, Reeve (Reeve is a whole other story, he's from Langley, like the son of the commander, and chooses to live in San Irie since he don't fw his parents after the whole war thing, but lots of people in San Irie think he's Langlish trash and hate him...), heading off to a big meeting between a bunch of countries, I think. Can you tell politics in books aren't for me? Like I know where they were and that's about it

Elara ends up bonded with a dragon, and then next thing you know the gods are telling Faron that all the dragons have to be killed to like, have peace, but oops, killing the dragon kills the folks the dragon is bonded to!!! So basically they're like Faron kill your sister plz and thank you

So Faron's back at the queen's place with Reeve, trying to research and figure out how to free Elara from the bond, meanwhile Elara is in an enemy country learning dragon riding with her pouty dragon partner, Signey.

There is a part where Reeve eats Faron's ass UP which is so iconic lmao they really tussle a little and I am obsessed with them. And Signey and Elara are also grumpy with each other so we just get two forced proximity ~I don't wanna be with you~ pairs and it is chef's kiss

The writing is really really good. I legit wanna reread and annotate lowkey and I NEVER do that. It did take me like a week to read but that's mainly just because I have pea brain when it comes to fantasy and that first 100 pages did it to me, once I was in it I was OBSESSED and couldn't wait to get home and read!!!

Faron and Elara both grapple with the expectations that they are held to; Faron is like basically worshipped, as close to a god as a human can get, and she's really just a kid, and then Elara has this innate need to be important and relevant because her sister is, and it's not even anything conscious, it's just there in her. The way it wraps up really does not alleviate these expectations at all, but it definitely subverts them AF, and it also is just good to see them both kind of put it into words

The supporting cast is great, the fight scenes and the suspense are so cool, Elara and Faron are both baddies, the romances are fire, Faron is demisexual and Elara is sapphic and the representation is so welcomed, and basically yeah I just cannot WAIT to read the sequel.... which is a shame because book 1 technically isn't even out yet lol help

1000% recommend as worth a read, it's giving me similar vibes to This Vicious Grace just like maybe I don't get it all but why understand fantasy aspects when character aspects r right there