Book Reviews

Review: So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole

I’ve been looking forward to So Let Them Burn ever since I saw the cover. It’s a book that’s one of my most anticipated for the year! So when I saw the Netgalley approval I immediately dove in. Keep reading this book review of So Let Them Burn below.

Summary

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

(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)

With two sisters ready to burn it all down for each other, where could you go wrong? So Let Them Burn has a core of sisterhood, love, and unraveling secrets. Coming from their victory, the balance of their island is fragile. The balance between the remnants of what is left of their island, those who are still reeling from the battle losses and are presented with wondering how they move forward. In So Let Them Burn both Elara and Faron realize they might not know as much about their sister as they thought.

But what might these secrets hold? And how many more do they have to discover about their histories? On one level, So Let Them Burn is about diplomacy versus fighting. About quietly wielded blades in shadows made of words and underhanded glances. At the same time it’s about fire in the heat of battle scorching and leaving ashes. Within a few chapters I was fully invested in So Let Them Burn. Whether it be the swoony tension – also with a demisexual MC so yay! – or the political situation and secrets, I was fully in.

(Disclaimer: Some of the links below are affiliate links. For more information you can look at the Policy page. If you’re uncomfortable with that, know you can look up the book on any of the sites below to avoid the link)

This action packed debut very much explores power and what we do with our influence. If we deserve second chances and the benefit of the doubt. Like many media pieces, it examines whether one person is worth the future of our people. Do the few outweigh the many? And how do we answer that question when it’s our loved ones in the crosshairs. I loved this one and sure to be among the tops of 2024 already especially as it specifically examines how we can know that something is wrong, even if everyone tells you it’s not. Find So Let Them Burn on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop.org, & Blackwells.

Discussion

What is your favorite dragon book?


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