Status Updates From The Ones We Burn

I think what it is is that this book feels underdeveloped, and like the author occasionally forgets what she’s written.

Wait wait wait, “surely they wouldn’t burn witches “? If they don’t burn witches in this city then what was that whole part with the girl in the line to get into the city, who was surely going to be burned if she was discovered? Did the author forget about that whole thing?

What is going on with this whole “education was never high on the Skra’s priority list.” Do the skra use the same language as the people of Seaswept? Because I was assuming she couldn’t read their language because it was a different language or because her people didn’t have a strong written tradition. Kind of weird how this is being positioned as a failing.

This book has a lot of intrigue, but the pacing could use a bit of work. Characters keep jumping to conclusions before the reader has time to settle in. The witch is accused of meddling when she hasn’t yet, the tranquilizer suddenly has less effect after a short time and nobody remarks on it, and there is sudden suspicion that there’s something wrong in the city with very little preamble.

Two more chapters of murky, unclear character motivations and too much secret keeping again. I feel like the author is trying to keep me at arm’s length or just isn’t quite sure what the story is about.

These chapters are weirdly short, which does make the book feel like it’s flowing faster but it also seems odd. This was another useful chapter for establishing setting and world, but still feels a little distant like the author didn’t quite settle in or wasn’t sure how to invite the reader in completely. I have a question at the end of the chapter. As the smell of fear grows, whose fear are we smelling?

This chapter does a lot to establish the tensions between the humans and witches, and elaborates a bit more on the negative impact the humans have on the witches’ lives. I’m not sure I understand why the poster was described so fiercely as stolen, or why Ranka narrows her eyes when she’s blindfolded.

This chapter does a good job establishing relationships. We get some insight into the conflicts between the witches and humans and come to understand that the witches are outcasts, not indigenous. The author doesn’t seem to want to invite the reader too deeply here, keeping the language a bit too vague for me to invest fully in everything going on because I am not 100% sure I understand.

Interesting so far. It reminds me of Cold the Night Fast the Wolves. So far we have a coven of witches, who appear to be indigenous and facing invaders colonizing the land with mines and driving out wildlife. A scarred protagonist with a short-lifed condition, and possibly a diverse assortment of skin tones but I couldn’t tell if that part about the nails of the other witches was about their nail or skin color.